ANIMAL
For a long, healthy life!
WELLNESS DOES HE NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT?
Special
NUTRITION
Issue
SIMPLE WAYS TO SLIM HIM DOWN
MAKING SENSE OF
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
PET FOOD LABELS
HOMEPREPARING
HER FOOD
WHY HEALTH & NUTRITION APPS FOR PETS ARE ALL THE RAGE
HOW MUCH
EXERCISE DOES YOUR CAT REALLY NEED?
BOOST HIS IMMUNE SYSTEM WITH ACUPRESSURE
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VOLUME 22 ISSUE 5
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AnimalWellnessMagazine.com
CONTENTS October/November 2020
Columns
18 LEARNING
46 NEED TO
Understanding pet food labels
Health and nutrition apps for your dog or cat
CURVE
Ensuring your dog or cat is eating a healthy diet means being a pet food label detective, and learning how to understand ingredient lists and terminology.
14 Features 14
O besity in dogs and cats
The obesity epidemic in dogs and cats is still with us. Why is this the case, and what can you do if your own dog or cat is on the heavy side?
26 Is your dog digging up your yard?
Why dogs like digging holes, and how you can help prevent Fido from turning your yard into a moonscape.
40
H ome-preparing food for your dog or cat
Home-preparing food for your animal has never been more accessible. But ensuring he’s getting a balanced diet means understanding key points about canine and feline nutrition.
he benefits of sharing your life 72 Twith a dog or cat
All animal lovers know that being a dog or cat parent comes with countless advantages. But what do the studies have to say?
4
Animal Wellness
Keep track of your dog or cat’s health status, seek dietary advice, monitor her activity and more with a health and nutrition app!
22 FELINE FITNESS
How much exercise does your cat really need? The idea that cats don’t need a lot of physical activity is a misconception. Find out how much exercise your kitty really needs, and how to prevent him from being a couch potato.
30 HEALING
INSIDE & OUT
Could your dog or cat have a pH imbalance?
A pH imbalance impacts your animal’s well-being, and is associated with a variety of conditions. Here’s what to look for, and what you can do to help support his pH health.
34 DIAGNOSTICS
Diagnostic imaging for dogs and cats
From CT scans to ultrasounds, there are several ways to see inside your dog or cat’s body. Here’s how these diagnostic imaging techniques differ, and the pros and cons of each.
38 FELINE HEALTH Your cat’s microbiome
22
KNOW
We still have a lot to learn about the feline microbiome, but what we do know can help us take important steps to improving and maintaining our cats’ gut health.
48 ANIMAL
ACUPRESSURE Boost your dog’s immunity with acupressure
Maintaining a strong Immune system in your dog is one of the keys to keeping him healthy. Learn how a simple acupressure session can help support his immunity.
52 STAYING ACTIVE
Including your dog in your exercise routine
Whether you’re a jogger or cyclist, including your dog in your exercise routine also means taking his abilities and safety into account.
38
60 58 CAT
69 SAYING
Dry foods that are healthier for cats
Losing your dog or cat — ways to get through the grief
NUTRITION
GOODBYE
Many cats are “dry food addicts” — a problem if the food is poor quality. More cat food companies are factoring the importance of wholesome feline nutrition into their dry foods.
For many people, losing a beloved animal companion is as heartwrenching as losing a human loved one. Here are some resources to help you through the grief.
60 NUTRTION
74 TRENDING
Why your dog should eat fruits and veggies
Fresh food meal kits for dogs and cats
FACTS
NOW
Meat needs to make up a large percentage of a dog’s diet. But fruit and veggies are also beneficial to canine health and well-being.
64 EATING WELL Taurine toppers for cats and dogs
82 NEWSWORTHY Separation anxiety in dogs a concern post-pandemic
As COVID-19 restrictions loosen and people return to work, many claim their dogs’ separation anxiety has become worse.
This popular trend is expanding into the pet food world, with companies offering nutritious, fresh food meal kits for dogs and cats that are delivered right to your door.
26
An important amino acid, taurine is vital to your cat or dog’s health. This article explains why, and offers recipes for tasty taurine toppers to add to your best friend’s meals.
Departments 8 From the Editor 12 In the news 21 From the NASC
43 To the rescue 44 Product picks
78 Must reads 79 Marketplace
29 Training tips
55 Let's get social 63 Fall favorites
33 Business profile
67 Wellness resource
— Wholistic pet Organics
Social Media
80 Classifieds 81 Events
guide
Tips, contests and more! AnimalWellnessMagazine
News, events, and tips! @ AW_magazine
Tips, pet photos, and more! AnimalWellnessMagazine
Crafts, laughs, and more! AnimalWellness
Animal Wellness
5
OBESITY IN DOGS AND CATS
D gs Cats
By Karen Shaw Becker, DVM
The obesity epidemic in dogs and cats is still with us, even though most of us now realize that overweight animals are at higher risk of health problems. Why is this the case, and what can you do if your own dog or cat is on the heavy side?
If your dog or cat is overweight, it’s cause for concern, although you’re far from alone. In 2018 (the most recent year for which data was collected), an estimated 60% of cats and 56% of dogs in the US were overweight or obese. Since the pet obesity epidemic has been trending upward for several years, we can assume those numbers are the same or even worse now. This article looks at why the obesity epidemic is still in full swing (see sidebar on 17), and provides helpful suggestions for getting plump pets down to a healthier weight.
HOW TO TELL IF YOUR DOG OR CAT IS OVERWEIGHT Because so many animals are overweight now, many people can no longer tell the difference between a fat, chubby, and normal dog or cat. If you’re not sure about your own animal, look down at his body from above as he’s standing or walking. Does he have a tapered-in waist? If not — if he’s shaped more like an oval or rectangle — he’s probably too heavy. You should also be able to feel (but not see) his ribs, as well as the bones near the base of his tail. If he’s obese, you’ll see obvious amounts of excess fat on his abdomen, hips, and neck.
14
Animal Wellness
Compare your dog or cat to the body condition charts provided by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) at https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ Body-Condition-Score-Dog.pdf or https://wsava.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/01/Cat-Body-Condition-Scoring-2017.pdf. The goal is a body condition score of 4 to 5 for dogs, and 5 for cats.
HELP HIM LOSE WEIGHT — DO’S AND DON’TS
DON’T free feed. Providing round-the-clock
access to food is a mistake that goes hand-in-hand with feeding ultra-stable, ultra-processed dry foods, because they’re the only types of food you can safely leave out at room temperature 24/7 for days on end. Free feeding is the perfect way to create an overweight or obese dog or cat. A constantly available food source turns your carnivorous hunter into a grazer, which ultimately creates metabolic diseases, including diabetes and immune dysregulation.
DO this instead: Separate your animal’s daily rations into several small portions and place them in different locations around the house for him to find. Make use of food puzzle toys for dogs, and indoor hunting feeders for cats, which
View these charts full-size at: https://wsava.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/01/BodyCondition-Score-Dog.pdf https://wsava.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/01/Cat-BodyCondition-Scoring-2017.pdf
encourage natural behaviors and provide mental stimulation unless he has mobility problems that make stairs difficult. Also consider putting food bowls at the tops and bottoms of stairs to encourage muscle-building exercise throughout the day. Alternatively, you can feed two portion-controlled meals a day, aiming to get all calories into an eight- to ten-hour window. This effective strategy means your animal is practicing intermittent fasting, which has been demonstrated to extend the lifespan of all mammals.
DON’T feed too much. Most people who feed ultra-processed, shelf-stable, commercial kibble follow the suggested feeding guidelines printed on the package, which often isn’t the best approach. These recommendations typically use overly broad weight ranges such as “under 20 pounds” when clearly, a 15-pound dog requires significantly more calories than a fivepound dog. Feeding instructions on these packages also use wide
serving ranges, such as “feed ½ to 1½ cups”. These suggestions obviously can’t take into account, for example, an animal’s activity level, and they tend to be short on other important details, such as whether “feed ½ to 1½ cups” is a daily or per-meal guideline.
DO this instead: Decide (with the help of your veterinarian, if needed) what your dog or cat’s ideal weight should be. Then use the following formulas to calculate the precise number of calories he needs to get down to his or her ideal weight and maintain it. Continued on page 16. Animal Wellness
15