Dog Health Blog

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 9 เมษายน พ.ศ. 2558

Does Your Aging Pet Need a New Diet and Lifestyle?

HOW DIET AND EXERCISE CAN MAKE YOUR SENIOR PET LIVE LONGER

The connection between diet, exercise and weight has long been understood for pets. Just as important, however, is the role those three factors play in the health of our pets as they age. Let’s take a look at how to keep each properly in check and targeted towards the needs of your senior pet.

SPECIAL PET FOOD FOR SENIOR PETS?

As pets age, they may become less active. Less exercise often leads to an increase in weight, which requires changes in the diet to compensate and avoid issues with obesity. A diet formulated for pets that are less active might be appropriate in these situations. This may be a food with a lower calorie content that still contains adequate levels of nutrients to meet all of your senior pet’s nutritional needs and keep your pet healthy.

In some cases, the opposite may happen and your senior pet may actually start to lose weight to the point where it’s unhealthy. In such cases a diet with an increased calorie count and a highly palatable and highly digestible protein source may be useful but the choice of diet may depend on the cause of the weight loss as well.

Older pets may also have ailments that can be manipulated and/or controlled, at least partly, through diet. Your veterinarian can help you choose an appropriate diet for your senior pet based on his or her individual nutritional requirements.

HOW IS EXERCISE A FACTOR?

“There’s an entire nation of pet owners who are loving their pets to death with too many calories and not enough exercise,” says, Dr. Joe Bartges, a veterinary nutritionist and Small Animal Clinical Sciences department head at University of Tennessee Knoxville’s College of Veterinary Medicine. The solution is providing an environment full of both physical and mental stimulation that will help keep your senior pet feeling youthful and active.

Dr. Heidi Lobprise, DVM, DAVDC and spokesperson for the International Veterinary Senior Care Society recommends a two-pronged approach – indoor and outdoor physical activities.

Bringing home a few treat toys that will dispense their meals in smaller doses to improve both physical and mental function and promote weight loss in heavier pets. If they’re able to go up and down the stairs, have them move around your home and go up and down stairs slowly to keep their joints moving and muscles loose. Should climbing stairs be out of the picture, invest in some ramps to help your pet keep moving around the house without causing them too much pain.

Outdoor activities may include such things as walking or jogging, though ultimately it will depend on the current health condition of your pet. Dr. Lobprise recommends talking with your vet to make sure you know how much your pet is capable of and what a comfortable distance will be for them to walk each day. As a senior your pet should still be getting regular walks throughout the week, but keep them short and try not to overdo it if your pet is experiencing any kind of condition. Swimming is another excellent activity to help exercise the muscles without hurting joints.

CONSIDER A PET FITNESS TRACKER

Fitness trackers (aka activity monitors) began as a somewhat niche market — catering to people who wanted to track their every step while exercising and easily sling the data to their mobile phones and computers. Since then sales of these devices have been on a surge. In fact by 2018 Juniper Research estimates 57 million fitness trackers will be used worldwide. A small but growing subset of this market is the pet fitness tracker.

Many differ in the type of features offered, but at its simplest pet fitness trackers (once secured on your pet, often on the collar) help monitor your pet’s daily activities so that you can use this data to more accurately discuss changes in their health and behavior with your veterinarian. When used in concert with a healthy diet and exercise regimen, a pet fitness tracker can also be used as a tool to achieve weight loss. Ask your veterinarian if a fitness tracker could benefit your pet.

Dogs Don’t Want Carbs

What would dogs eat if they could choose for themselves?

That is the question that a recent study tried to answer — at least with regards to the relative concentrations of protein, fat, and carbohydrate in dry, canned, and “home” prepared foods.

Scientists ran three experiments using adultPapillons, Miniature Schnauzers, Cocker Spaniels, Labrador Retrievers, andSaint Bernards (female and male, neutered and intact).

Experiment 1 — the dogs were offered dry foods with variable protein, carbohydrate, and fat levels.

Experiment 2 — the dogs were offered commercially available wet foods with variable protein, carbohydrate, and fat levels.

Experiment 3 — the dogs were offered wet foods with a standard protein level but variable carbohydrate and fat levels. The foods were made from blended, skinless chicken breast, lard, wheat flour, vitamins, and minerals.

In experiment one, the researchers found that the composition of the dry food limited the dogs’ ability to eat what they wanted. To form kibble, dry food requires a relatively high percentage of starch. In essence, the dogs were forced to eat more carbohydrate than they wanted.

When eating wet food, the dogs were better able to select their preferred ratios. To quote:

Dogs in the wet diet treatments composed a diet that had similar protein concentration to those in the dry diet treatment (all dogs fell within the band spanning 25–35% total energy as protein), but was considerably lower in carbohydrate and higher in fat than dogs in the dry diet treatments. This pattern, taken together with the fact that dogs in the dry diet treatment selected intake points that were close to the minimum carbohydrate concentration available to them, suggests that the dry diets are appreciably higher in carbohydrate than the target diet composition. Indeed, even dogs on wet foods appear to have minimized the proportional carbohydrate content of their diet. Overall, these data suggest that the preferred diet composition of the dogs has low carbohydrate:fat balance, with between 25% and 35% of energy contributed by protein.

Experiment three confirmed the nutrient ratios that were revealed in experiment two, while eliminating the chance that the dogs were eating more of one wet food than the other because of differences in palatability.

Taken together, these results suggest that the target diet of dogs in our study consists of approximately 30% of energy from protein, 63% of energy from fat, and 7% of energy from carbohydrate.

Despite this research, I’m not convinced that a diet consisting of 30% energy from protein, 63% energy from fat, and 7% energy from carbohydrate is right for most pet dogs.

These preferences evolved when canine ancestors were extremely active hunters in a feast-or-famine environment. Today’s canine couch potatoes who never miss a meal could get quite fat on this type of diet if their portions aren’t strictly controlled (weight gain was a problem in the study we’ve been talking about). Also, switching to a high fat diet may result in pancreatitis if the transition isn’t done gradually.

That said, I do think it makes sense for owners to look for dog foods that get approximately 30% of their energy from protein and are as high in fat and low in carbohydrates as their dog’s lifestyle can support.

Dr. Jennifer Coates

The Yellow Dog Project: What Does the Yellow Ribbon Mean?

Have you ever been out for a walk with your children and seen someone walking their dog? Do your children want to rush over to greet the canine cutie? If this has happened to you, you aren't alone. Many children love dogs, and they don't know that they can't approach all of them the same way. In fact, adults sometimes don't approach new dogs in the best manner. Most dogs will forgive our human foibles when it comes to canine manners. But there are some that will react negatively to being approached exuberantly.

Dogs wearing yellow ribbons on their collars need space.

Dinos

In 2011, a professional dog walker in Portland, Maine coined the term "dinos," standing for "dogs in need of space." Here are some reasons that dogs may be dinos:

Some dogs can become aggressive if they are approached straight-on from the front, with direct eye contact. In canine culture, this is a challenge, not a greeting.
Other dogs may be over-exuberant themselves, and could leap onto you or your child, causing injury.
Still other dogs may be recovering from surgery, and they could be sore and more prone to nipping if they are approached by an unknown person.
There are dogs that are in foster care, and it might not be known exactly how they will react to people coming up to say hello.
Some dogs are older and have aches and pains that make them feel defensive when people move too quickly around them.
Service dogs should not be approached while they are working. These dogs usually wear special "uniforms" while doing their jobs.
Some dogs are aggressive with other dogs, and allowing your dog to rush over to greet these dogs could result in a fight.

The Yellow Dog Project

In an effort to educate people about approaching dogs properly, and in order to decrease the chances of dog bites, The Yellow Dog Project has been established. If you have a dog that you know doesn't react well to being approached enthusiastically by children, adults, or other dogs, is overly-exuberant himself, is recovering from surgery and needs to be treated gently, or just needs his space for whatever reason, you can place a yellow ribbon around his collar, leash, or harness. It's important to spread the word about Yellow Dogs because the yellow ribbon can only do its job if people know what it means.

Teach your children what the yellow ribbon means, and make sure that they know they should not approach a dog that is wearing one. It's also important to teach children not to rely on the presence of a yellow ribbon to identify a dog that needs his space. They should be cautious when approaching any unknown dog.

Rules for Approaching Unknown Dogs

Some people may not have heard of The Yellow Dog Project yet and may not have the ribbon on their dog's collar. Children should be taught that all dogs need to be approached cautiously and only with the consent of the dog's owner. Below are some guidelines for how to approach an unknown dog, if the dog's owner says it's OK to do so.

Always remember that any dog can bite.
When you are approaching a dog with your child, pay attention to the dog's body language. Stop approaching if the dog appears stiff, is staring intently at you or your child, or is growling or baring his teeth.
Teach your child to present a closed hand to the dog first. If the dog's body language is loose, soft, and wiggly, your child may pet the dog.
Teach your child to pet the sides of a dog's shoulders or under his chest, not his head. Dogs may take a hand coming down over-top of their head as a sign of a challenge.

General Rules to Teach Children for Dealing with Dogs:

If You Have Dinos (Dog(s) in Need of Space):Children should never approach dogs that are in cars or behind fences because dogs are often defensive of those areas.
Children should be taught never to tease dogs.
Most dogs do not appreciate direct eye contact; teach this to your children and remember it yourself.
Do not approach a dog that looks nervous. Signs of nervousness in dogs include crouching, rolling over onto his back, licking his lips, laying his ears back flat on his head, or yawning. An anxious dog may bite in self-defense.
Teach your children not to run up to dogs that are running loose.
Children should know that, if they are approached by a loose dog, they should stay very still and not make eye contact. They should never run away from the dog or scream, as this may cause the dog's predator instincts to kick in, and he may chase or attack them.
If a child is knocked down by a dog, teach him or her to curl up into a ball, chin tucked down, and hands locked behind the neck to protect his or her neck and face.
Children should not approach dogs that are chewing on a bone or toy, sleeping, or caring for puppies. This includes dogs in the child's own home. Do not bother your dog when he is eating or chewing his toys just to "test" him. Don't startle your dog purposely, and avoid doing things that you know are frightening to him. These behaviors could lead to stress and defensive behaviors in dogs that would not otherwise display them.

Place a yellow ribbon on your dog's leash, collar, or harness.
Understand that not everyone will be aware of the yellow ribbon's meaning; educate people as you have the opportunity. Post this article on your social media accounts, and talk to people you meet about it.
Do not rely on the yellow ribbon; you must still do your due diligence to keep anyone from being injured by your dog.
If someone is approaching your dog, hold out your hand and say firmly, but kindly, "He doesn't like strangers," or "He doesn't like to be touched," or "Please approach us slowly; he just had surgery, and I don't want him to get too excited."
If your dog is aggressive toward people and other dogs, he should be muzzled when you are out with him.