Overweight Dogs & Cats - What Chubby Pets Weigh In Human Terms

Ever wonder if your dog or car are overweight? Well, if you can’t feel its ribs, it probably is. The extra weight is a health burden because it makes the joints and internal organs work harder and increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and arthritis.

Because dogs and cats are so much smaller than humans, we hear that they’re 1 pounds or 10 pounds overweight and we tend not to take it seriously, but here is what weight gain means in human terms:

• When a Great Dane that would normally weigh 130 pounds actually weighs 141 pounds (11 pounds over), it’s the equivalent of a 125-pound woman weighing an extra 10 pounds.

• When a Beagle that would normally weigh 30 pounds actually weighs 35 pounds (5 pounds over), it’s the equivalent of a 125-pound woman weighting an extra 21 pounds.

• When a Chihuahua that would normally weigh 4 pounds actually weighs 5 pounds (1 pounds over), it’s the equivalent of a 125-pound woman weighing an extra 31 pounds.

• When a Maine Coon cat that would normally weigh 17 pounds actually weighs 25 pounds (8 pounds over), it’s the equivalent of a 125-pound woman weighing an extra 59 pounds.

• When a Persian cat that would normally weigh 11 pounds actually weighs 15 pounds (4 pounds over), it’s the equivalent of a 125-pound woman weighing an extra 45 pounds.

• When a Singapura cat that would normally weigh 6 pounds actually weighs 7 pounds, it’s the equivalent of a 125-pound woman weighing an extra 21 pounds.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Rabies, One Death Every 10 Minutes

We vaccinate pets in the US for rabies and as a result, we have only 1-3 human cases of rabies per year. In other countries, human rabies cases are far more common. In fact, around the world, 55,000 people die of rabies every year. The number 55,000 is overwhelming, and to make it worse, most are children. More than 100 children die every day in our world from rabies. This is one person dying of rabies every 10 minutes.

We can do our part by vaccinating, and we should, but it is not safe to vaccinate pets every year for rabies, and perhaps not as often as every 3 years. Over the next few Caring for Pet entries, we’ll talk about what can happen if we give pets too much vaccine or vaccinate them too often.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Diet Pills for Pets--A No No

We’ve just looked at weights of dogs and cats—many have obesity issues the same as we humans. In fact, 25-40% of our dogs are seriously overweight, and maybe as many cats are also too fat. It might be tempting to put them all on diet pills, but don’t. Diet pills are dangerous for pets and pills advertising 3% weight loss may be the most dangerous. Medications that advertise sharp weight loss are most likely to promote the loss of muscle and make dogs ill. If a dog loses more than 2% of its weight every week, it is losing muscle as well as fat. Is this your goal?

Safe weight loss is accomplished by gradually increasing exercise and changing the diet.

Let’s face the problem: Whatever you’re feeding now has put your wonderful pet in the position it’s in, so it’s not what your pet needs. Switch to foods without simple carbohydrates such as glucose, fructose, dextrose, sucrose. Avoid foods that have corn as the major ingredient. Give vegetables—yes, the same as you eat. Feed small amounts of broccoli, carrots, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, yams, and pumpkin. Don’t put sauce on the vegetables and don’t serve them with cheese or butter. Save the cheese and butter for the times it’s necessary to give a pill. When possible, feed raw.

Helping your pet lose weight increases the likelihood it will live for a long time and will enjoy the years it has left.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

How much should cats weigh?

Here are the normal weights for the 6 most common cat breeds(in pounds):
Siamese 5-10
Persian 10-11
Maine Coon 8-10
Domestic Shorthair 8-10
Domestic Medium-hair 8-10
Domestic Longhair 8-10


According to the Pet Obesity Prevention study, what does the average cat in these top 6 breeds actually weigh?

Siamese 11.2
Persian 8.4
Maine Coon 12.7
Domestic Shorthair 11.7
Domestic Medium-hair 11.8
Domestic Longhair 12

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Dog Weights, What's Normal & What's Real

The top dog breeds should weigh on average (in pounds):
Yorkie 7
Shih Tzu 9-16
Poodle, miniature 11
Pomeranian 3-7
Labrador Retriever 55-80
Golden Retriev 55-75
German Shepherd 70-95
Dachshund 11
Chihuahua 2-6
Boxer 55-70
Beagle 26-31

According to the Pet Obesity Prevention study, what does the average dog actually weigh?
Yorkie 10.3
Shih Tzu 15.2
Poodle, miniature 11.3
Pomeranian 10.4
Labrador Retriever 80
Golden Retriever 76.7
German Shepherd 90
Dachshund 14.7
Chihuahua 7.7
Boxer 60
Beagle 35.8

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Feeding Pets, What About Eggs?

Eggs are tremendous health foods, and we recommend feeding them to cats and dog. Feed eggs from pastured, free-range flocks because these eggs have high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, and beta carotene. In addition, free-range flocks raised on pasture lay eggs with less cholesterol and saturated fat than caged hens lay.

Eggs help any pet with inflammation, including skin disease, hot spots, chronic bladder infection, and diabetes. Why? Eggs help because these diseases improve when pets receive Omega 3 fatty acids.

How about pets that aren’t sick, but are just exercising hard? These pets also benefit from increased Omega 3 fatty acids.

How about pets with cancer, including lymphoma, hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma? Eggs can help because they provide Omega 3s and beneficial antioxidants.

Free-range lie
Avoid the pitfall of buying “free-range” eggs that are from chickens raised indoors in large sheds. Companies get away with advertising eggs as being free-range if the chickens aren’t confined to cages—whether or not the chickens are allowed outdoors. This means some “free-range” hens live enclosed in hen houses and aren’t exposed to sunshine, fresh pastures, and fresh grasses, and nutritious bugs. Their eggs won’t have increased Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, and beta carotene.

Mother Earth News is one source of information on the differences between pasture-raised and caged, and pseudo free-range chickens.

If your pet needs Omega 3s, and shouldn’t eat eggs, feed freshly ground flax or wild-caught, cold-water fish, such as salmon, sardines, herring, and menhaden fish.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Dangerous Pet Product

Powdered product for teeth
A friend recently asked what I thought about a tooth product that’s meant to be fed to pets daily for life. The product’s label proudly proclaims it doesn’t have coloring, preservatives, gluten, salt, or sugar. Well, that’s good, but let’s look at what this product does contain: iodine, arsenic, cobalt, and magnesium. Not so good.

Danger of ingredients
Why is it dangerous to have these ingredients in a product intended to be given every day for life?
· Iodine can accumulate in the thyroid gland and lead to hyperthyroidism.
· Arsenic can damage the kidneys.
· Cobalt can stimulate release of free radicals and tumor necrosis factor. Cobalt is one of the heavy metals that contaminate pottery glaze so that we don’t allow it to be imported.
· Magnesium can increase likelihood of struvite bladder stones, especially in female dogs prone to develop urinary tract infections.

Whole foods are safe
While whole foods contain iodine, cobalt, and magnesium, they do so in balanced concentrations, and we don’t feed the same food every day for life. At least we shouldn’t. If we do, our pets may be so bored with life they won’t mind getting on the fast track to heaven.

Don't jump on the bandwagon
My friend assumed the product was safe because a friend of hers feeds it, and because the company is applying for patents all around the world. In addition, she found testimonials on the product’s website proclaiming that it has improved oral health. Unfortunately, whether or not a product is safe is not related to whether it does a good job. Thalidomide did a good job for nauseated women. Vioxx did a good job for arthritic folks.

Thorough testing
In order to tell if a product will be safe for pets, the product should be given to many different breeds of cats and dogs for long enough that we can see what happens to them and to their offspring. In other words, we need to wait and see before recommending a product.

Many dangerous pet products
While I sympathize with families that want their pets to have kissable mouths, the subtle cellular damage caused by these ingredients may be the kiss of death that no one recognizes. We’ve had enough pet death because we weren’t looking for dangers in food and toys. Let’s learn the lesson.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Cooling Hot Pets, Dogs Left in Cars

Heat from the inside or outside
Did you know that all overheated pets shouldn’t all be cooled the same way?

Think of heat as either coming from within a pet or coming from the outside the pet. For example, if a pet has an infection causing a fever, the heat is coming from the inside. If a pet has just been burned, heat is coming from the outside.

To ice or not to ice, that is the question
Hot pets need to be cooled quickly, whether heat is from the outside or the inside; the way we cool them, though, is different. When the pet’s own body is generating the heat--when it has an infection and fever--use a fan and spray cool water on the skin. This creates evaporative cooling and pulls heat from the surface.

If cool water is good, wouldn’t ice be better? No. Don’t apply ice to the skin because it closes down or vasoconstricts the vessels. Vasoconstriction prevents blood from reaching the surface where it can be cooled by the air. Pets with internal heat stay hot longer if we use ice than if we use fans and cool water spray.

When ice is nice
On the other hand, when an animal has a burn and heat is carried from the outside of the body to the inside, ice helps. Ice vasoconstricts blood vessels so that less blood floods to the interior carrying heat with it; and ice numbs the pain.

Dogs left in the car
Dogs that become hyperthermic because they’re left in a car (or dogs left outside without shade) are treated as though they have a fever because they've been baked. Just as brownies from the oven are hot on the inside, dogs left in hot cars are hot on the inside.

These dogs are best cooled with water and fans, not with ice. Although the heat source was from outside the pet’s body, the body becomes so hot it acts as though it is generating the heat. So, cool water and fans are the best emergency care for these pets.

Be Safe - No Dogs In Cars!
Whether to use ice or fans and spraying water will never be an issue if we don't leave dogs in cars in the summer. I hope you never need to remember the right way to cool your pet!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Calming Pets Naturally Amen

Over the past few Caring for Pets blog entries, we’ve covered so many different calming agents that your pet is probably sound asleep by now. We've discussed:
1. Calcium and Magnesium
2. Lavender Oil
3. Chinese Herbs
4. Melatonin
5. Pheromones: Dog Adaptive Pheromone (DAP) for Dogs and Feliway for Cats
6. Homeopathics
7. Flower Essence Remedies
8. Acupuncture.

If, you’ve been successful at choosing exactly what will work to calm your pet, that’s great, but if not, work with your holistic veterinarian to choose the best approach. To find a holistic veterinarian, search the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association website (http://www.ahvma.org/) where vets can be found by name or by location. Or, search the Chi Institute Jing Tang Herbal for a listing of holistic veterinarians.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad