Since March is National Nutrition Month, people around the country are taking a step back and looking at their eating habits, food choices, treats and chow.

Just like their owners, pets need to have a balanced, complete diet to insure they are receiving all the vitamins and nutrients they need to be strong, healthy and happy for many years. Differing amounts of essential ingredients are in pet foods to accommodate various life stages, body conditions and activity levels.

Continue Reading "A Little (Pet) Food for Thought" »

From floral arrangements to fall feast, the dangers posed to pets around Thanksgiving are as bountiful as the bread stuffing. Even though it is a time for giving thanks for family, friends and four-legged companions, there are a few things every pet owners needs to be aware of, look out for and avoid – no matter how much the pets purr or paw.

In general, pets’ stomachs are not accustomed to handle the heavy seasoning we use to cook and prepare our foods. Raw or undercooked turkey may contain salmonella bacteria and fat trimmings or very fatty foods can trigger pancreatitis in dogs and cats. Even if it is just a scrap from the table, it may be enough to cause an upset stomach in our pets, resulting in vomiting or diarrhea.

Some of the foods commonly found on the Thanksgiving menu are toxic to pets and may result in pet owners giving thanks to a veterinarian rather than for passing the cranberries.

Continue Reading "Thanksgiving Safety for You and Your Pets" »

We did a post earlier this week on a great new book entitled Good Old Dog. One of the topics covered in this book is nutrition for older pets. I was thinking this subject merits a post all its own.

There is no single best diet for an older dog. You'll need to take several things into consideration to come up with the best diet for your own older dog.

For instance, just how old is your dog and what kind of dog is he? We've mentioned this before, but dogs of different breeds and sizes age at different rates. An seven year old Shetland Sheepdog is really more of a middle aged dog. A seven year old Great Dane is a senior citizen.

I guess we should have done this post before Thanksgiving, but there are still almost twenty days before Christmas and then there's the New Year, so our pets have plenty of time to get into trouble. 

When I think of holiday hazards I break them down into three general categories. Holiday food and spirits, holiday visitors, holiday decorations and a few miscellaneous items can all create dicey situations for our dogs and cats if we don't pay attention. I'll cover the first two in this post and the rest later this week.

Food gets lots of attention around the holidays.

My friend Jeff asked me whether his dog had a drinking problem. I queried him about whether he was leaving open containers around the house. Turns out he was talking about water and he wanted to know how much water a normal dog should drink over the course of the day.

The easiest answer for a normal healthy dog is between 1/2 and 1 oz. per pound of body weight per day. For cats there is no really easy answer, and estimating water needs is really dependent on whether they are eating dry, canned or a mixture of dry and canned food. In general though, a cat will need the same amount of water in milliliters as they consume in calories. Let's say your cat needs 30 kcals per pound per day and he weighs ten pounds. He'll need 300 kcals and about 300 mls. of water. One ounce is about 30 mls. so that translates to about 10 ounces per day.