I recently did some calculations that you might find surprising, but help put things into perspective and give you pause for thought before you drop that next piece of leftovers into your Pet’s mouth.  Take the typical 10 lb cat.  If you gave her just 1 ounce of cheese, that represents a whopping 50% of the calories that she needs every day!  The slice of deli ham that she appears to crave so much represents 20% of the calories she needs.  How about your dog?  For a typical 20 lb dog, 1 hot dog is 22% of the calories he needs, and that spoon of peanut butter you might use to help “the medicines go down “is 14% of the calories!  The 8 oz. bag of potato chips… forget it.  One bag provides 186% of the calories!  So with just a few examples you can see just how easy those small things we give each day add up to lots of unnecessary calories. 

How about some solutions?  Always remember that you can treat your Pet, but it does not have to be food.  New toys, hugs, pats and grooming are all treats that make them feel special too.  Keep the additional calories in treats and snacks to less than 10% of the calories per day, and always investigate and find the lowest calories you can.

The first few days in the new home can be stressful for the puppy or kitten.  During this stage, it is best to keep them on the same diet that they were eating when you purchased or adopted them.  Sudden dietary changes can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, vomiting or diarrhea.  Therefore, when you are ready to transition them to a different diet, a transition period is always recommended for all Pets when switching from one type of food to another food.  A dietary transition is achieved by mixing the new food with the old food, and slowing increasing the amount of the new food and decreasing the old food given each day.  For example, on day 1, give ¾ old food and ¼ new food.  On day 2 give ½ old food and ½ new food.  On day 3 give ¼ old food and ¾ new food.  Full transition can occur by day 4. 

Milk is not an essential part of the diet for puppies or kittens after weaning from their mother.  Indeed after weaning, many Pets are lactose intolerant.  Providing milk to these Pets can cause diarrhea.  In some areas, Cat Milk is available – the difference with this cat-specific product is that the lactose has been removed, so the kitten or cat will not get diarrhea.

Young puppies and kittens should be fed 4-6 times a day.  As the puppy or kitten ages, the number of feedings can be gradually decreased so that by the time they have reached 50% of their adult body weight they are eating three meals a day.  By the time that they are fully grown, they should be fed twice daily.

Ad-libitum or free feeding should not be recommended as this allows the Pet access to excessive amounts of food.  Over consumption is one of the key contributing factors to the obesity epidemic that our Pets now face – so start them off right.  The best method of feeding is portion control feeding where the amount of food is accurately measured using either a standard 237 ml cooking cup or a kitchen scale to weigh the correct amount of food.

It is also important that feeding should be a consistent routine, at approximately the same time and in the same location every day.  A consistent routine will help the Pet keep normal elimination habits and avoid accidents. 

When feeding the puppy, it is important to place the bowl in front of him and then walk away.  Do not stand over your puppy and watch him eating.  Return several minutes later to remove the bowl at the completion of the feeding period.

Kittens tend to prefer frequent small meals (8-16) throughout a 24 hour period.  This method of feeding can be replicated by dividing their daily food amount into individual portions placed into timed feeders that open to release a small meal.

You can contact Procter & Gamble for information on refunds at 1-877-340-8826, Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EDT. Product purchased at PetSmart can also be returned to them directly.

Our routines become so commonplace that eventually we don’t pay much attention to them. This got me thinking about Emerson and his scratching, rubbing and licking consistently on his skin—particularly during the spring and summer months. The itching doesn’t seem to occur only in the morning, but at different times throughout the day. I began to take notice. Have I missed something? Could his scratching indicate a need for further attention? 

Since I always wanted to be a detective on some level, I began to do some investigating, noting the time of day (and season) Emerson was itching, as well as the location of his scratching. I also changed his shampoo, spoke with my Banfield veterinarinan and modified his diet a bit because of some food allergies. Fortunately, Emerson’s itching began to subside.

Dogs shouldn’t itch all the time. And if they do, I would suggest consulting your veterinarian, as your daily sidekick could have a condition that needs to be treated medically. Keep a close eye on how often your Pet indulges in scratching and whether it is localized to one particular area. Also part your Pet’s hair and check regularly for any skin abnormality or discomfort when these areas are touched.

As for Emerson, it seems my detective evaluation gives me nothing further to worry about. His skin and coat looks better than ever and he continues to greet me each morning with long stretches and deep yawns—and yes, a lick and scratch or two. But now the licks are only on my face. Not a bad way to start each day!

Let’s start with the feeding guidelines on the packaging. Guideline is really the key word here; that is all that they really are. They are a starting point, after which we must make logical changes to keep our Pets in ideal body condition. Feeding guides provide an estimation of what the average Pet requires for his/her current body weight. Did you know that the actual amount of food that your individual Pet needs can vary from the average Pet by 25%? This large variation in requirements is one of the greatest challenges we have when feeding pets and can be a leading source of the obesity epidemic that we are now faced with in veterinary nutrition. The large variation among individual Pets is due to differences in sex, breed, environment (indoor vs. outdoor), exercise and a whole host of other factors.

Feeding guides typically list the amount of food that your Pet needs per day, rather than the amount of food that they need at each meal. So, if you feed your Pet twice a day, you should divide the amount the feeding guide recommends by two.

Most feeding guides will tell you how many cups of food to feed per day. Take a critical look at the cup that you use to measure your Pet’s food. Feeding guides are based on a USA standard cooking cup of 237 ml. In this era of supersizing, we often forget what a standard US cup size is. Some Pet food companies are helpful and provide standard feeding cups for their foods. You can ask your veterinarian if they have one to give you with your food. It can also be difficult to judge a quarter, third or half of a cup. An easy solution is to invest just a few dollars in purchasing a cooking cup set at your local kitchen retailer. These make it so simple to accurately determine what a quarter of a cup really is!

Accuracy is important in how much you feed, but so too is consistency. Our Pets will lead healthier lives if we are consistent in our routine with the time of day that we feed our Pets, how much we feed and how much we exercise them. Now that we have implemented an accurate and consistent approach, how do we really decide if we are feeding the right amount to our Pets? The answer is simple and enjoyable. We need to touch and feel our Pets! Specifically, run your hands over the sides of the chest and abdomen of your Pet to the tail. You want to be able to feel the ribs, and the ribs should have light cover of fat on them. As you reach the abdomen, you want to be able to feel an indentation of the waist. Also, if you stand above your Pet, you should be able to readily see the indentation of the waist. This technique of feeling for the amount of fat that your Pet is carrying is called Body Condition Scoring, and it is a technique that your veterinarian will perform (along with body weight) at each visit. If you can easily feel and see the ribs, with very little fat covering, then your pet will need more food. If on the other hand, your pet has a generous covering of fat over the ribs and thickening of the waist area, it is time to reduce the amount that you are feeding and/or increase the amount of exercise. A good general recommendation is to increase or decrease the amount you feed by about 10% and monitor your Pet closely for the next 2-3 weeks for improvement. Finally, remember that your veterinarian is the best person who can give you expert advice about how to feed our Pet and if your Pet is in ideal body condition!

With a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, we instructed the family that Pumpkin would need to be on a strict diet and insulin injections twice a day. No more marshmallows. He did well for a time, but it was difficult to regulate his blood sugar. It was determined after further testing that Pumpkin also had a condition called Hyperadrenocorticism (when an overactive adrenal tissue produces excessive amounts of cortisone; Cushing’s-like Syndrome), which makes it difficult to regulate diabetes.

We treated Pumpkin for a few more months, but he did not respond to treatment as we had hoped and his condition declined. In January of 2006, the owners elected humane euthanasia. I discussed with the family what to expect as my PetNurses placed an IV catheter in order for me to administer the medication. As they visited with Pumpkin one last time, I asked if they had any questions before we proceeded, and they asked in a teary voice, “Would it be okay to give him some marshmallows now?” I still get tears in my eyes when I remember that story.

One resolution I have this year in our household is to be more environmentally conscious, and our Pets play a major part in “going green.” We are focusing on moving away from toys made with plastic. For instance, we bought feather toys for our cats, which are both natural and allow for our cats to expel some of their hunter energy.

For all our Pets, we switched from plastic bowls to metal. Not only are metal bowls more environmentally friendly, they last longer and take better to being cleaned and sterilized in the dishwasher. We also plan to use pine or other biodegradable litter instead of clay litter, and washable Pet beds to save from dry cleaning costs and chemicals. Storing nylon harnesses where dogs can’t get them is a way to increase their product life and we’ll buy products in bulk when possible to avoid wasteful packaging.

Holiday plants are a particularly relevant part of our New Year’s resolution. We will be avoiding having too many in the house. Not only are they wasteful because of their short shelf life, but they are also poisonous to Pets. And I do have some adventurous Pets who try to eat things they shouldn’t.

Other Green New Year’s Resolution Tips

Planet Green has some great additional tips on how to include your Pets in an environmentally conscious New Year’s resolution. Two main points that I drew from are:

1. If you are looking for a new Pet, consider going to a shelter. When it comes to Pets, “recycling a Pet” in lieu of going to a breeder can be one of the most environmentally friendly things you can do. Millions of Pets enter shelters every year so chances are you will find a great match, and you would be helping to alleviate the overpopulation problem in shelters and provide a homeless Pet a good home.
2. Look for natural, organic or sustainable Pet products. Not only are these good for the environment, but these products are generally better for your Pets as well. For instance, getting toys with natural fibers will prevent your Pet from ingesting plastics or other harmful substances, and feeding natural or organic treats will keep your Pet’s diet away from reconstituted animal by-products.

Good Pet care and adopting a more environmental lifestyle can go hand in hand, and they can become cornerstones to keeping our Pets healthy for a long time. Check with your local veterinary hospital if you have healthcare, behavior, nutrition or other questions about your Pets during this winter season.

• Candy can be deadly. Chocolate contains theobromine, a substance that can be toxic to Pets; chocolate candy that is higher in cacao content, such as dark, semi-sweet or baker’s chocolate can be lethal to Pets if ingested.
• Don’t feed your Pet leftovers. Fatty leftovers (such as meat drippings or meat bones) can cause internal injury, upset stomachs, diarrhea or vomiting. Because your Pets would not be used to the fatty leftovers and have smaller digestive systems, they would not be able to handle extreme changes in their diet. The phrase “your eyes are bigger than your stomach” applies quite well for your Pets as for humans during the holiday season.
• Bones are bad. Although bones from our holiday birds look good to Pets, they are they are dangerous and can cause intestinal upset and may even splinter once digested.
• Watch the packaging. Packaging can cause choking or intestinal blockage. Foil wrappers can become as dangerous as razors when swallowed.

Other things to consider while keeping your Pet healthy and safe this season are your holiday decorations and provisions for shelter, food and water when it’s cold outside. Instead of seeing decorations as things to admire, your Pets might see decorations as toys to play and gnaw on. And if you are keeping your Pets outside during the holiday festivities, make sure to check how warm their shelter is outside and if their water supply will freeze.

For more detailed information, please refer to our Holiday Pet Safety Tip Sheet . We wish you a happy, healthy holiday season.

It’s quite common for our Pets to be overweight or obese and because we provide so much for our Pets, bad news can be hard to digest. Hearing your Pet is overweight can be disappointing and at times overwhelming. While my friend could choose to blow off the news of Pele as just being fluffier, we want our Pets to be healthy and live happy and long lives. Common health issues associated with overweight Pets include arthritis, diabetes and heart disease just to name a few. Working with your Pet’s doctor to achieve and maintain a healthy weight reduces risk of these health issues. However, creating this change takes some serious dedication and lifestyle change on our part, too.

Many Pets do just fine when food is dispensed in appropriate and moderate amounts.. Some Pets will lose the necessary extra pounds just by increasing exercise. The better a Pet feels the more likely they are to be active and take care of the extra calorie burn.

If you’re in the same boat as so many of us, here are a few tips to help alter your Pet’s diet:

1. If you are changing food, whether just the brand or the main ingredient, you should try changing over the period of a week by gradually reducing the proportion of the current food and increasing the proportion of the new food. This prevents a digestive upset that can cause diarrhea.
2. When decreasing the amount of food you are feeding your Pet, measure exactly how much food your Pet gets currently, then start to gradually reduce that amount.
3. Pets that get food twice a day often times do better than those with just one meal a day, even when the total amount of food per day is the same.
4. When feeding your Pet three times a day, try morning, after work and just before bed. This timing should keep your Pet’s belly full throughout the day.
5. While a couple table scraps or neighborhood treats might seem harmless, these extra food sources also count as calories. Look to discontinue these extra calories, and if discontinuing is not possible, find some low calorie substitutes and count that in their daily feeding. Small bites of carrot or apple are good substitutes for dog biscuits and treats.
6. Active Pets burn more calories. Find some fun activities to keep your Pet active.
7. Your Pets doctor can recommend a high fiber diet that contains balanced nutrition and vitamins so your Pet feels fuller and remains healthy.
8. Plan for your Pet to lose weight slowly. Your Pet’s doctor can suggest a healthy weight loss amount over a specific period of time. This plan should make it easier for you to plan your Pet’s weight loss and stick to it.
9. Use buddy system to help your Pet lose weight. Find a family member or friend with Pets who is dealing with the same issue. The mutual support will keep you on task.
10. Keep in mind that your Pets most likely need and want to do more activities. And keeping your Pets active will also keep them out of trouble.

Being consistent with changes in your Pet’s lifestyle increases the odds that they will live a long and happy life.

Along these lines, I’m so excited that Dr. Denise Elliott, a board certified specialist and leader in the field of veterinary nutrition recently joined Banfield as our medical specialist in nutrition. The knowledge and expertise that Dr. Elliott brings our practice is invaluable, and I’m thrilled that she has agreed to be a regular contributor to our blog moving forward. So, be on the lookout for her entries in 2010!

The dog was overweight with a body condition score of 8/9. We use a nine-point scoring system to evaluate the body condition of Pets. In general, a score of five would be ideal. Blood work showed a mild elevation in her white blood count and neutrophils (white blood cells). The remaining blood work was otherwise within normal limits. A urinalysis revealed 2-3 RBC phpf (red blood cells per high powered field) and 1-2 WBC phpf (white blood cells per high powered field). Abdominal radiographs showed three large uroliths (stones) in her bladder. This was confirmed with a bladder ultrasound scan.

I discussed the findings with Moxie’s family and recommended that the best course of action was to remove the stones surgically. Our client agreed to this plan, and following the removal of three green lobulated (curved or round- shaped) stones, the Pet recovered uneventfully. Moxie was sent home with antibiotics and pain medication after being monitored in the hospital for 24 hours on IV fluids while being observed for normal urination.

Moxie’s family was instructed that she would need to be on a special urinary diet for the rest of her life to minimize the formation of bladder stones in the future. The bladder stones were sent off to the University of Minnesota Urolith Center at the University’s College of Veterinary Medicine for evaluation and came back as calcium oxalate monohydrate, a common urolith.

In addition to the special urinary diet, regular check-ups looking for bladder stones were recommended. When I last spoke to the family, they said that Moxie was acting like a puppy again with so much energy, that they have trouble keeping up with her.