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DO YOU HAVE A PUDGY POOCH OR A CHUBBY KITTY?
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October 14th is National Pet Obesity Awareness Day About 50% of U.S. pets are overweight or obese. If you break a sweat when picking your dog up or you notice your cat cleans the floors with his stomach—there is a problem! Joking aside, health risks of obesity are real. It contributes to many medical conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, heart and lung disease, high blood pressure, compromised immune function and can even predispose to certain types of cancer. There is proof that pets maintaining an ideal body weight live 15% longer, and with less disease, than overweight pets. It is a fact that pets will live shorter lives if obesity is not addressed.
While most pet owners realize that their pet may be “a little heavy”, they often don’t recognize when their dog is truly obese. When Dr. Daniels says “Fido” should lose 5 pounds, it often goes in one ear and right out the other. Really…who doesn’t have 5 pounds to lose? But this is us thinking in human weight terms. Did you know….
- 5 extra pounds on a (should-be) 12 pound Shih Tzu is like 58 extra pounds on a 140 pound woman.
- 5 extra pounds on a (should-be) 25 pound Beagle is like 28 extra pounds on a 140 pound woman.
- 5 extra pounds on a (should-be) 70 pound Lab Retriever is like 10 extra pounds on a 140 pound woman.
This kind of weight problem is responsible for many preventable illnesses in our pets.
What causes obesity? While some pets do indeed have a medical condition that predisposes them to obesity, most often it is a result of simple overfeeding. While pets are frequently overfed their food, treats are also a major source of hidden calories. Here's an example: A premium pig ear on average has about 230 calories. If you give this pig ear as a treat to a 40 pound dog (who should be eating around 620 calories each day), it is the same as a person (on a 2300 calorie diet) eating 2 double cheeseburgers as a treat in addition to their normal meals. This pig ear represents close to 40% of that dog’s daily calorie requirement.
Most commercial pet treats are filled with calories, sugar, and other potentially unhealthy ingredients that do nothing to satisfy hunger and just contribute to our pet’s ever expanding waistlines. Most pets, when it comes right down to it, would rather have your attention than a treat. Spending extra time playing or grooming your pet will probably give you both much more satisfaction than the treat, which is gobbled up in three seconds and then forgotten.
What can you do?
- The first step is to admit there is a problem. Get motivated on your pet’s behalf!
- Talk to Dr Daniels and create a weight loss plan together. Get your pet a full medical checkup. Find out what their ideal body weight is and how many calories they should eat each day.
- Choose the best food for weight loss in your pet.
- Exercise your pet for at least 20 minutes every day!
- Monitor your pet’s progress and stay on track.
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| 3 QUICK TIPS TO KEEP YOUR PETS SAFE THIS HALLOWEEN
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| TIP 1: Candy Out-of-Reach Keep your candy for trick-or-treaters in candy dishes that are not accessible to your climbing cats. The colorful foil can cut your pet's mouth and pose a choking hazard.
TIP 2: Don't Let Your Pet Eat Candy Found in candies, gum, baked goods, and toothpaste, the sweetener xylitol can cause an insulin surge, lowering blood sugar enough to cause weakness, vomiting, and loss of coordination in pets. It could even lead to liver failure. Any exposure can cause problems, but the more your pet consumes, the more severe the issues will be.
TIP 3: Make sure Halloween decorations are safe for your pet. Keep wires, cords, and lit jack-o-lanterns out of reach. It is not toxic if your pet eats decorative corn or pumpkins but they can cause a very upset tummy.
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OCTOBER 2015
PET OF THE MONTH
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| | Hi, my name is “Joey”, and I am Largo Veterinary Hospital’s October 2015 pet of the month. I am a 4 ½ year old Domestic Short Haired cat. My owners think I am special because I lovingly accepted a new sister, Maggie. Shhh…don’t tell Dr. Daniels that my favorite treat is Party Mix (all fish flavors). Something funny that happened to me was the time Maggie scared me when she went for my tail. Wow, did I jump! My owners love me so much that they let me sleep all snuggled up. I like to talk when I am told I am a “good boy”. I am so spoiled that I get to sleep on my momma. |
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We do not encourage pet owners to dress up pet son Halloween if their pet shows any signs of stress. Please do not take advantage of a normally "laid back" pet if she appears fearful of costume attire.
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| We are running a pet costume contest on FB this month. The contest runs 10/16-10/30/15 with the winner being announced on Halloween morning. The picture with the most "likes" will win a $50.00 credit to their account.
"Shelby" Pierce was our
winner last year!
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National Veterinary Technician Week is October 11-17th
Did you know veterinary technicians do much more than hold your pet still  while Dr. Daniels takes care of the important things. The truth is Dr. Daniels simply can’t live or practice medicine without our hardworking, well-trained, compassionate technicians. And neither can you and your pet. We are sharing surprising things our vet techs do that we are willing to bet most of you don’t know about.
Jobs Our Techs to Do: If we had to sum up the veterinary technician's job in a single word, we would have a hard time doing it! Challenging? Check. Rewarding? Check. Exciting? Yes, that, too. But really there isn’t a single word that can fully describe their work, because technicians do so much in veterinary medicine. And many of the things they do are handled by physicians or other doctors in human medicine. Surprised? Check it out.
Triage: Whenever there’s an emergency, one of the most critical tasks is to decide who needs attention most urgently and who can wait. If you’re a fan of medical shows, you know the word for that task is “triage.” And it happens in veterinary medicine, too. Who handles it? In many cases, veterinary technicians! They quickly take all the vitals, assess the animal’s condition and communicate their critical evaluation to Dr. Daniels.
Anesthesia: Every day pets go under anesthesia and every day, pet owners worry about that. Dr. Daniels knows anesthesia is “routine” in the sense of being “common,” but we never treat it like it’s not a serious thing — because it is. Veterinary technicians are a vital part of the team when pets are under anesthesia, with our specially trained technicians monitoring sedation it allows Dr Daniels to make adjustments quickly if necessary.
Dentistry: Veterinary technicians are also an essential part of the team when your pet is in for dental care. Those pearly whites you see in the end, and the doggy breath you don’t smell, don’t begin to reveal the work and skill that go into a dental cleaning. Working alongside Dr. Daniels, our technicians get your pet's teeth cleaned and polished, including under the gums, and ready for you to maintain at home.
Phlebotomy: Your doctor wants tests, so off you go. Sit in a chair, offer your arm. That person on the other side of the table? Not a vampire, but a phlebotomist (one of the best words in human medicine). In veterinary medicine, we still just have one word for this specialty, well actually two: veterinary technician. Yes, our vet techs do the blood draws, and on patients who are often far less cooperative than in human medicine. They also work as radiology techs, getting the radiographs that are often key to accurate diagnosis.
To be honest, we haven’t even begun to get through the full list of all the remarkable things our veterinary technicians do around here, with and for your animals. That's why for this year’s Veterinary Technician Week, we wanted to tell you about these incredible health professionals, because the great work they do needs to be recognized, as much as they need to be thanked. The next time you come into our office you can tell our techs you appreciate the great work they do just by saying “Thank you"!
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