animal Living pawsitive!
wellness For a long, healthy life!
Special 10thAnniversary Issue!
Top 10
Animal-friendly Cities
Women making waves
10 steps to good health –naturally
heart healthy
Understanding the canine mind
recipes and supplements
Top 10
Integrative vet advice
advances in Animal wellness
Answers to your top 10 questions
Cat’s Eyes
What they can tell you about your feline’s health October/november Display until Nov. 18, 2008
$5.95 USA/Canada
VOLUME 10 ISSUE 5
www.AnimalWellnessMagazine.com
animal wellness
contents Features 22
Ten tips For good health
Follow this comprehensive holistic approach and your furry friend will be with you for years to come
28
Stepping out
Don’t have an off-leash park? Here’s how to find a safe place where your canine can roam free
30
Have a heart!
35
Enter our Amazing Animals Photo Contest
These healthy recipes and supplements will help keep his ticker going strong
Send us your best shots and you could win!
54
42
Getting better all the time!
50
Through Rover’s eyes
54
Top 10 animal-friendly cities
60
Women making waves
A look at the ten most significant advances in animal wellness over the past decade
Training dogs isn’t always straightforward – your path to success means understanding how the canine mind works
Discover which urban centers are going out of their way to make life better for dogs and cats
Meet ten pioneers of the holistic animal care industry
76
Crate craft
You want your dog’s crate to be his safe haven, but accidents can happen if it’s not used properly
78
Blast from the past
82
Smart surgery
Celebrating ten years of Animal Wellness
Spaying and neutering do a lot more than reduce the number of homeless dogs and cats
92
animal wellness
86
For old bones
89
Fun facts about dogs and cats
90
In the blood
94
Cat’s eye
How to help your creaky canine get around more easily
A kennel-full of canine and feline trivia
Feline anemia is a symptom, not a disease
Your kitty’s peepers are a window on her well being
Oct/Nov 2008
Click on this icon to visit featured links
columns 16
Yakkity yak
36
Dr. Martin goldstein
69
Communication
74
warm & fuzzy
92
passages
97
book reviews
106
tail end
Photo courtesy: Michelle Bernard
94
Departments 8
Editorial
12 45
mail bag
41
product picks
65 45
wellness resource guide
80
the scoop
99 76
ad spots
104
events calendar
105
classifieds animal wellness
Have a heart!
Think cardiovascular disease is something only humans get? Your dog or cat can develop similar issues. These heart-healthy recipes and supplements will help keep his ticker going strong. by Audi Donamor
K
nowlish the whippet is ten years old. I have never been a gambler, but based on his condition I would have wagered that he’d never have a chance to enjoy his golden years. At 12 weeks of age, he was diagnosed with a heart murmur, which at a year old was confirmed as moderately severe stenosis. Today, Knowlish is described as having valvular pulmonic stenosis with valvular pulmonic insufficiency. Simply put, it means he has a congenital narrowing in the region of the pulmonary valve, which is located between the right ventricular chamber of the heart and the pulmonary artery. As a result, normal blood flow is partially obstructed, forcing the heart to work harder to pump blood to the lungs. Eventually, it could lead to congestive heart failure. Specialists thought Knowlish would live to be five or seven years old, but he obviously had other ideas, and so did his guardians. He has been on a home prepared diet since he was a puppy. Acadian sea kelp, vitamin E, wild salmon oil, hawthorn, and CoQ10 all work together to support his heart problem. Thanks to this regimen, along with wonderful veterinary care including complementary therapies, you would never guess Knowlish is a walking time bomb – although “walking” is really not the correct word. He is a whirling dervish of pure kinetic energy who lives with joy and abandon!
Heart disease in animals Valvular degeneration is the most common form of “noninherited” or acquired heart disease in dogs. It occurs
30
animal wellness
when the heart valves are unable to close completely when they should, causing an audible heart murmur (if you are listening with a stethoscope). Cardiac output is also reduced. This condition can be a precursor to poor circulation in the extremities, the formation of blood clots in veins and arteries, and ultimately congestive heart failure. The most common form of acquired heart disease in cats is hypertophic cardiomyopathy, an enlargement of the left ventricular wall and septum that reduces the heart’s ability to pump blood.
Making changes In humans, heart or cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in North America and Europe. As a result, more and more Drawing of Knowlish food manufacturers are sitting done by the author. up and taking notice of heart healthy ingredients. Plant sterols and omega-3 fatty acids are increasingly common, while trans-fatty acids and saturated fats are being reduced or even cut from a lot of foods. It’s up to you to ensure the needs of your companion animal are also met. Heart disease often calls for conventional veterinary treatment augmented by complementary therapies, including a home prepared diet and the use of tonic herbs. This article provides you with some recipes and a list of supplements that can help your animal stay healthy if he has been diagnosed with a heart problem.
Jazzy jambalaya
Jazzy jambalaya Ingredients 2 pounds ground meat (e.g., bison/buffalo) 1/4
to 1/2 cup liver, minced
1 cup Thai jasmine rice, organic brown rice flakes, or finely grated sweet potato 3 cups stock of your choice 2 cups vegetable and fruit purĂŠe, (e.g., green beans, celery, zucchini, carrots, blueberries, cranberries)
1 cup tomato purĂŠe 1 large fresh Shiitake mushroom or 1 heaping teaspoon of Shiitake powder 1 clove garlic, finely minced 1/4
cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Antarctic sea salt with kelp 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
Instructions Choose locally grown organic products whenever possible. Bring stock to a boil in a large pot. Add rice, gently stirring to avoid sticking, and then turn heat down to simmer, cover the pot, and leave for five minutes. Add remaining ingredients, combine thoroughly, bring heat back up to a gentle boil, then cover the pot and turn the heat back down to simmer for 40 minutes. Cool, then transfer to containers for storage in the refrigerator or freezer. Your dog will love a fresh sprinkling of parsley before serving, while your cat will love a little catnip.
animal wellness
31