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SPECIAL NUTRITION ISSUE!
TOP 10 Fruits &Veggies
Fighting FAT Tips on
Choosing the right
PROTEIN for your dog FEB./MAR. 2006
Display until Mar. 20, 2006
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VOLUME 8 ISSUE 1
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How to make
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features 18 Fight fat with diet and exercise
32 Today's premium foods combine convenience with quality
Slimming solutions for your dog or cat
for bathing a cat
Photo: Kenny Williams, If Your Horse Could Talk
the best protein for your dog?
It's easier than ever to serve up good health to your animal
22 Survival techniques Believe it or not, it can be a calm experience
44 How do you choose
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Top ten fruits and veggies for your best friend Add these power-packed foods to your companion's diet
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Breed-specific nutrition for canines
51 Good luck and
serendipity help Colonel find his way home again A happy ending to a nerve-wracking experience
ONTARIO REGIONAL SECTION
Photo: Patti A. Gardiner
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55 8 best essential oils for dogs
Aromatherapy for your canine companion
60 Taking the stress out of vet visits
How to make trips to the doc easier on your best friend
70 Dogs of Dreamtime 93 Enter our Kiera comes back
76 Preventing and
healing laminitis Why a holistic approach works best
Amazing Animals Photo Contest! Send us your best shots and you could win!
80 Animal-friendly composting
It's good for the whole family
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animal wellness
with diet and exercise by Shawn Messonnier, DVM besity is a severe and debilitating illness, and the most common nutritional disease in both animals and people. Estimates suggest that up to 45% of dogs and 13% of cats are obese, and even these figures may be too low according to many veterinarians, judging by the number of obese animals they see every day in practice. Current medical opinion states that an animal is obese if he weighs 15% or more over his ideal weight. While people often use their animal’s actual weight to gauge obesity, it is probably more accurate to use a body composition score instead. Body composition is measured by looking at the animal from the top and sides and feeling the areas over his ribs and spine.
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animal wellness
It more accurately reflects obesity than a certain magical number.
The problem with obesity Can you prevent obesity? Absolutely. As is the case with people, most obese animals are made that way. They aren’t born fat. So how does obesity happen? An overabundance of calories, paired with a lack of good aerobic exercise, is almost guaranteed to give you a fat animal! Many guardians give their animals frequent treats and snacks and feed them whenever they beg for food. People may believe they are being caring and loving by rewarding these begging behaviors, but they are actually killing their companions with kindness by setting
them up for all the medical problems that can occur with obesity. These include: orthopedic conditions (including arthritis) ruptured ligaments intervertebral disk disease difficulty breathing reduced capacity for exercise (and in severe cases any movement at all) heat intolerance increased risk of complications from drug therapy (it is more difficult to accurately dose medications in obese animals) cardiac problems hypertension cancer When you realize that excess body fat
occurs in the cavities of the chest and abdomen (in fact, it is often deposited there first) as well as under the skin (what we see as “fat”), it is not surprising that obesity can cause so many medical conditions. Treating obesity involves restricting calories and increasing the metabolic rate with a controlled exercise program. In other words, diet and exercise are the two most important factors when it comes to fighting fat.
Additional therapies Several natural therapies may be helpful for treating obesity in some animals. These include chromium, carnitine, herbs such as cayenne, ginger, and mustard, hydroxycitric acid (HCA), white bean extract, epigallocatechin
gallate (EGCG), and coenzyme Q10. They are widely used with variable success, although they have not been thoroughly investigated and proven at this time. A new supplement, VetriLean by VetriScience, appears promising. It contains the clinically tested starch blocker
Eating right Contrary to popular belief, store-bought “Lite” diets are not usually adequate, as they are not designed for weight loss but rather weight maintenance. Additionally, many contain chemicals, by-products, and fillers, and are not part of a holistic program. Homemade restricted-calorie diets are the first choice for obese animals (see my book, The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats, for an example of a homemade diet for overweight animals). The second choice would be processed “obesitymanagement” diets available through veterinarians, although many of these also contain chemicals, by-products, and fillers. These “obesity-management” diets can be used until the target weight is obtained, then replaced with a homemade maintenance diet if possible. Foods that are high in fiber increase metabolism and are therefore an important part of weight loss diets. The fiber contained in vegetables decreases fat and glucose absorption. Fluctuating glucose levels cause greater insulin release which over time leads to diabetes; since insulin is needed for fat storage, decreased or stable levels are preferred. Fiber also binds to fat in the intestinal tract and increases the movement of food through the intestines. animal wellness
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