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features alert! 22 Smog How to keep him
breathing easy when the air is bad
Remodeling for Rover 41 Healthy, comfy home design for your furry friend
not, want not 48 Fashions for Fido 28 Waste Earth-friendly ways to Apparel and accessories deal with pet poop
dog people 32 Why are “greener�
A canine companion can reduce your carbon footprint
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for trendy canines
your city animal 54 Isa shy violet?
Flower essences can help
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10 dogs outdoor cats 78 Top 56 Can for apartments adjust to an indoor life?
Some canines are better suited to high-rise living than others
How to help ensure a smooth and stressfree transition
made 65 Ain match heaven
lost-and-found 84 Online service helps missing
animals get home safely
This innovative program helps you adopt the right animal for you
you let 67 Should sleeping dogs (and cats) lie?
A look at sleep behavior in animals
Metro Pet Tracker paves the way to happy reunions
of ages 90 Rock How stones and
ONTARIO REGIONAL SECTION
crystals help heal
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Smog alert!
How to keep him breathing easy when the air is bad
by Shawn Messonnier, DVM
Depending on where you live and the time of year, smog advisories and air quality reports have become as commonplace as weather forecasts. Although being a good steward of our planet involves minimizing pollution, the demands of civilization and industrialization have led to a definite decline in air quality in our cities. We not only need to do our part to minimize unnecessary air pollution, but also protect ourselves – and our animal companions – from its effects. There is no question that poor air quality has caused an increase in disease, especially respiratory disease, in both people and animals. We obviously can’t avoid breathing, but short of moving to a cleaner, more rural area, what can we do? Luckily, there are steps you can take to keep your dog and cat (and yourself) as healthy as possible.
Clearing the air Here are a few practical ways to help your
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animal deal with all the harmful air he must breathe each day, both indoors and out.
•Maintain your heating and air conditioning units. •Indoor air can sometimes be worse than outdoor air. On days of low outdoor pollution, open the windows and “air out” the house. This will also decrease indoor humidity, which can contribute to the growth of bacteria and mold. •Use ceiling fans to help improve indoor air flow.
•Minimize outdoor time during the hottest part of the day, especially on days with air quality alerts. Go for walks early in the morning or later in the evening. •Avoid vigorous exercise and long walks on bad air days. •Install high quality air filters in the home and change them regularly. Consider HEPA filters.
•Don’t smoke (enough said)! •Minimize your animal’s exposure to
Detoxing protocol In addition to doing your best to shield your dog or cat from air pollution and other environmental poisons, you should also work with a holistic vet to create a detoxification program. Every holistic veterinarian has his or her favorite protocol, but all are designed to gently eliminate toxins from the blood, lymph, gastrointestinal and urinary systems. Here are several approaches your doctor might use. The liver is one of the main organs of detoxification. It makes these poisons more water soluble so they are easily eliminated from the body. The herb milk thistle is among the best supplements for assisting the liver. It has a long history of liver support, and can actually help liver cells repair themselves. The enzyme glutathione is often depleted when toxins overwhelm the liver. Giving the animal glutathione or precursors such as SAMe help the liver do its job.
aerosolized hair sprays, perfumes, and air fresheners.
Build up overall health It’s also vital to keep your animal in good health, so his immune system is able to help ward off illness. Ensuring he’s as strong and healthy as possible not only helps protect him from airborne pollutants, but also the many other environmental toxins he may come into contact with each day. The unhealthy and potentially harmful byproducts and chemical preservatives found in many pet foods increase cell damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Choosing a high quality natural diet that relies on healthy animal-based proteins (meat or fish), wholesome grains (like
The body’s own antioxidant system can easily become overwhelmed when it encounters toxins. Supplying additional antioxidants minimizes cell damage. Any number of antioxidants help decrease oxidative damage to the body; vitamins A, C, E, and the minerals selenium, manganese, and zinc are commonly recommended. Others, including superoxide dismutase, glutathione, cysteine, coenzyme Q10, ginkgo biloba, bilberry, grape seed extract, and pycnogenol may also be helpful for a number of disorders. Fish oil, rich in the active Omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, also provides support against toxins. While not really detoxifying the body per se, Omega 3 fatty acids are slowly incorporated into cell membranes. They produce less inflammation than Omega 6 fatty acids, which tend to encourage inflammation. By replacing Omega 6 in the cell membranes with Omega 3, cells produce less inflammation when damaged, and that means less harm to surrounding tissues. In other words, dogs and cats taking fish oil and encountering cell-damaging environmental pollutants would produce fewer toxins when cells are injured or die as a result of the toxins. Unlike the supplements mentioned so far, which can work quickly, fatty acids can take months to achieve their desired effect. Finally, homeopathics are a very gentle and extremely helpful way to detoxify the body. My favorite product is a kit of three homeopathic remedies made by the Heel corporation. These remedies detoxify the blood and lymph systems, the gastrointestinal tract, and the urinary tract. The three remedies are easily administered in the animal’s drinking water, and are usually given over four to eight weeks. Stronger remedies can also be used depending upon the animal’s condition and toxic load. animal wellness 23