We know that many pet owners are desperate for accurate, trustworthy information about how to feed their pets, whether they’re healthy or if they have a medical condition. However, even knowing who to talk to about your pet’s nutrition can be confusing! Learn more about Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists and an easier way to find one.
A new FDA update provides more information on diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). While the specific cause is not yet known, the problem hasn’t gone away
Anyone who has lived with a cat or dog with medical issues knows that maintaining a good appetite can be challenging and that weight and muscle loss can occur as a result. Reduced food intake is not only distressing to owners but also has negative effects for the pet. When healthy pets lose weight, they mostly lose fat. However, elderly pets or pets with medical issues that lose weight mostly lose muscle. Muscle loss is bad for pets (as it is for people) because it can reduce strength, immune function, and wound healing, and can even shorten a pet’s lifespan. Many things affect pets’ appetite and food intake, such as sense of smell and taste, food properties (nutrient levels, aroma, flavor, texture), medical issues, dental disease, pain, competition between animals, and medications. Many chronic diseases, such as heart or kidney disease, can affect appetite. But even healthy older animals can have reduced appetite. Older people’s less sensitive taste and smell perception can reduce appetite; while we suspect this also occurs in dogs and cats as they age, this has not been well studied. One approach to helping animals’ appetite is to adjust the temperature of the food. An interesting study was published recently in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior.1 Researchers studied older cats’ preferences for wet foods at different temperatures. Thirty-two healthy older cats took part in the study. All cats were over 8 years of age (up to 14 years, with an average age of 11 years). This was a carefully-designed study using a single “chunks in gravy” style commercial canned food. The temperatures tested were 43°F (the temperature of food coming out of the refrigerator), 70°F (room temperature), and 99°F (warmed). Cats were tested in a two-bowl test where they could select the food they preferred in two…
Preservatives are essential ingredients in some forms of pet foods but they are surrounded by a great deal of misinformation.
Growing puppies have very specific nutritional requirements that are different from those of adult dogs. Feeding puppies correctly reduces their risk for obesity and orthopedic diseases, and increases their chances for a healthy life. Puppies are very sensitive to nutritional imbalances which can include too much or too little of a nutrient or even improper balance between different nutrients. Nutritional imbalances that might have minimal negative effects – especially in the short term – in an adult dog can have disastrous results in a growing puppy, such as malformed or fractured bones, anemia, poor growth, skin problems, or even heart disease. One of the reasons puppies have such specialized nutritional requirements is that they have to be able to grow from tiny puppies at birth to full-sized adults within approximately one year and stay healthy. Nowhere are the unique requirements more evident than in large or giant breed puppies. For example, a Great Dane puppy that weighs 1 or 2 pounds at birth grows well over 100 pounds within one year (and even more by the time they’re full-grown at 18 months)! But even small breed puppies need careful nutrition while growing to optimize their health. Too many calories from puppy food, treats, and other foods during growth can cause puppies to become overweight. However, even before those extra calories cause a puppy to become overweight, they cause puppies to grow too quickly which – especially in large breed puppies – can increase their risk for bone and joint problems that can affect them for their entire lives. Keeping your puppy at a perfect body condition score of 4 to 5 (on a 9-point scale) is critical (and it’s better to err on the side of your puppy having a body condition score of 4 or even a little lower,…
COVID-19 has caused turmoil in people’s lives this past year, but it has also had an impact on our pets’ lives, most recently because of some pet foods being temporarily out of stock. Here are some thoughts on ways to prevent running out and what to do if you do end up in that situation.
Is there a “best” schedule for feeding pets? This is a common question, so we’ve provided some general guidelines to help you find the best fit for your household.
I often hear from pet owners, breeders, and even veterinarians about how they’ve selected a particular pet food based on the food’s guaranteed analysis. The “guaranteed analysis” is required information on all dog and cat food labels and sounds very official and scientific. While the guaranteed analysis does provide a tiny bit of information, in reality, it’s not very useful.