Did you know that your pets diet can influence behaviour? Have you ever eatan a big meal, and then felt lazy? Then you have idea of how what we eat can affect our behaviour. The same applies to dogs. In face, scientists now believe its possible to change the neurological and physical aspects of a dogs brains, then directly affecting his behaviour and intelligence, through nutrition. Linolenic (Omega 3)and linoleic (Omega 6) fatty acids play an important part in a dog’s diet.
Commercial pet foods don’t contain some things we wish they did: adequate quantities and qualities of proteins, fats,vitamins and minerals, or fresh food. Secondly, they contain things we wish they didn’t , slaughterhouse wastes, toxic products from spoiled foodstuffs, pesticides, bacteria, artificial colors, as well as others. All processed foods are missing something.
It is impossible to list all the various dog foods available for mature dogs, but you can start with the following:
Eukunuba Senior
Hills Science Diet Mature Adult Dog Food
Nutro Natural Choice Senior
Purina Dog Chow Senior 7 Plus
Pro Plan Prime for 7 year and older. I swear by this food. It is designed to slow the mental deterioration of the senior’s mind. I give Chico this food, along with the food that is prepared by me, which includes lots of fruits and vegetable. I have found that none of these foods have enough of these items
Grains contribute to a healthy and balanced diet that is beneficial to their overhall health. Understnding the broad dietary needs of your dog will help you make an informed decision about what dog food you select.
Corn contributes to a balanced diet. A balanced diet will keep your og healthy and improve his life. Corn proides protein, enery, and linoleic acid, which is essential fatty acid for dogs. Ounce for ounce, corn has twice the level of aantidoxidants as an apple.
Raw Diet is Bad. I know many breeders who suggest that raw is better. A raw food diet is unhealthy for dogs, especially senior dogs. This diet may expose them to the threat of foodborne pathogens. Most importantly raw diets may not provide dogs with the complete and balance nutrition they need.
Omega 6 fatty acids are foubd in plant sources whereas Omega 3-fatty acids are typically found in marine sources. These fatty acids are important components of a dog’s diet and have avariety of biological functions , including promoting healthy skin,coat and immune system, and helps to regulate inflammation.
The best coaching advice can give would be to spend a little time reading the labels before purchasing food. Find out what the best food is for your best little guy.
Schedule regular visits with your veternarian. Your dog needs to be examined twice yearly, even if he appears healthy. Many diseases are hidden and not apparent.
Remember , it is much cheaper to prevent disease than it is to treat it.
Ask for body evaluation during each vet visit. Body condition is crucial to determine whether your senior is over or underweight. Ask your vet howyou can evaluate at home, in between visits. This can be helpful in determining what kind of food should be given.
Feed your dog a high quality diet. Also, learn to read the dog food label and choose a diet that is appropiate for your dog’s age and lifestyle.
Use food to keep your dog at his ideal weight. Overweight dogs have a higher incidence of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, skin disease, even cancer.
A diet with a carefully chosen carbphdrate blend can also help keep your overweight dog feel satiated.
Consider fortifying your senior dog’s diet with fatty acids suh as DHA and EPA. They have been shown to be useful for dog’s with mobility issues due to arthritis or other joint diseases. Supplements such as glucosamine and chondrotin are also beneficial for senior dogs.
Take care of your dog’s mouth. Brushing your dog’s teeth may seem like a silly idea but it can help keep your dogs mouth healthy. If you cannot brush, consider dental treats and toys that keep the teeth clean.
Excercise cankeep your olderdog lean and maintain healthy joints and muscles. Tailor your dogs excercise to his needs. Stop when he tells you.
Provide your dog with toys to keep your senior’s mind engaged. Food puzzles, for example, are notonly useful for entertainment but for weight loss purposes as well.
Biologist have told us that canids-dogs, wild dogs, wolves , etc, All, eat grass, as a normal part of its diet. So its important to recognize that
attempting to prevent your little guy from eating grass is not necessary, unless your lawn has been treated with insecticides, or some kind of chemical.
if it has not been treated, let him eat away!
It is widely believed that your dog is seeking out grasses which contains some nutritional value. We know that grass contains an abundant source
source of fiber or rougage, It is high in fiber. Grass is a living green food which contains phytonutrients and is high in potassium and chlorophyll.
Grasses are also a pretty good source of digestive enzymes. Sometimes they eat grass becuase they are bored.
The most noticeable item with grass eating is the vomiting, associated with it. It is completly normal for this to occur.
You might want to look at switching your dogs food, flavors and switching protein sources.
In addition, you might want to look at a holistic vet, who can assit in chaging your dogs diet. You should make this change gradually.
The other items that you should consider adding to your dogs food are probiotics and digestive enzymes.
Another reason we must look at , is this. Chico, and your dog as well. might just like the taste! can you imagine?
Often, I have had to pick blades of grass from Chico’s nose to stop the incessant sneezing. During the summer, he goes right to it. During the winter, he goes through the snow to get to it. I make no attempt to stop him from thsi behaviour. Once every two weeks or so, he throws up and away we go!!
As I always note , We are having sixth month wellness exams for our sentiors, so we are ahead of any problems!!!
LONG LIVE SENIOR DOGS!!!
If this is occuring more frequently, you might want to look into a wholisitc vet who cn help in swiching to a more balanced diet for your little guy.
I can’t tell you the number of times, I have had to pry blades of grass out of Chico;s throat ajd nose. i am quite the expert with this now. i can’t stand to see him uncomfortable, so i will do what is necessary to get hin there, just as i know most pet owners will do.
Myths and realities about obedience training for older dogs
How do you get your older dog to follow you? Obedience training for older dogs is difficult, as senior dogs don’t have the same memory retention as younger pets. There are several myths regarding training older dogs, and it’s time to deconstruct some of them.
Myths and realities about obedience training for older dogs
MYTH: A puppy has to be at least six months old to be trained.
REALITY: This myth originated from “old school” training where heavy collar corrections were used and therefore it was preferred that a dog be at least old enough to withstand wearing the collar and dealing with the pressure of collar corrections and punishment during training sessions. With today’s modern methods of training based on positive reinforcement and cooperation with your dog, there is no reason you can’t start working with your puppy as soon as you can! A puppy starts learning the moment they are able to observe and relate to their environment. Unlike an adult dog, a puppy may have a shorter attention span and this will require more patience when teaching behaviors, but there is no reason your puppy can’t start learning right away, and the sooner you start, the quicker your puppy will learn. It’s important to socialize your puppy as soon as possible as well to expose him to new people and things so he’ll grow up to be a behaviorally healthy and confident adult dog. (Read more here)
Another myth is that positive reinforcement won’t work for older or stubborn or larger dogs. Well, guess what? Positive reinforcement is in fact used to tame larger predators like tigers and killer whales, so there’s no reason why it won’t work on unconventional dogs at all. In fact, aversive training methods will only make your older dog more aggressive or fearful.
There’s a myth going around that old dogs can’t learn new tricks, but the reality is that dogs can be trained at whatever age they are in. Although older dogs might take a while to get trained, doing so is easier in a way since they are calmer and have better focus.
If your dog is urinating in the house, it doesn’t mean that your buddy’s angry with you. In fact, it can be caused by a variety of factors. One of them is that they may not be fully house trained yet. Another reason might be old age; it might be time to put your dog on diapers.
Also a misconception is that dogs don’t like playing. It’s not true, since your older dogs are very much playful! You can play tug of war with them, or use food in order for them to learn quickly. On that note, food is just as effective when training older dogs as training puppies.
These are only some of the misconceptions about older dogs. There’s obviously a lot of wrong things being said about these senior pet, and it’s about time to clear out this confusion.
Older Dogs Diabetes: Risks, Complications, Treatment and Monitoring (Part II)
One of the most common endocrine-related diseases which affects middle-aged to senior dogs is diabetes. It occurs rarely with younger dogs who are less than a year older, and is more common with females and neutered males rather than intact males.
Known Risks
Some dogs with a specific breed are speculated by researchers to have a higher risk in getting diabetes due to genetic reasons. Siberian Huskies, Bichon Frise, Fox Terriers, Spitz, Schnauzers, Australian Terriers, Samoyeds, Poodles, Miniature Pinschers, Cairn Terriers, Pulis and Keeshonds are among the different breed connections that have high risks in developing diabetes.
A 50 percent estimate of cases on older dogs diabetes are likely linked to autoimmune disorders resulting to pancreatic damage. Autoimmune disorders have varying causes which includes environmental factors, genetic predisposition, and even an overstimulation of the immune system caused by multiple vaccinations and processed foods.
In 30 percent of cases, chronic pancreatitis or an inflammation of the pancreas may contribute to diabetes. Aside from diabetes, the presence of pancreatic diseases can cause other illnesses such as exocrine pancreatic insufficiency which results in digestive enzymes deficiency. When a dog develops both diabetes and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, symptoms on diabetes typically appears before the EPI symptoms.
While genetic predispositions of diabetes are known and established when it comes to dogs, 20% of dogs are estimated to develop insulin resistance from other known reasons. Cushing’s disease, acromegaly and even a long-term use on steroid drugs such as prednisone are among the reasons for acquiring diabetes.
In female canines, the heat cycle may be one of the reasons for insulin resistance or it may occur within pregnancy. In cases like this, the symptoms may disappear after the heat cycle or the pregnancy is at an end. Symptoms may also disappear once the Cushing’s disease is treated, and the steroid-use is stopped.
Complications
While there are treatments which helps keep diabetes at bay, pet owners have encountered several complications which makes it difficult to control. Concurrent disorders such as Cushing’s disease, hypothyroidism, infections, liver insufficiency, renal insufficiency, chronic inflammation, cardiac insufficiency, hyperlipidemia, severe obesity, EPI and cancer are among those which makes it challenging to control diabetes. Over 40 percent of human patients develop diabetic nephropathy on a period of many years. This risk often associated with canine patients is unknown but is rather more common with cats.
Canine Treatment and Monitoring
When it comes to the medication of canine diabetes, the best adviser is always your veterinarian. There are various insulin products were individual response differs. It is only fair to say that the right insulin for your pet dog might require certain experimentation on the different products available. (read more here)
Upon the first diagnosis of diabetes, frequent monitoring must be done for two weeks or probably until the patient is stable and doing well. Once the patient is stable, it is advised to monitor vet exams such as blood tests, urinalysis and urine culture should be monitored for a period of three to six months.
Diagnosing dog hearing loss: simple but effective techniques
Common among older dogs who are advancing in age is hearing loss. It’s not always easy to tell if your dog is suffering from dog hearing loss, but the folks at Petside Advisory Board have some simple tips that might help you figure out.
Experts agree that making a loud noise is the easiest way to tell if a dog has hearing loss. The range of noises you can make varies—from whistling and clapping your hands to even banging a pot together or a nonbreakable bowl. These are sounds that are bound to elicit some kind of reaction from a dog, and if yours doesn’t respond, it might be time to take your old buddy to the vet.
Another smart yet simple technique is to crinkle the bag that has your buddy’s favorite food. Your dog probably has default reaction whenever greeted with his or her favorite treat. If you crinkle the bag of treats and don’t get any reaction, then it might be a red signal for hearing loss.
Of course, you can never know for sure if your dog has hearing loss until you visit the vet. For that matter, Nancy Taylor, the CEO of Bideawee has an insightful remark on how to determine hearing loss for your beloved pet.
Diagnosing dog hearing loss: simple but effective techniques
“Deafness can be congenital or acquired. Dogs with white pigmentation, such as the Dalmatian are predisposed to congenital deafness. Breeders will sometimes have puppies tested, using a hearing test called BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response). Because we can’t ask the pet if they can hear certain frequencies, this test is the only definitive way to detect hearing loss in animals as it measures electrical activity across the pathways in the brain and inner ear that conduct sound. Typically this test is performed by a veterinary neurologist, usually at a teaching hospital.
Short of BAER, you can reason that an animal is hearing impaired by certain behaviors or lack thereof. Typically, animals respond to noise stimuli, like the sound of your voice, the squeak of a toy, the car door slamming or the front door opening and the sound of the food bag. If you notice that these sounds don’t elicit a response from your pet, especially when he/she is not looking at you, it may indicate that there is hearing loss. You can investigate further by trying some in-home investigation. While your pet is not looking at you, you can whistle, ring the doorbell, clap your hands or use a squeaky toy and assess the response. Your veterinarian can also assist you.” (Read More Here)
If you’ve determined for sure that your dog has hearing loss, you don’t have to despair over it. This is a normal part of the aging process. Your dog needs you more now than ever—and the first way for you to show your support is by being strong for you both.
Did you know that your pets diet can influence behaviour? Have you ever eatan a big meal, and then felt lazy? Then you have idea of how what we eat can affect our behaviour. The same applies to dogs. In face, scientists now believe its possible to change the neurological and physical aspects of a dogs brains, then directly affecting his behaviour and intelligence, through nutrition. Linolenic (Omega 3)and linoleic (Omega 6) fatty acids play an important part in a dog’s diet.
