Things the Dog Ate...aka Unusual Ingestion Incidents

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We all know we should supervise our dogs when they chew on sanctioned items like raw meaty bones, but some dogs do the sanctioning themselves, and seem ALWAYS to need supervision. My brother's dog, Otis, comes to mind. He ate the deck when he was a puppy. But then, he was a lab, and labs eat things. All kinds of things. From Pet Age magazine, here is the most recent list of "unusual ingestion incidents," or things removed from dogs' stomachs in 2010...

• 16 steel wool pads (like Lays chips? No dog can eat just one?)
• jumper cables
• eyeglasses
• tent door (this doesn't surprise me)
• hearing aid
• box of pencils
• watch
• barbecue brush
• frisbee
• pin cushion (pins and all, I assume)
• TV remote control (we've all had our close calls with this one)
• fire log
• an extension cord

Visit Lucky Dog Delivers to find chewy's that are way tastier than jumper cables or barbecue brushes and that won't end with a trip to the vet.

How to Read a Dog Food Label

Excellent article from Dr. Becker, DVM about things you NEVER want to see on a dog food label.

Dr. Becker is the resident proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian of HealthyPets.Mercola.com.

I love her newsletter for pets and Dr. Mercola's newsletter for people. If you are interested in your health and the health of your pets, both are worth subscribing to. Bonus--you get cute animal videos every day.

Hike of the Week...Turkey Pen Gap

Oh, how I love my mac, but iphoto can kiss my, you know. Twice now I've lost great pics, and I know it's my fault, but I prefer to condemn iphoto right now.

Great hike this weekend at Turkey Pen Gap...sorry, no photos (see rant above). We hiked a 6 mile loop, most of which was along South Mills River, so lots of water for the dogs, not to mention soul-nurturing scenery. A fair amount of ice, still, and the road was atrocious...extra deep mud and lots of sliding around, so take 4WD if you've got it. Here are some highlights:

• winter views from the ridge that you normally wouldn't see during the summer
• shaky cable foot bridges (2) over the river, fun for us, freaky for the dogs
• beautiful bronze and red galax, luminous when the sun hits it just so
• relative quiet for a sunny day in January...mostly we had the trail to ourselves
• gorgeous, gorgeous Mills River, with lots of places to sit by its banks and enjoy a picnic

Take I-26 East to Airport Road. Turn right at the end of the ramp. Follow 280 towards Brevard. Go about 7 miles to right on Turkey Pen Road. Drive to the end of that road to get to the trailhead.

In the parking lot, find the Turkey Pen trail. Follow it up (strenuously up, I'm here to tell you). And down, and up and down. Turn right on the Wagon Road Gap trail, which will drop you down to the river. Turn right onto South Mills River trail, and it will take you straight to the river where you will cross on one of those fun for the whole family swinging bridges. Now you will follow the river all the way back to the parking lot, and you can stop anywhere along here for your picnic. I can't wait for the summer to come back and camp along the river. It really feels like Eden in some spots. Here is a link to more information.

I wish I had pictures, but such is life. You get one of Quetzal, instead, enjoying herself at Christmas.

Trail Running at It's Best

Yesterday was perfect for a run in the snow, and there is no better place than Bent Creek. It's probably mushy today, but yesterday the snow was soft and fluffy, but not so fluffy it got in my shoes. And the road was clear almost all the way in. The dogs and I drove past Hard Times trail head, veered right onto the dirt road and parked at the first parking area on the right. We headed up the logging road and ran along the Ingles Field loop and back down...a lollipop route that took about an hour (and I run like molasses pours in the wintertime...S.L.O.W.) Keep it in mind next time we have a nice snow. Here's a link to a map of Bent Creek.

How to Help Your Kitty Lose the Pudge

I got a call recently from someone looking for help slimming down his ironically named feline--Minnie Cat. Since 40% of cats are overweight, I knew there would be other folks out there whose pudgy cats could benefit from some of these tips.

Why Does it Matter if My Cat is Fat?

It matters because feline diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate, and being overweight is a precursor for diabetes (as is a diet high in carbohydrates). Being overweight is also indicated in arthritis, liver disease, and skin problems, to name just a few. Maintaining a healthy weight will allow your pet to live a longer, healthier life.

IMPORTANT: Before starting a weight loss program, have your vet run blood and urine tests and check thyroid levels to be sure cat does not have a physical or metabolic dysfunction. Also, get an accurate weight and a goal to aim for from the vet.

First, Some General Tips:

• Feed high protein, low carb, grain free food...as close to a natural diet as possible for a wild animal. Best...35-45% protein, 40% fat.
• If you can manage, feed only canned food...cats need the moisture to prevent UTI (read more about that HERE).
• Feed about 1 ounce of food per pound of body weight per day for an adult cat (1 ounce is about the size of a mouse!)
• Feed 3-4 small meals per day
• Do NOT free feed, or leave food down all the time.
• If you feed your cat dry food, I recommend Wellness CORE (50% protein, 18% fat, grain free) or Taste of the Wild (42% protein, 18% fat, grain free) (soaked in water)
• There are some excellent grain-free canned foods such as BFF, TIki Cat, Taste of the Wild, Wellness CORE, and Nature’s Variety Instinct.
• Consider adding EFAs to increase fat in diet (especially if feeding dry only)
• Consider supplementing with L-Carnitine (250-500 mg/day) to aid in mobilizing fat into glucose while cat is losing weight.

Next up, Exercise.

There’s no getting around it, to lose weight you (and your cat) have to move more and eat less. Here are some ideas for kitty exercise.

• Play with your cat...tie a toy to a string and let the cat chase it around while you watch TV. Gather up a variety of little plastic things and toss them around the living room...especially effective and hilarious if you have wood floors. My cat, Quetzal, likes those little doodad ring pulls from the milk carton and those crinkly plastic wrappers around the tops of salad dressing bottles, not to mention wine corks and wadded up aluminum foil balls.
• Throw kibble to cat and let them run for their dinner. I do this with Quetzal and it keeps her off the counters while I prepare everyone else’s meals.
• Find an interactive toy your cat likes.
• Clicker train your cat with a target stick. Yes, you can train a cat and it is something you can amaze your friends with when you have company. See Karen Pryor’s website Clicker Training.com for details, or read her excellent book...Reaching the Animal Mind.

How to get started:

• See the vet first.
• Go slowly....a cat should not lose more that a 1/2 pound a month.
• Over 3-4 weeks, transition cat to new food, adding the new food in slowly to the old and gradually increasing the percentage of the new food so the cat can acclimate to the new food. Pay attention to how much the cat is eating, and while you are transitioning to the new food, feed the amount recommended by the food manufacturer.
• Reweigh the cat after 4 weeks. If he has not lost weight, or even gained a little, then begin to reduce to portion size (remember....1 ounce per pound of body weight divided over 3-4 meals per day.)
• Continue with reduced portion size and weighing the cat every 3-4 weeks until he reaches his ideal weight.
• Once he reaches his ideal weight, adjust the amount of food so that he maintains this weight.

It is important to do this gradually because cats can develop a nasty liver disease if they lose too fast. If cat stops eating more than 2 days, call the vet.

Expect a more lively and alert cat once he reaches his optimum weight.

What if he cries all the time because he is hungry?

Don’t reward him for crying by giving him snacks.

A higher protein meal should satisfy his hunger more than any corn-filled grocery store food ever could.

Avoid treats that are full of carbohydrates.

Treat kitty (when he is being quiet) with freeze dried liver or fish (Grandma Lucy’s or Real Food Toppers) or chicken strips (Catswell). Cut into tiny pieces and make him run for his treats.

Two Toys are Better than One...and here's why.

Here's a fun game I learned from Susan at A Good Dog's Life. It's called the "Two Toy Game." Well, that's what I call it. I've found it to be really useful for getting Rico engaged and focused on what we are doing together. Even Lucy likes this game, and Lucy is fundamentally opposed to fun in all its forms.

When Rico is having fun with me, it makes him want to keep having fun when we get down to learning the agility tricks. Not only that, if you are consistently the fun machine, then your pup will learn to look to you for the magic, rather that to seek it from outside sources, like squirrels. And McDonald's wrappers lying on the ground. And clumps of freshly mown grass.

The game is simple.

Take two identical toys. Identical. Buy them both at the same time so your dog doesn't get all googly-eyed about one because it smells better than the other. Whip out one toy and start to tease and play with your pup. When he or she is engaged, tugging, trying to take it away, release that toy (the dog wins the prize), then whip out the second identical toy. Guaranteed your dog will drop the first toy and lunge for the second. Play play play, then let the dog win the toy, and quick, whip out the first toy. Keep going like that, and be sure to stop while pooch is still having fun and wanting more.

Enjoy yourself and your dog. This can be a great, mentally stimulating game to play indoors during these cold days. Lucy likes the organic, non-toxic reindeer in the picture. You can find them at my website, www.luckydogdelivers.com.

Original Dog Walking and Training Service Sure to Make any Dog Tired and Happy

Here's a shout out to Gary Strasburg, owner of Indognation, which is an original concept in pet sitting/doggie day care. Gary offers "extended outdoor adventures" for your dog in a group setting. Basically, they go into the woods, have the time of their lives and come home wasted (in a good way). A tired dog is a good dog, after all. Gary's outings not only exercise your dogs physically, but they also get plenty of mental exercise because Gary will positively reinforce any training skills your pup needs extra help with such as walking on a leash without pulling, coming when called, staying put, fetching, whatever. I really have to give him credit. I mean, would you want to take this mob out by yourself? I can hardly walk two without us all pretzeling up in the leashes.

Gary has over 20 years professional experience with dogs and 15 years experience with group walks. He is certified through Trish King's Canine Behavior Academy and uses all positive training methods (no rolled up newspapers here.) He takes care to screen each dog for temperament and to carefully match dogs with similar temperament and energy. And he takes care to keep each dog safe on every outing. Great news, too...he comes to you! Just say the word and he will pick up your dog and drop him off at the end of the day ready for a nap. Visit his website for more information about Indognation, this great new idea in Doggie Day Care. Or call or email: (828) 335-1140; indognation@gmail.com.