Hydrolyzed protein diet

Is Hydrolyzed Protein a Game-Changer for Your Pet’s Health?

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Hydrolyzed protein: a game-changer for your pet’s well-being. Let’s dive in and discover its significance.

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The Impact of Diet on Dog Allergies: What You Need to Know

The Impact of Diet on Dog Allergies: What You Need to Know

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For everyone whose household is plagued by pet allergies, you know what I’m talking about. Atopic dermatitis or environmental allergies are a lifetime ailment.

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Why Accurately Measuring Your Pet’s Food is Essential

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Feeding your pet the right amount of food is crucial for their overall health and well-being. Do you feed a “handful” or a “scoop” of dry food?

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Allergies vs. Sensitivities in pets

Everything You Need to Know About Allergy Tests for Pets

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Is your dog excessively itchy during specific seasons or after certain meals? Several factors should be considered prior to conducting a dog allergy test.

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The Little-Known Benefits of Feeding Eggshell Membranes

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Egg membranes are often overlooked as a potential source of nutrition for pets. However, they contain important nutrients that can benefit your dog’s or cat’s health. 

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4 Easy Ways to Prepare for the Most Inconvenient Events

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Not all pet emergencies are life-threatening. Some are simply inconveniences that always seem to happen at 5 p.m. on a Friday when your vet is going home for the weekend.

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NorthPoint Pets Fiber for cats and dogs

Understanding the Role of Fiber in Your Pet’s Diet

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Most pet owners immediately associate fiber with healthy poop. However, fiber does much more for your pet than that. Fiber plays a significant role in the absorption of nutrients in their diet and can benefit their overall health in many ways.

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The Good, Better, and Best Dental Care for Your Pet

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Your pet’s dental health is an important piece of their overall health and wellness. Oral disease can be caused…

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Keep Your Pet’s Heart Healthy. Without Changing Their Food

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When your pet is diagnosed with a heart dysfunction or heart disease, you want to take immediate action to support your pet’s health and well-being. In addition to specific recommendations from your veterinarian, here are some tips to help keep your dog or cat’s heart healthy — without modifying their main diet.  

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Your pet’s weight plays an important role in heart health. One of the main contributors to heart problems is obesity. Being overweight adds unnecessary stress to your pet’s joints, muscles, internal organs, but also to the heart itself. 

Help your pet maintain a healthy weight by giving him the right amount of food for his size, breed, age, and reproductive status. 

In combination with a proper diet, daily exercise is vital. Walks, runs, and active playtime improve the strength and endurance of the heart’s ability to circulate blood, but also burn excess calories that can lead to obesity.

If your pet has been diagnosed with heart disease, please consult your veterinarian before starting any exercise program with your pet.  Certain heart conditions dictate no exercise while others allow for lower-intensity exercise sessions that include monitoring duration, intensity, and external temperature. 

Feed the Beneficial Treats

When searching for heart-healthy treats, look for single-ingredient, nutritionally dense, minimally processed products.  These types of treats are typically lower in sodium and other unhealthy preservatives that may aggravate a heart condition. My favorites are freeze-dried hearts, any fish treat (since fish is high in omega 3’s), or any treat containing no or low-salt additives.

Additional Supplements

Supplements can be an important part of your pet’s heart health plan. Although supplements should never replace a well-balanced diet, they can provide a nutritional boost that can help reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce inflammation, improve circulation, manage weight and improve overall well-being. 

The Importance of Dental Health in Dogs and Cats

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February is here and what that entails in the animal world is Dental Health Month! Dental health is so important because poor dental health can have long term negative impacts on the heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver.

Dental disease can impact pets of any age, but some factors can influence risk which includes:

  • Age
  • Breed
  • Genetics
  • Poor diet
  • Health status
  • Home care
  • Bacterial flora of the oral cavity
  • Halitosis (bad breath)
  • Drooling
  • Blood-tinged saliva
  • Pawing at mouth

Plaque can form and build up on your pet’s teeth as quickly as 24 hours and if dental care/preventatives are not taken to remove plaque then calculus (tartar) buildup occurs within 3-5 days. When calculus starts to build up on your pet’s teeth, it gradually begins to push the gums away from the tooth, giving the calculus an opportunity to spread into your pet’s bloodstream. The bacteria that are built up within the calculus can lead to infection and have serious effects on the major organs mentioned above. 

Diet matters

Amazingly enough, diet has a pretty decent impact on your pet’s dental health. There is a myth, kibble is the best for dogs and cats because when they crunch on the hard pieces of kibble, it supposedly helps scrape the calculus away. Think about that. Have you ever watched your pet eat? More often than not, they swallow their kibble whole. Also, go to your dentist and tell them you forgot to brush your teeth, so you had chips to help scrape the calculus away from your teeth. Kibble contains high levels of sugars and carbohydrates which rapidly produce oral bacteria and plaque. Whereas fresh or raw diets can help protect your pet’s teeth and gums simply due to low or lack of starches. In other words, the food will not stick to the teeth like kibble would. 

The good news is that dental disease in your pet does not have to occur. While it is common, it’s actually not natural.

Helpful Preventative Care Techniques 

  1. Pay close attention to the diet you are giving your pet
  2. Introduce brushing at a young age 
  3. Supplements, dental cleaning pads and pet toothpastes include enzymes and pre and probiotics that can help break down plaque.
  4. Giving your pet toys and/or bones to chew to keep teeth clean
  5. Professional dental cleanings

Dental cleanings are great but should not have to happen yearly, or even in younger years. Yearly cleanings can have a negative impact on pets because anesthetic gasses used yearly can slowly apply stress on your pet’s organs. Think about the change that needs to happen- diet, toys/bones, brushing, etc. 

References:

Holmstrom, Steven E. “Pathogenesis of Periodontal Disease.” Veterinary Dentistry: A Team Approach, 2nd ed., Steven Holmstrom, 2013, pp. 150–153.

Holmstrom, Steven E. “Home-Care Instruction and Products.” Veterinary Dentistry: A Team Approach, 2nd ed., Steven Holmstrom, 2013, pp. 194–213.

Miller, Bonnie R, and John R Lewis. “Veterinary Dentistry.” Clinical Textbooks for Veterinary Technicians, 9th ed., Joanna M. Bassert, 2018, pp. 1222–1229.