What to feed our pets can be an important question as it can vary from pet to pet. Many pets have specific needs and require prescription food due to their allergies, weight or organ function. Otherwise, many of us simply reach for whatever is over the counter. While many of these can be perfectly fine it’s a good idea to make sure your pet is getting a healthy, balanced meal. You should always feed a pet food labeled as Complete and Balanced for their stage of life. Pet food bags have feeding guidelines on them to help you figure out how much to give, but even this isn’t always accurate. Most of those guidelines are directed towards highly active pets with fast metabolisms so you may need to be feeding your pet less. If you’re not sure if your pet is maintaining a healthy weight have your veterinarian check. A healthy weight pet should have a waist that tucks in and easily palpable ribs with a thin layering of fat under the skin. Most people view overweight pets as normal because that is what we generally see, but a lean pet is much healthier and will live longer.

Did you know that 54% of all cats and 55% of all dogs in the US are overweight or obese? There are many risks associated with being overweight:

• Joint Problems
• Exercise Intolerance
• Diabetes
• Hepatic Lipidosis (cats)
• Heart Problems
• Hip Dysplasia
• Increased anesthetic risk
• Shorter lifespan

Sometimes giving too much of their pet food isn’t the culprit of fat pets, it’s the treats that add up during the day. Treats should make up no more than 10% of your dog’s diet. Many pet treats sold in stores are high in fat and calories and table scraps can be far worse. If your dog deserves a treat or you just can’t help yourself not giving them something throughout the day there are healthy alternatives. Take a small amount of their usual food from their usual feeding amount and keep it in a seperate bag. Use this bag as their treat allotment for the day. This way there’s no extra calories. Or try giving them crunchy fruits and vegetables. Dogs often love carrots, broccoli or even apples. Try giving pieces of these instead of fatty treats. Their waistlines as well as their teeth will thank you! But do be careful, as some foods can be harmful to pets.

Some foods to avoid with animals:

• Chocolate and sweets in general
• Coffee and Tea (caffeine)
• Onions
• Grapes and Raisins
• Avocados
• Mushrooms
• Fruit pits and seeds
• Salt
• Walnuts
• Xylitol (often found in sugarless gum)
• Yeast dough

While it seems to be the new craze in pet food stores, hypoallergenic diets are generally not the actual culprit of your pets allergy problems. The majority of sufferers are allergic to environmental causes like dust, pollen and molds or will have reactions to fleas. We can help rule out these possibilities and if needed recommend some helpful flea preventatives and antihistamines. However, if your pet does suffer from food related allergies there are ways to cope with this as well. Generally what is recommended is a food elimination trial. This takes 8 – 12 weeks with either a completely hypoallergenic diet or a novel protein source diet. This is something we can also help guide you through.

We’re commited to helping you have a happy, healthy pet and our personal weight coaches can help you acheive this. We are more than happy to set up a nutrition coach appointment and figure out how to best feed your pet!

We here at KMVC are also proud participants of the Purina Project Pet Slim Down!  This helpful nutrition/exercise program is available online for free!  Get started today to help achieve your pet’s weight loss goals.