Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Homemade Pet Food

From the September 2015 Life's Abundance Newsletter:

Dr. Jane Bicks on Cooking for your Pets

Dr. Jane
If you’re reading this, chances are it’s not the first time you’ve given some degree of thought to the concept of a homemade pet diet. Whether you regard this topic with interest or with repulsion, a series of pet food recalls combined with the ‘foodie’ movement have resulted in growing discussion among pet parents about the costs and benefits of becoming a personal chef for one’s pet kids.





So, what are some of the reasons pet parents turn to making their own pet food? While motivations can be deeply personal, they commonly fall into these categories:

1. Your veterinarian prescribed food that your pet kid won’t eat
2. You have made specific dietary choices and want to extend them to your animal family members
3. You only trust food which comes out of your kitchen
4. You are hoping to alleviate the symptoms or severity of a medical diagnosis
5. You are ambivalent about commercial pet food and curious to see if you could get better results
6. A belief that you could save some money

While these questions provide some food for thought, motivation alone is not an assurance of health and well-being for pet kids. When deciding what to feed their companion animals, pet parent’s choices must be backed up by expertise and solid knowledge. So, what actually does go into the decision to take the plunge into homemade pet food?
Pet Parent Education: Intensive

In the era of Pinterest, there are loads of DIY pet food recipes and enthusiastic testimonials. Some of these recipes give the appearance of being well-balanced and reasonably easy, and may even have a cute name.

But chances are that the vast majority of these will not provide pets with the nutrition they need. In an independent 2013 study of 200 homemade adult dog food recipes gathered from the internet, cookbooks and veterinarians, only five (2.5%) of them were nutritionally balanced. All five balanced recipes had come from veterinarians with advanced training in nutrition.

The takeaway here is that it is critical to involve a holistic or integrative veterinarian and/or a veterinary nutritionist to ensure the nutritional needs of your furry kid are being met.

Cost Analysis: Moderate - Intensive

If the financial bottom line is a priority, time should be spent doing an analysis of the daily cost to feed pet kids a balanced diet. With a quality recipe in hand, pet parents can take to the internet and local grocery stores to estimate the cost of the homemade meal before ever investing in buying the ingredients. The cost of any special equipment, like a meat grinder or food processor, and food storage containers, should also be factored in.

Ingredient Sourcing: Intensive

A balanced recipe from a qualified Veterinary Nutritionist is sure to include proteins, carbohydrates and a list of added vitamins and other nutritional supplements. As with any consumable product, there is great variation in the quality of all of these ingredients as well as variation in what is appropriate for different species. What many fail to realize is that improperly balanced nutrients can actually lead to a host of disease states, essentially creating toxicity within the body. To ensure maximum benefit, be certain that your nutritionist is explicit about cuts of meat and which supplements to purchase, and ensure that all of these questions are addressed:

What form should each supplement be in; liquid or powder?
What source is okay for each supplement; synthetic, natural, purified, etc.?
Are there certain varieties of supplements that should be avoided; Cod Liver Oil or Krill Oil vs. Fish Oil?
Are your personal dietary requirements being met; grain free or vegetarian?
Which cuts of meat are optimal, acceptable and should be avoided; white meat, dark meat, lean or fat?

Food Preparation & Storage: Moderate – Intensive

If you’ve ever done batch cooking for your human family, you’ll have an idea what it’s like to make your own pet food. This exercise takes advance planning, time management, practice and possibly endurance depending on how large a batch is being made.

This time commitment will vary by recipe, quality of equipment being used, size of the batch being prepared, and with fine tuning over time.

Food Serving: Minimal

Home prepared foods are refrigerated or frozen and may require warming to room temperature to serve. At issue here is the commitment to the frequency of this task more so than the amount of time required.

Given the level of difficulty in preparing home meals, and the expertise to get the formulas right every time, this probably isn’t a viable option for most pet parents. If you’re seeking holistic nutrition plus convenience and value, I urge you to consider the premium nutrition offered by any of our Life’s Abundance pet foods.

Thank you for all you do to make the world a better place for companion animals.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Biking with your dog

Courtesy of Life's Abundance August 2015 Newsletter:

Thank you Dr. Sarah for this video!

So many great tips you should know before you start !
From the proper age, getting your dog used to the bike, which pedals and much more!!







Thursday, July 23, 2015

Tips for a Fear Free Vet Visit

Courtesy of Life's Abundance from the July 2015 Newsletter:
Dr. Sarah on No Fear Pet Visits

In this video Dr. Sarah goes over 6 incredibly helpful tips to help your pet prepare and get to the vet a bit easier!








Dr. Sarah

Pet Anxiety

From the Life's Abundance July 2015 Newsletter:
Dr Jane Bicks on Pet Anxiety:

As pet parents, we’re all vaguely aware that we should minimize the stress our pet kids experience. As a veterinarian, I think it’s important that we also comprehend the health risks of prolonged anxiety, too. The fact is, living in a fearful or anxious state for long periods of time can take a dramatic toll on the health of a companion animal.

Any time your pet feels endangered, whether the threat is real or imagined, the body prepares to defend itself by unleashing a torrent of stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline, that have far-reaching effects on the whole body. These hormones release energy, increasing respiration while inhibiting digestion, the immune system, growth, reproduction and even pain perception. These hormones also decrease blood flow to areas of the body that are necessary for movement. This is appropriate for survival in a real crisis, but when fear, anxiety or stress continues chronically, negative health effects are a real possibility. These effects could include fatigue, hypertension, gastrointestinal problems, skin disease, as well as metabolic and immune problems. You might be surprised to know that pets can manifest many of the same conditions that we do!

Chronic anxiety and stress can even cause permanent damage to the brain. We know that animals staying in shelter facilities are at increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, including upper respiratory tract infections, litterbox problems, hair loss and bladder inflammation. And that’s nothing compared to the extreme duress of prolonged fear experienced by dogs in puppy mills! We can see the affects of stress on dogs when they exhibit signs of stress colitis, an inflammatory GI condition that causes diarrhea - often seen after boarding, veterinary visits, or grooming. Stressed dogs suffering from separation anxiety can also be destructive, chewing carpet, baseboards, or scratching up doors. Dogs that are chronically stressed can lick themselves raw, creating skin conditions like lick granulomas.

Apart from the mental and physical distress, stress hormones also imprint any fearful situation firmly in your pet’s memory as something that was scary and life-threatening. These feelings can be recalled from something as seemingly innocuous as pinpricks from a vaccine needle, a person wearing a lab coat or the sight of nail clippers. Any memory of frightening situations can prove to be a powerful fear stimulus. When your companion animal encounters a similar sort of situation, the stress hormones are released and the fear cycle resumes all over again.

The effects of fear and anxiety can be profound and highly distressing. We need to recognize fear in our pets, do more to decrease their fear when possible, and prevent fear by associating potentially fearful situations with positive stimuli. As you can see, dogs and cats who demonstrate pathologic levels of fear or anxiety need our help, not only for their emotional well being, but their physical well being, too!

Click Here to watch this month’s episode of Pet Talk, where Dr. Sarah explains how you can reduce your pet kid’s stress before and during veterinary visits.

Thank you for all you do to make the world a better place for companion animals.

Dr. Jane Bicks

Thursday, June 25, 2015

4th Of July Preparedness for your Dog



Dr. Sarah, staff veterinarian of Life's Abundance goes over amazing training ideas and informative information to get you and your dogs ready for the loud holiday celebration of 4th of July.

(Video courtesy of Life's Abundance)






Urinary Problem Symptoms

Thank you Dr. Jane for this article about urinary tract symptoms from the June 2015 Life's Abundance Newsletter:

Urinary tract infections in people are fairly straight forward. Sufferers experience pain during urination or a frequent urge to go that is a false alarm. For us humans, going to the doctor is usually the next step, whereupon a course of antibiotics is prescribed which usually resolves the problem. Unfortunately, urinary tract infections for dogs and cats aren’t often a simple matter. These infections oftentimes have underlying causes, such as urinary stones, anatomical abnormalities, incontinence, hormonal conditions, stress or even cancer, any of which can contribute to recurrent disease. To ascertain just what’s causing your pet kid’s urinary tract issues really does require the expertise of your veterinarian. Urinary tract conditions can be painful and debilitating, and it is important to detect the signs early for the best chance of solving the problem.

Traditional veterinarians like to focus on infection as a cause, and treat with an antibiotic. Antibiotics can cure or eliminate symptoms, whether by killing the bacteria or acidifying the urine. Sometimes, however, this course of treatment doesn’t represent a final answer, unless a culture tells otherwise. For me, as a holistic veterinarian, I look at every aspect of the problem. Urinary tract syndromes are caused by many things and other parts of the body need to be supported, too. For example, stress can cause urinary symptoms by its affect on hormone production.

The good news is that the signs of urinary problems are fairly obvious in both dogs and cats. Take your pet kid to the veterinarian if you notice any of the following symptoms …

• Out-of-character elimination in the home … that is, failure to maintain expected house or litter-box training
• A dog who asks to go outside more often or a cat making excessive trips the litter box
• repeatedly assuming the posture to pee but very little is produced
• blood-tinged urine
• excessive licking ‘back there’
• excessive drinking, panting and/or obvious discomfort

It is helpful to bring a fresh sample of urine to your vet’s office, which can be tested for the presence of white blood cells, protein, crystals and bacteria. Your veterinarian will examine your dog and may recommend additional testing, such as a urine culture, blood work and x-rays, especially if this is a recurring problems.

If tests reveal crystals in the urine, then there is a possibility of urinary stones in the bladder or kidney. Some crystals/stones (struvite) can be dissolved simply by changing to a prescription diet, while other crystals (calcium oxalate) are more troublesome. For some cases of urinary stones, surgery may be the only option.

Cats can develop stress cystitis, similar to a condition in human females. In felines, the condition is commonly referred to FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease) or FIC (feline interstitial cystitis). FIC appears to be a complex condition unique to indoor kitties that involves the urinary, adrenal and neurological systems.

New studies show that environmental enrichment can lower the incidence of feline lower urinary tract disease. If your cat is predisposed to this condition, consider implementing the following improvements:

• Scoop litter box daily, sanitize weekly and provide one more box than the number of cats in the household
• keep litter boxes in a quiet area, away from foot traffic
• provide multiple sources of fresh water and consider using a fountain
• feed a high quality diet, usually a combination of canned and dry food
• have multiple cat trees and hiding spots in order to increase the available vertical space for the cats
• increase petting, grooming and play activities that simulate hunting (i.e. toss kibble, feathered fishing pole, laser pointer)
• utilize feline pheromone spray (Feliway)
• consider use of anxitane or zylkene, herbal supplements to reduce stress (your veterinarian can tell you more about the available options)

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a human, a cat or a dog … urinary tract problems are no fun. Hopefully, with the information provided above, and with the valuable consultation of your trusted veterinarian, a quick and effective solution to your pet kid’s problems is well within reach.

Thank you for all you do to make the world a better place for companion animals.


Dr. Jane Bicks

Friday, May 29, 2015

Helping a Fearful and or Aggressive Dog


Dr. Sarah Video: Training your dog.

Courtesy of Life's Abundance and the May 2015 Newsletter:







Sometimes, dogs behave badly. Going nuts when there’s a knock at the door. Over-reacting to the tiniest of threats. Freaking out over having their nails trimmed. Worst of all, if the proper steps aren’t taken early on, behaviors like anxiety and aggression can become the norm, rather than one-off instances.

In this episode of Pet Talk, Dr. Sarah and her canine assistant, Alma, demonstrate two effective training techniques that can be used to overcome unpleasant reactive canine behaviors. We’ll be covering the topics of desensitization and counter-conditioning, plus why it’s important to set realistic goals. And above all, try to have fun whenever you’re training … your dog will thank you for it.

To learn more about the health-promoting and incredibly tempting Life’s Abundance treats featured in this episode and other Pet Talk episodes, click here 

Tasty Rewards Training Treats
Buffalo Bully Sticks
Buffalo Meat Strips



Dr. Sarah Wooten