Fully Vetted

Ok so it’s January and many people are wondering how to shed the pounds after the excesses of Christmas. A report out today highlights that as many as 50% of pets are overweight too.

We see many overweight pets at our surgery and it contributes to so many horrible health problems such as diabetes, cystitis (in cats) and  orthapaedic problems such as ruptured cruciate ligaments in dogs. Your pet carrying excess pounds can literally make you shed the  financial pounds (£££) in vet’s bills as some as the above conditions can be costly to treat.

So how can we help our pets to loose weight.  I was in the middle of talking to Sarah Walker from Radio Berks about this problem today but we ran out of time and I didn’t have time to share my top tips on loosing weight.

The fundamentals of loosing weight are easy

EAT LESS, RUN AROUND MORE

How this is carried out in practice is much harder when you have a cat that refuses to go out in the cold and rain.  Or a naughty child that keeps slipping their dinner under the table to an ever-accepting dog.

1. STOP THEM PUTTING ON WEIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Get into the habit of weighing your pet. Not often, every three months is sufficient.You can then see if the weight is creeping on and take action before it gets a big problem. The most common reason a pet puts on weight is after neutering.  Immediately after the op, they need to be switched to a neutered pet diet or their ration cut but at least 10% (sometimes even more!)  They should also be weighed 3 and 6 months after neutering to spot any early problems creeping up.

2. EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE.

CATS - Hard to get a cat to exercise.  A laser pointer can get them very excited. A 15 minute session is enough to raise their metabolism rate.  Putting them outdoors may help but some only go and sit outside the door and howl so doesn’t work for everyone. Also, some cute cats may get fed elsewhere, a reason why keeping them indoors whilst dieting may be a good idea (see below)

DOGS – All dogs should get a walk every day. At least half an hour and hopefully much more for a young active dog. This sounds obvious but you would not believe the number of dogs that don’t get a walk every day.  Having a big garden is no excuse, they need to get off their territory. Now, it also sounds obvious, but a fat dog will need to raise it’s level of fitness slowly. Avoid all high-impact exercise such as jogging and ball-chasing for overweight pets. That is almost an invitation for a ruptured cruciate ligament. If they are very unfit, start with 3 walks of 20mins each at a brisk walk or a trot. build up from there. It is lovely to see a doggy enjoying a free run and this is the best way of burning calories but it will need to be built up to in a very unfit hound.

BOTH overweight cats and dogs would benefit from eating some or all of their dinner from a toy dispenser. These exercise their brains, their muscles and lengthens dinner time meaning they feel full when they’ve finished their meal. A good example is a Wobbler toy.  Made for dogs and cats but brilliant for bored cats that won’t go outdoors.

3. FEEDING

RATIONS.  Work out how much your pet needs eat to  loose weight   Any vet nurse or vet will help you do this. It may involve using diet food or even just reducing the amount of food that they are already on.  BE STRICT and give them just this amount of food per day. Sometimes, pet bowls are so big that their ration looks quite tiny inside.  If you insist on giving treats then factor this into the equation from the start, and take it out of their daily ration. There are some very good, almost zero calorie, treats for dogs.

Sounds obvious, but get all the family involved in dieting the pet. If anyone starts to feel sorry for the dog and slip him the odd rasher of bacon then all your efforts will be in-vain.

Now the tricky bit, Cats.  Is your cat supplementing their diet with some scraps that next door is feeding the birds or hedgehogs. Even worse, is your cat being fed by the soft-hearted next door neighbour?  If so, keeping them indoors whilst dieting them may help. It sounds extreme but it may be the only way.  Have you got one overweight and one underweight cat?  Argh, the only solution is to feed them separately.  Or have separate living accommodation for part of the day which allows the thin one ad-lib access to food and keeping the fat one with a restricted diet. 

Now this sounds harsh but it’s true. The reason your dog is overweight is YOU!  Someone even went to jail for it – see my previous blog.http://fullyvetted.com/?p=87#more-87 I’ll spare cat owners the same criticism as cats are a law unto themselves, however, there is plenty you can do.  I hope some of the above helps.

Nothing like a bit of snow for reminding us how dirty our dogs are…

Spot in the snow

I do love my animals at home.  I do, however, also value a fairly tidy home. I don’t think I’m OCD about the cleanliness of the home, just like to enjoy sitting on a reasonably hair-free sofa.

I am thinking of gathering an online forum (Pet Lovers Opposed to Dirt, PLOD) to discuss and share tips on how pets and a clean home may not be mutually exclusive. My first idea; the i-robot Roomba. A little robotic hoover that merrily hoovers the floor all day, recharging wherever necessary back at its docking station.

So if you’d like to join the PLODders, please comment below.

Rescue centres have seen twice the number of animals dumped for re-homing. A sure sign that the credit crunch is affecting our ability to look after our pets. I have written before about what a financial commitment a pet is - £500-700/year for a cat and £1000+ per year for a dog.  I’m sure no one wants to part with a beloved pet; planning the costs are critical at this time, here are a few tips that could help:

1. Bulk Buy pet foods, flea treatments and worm treatments.  You can’t cut these things out so get the best price you can!  Look for deals; we’ve recently been offering 3 for 2 bags of food and 33% extra on worming and flea treatments.

2. Don’t cut back on preventative healthcare or insurance. These things are vital if you have financial difficulties. Treating a problem is much more expensive than preventing one. Remember also that it’s not just vet’s bills insurance covers.  Third party insurance for canines is very necessary and covers up to £1 000 000 in most cases. One day, like car insurance, it may become compulsory.

3. Be Creative with pet-sitting needs.  If you need to pay a regular dogsitter/catsitter then try to team up with another pet owner and barter favours. The Cinnamon Trust will help elderly or ill people with petcare needs such as walking and overnight care.

4. Speak up.  Let your vet know if your pet needs urgent treatment and you’re worried about the cost.  Discuss different treatment options. In real cases of financial hardship your vet may agree to a monthly payment plan.

5. Help is available if you are in real financial hardship. The PDSA exists to help those on benefits and low-incomes financial support for care of their animals.  Again the Cinnamon Trust can help elderly or terminally ill with pet care and the RSPCA, SCAS  and Blue Cross are other charities to speak to.

Finally,though unlikely to raise big bucks, how about sending your pet to work?  Pets all sorts of shapes and sizes are required for modelling and TV work. They need to be well trained and you need some spare time to take them to the auditions!

Captured a lovely moment between dog and baby today. 

Dogs have shown little interest in the baby on the whole but today Sprocket decided to see if she was up for a game of fetch.

On a Health and Safety note, I did monitor the whole interaction very closely but there was no fear in either party, just curiosity.  Sprocket wasn’t cornered and was free to leave if he wanted but he was very happy to share her lovely quilt for a while.  (NEVER let a baby approach and corner a pet, particularly if they are asleep!)

Hopefully this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

What is a good pedigree? 

The recent BBC1 documentary has highlighted the not-so-wonderful side of dog breeding. Of most concern is the attitude of the breeders that are in it for the vanity of showing, and the money that comes with it.  All will profess to being dog lovers but do they really walk the talk? Read the rest of this entry »

Pesky things, grass seeds. They are almost as sharp as thorns and in such abundance this time of year. I think we have removed them from most orifices in pets; eyes, noses, nailbeds, ears, the list goes on

Even worse, due to their streamline conformation, grass seeds can work their way into the body , under the skin, up legs or even into body cavities such as the middle or inner ear.

Not all grass seeds are the same. Though I’m no gardener the worse ones are the ones that look like this - I think this is a fox tail variety. Read the rest of this entry »

There are some days when I threaten the spaniels that they’ll be posted on eBay.  Their misdemeanours over the past few days are listed here:

Sprocket woke the baby up by barking 

Spot had weed in the kitchen overnight

Sprocket chewed up the baby’s squeaky toy

Sprocket and Spot, in the car park where we stop to walk, found someone’s disregarded McDonalds by a bin and wolfed the lot

Spot rolled in fox poo on his walk Read the rest of this entry »

  I have recently had to keep our dearly beloved cat in a cage to help him recover from a broken leg.  Over the years I’ve prescribed resting in a confinement cage to many a broken cat. The usual reason being that because we make such a good job of repairing our patient’s broken bones and keeping their pain levels under control that they feel great and want to run around. If we let them go about their daily life outside they risk dislodging some of the meticulously placed metal work that is holding the bones together. Bear in mind that bones take 6-8 weeks to knit and tendons/ligaments even longer.  The metal work is stronger than the bones and if dislodged can cause serious further damage. Read the rest of this entry »

I set off today in fine spirits. We’ve had a lovely few days of weather and what could be better than a dog walk by the river in the sunshine? Read the rest of this entry »