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A
Weighty Subject
It is often difficult for
pet owners to recognize that their pets are in fact overweight and not
just well fed and happy. One reason we don't detect obesity in our
pets is because of our perception of obesity in ourselves. By human
standards, an obese person is someone significantly overweight, not the
person who has gone up one size. However, with pets, the term obese
is used for pets with any excessive accumulation of fat in the stomach and
the waist. An animal that is 15-20% overweight is considered
obese. Like humans, an obese animal is not healthy and is highly
vulnerable to many types of health problems. Cats are particularly
vulnerable to gaining weight by nature of their life styles. The
metabolism of an overweight cat can no longer support a healthy heart,
joints (40% of older cats have joint problems), liver, lungs or normal
blood sugar. Obese cats have less heat intolerance and are often
poor candidates for surgery. Why
Pets Gain Weight Kittens
and puppies burn more calories than adults because they are using every
last drop of nutrients to build their bodies. As our animals grow
older, we must make a concerted effort to make sure they are still getting
ample exercise. In the days when animals hunted, a cat in the wild
would eat about 12 mice a day if he could catch that many. The good
thing about eating on the move is that the cat exerts energy while
catching food, keeping the consumption and the burning of calories in
balance. However, our dogs and cats don't have to do much to get
food. Not much at all. Therefore, they run the risk of
consuming more calories than they're burning, which just like in humans,
leads to gradual weight gain. Furthermore,
dogs and cats are genetically made to save fat for energy. If we
were to study wolves' feeding behavior, we would see that wolves don't eat
daily. They don't need to eat daily because their physiology is such
that extra nutrients are converted to fat to be used later. In
short, we feed our pets too much food. And their bodies just keep
storing more and more fat until obesity becomes a reality. Because
we have a tendency to overfeed our pets from when they are puppies and
kittens, their bodies will make more fat cells than normal. As a
result, young obese pets will not be able to lose weight when they get
older because it is not possible for their bodies to get rid of the fat
cells. Fat cells can only decrease the amount of fat in them.
In short, many pets are fat because of their puppy or kitten hood. Help
Is on the Way If
you decide to commit yourself to making your pet lose weight so that he or
she may live a longer happier life, it is best to adopt a holistic
approach to weight loss. You must monitor everything from the amount
of exercise, amount of food, to the amount of treats, snacks and scraps he
or she partakes in on a daily basis. Exercise is a must because the
more muscle mass an animal has, the more calories the animal burns while
inactive. Why wouldn't we want to burn as many calories as we can
while we sleep? Everything
has to be taken into consideration in order to make weight loss
successful. We're not looking for fast weight loss, because like
with humans, fast weight loss does not keep the weight off. It more
often than not, comes back. Fast weight loss and weight gain
traumatizes the body. Animals should loose no more than 1-2% of
their body weight per week. For instance, if your dog weighs 50
pounds, 1% is 1/2 pound weekly and 2% means 1 pound weekly. Canine
Zone™ HealthyPetNet's
Canine Zone Weight Loss Food for Dogs is formulated by Dr. Barry Sears
(the Zone Diet for us humans) and Dr. Jane Bicks to help dogs shed a few
pounds while maintaining robust health. After a year of clinical
trials, pet owners who have used Canine Zone can testify to less begging,
less hunger between meals, shinier coat, a greater enthusiasm for life and
steady weight loss. Canine Zone is a dog-modified version of the
Zone Diet with a few minor adjustments to meet our canine's specific
needs. What distinguishes Canine Zone from many other weight loss
foods is that many weight loss foods have lower amounts of fat and protein
and are often filled with fiber. Though fiber is indeed necessary is
one's diet, unfortunately, a diet consisting mostly of fiber does not
nourish the body properly. While weight loss might be achieved, it
is questionable at what expense. Dull
and brittle coats are common when dogs are on these types of food.
Since the skin and coat act as the mirror of the inside of your dog, poor
skin and coat is worrisome. Canine Zone takes a different approach
to be sure that your dog maintains good, balanced health. Protein
and fat are not sacrificed for weight loss. Dogs require fat for
healthy skin and coat and healthy
immune system. We recognize that protein is the building block
of the body. Filled with high quality proteins, Canine
Zone contains farmed catfish, chicken (hormone and steroid free) and
eggs. With Canine Zone's balance of carbohydrates, fat and protein,
a dog gets the balance of nutrients it needs. That is essential in
keeping pets from feeling hungry and looking at us with those big loving
eyes asking for treats. While begging does become a habit, it's also
the brain responding to something it's lacking. Not only will your
dog be less hungry, it will also have healthier skin, shinier coat and
increased vitality. This means a greater propensity to exercise,
thus developing more muscle and shedding more fat. How
to Introduce The
best way to convert your dog from his or her current food to Canine
Zone is to do it gradually. Dogs' bodies, as well as their
minds, get accustomed to their food and thus changes should be slow.
Add small amounts of Canine Zone, perhaps 5 to 10 nuggets the first day to
the regular food. Note that whatever the amount of Canine Zone you
add, you must subtract from the regular food. Increase to 10-20
nuggets of Canine Zone the next day, again decreasing the same amount of
the other food. Watch for any signs of minor GI disturbance
generally seen as loose stool. If everything looks normal, increase
to 1/8 of a cup and so on. Change from one food to another can take
about two weeks. Dr. Jane suggests that dog owners make any
transition a slow one. When Canine
Zone is part of a weight loss program, start to expect steady weight
loss about a month after the successful conversion. What
About Our Fat Cats? Once
you have determined that your cat is overweight, what are you going to do
about it? Our position on cats is that weight loss foods don't
really work. It's really weight management. Cats really can
loose weight and here are a few tips to help your cat shed some necessary
pounds: Feed cat
only at meal times - Leaving food down all day gives the cat a greater
propensity to overeat, especially spayed and neutered cats. Measure
the amount of food - Feed your cat the recommended amount of food for
their current weight, not their ideal weight. Monitor your cat by
checking for fat over the ribs and looking for a waistline. Hanging
tummy fat is not an indication of being overweight. If you see no
change, decrease the measured amount by 25%. For
cats that eat too fast - Scatter the food in a place where no one will
step on it so your cat will be forced to eat more slowly. For
multiple cats - Avoid feeding several cats with the same dish as this
can result in competitive eating which can also make them eat too
fast. Separate the cats by putting them in different rooms and
closing the door for a while. This may not be easy at first, but
cats are creatures of habit and will adjust to their new dining room. Increase
Exercise - Because we don't walk cats the way we walk dogs, we must
find creative ways to get our cats' hearts pumping. Take a very fat
cord (that is impossible for the cat to swallow) and pull it around the
house and up and down the stairs and make your cat chase it. You can
purchasing fishing poles made to play with cats. These toys come
with a variety of moving pieces that cats will chase. You can play
with your cat while you are watching T.V. Playing
is great for animal bonding as well. Stayed tuned...Dr. Jane Bicks
is already working on Feline Zone! *smile*
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