{"id":237,"date":"2017-01-02T16:18:56","date_gmt":"2017-01-02T16:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/?p=237"},"modified":"2017-01-02T16:18:56","modified_gmt":"2017-01-02T16:18:56","slug":"january-2017-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/january-2017-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"January 2017 Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Year, New Pet: Get Your Overweight Pet on Weight Loss, Exercise Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether you have a fat cat or a pudgy pup, the New Year is the perfect time to get your beloved family pet in shape. It\u2019s not that they need to fit into a great bathing suit by summer, it is strictly for their health and well-being. Along with your own resolutions for 2017, add some for your pet as well.<\/p>\n

As with people, overweight dogs are susceptible to various health risks that affect many organs, according to the article \u201cHealth Risks in Overweight or Obese Dogs<\/a>\u201d at Doctors Foster and Smith at Peteducation.com. \u201cWhen we overload these organs, disease and sometimes death are the consequences,\u201d the article said. Risks can manifest in the form of diabetes mellitus, damage to joints, heart disease, digestive disorders and many more.<\/p>\n

Basically the same can be said for overweight cats as stated in \u201cHealth Risks in Overweight or Obese Cats<\/a>\u201d at Peteducation.com. \u201cOne of the most common complications of obesity in cats is the development of diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes).\u201d Other consequences include liver disease, lameness and arthritis, and skin problems.<\/p>\n

In the article \u201c7 Surprising Ways To Help Your Pet Lose Weight (And Why It\u2019s Important)<\/a>\u201d at Pethealthnetwork.com, Dr. Ernie Ward, DVM, wrote, \u201c\u2026over half our nation\u2019s dogs and cats are overweight. This means almost 80 million pets are at risk for developing crippling arthritis, debilitating diabetes, catastrophic kidney and heart disease, high blood pressure and many forms of cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Ward recommends seven tips to help get your pet back in tip-top shape:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Calorie counts. Find out the amount of daily calories your pet needs by asking your veterinarian, and consult your vet before starting a diet because each pet has a different metabolism.<\/li>\n
  2. Got measuring cup? Well use it, according to Dr. Ward. Don\u2019t \u201cguestimate.\u201d He said, \u201cAfter you calculate how many calories your pet needs, determine how much food you should feed each meal \u2013 and measure it.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. It\u2019s OK to give treats, but make sure they are not junk-food. Provide treats that are low calorie and no-sugar.<\/li>\n
  4. Instead of store-bought dog treats, try baby carrots, green beans, cucumbers, bananas and sliced apples. \u201cFor cats, try a flake of salmon or tuna,\u201d Dr. Ward wrote.<\/li>\n
  5. Exercise! It\u2019s good for you and your dog. \u201c\u2026anyone with a dog has a built-in, no-excuse exercise buddy,\u201d Ward wrote. For dogs, 20-30 minutes of brisk walking helps with cardiovascular health. For cats, play with a laser pointer or remote-controlled toy for 5 to 15 minutes a day.<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cAlmost every dog, cat and person can benefit from taking a daily omega-3 fatty acid supplement,\u201d Ward wrote. Consult your vet before using any supplement.<\/li>\n
  7. Cutting carbs. Dr. Ward suggests a higher protein\/low carb diet. However, he advises checking with your vet first.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Our pets are our family and we are responsible for their health. There\u2019s no better time than now to achieve your pet\u2019s weight-loss goals and keep him or her healthy to live a long life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    New Year, New Pet: Get Your Overweight Pet on Weight Loss, Exercise Plan \u00a0 Whether you have a fat cat or a pudgy pup, the New Year is the perfect time to get your beloved family pet in shape. It\u2019s not that they need to fit into a great bathing suit by summer, it is… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions\/238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}