Nutritional Enrichment for a Happy Pup

Dog Behavior

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Nutritional Enrichment and Your Dog’s Instincts

Nutritional enrichment enhances your dog’s quality of life by incorporating food into their natural instincts to seek, forage, find, sniff, hunt, taste, lick, and chase. Similar to the way a piece of cake in the refrigerator excites and satisfies us, the same hit of neurotransmitters is experienced by your dog when they detect the presence of food. Even the least food-motivated dogs have their interest piqued knowing that a tasty treat is out there for the taking.

Importance of Your Dog’s Sense of Smell

Dogs rely heavily on their sense of smell, making it their most dominant sense. You can engage your dog’s sense of smell by introducing new food reward toys, puzzles, and games. Start slow – it’s important to remember that just like you wouldn’t expect a new puppy to immediately understand that outside is for potty, introducing toys that require some degree of brainpower should be done gradually, ensuring success rather than frustration.

Try leaving a soft toy overnight in a container of shredded cheese or dried beef jerky. The next day, the toy will smell delicious to your pup. Hide the toy under a dish towel and observe if they try to nudge the towel aside to get the reward, discovering the toy’s secret location. If not, lift the towel and reward their interest with praise and a treat.

Toys for Nutritional Enrichment

The most popular toys that provide nutritional enrichment dispense treats or food.

Rolling balls with small openings for kibble require your dog to smell the food, then push the toy with their paws or nose to allow a treat to come out. You can adjust the difficulty.

Rubber Kong toys can be filled with snacks like kibble, bananas, rice mixtures, or moistened kibble, then put in the freezer. Frozen treats delay the reward, and sniffing, licking, and manipulating the toy provides enrichment.

Lick mats and silicone pads with nubs or crevices can stimulate your pup. You can smear some peanut butter or plain yogurt or top them with low-sodium chicken broth and freeze them.

Puzzles that require sliding panels, flipping open doors, or checking fleece pockets for kibble are meant for highly intelligent dogs like Border collies, pointers, shepherds, and some terriers that might need this extra stimulation!

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Easy DIY Dog Toys and Games

Some of the most creative and cost-effective enrichment ideas come from pet owners themselves.

Upcycle your Amazon boxes by hiding treats inside and letting your dog roll, chew, and toss the box for their reward. As they become more adept at the game, increase the challenge by placing boxes or cardboard towel rolls around the house filled with kibble for an interactive hide-and-seek hunt or nest boxes of decreasing size with the treat in the smallest box.

Make pupsicles using canned pumpkin, pureed veggies, or broth for a refreshing treat on hot days. For smaller pets, use an ice cube tray instead.

Hide kibble in muffin tins or empty egg cartons and cover each compartment with an unbreakable object like a tennis ball or cup. Your pet must use their mouth or paws to uncover the food.

Create a snuffle mat from an old felt blanket or towel by cutting it into strips and tying them to a rubber bathmat or dish drainer. Hide bacon-flavored treats or freeze-dried fish in the felt strip “lawn,” and watch your dog sniff, dig, and forage for their reward.

Use multiple food bowls to feed your dog their nightly meal. Vary sizes and shapes to keep mealtime fun and stimulating.

Bury food rewards in a basket filled with soft toys, pillowcases, or towels. Perfect for those days when your pup needs some mental stimulation but you need a break.

Keep Track of Calories

Every meal and snack presents a chance to improve your dog’s nutrition. Even though the experience of seeking and eating food is enjoyable, it’s essential to keep track of calories. Beginning your day with a pre-measured bag of kibble and treats to use with toys or games is good practice. Food enrichment toys are handy when the weather is unfavorable or you have a long workday. Don’t forget to balance your dog’s calorie intake with appropriate physical activity.

Nutritional enrichment helps support a healthy lifestyle for your dog by stimulating their innate tendencies, providing mental stimulation, and encouraging bonding. And remember, it’s all about having fun!

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At Pet Butler, we want you and your pet to live your best and healthiest lives, which is why we offer pet waste removal and other services year-round. We offer weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and one-time clean-up services to meet your schedule and needs.

What You Need to Know: The Difference Between Raw Food, Freeze-Dried Food and Kibble

Pet Health

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These days, eating options for our canine friends are about as diverse as they are for their human counterparts.

With options including raw, freeze-dried and kibble, it can be challenging as a pet owner to understand the differences between the different food products.

We’ll break it down for you.

Raw Dog Food

How does raw dog food work?

Raw dog food is just as it sounds—uncooked meats, bones, organs, vegetables, etc. At its core, raw dog food is a natural feeding style, one that represents what canines would face in the wild.

When feeding your dog a raw diet, you have two options of where you can get the food from. You can purchase pre-packaged raw dog food from a commercial retailer, or you can make it yourself.

Raw diets boast a handful of benefits to your dog’s health, including increased energy levels, improved dental hygiene because of bone consumption and healthier skin and coats. Raw dog food also contains a much higher water content than dry food, which can help achieve a feeling of fullness.

With that in mind, there are a variety of substantiated issues raw diets can present to pets and even pet-owners.

Feeding your dog a raw diet can run the risk of introducing bacteria, like Escherichia coli, salmonella and staphylococcus, into your household without proper feeding and cleaning methods. The immuno-compromised or children who have less than meticulous hygiene can be especially vulnerable.

Additionally, the bacteria in raw meat can be dangerous to our furry friends by causing gastrointestinal or systemic disease. Parasites such as Neospora caninum and trichinella spiralis found in raw meat can cause inflammation and infection. Finally, if bones are not consumed properly, it can result in chipped teeth and choking.

Freeze-Dried Dog Food

What is freeze-dried dog food?

At your local pet store or online retailer, you can likely find raw dog food that’s freeze-dried.

Freeze-drying is the process by which water is removed from formulated food. This is accomplished by freezing the wet product, then vacuum sealing the product while raising the temperature. This causes the frozen water to turn into vapor and disperse from the food while many of its nutrients remain.

The benefits of freeze-dried foods are similar to those of the raw dog food diet. Freeze-dried foods are a fast and simple alternative to raw food since you don’t have to handle or prepare wet, raw material.

It is important to note that bacteria-related problems are not isolated to fresh raw diets. While the freeze-drying process limits the ability for new bacteria to grow and causes pathogens to enter dormancy, it does not inherently kill the bacteria.

Kibble Dog Food

Doggie kibble is at the other end of the feeding spectrum. Kibble food includes formulas that are processed together and cooked. Added preservatives are included to increase product longevity.

Brands of dry food that meet the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) standards are required to meet the nutritional needs of your canine, and per USDA regulation, are to be produced under sanitary conditions without harmful substances.

The major benefit of a kibble-based diet is the reduced risk of infection since the products are fully cooked. Additional benefits include portability, healthier gums, reduced levels of plaque and cost-effectiveness.

No matter what diet you choose for your pet, it’s crucial that you consult your veterinarian prior to making a decision. Discuss the options with your vet to ensure you’re feeding your furry friend a balanced diet that supports their breed, age, physical condition, lifestyle and more.

 

At Pet Butler, we strive to create a healthy outdoor environment for you and your pet. Learn about our poop scooping services.

How to Transition Your Pet Food Gradually

Pet Health

pet food

Back in 1999 when I graduated veterinary school, there was just one semester course that covered the basics of animal nutrition from chicken to goat to horse to dog. Over the last several decades, the way pet professionals and owners have come to think about nutrition has vastly changed.

Boutique pet foods are all the rage as we look into healthy pet food diets: grain-free, non-GMO containing, and organic. And, the question, “what food should I buy my dog?” can be confusing if you’re looking for the best and healthy dog food to feed your furry friend.

What we do know is that pets’ nutritional needs often vary throughout their lifetime based on age, stage, breed, activity level, and health conditions. New data on pet nutrition also includes macro and micro nutrient needs, composition, ingredient source and quality. It’s safe to assume that at some point during your pet’s life you will be changing dog food and perhaps multiple times over the course of years.

Switching Pet Food Gradually

When is the first time you will likely consider changing your pet’s food? Maybe it’s as soon as bringing them home from the breeder or rescue. It may be when your juvenile pet reaches physical maturity, for some small breeds closer to a year, for larger dogs around two years old. It’s important to evaluate your dog’s individual calorie and nutrient needs and choose a food based on their age, stage, and breed.

We know large breed puppies like the Great Pyrenees and Newfoundland require a specific balance of calcium and phosphorous in order to help prevent orthopedic diseases such as panosteitis and hip dysplasia. During the period of rapid growth from 3-6 months, switching to a proper food, if your pup had not previously been fed one specific to large breeds, is critical to minimizing the development of osteoarthritis and joint disease down the road.

Likewise, as pet’s age, their activity may decrease necessitating a transition to a less calorically dense diet or one that contains more high-quality protein to maintain muscle mass, and fatty acids such as EPA and DHA for their anti-inflammatory and dermatological effects.

Digestion in Dogs

Your dog may be growing appropriately and have firm, twice daily bowel movements. Until they don’t. Diagnostic tests performed by your veterinarian may uncover common diseases like intestinal parasitism, food allergy or intolerance, or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, common among German Shepard Dogs that lead to poor digestion and absorption of nutrients. These dogs may be losing weight, have diarrhea, and appear to have poor coat quality.

Switching to a diet that has a new protein source such as venison or duck or changing to a diet low in fat that is highly digestible and adding in some digestive enzymes may be all that is needed to correct the problem. Any time a lifelong change in diet is expected, only do so after consulting your veterinarian.

Unless your pet is experiencing an adverse reaction to a pet food ingredient or gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, or inappetence, switching dog food is best done gradually. Some dogs are particularly sensitive to any changes in their food composition, even within the same pet food brand.

Tips for Changing Dog Food

In general, I recommend exchanging a quarter of the dog’s original food with the new diet for 3-4 days, then increasing the new food: old food ratio to 50:50 for another 3-4 days and so on. Probiotics such as Fortiflora can help prevent any bacterial imbalance in the gut, perpetuating the diarrhea. Most successful dog food transition plans encompass a period of 10 days to 2 weeks.

Some pet owners prefer to alternate between 2-3 foods and rotate successfully between brands every few months. There are many delicious and nutritious diets to choose from and some dogs are able to switch between several pet food brands with no adverse effects.

Most pet owners have experienced the joy of waking to a rug soiled by a dog who ingested something in the yard, last night’s meatloaf from the garbage can, or whose new food didn’t sit quite right.

In that case, an abrupt switch to a low-fat, bland prescription or homemade diet made of chicken or boiled hamburger and rice or white pasta, scrambled eggs, or cottage cheese to get their stools back on track after a 24 hour fast is best. I recommend feeding a bland diet for 5-7 days, and then gradually mixing in their regular pet food over a period of two weeks.

Check in with your local veterinarian if you have any questions to ensure a healthy and successful pet food plan!

Portion Control: How Much Should I Feed My Dog?

Pet Health

dog food

Portion control and regulation: it’s something we Americans sorely lack and not only do our children pay the price, but our pets do as well. While it may be difficult for humans to ignore the barrage of commercials and Happy Meal temptations, we have a clear and simple obligation to fulfill when it comes to feeding our dogs.

Since they solely depend on us feed them, we need to quiet the tiny voice that tells us food=love and make sure we’re feeding our dogs the right amount of food. Wondering how much should to feed your dog or how much is “too much”? We have some tips to help make sure your dog eats the right amount of food!

How Much Should My Dog Eat?

Breeds vary, activity levels fluctuate, stages of life such as puppyhood or gestation demand more calories, and health complications such as diabetes affect ideal type of food and caloric intake for your pet.

One commonality when it comes to healthy amount of dog food and nutrition and feed is that we all want our pets to achieve their ideal body condition, whatever other variables exist.

A good place to start in determining your pet’s healthy size is to reference the Purina Scoring Chart. Whether your dog is a Basset or a Malamute, participates in agility or is a couch potato, some basic rules to assess body condition include: ability to feel your pet’s ribs but not see them, observing some semblance of an hourglass “waist” when viewed from above, and noting the chest is deeper and lower to the ground then the abdomen. Your pet should be a 4-5 out of a 9-point scale.

Measuring Dog Food

Once you’ve established where your pet falls on the chart, assess whether the goal is weight loss and what percent, gain, or maintenance. Each point on the chart is the equivalent to a 10% change in body mass.

Start with a measuring cup, and by cup, I mean the same cup you would use to measure flour if you were baking. Not a Big Gulp cup, not an espresso cup. A cup or container that holds 8 ounces of liquid or dry material.

Because grams are a measure of weight, a cup of lettuce will not weigh the same as a cup of brown sugar, and the same concept can be applied to the variety of pet foods on the market. Likewise, every cup of food does not contain the same number of calories, which is critical in determining how much to feed you pet.

So, check your dog food label. Kcal/cup of food should be clearly marked or at the very least, an 800# to call to get that information must be visible. If it isn’t, what are you feeding?

Talk to your family. Everyone needs to be on board when it comes to portion control and getting your dog to its ideal weight.

Based on current body condition, the caloric content in the food you are feeding (and treats, which do count as additional calories and should make up no more than 10% of the overall caloric intake so factor them in), life stag, activity level, and goal, you can determine with your veterinarian just how much food to feed your dog or how many calories your pet needs in a day. Puppies grow, and their calorie needs and thus quantity fed will adjust over time.

Do the Math

A little math is needed next. Convert your pet’s daily caloric needs to the number of cups they must be fed each day. For example: a cup of the diet you feed contains 300 kcals. Your pet needs 600 kcals a day. 600kcal/300kcal/cup= your pet should consume 2 cups of that food for the day. Use your measuring cup and put the dog’s daily meal and treats into a bag (s).

Now feed from this bag for the next 24 hours. Most animals thrive when fed smaller portions in 2-3 servings per day, so you can divide the bag’s contents into meals that will be satisfying but not indulgent. Small breeds and puppies may need to be fed more frequently to maintain blood sugar levels. Some dogs can be free-fed as long as they snack throughout the day and don’t gorge themselves in one sitting.

There a few tools I’ve used to help extend my dog’s feeding time, making it into an enriching game and allowing them to feel satiated. Toys like the Omega paw tricky treat ball, the Kong wobbler dog toy, or other treat dispensing puzzles can provide hours of amusement, mental stimulation, and aid in dispensing appropriate dog food portions.

Remember, exercise helps maintain a healthy weight too! Enjoy the last few weeks of fall.

Dog Food: What to Buy and Ingredients to Look For

Pet Health

dog food

Over the weekend, I peered into our dog food bin and saw just a lone kibble sitting at the bottom. No doubt, my teenagers forgot to mention we were low on food. As I stood in the pet food aisle at the grocery store, I quickly understood the paralysis my clients feel when it comes to choosing a diet and best dog food for their pets; the variety of choices on the grocery shelves and refrigerated cases was dizzying. Let’s address a few common misconceptions and give you some general tips to choose healthy dog food for your own pup. As always, consult your veterinarian for advice as variations in breed, life stage, body condition, activity level, and health status should affect your purchase.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is a regulatory agency that checks to ensure dog foods meet the minimum standard of nutritional adequacy; the AAFCO label should be present on any food you are buying and includes key information such as identification of product, net quantity statement, manufacturer’s name and address, proper listing of ingredients by weight (including water), the guaranteed analysis, nutritional adequacy statement, feeding directions, additional label claims, and calorie statements. If the AAFCO label does not exist, the company may not have verified nutrient claims with laboratory testing. Call the business to find out. All pet food companies should be transparent and want to educate the consumer about their product.

Dog Food Ingredients & Nutritional Value

What is the minimum standard for an adult dog to maintain weight and good health? A food must contain at least 18% protein, 5% fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture. Some dog foods guarantee minimum levels of other nutrients such as calcium, phosphorous, sodium, and linoleic acid which are especially important for bone growth in puppies. Changes to minimum accepted levels of taurine will likely be included on future labels as a link between low levels of dietary taurine and heart disease in dogs was recently discovered in dogs eating certain pet foods containing peas, lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes as main ingredients.

Let’s talk about pet food manufacturers. Mars, Purina, and Big Heart make 93% of all pet foods sold today. They invest billions of dollars, employ untold numbers of nutritionists, scientists, quality control experts, and veterinarians, as well as conduct feeding trials and test products for nutritional components to ensure your dog receives complete and balanced nutrition for every age and stage of life. Don’t rule their foods out and assume smaller companies make safer and more wholesome diets. According to Dog Food Advisor, 83% of food recalls over the last 5 years came from small manufacturers. Plan on doing more of your own research should you choose food produced by a mom and pop pet food company. Smaller pet companies are also more likely to outsource manufacturing and production. It is key to know where your dog’s food is made in order to monitor for food recalls and determine product safety.

What ingredients make up a quality food and from where should they be sourced? Ideally, companies obtain the raw materials for protein, carbohydrate and fat from local or regional sources with whom they have an established relationship and have strict quality control. Contamination from bacteria such as salmonella and listeria, mold, or toxins such as cadmium, lead and arsenic should be monitored by the supplier and and rechecked by the pet food company after manufacturing. Surprisingly, diets labelled grain-free were found to contain more toxins that those that contained grain.

Brokers on the open market and countries with inferior food quality standards may offer cheap ingredients that can be harmful to your dog but cost considerably less. Interestingly, many of these same countries make superior quality supplemental vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C that are found in most commercial pet foods. Pet foods with ingredients such as a clean meat source (turkey, beef, bison, duck…) instead of a meat meal which may contain horns and hair, fewer artificial preservatives, like BHT and ethoxyquin, and colors are preferred. Foods with labelled as “natural” and “super-premium” are not held to any different standards as those without such label claims. While natural may imply the diet was preserved with tocopherols (a Vitamin E source) vs. artificial chemicals, that isn’t necessarily the case; don’t be fooled into paying a higher price for these “superior” products.

Dry vs Wet (Canned) Dog Food

What’s the difference between wet and dry dog food? Which is better for your dog? Increased water content may make wet diets easier to chew for puppies and senior pets, more palatable, more filling, and can contain fewer artificial preservatives and flavors as they are sealed in air-tight containers. Often, wet foods contain a higher protein content and fewer carbohydrates compared to their dry counterparts which may be beneficial for animals needing to maintain lean muscle or that have medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus.

When comparing the nutritional analysis of wet vs. a dry diet, be sure you are comparing them both on a dry matter basis. The FDA has a guide on how to perform this calculation. Dry foods can assist in the mechanical removal of plaque, improving dental hygiene. They also are easier to store and are usually less expensive. Ultimately, the decision to feed wet or dry food is between you and your veterinarian.

Get started on your search for the best and healthy dog food for your pet to ensure a proper dog diet and avoid overfeeding. Best of luck out there and may you never be stuck utterly perplexed at a grocery store on a lovely night!

Other sources:
FDA Pet Food Labels
Animal Food Recalls & Alerts
Clean Label Project Pet Food

Dog Overweight? Ways to Help Maintain and Control Your Dog’s Weight!

Pet Health

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Now that it’s 2018, we wearily rub the sleep out of eyes and take a tentative step back into reality. Our pants are a little more snug from the holidays and it’s time to get moving and regroup! After we purge the last bit of fruitcake and eggnog from the fridge, we owe it to our pets to take charge of their health and well-being. That starts with weight assessment and management, and it doesn’t have to be difficult.  The trick is knowing where to start and being consistent. And the payoff is huge; a landmark study published in 2002 by Nestlé Purina’s showed that maintaining a dog’s lean body condition extended their median life span by 15 percent. For the Labrador Retrievers in the study, the statistic translates into two years.

What To Do If Your Dog Is Overweight

Placing a call to your veterinarian is the first thing you should do if you’re wondering if your dog is overweight. At the appointment, it helps to bring your pet’s food, treats, and measuring cup; taking it one step further, an accurate log of your pet’s food intake over a week or two is ideal. By having all family members write down what is fed, your vet gets an accurate picture of nutritional intake. Don’t stop there! Record any activity your dog has engaged in during that same time period. We aren’t necessarily counting calories expended, but gauging a rough level of activity. A pug on a couch doesn’t use the same amount of energy (calories) as a border collie who chases a frisbee 2 hours a day.

Your veterinarian is going to weigh your dog. You can monitor weight at home by weighing yourself, then weighing yourself holding your dog, and subtract your weight to get your pet’s LBS/pounds.  Make a note of it on your food and activity log. If you have a large breed dog, many vet clinics and pet stores will happily let you walk in and get a weight on their oversized scale.  Because of variability in breeds and body types within the breed, charts will list a healthy weight range for each breed. Taking a look at the AKC guide to breed weights, we see that a Boston Terrier may weigh anywhere from 12-25 pounds. That’s a HUGE degree of variability and isn’t particularly helpful, especially if you have  a mixed breed dog. Veterinarians and knowledgeable pet owners are more likely to rely on a body condition scoring chart to assess weight.

Determine Your Dog’s Ideal Weight

One of the most popular is the Purina Dog Condition Scoring Chart. This chart allows pet owners and medical professionals to  evaluate a dog based on three criteria and assign them a value from 1 (emaciated) to grossly obese (9): feeling the fat pad over the ribs and determining if the ribs are able to be easily visualized, evaluating a dog’s waist profile and thickness from above, and assessing their abdominal tuck. A dog at its ideal weight should be about a 4-5/9.  Anything above or below, and you’ve got a problem! Each point on the scale correlates 10% over or under their ideal weight.  For example, a golden retriever that is an 8/9, is roughly 30% overweight. Instead of weighing 100 pounds, he should weigh 70. (100 pounds x 0.30 = 30 pounds overweight). 4

Armed with your dog’s body condition score, food intake, activity level, diet fed, his rough weight in pounds vs. ideal weight, you can start to make some adjustments in how you feed and exercise your pet. It’s estimated that roughly 45% of dogs in the U.S. are overweight or obese. 2 These staggering numbers contribute to their overall quality of life in a number of ways: overweight pets are more likely to develop diabetes, arthritis, respiratory illnesses, skin infections, and cancer in addition to the relative immobility obesity fosters.

How Much Food To Feed Your Dog

Dogs are physiologically built to thrive on 2-4 small meals a day. Free choice feeding can lead to overeating when bored. The choice of what to feed can be a complex one.  Again, enlist the help of your veterinarian who will likely recommend a food or foods based on your dog’s size, breed, health status (pre-screening for diseases like hypothyroidism, heart disease, Cushing’s disease, arthritis, and others to make sure there are no other medical issues contributing to your pet’s weight gain), activity level, and age. Just reducing your dog’s caloric intake of his regular diet and treats could also deprive him of essential nutrients. In general, a diet higher in protein and lower in fat and calories per 8 ounce cup can help your pet achieve 1-2% loss in pounds per week. Canned foods, though more expensive, tend to be more filling and also contain a higher percentage of protein as fed.

Dog Food Advisor has a handy calculator that can aid you in determining the amount of calories to feed. Be careful; the labels on the back of dog food bags and cans are the estimated amounts to feed a dog at their healthy weight. We are looking to lose! Also, recall that treats count. Ice cubes, carrots, apple slices and green beans can be an appealing substitute to high calorie bones and chews. BalanceIT is a company that will develop a home cooked recipe and supplements exclusively for your dog to meet their individual needs. Started by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, professional recommendations can aid even a finicky dog or one with food allergies to lose weight.

Exercises and Activities For Dogs

If your dog is cleared to resume exercising, start with a 5-10 minute walk several times a day.  If you are able, incorporate some hills and swimming which help to build muscle and increase your dog’s metabolism. When the weather is chilly, play “find the kibble” in the house after hiding individual pieces under rugs, on chair rungs, and in plastic water bottles or boxes. The mental stimulation is a good replacement for physical exercise on cold days, and the dogs don’t realize they are expending as many calories as they are eating! Keeping a weight loss and activity log can assist in tracking the weekly weigh-in and fine tuning your dog’s program to achieve optimal results. Measure, measure, measure (even keep a baggie of food for your dog’s daily ration if needed). Who knows, you may find that by increasing your awareness of calories in, calories out, you may reach your own weight loss goals!

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