Teaching a Not So Old Dog an Important Lesson

When I made the decision to start my pet care business, I knew that my work would encompass activities other than dog walking and pet sitting.  This does not mean that both activities aren’t professionally and personally meaningful to me.  Quite the contrary!  They allow me to spend time with dogs and cats, which is enormously gratifying and they are the cornerstones around which Deluxe Dog Concierge is built. 

Simply put, in addition to providing the basic pet care services clients typically look for, Deluxe Dog Concierge seeks to be a credible informational resource for pet parents. 

So it should not come as a surprise that I stepped before a group of 16 older adults and the Program Director at a senior living community in University City/La Jolla this week to present a program on canine health and ways to strengthen the bonds between people and their dogs.  We covered topics including ideal weight range, appropriate food portion size, canine nutrition, exercising your dog, the value of playtime and the importance of physical touch.  Although I was the so-called expert who delivered the program, Dr. Ira Feinswog (a highly regarded local veterinarian) joined me to manage the Q&A session at the end.

What resonates with me most from this experience is having had the opportunity to observe the extremely close relationships between the residents and their pets. Their dogs sat on their laps, by their feet or underneath their chairs on their doggie cushions.  The residents listened intently and their dogs also were captivated by the subject matter.  Good questions were asked and thoughtful remarks were made.  The residents (probably unbeknownst to them) stroked their dogs’ backs, petted their heads and showered them with kisses throughout the hour-long program. 

When it was over, I reflected upon what had just happened.  The residents hopefully benefited from participating in the program.  But with all their life wisdom, they were already doing and reinforcing much of the emotional bonding and pet enrichment practices we discussed.  In this regard, they had something to teach me:  It’s not just about acquiring some new pet health information or learning important “pet facts”; it’s also about doing what comes naturally when a dog looks into your eyes and his/her soul reaches out to you to say, “Thank you for loving me and taking care of me.  You mean so much to me and I am here to look after you too.”  As I left their retirement community and got into my car, I felt so humbled by the experience.  These elders taught this not so old dog the best lesson ever.  

Cheers!

Cracking the Code on Dog Food Labels

In my last blog post, I discussed the need to closely examine commercial dog food labels when deciding which brand and specific product(s) to feed your dog.  My leading recommendation was to select a dog food that contains a protein (meat) as one of its major ingredients.

In today’s post, I’ll elaborate on this topic as well as direct your attention to some other items to look for as you evaluate dog food.   

A meat (protein) such as chicken, beef or lamb should be listed as one of the first ingredients.  This reflects the requirement by pet food manufacturers to list ingredients in order of their weight.  Under most circumstances, products with meat listed in the top 5 are better choices than those that do not.  This is because the first five ingredients typically make up the majority of the product, and when a meat is included, the protein content is apt to be higher. 

Try to avoid products that list corn-based ingredients in the top 5 items.  While grains such as corn and corn meal are often touted by the pet food industry as furnishing essential energy for a dog, this is not completely accurate.  A more precise explanation for their use is that as carbohydrates, they serve an important role in turning the food into kibble form.  As you might also suspect, including carbohydrates such as corn is relatively inexpensive.  They act as filler calories and for the pet food manufacturer hold down their production costs.

Be mindful of the sources of protein listed on the label.  Meats and meat by-products do not necessarily provide the same quality of nutrition.  Some meat by-products include items like hooves, feathers, beaks, eyes, fur, bone and skin (essentially anything remaining from the butchery); while these are sources of protein, they are not good sources of protein for your dog.

Finally, if preservatives are present, look for Vitamin E and/or C as opposed to chemical preservatives.  Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are also good ingredients for their anti-inflammatory value and offer protection from kidney and heart disease.  No artificial food coloring should be present.

In closing, what started as visits to local pet supply stores in La Jolla to survey the kinds of dog food currently available for purchase, quickly transformed into a much deeper and meaningful attempt to understand good canine nutrition.  I look forward to conducting my pet care business and using my blog in ways that go beyond standard dog walking and pet sitting topics.  It’s part of my larger effort to be an educational resource and advocate of good pet care practices.

I'm a Foodie, My Dogs are Foodies...Wouldn't You Like to be a Foodie Too?

In my mind, one of the responsibilities that comes with being a pet care professional is taking steps to continuously learn and educate oneself on a broad range of pet care topics.  In preparing for a pet education class I’ll be delivering to elders at a La Jolla retirement community, I delved into the topic of diet and nutrition for dogs.

One point that became readily clear is the need to closely read the nutritional content on all dog food packaging when initially searching for a high quality product for your new puppy or considering switching your adult dog’s current food.  But understand that a cursory look at dog food labels is insufficient; it does not provide a complete picture of an individual product’s nutritional value. 

Dog owners normally have a choice between wet (canned) versus dry food (kibble).  You’ll need to examine the levels of protein, fat and fiber plus the amount of moisture in each product regardless of its wet or dry form.  This information is found in the Guaranteed Analysis section on the food label. 

If you’re comparing a canned food product to a dry food product, initial looks can be deceiving.  While the sheer percentages of crude protein, crude fat and crude fiber might appear to be lower in canned food, this may not in fact be accurate.  To effectively compare the nutritional value of both canned and dry food, you’ll need to convert these items to what is called a “dry matter basis”.  To do this, simply subtract the percentage of moisture reported on the label from 100% (let’s call this result X).  Then divide the percentage of crude protein as reported on the label by this % (X), and do the same for the fat and fiber content – divide the percentage of crude fat by (X) and also divide the percentage of crude fiber by (X).  This will allow you to compare all canned and dry foods on an equivalent basis.  You might be surprised to learn that certain canned foods actually provide more protein than some dry foods even though the numbers reported on the labels would lead you to believe otherwise.

So why is protein so important?  Simply put, dogs require a source of protein (meat) in their diets in order to grow and develop into strong, healthy pets, and maintain this state of well being through adulthood.  Check back with our blog going forward; I am a foodie so there’s more to come on canine nutrition.

Soul Food for Thought

Do pets have a soul?  Read on to find out! 

I was making a quick stop at Costco the other day and found myself browsing through the store’s book selection.  Despite already owning many books about pets, I found myself on the other side of the checkout aisle having purchased two more for my reading pleasure and growing collection.

One book is “Following Atticus” by Tom Ryan; it’s an account of the author’s true adventures with his miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch as they attempted to hike to almost one hundred snowy peaks in the White Mountains of New Hampshire one winter.  The second book is “Oink” with the subtitle “My Life with Mini-Pigs” by Matt Whyman.  This true story captures the author’s life with his wife and four children in the idyllic English countryside and how Butch and Roxi (two miniature pigs) joined their family and added their own special charm to an otherwise ordinary life. 

As I look at these two books and the others on my bookshelf, I think about one book that preceded most of them, “Marley & Me” by John Grogan.   For animal lovers, there’s no need to explain who Marley was and what he accomplished as “the world’s worst dog” during his life.  I was one of the millions who read this book, and laughed, cringed and ultimately wept as Mr. Grogan related Marley’s story.

Mr. Grogan’s book led the pack of the hundreds of others that followed.  And what they all have in common is they tell the story of an animal (cat, dog, horse, pig, etc.) that changed someone’s life (often many lives).  They changed human lives through their unique pet personalities – their likes and dislikes, behavioral idiosyncrasies, and hysterical and sometimes dark or tragic adventures.  Upon reading these stories, it’s difficult not to think about the animal as somehow human.  This is because the author (either intentionally or not) imbues the pet with human-like attributes.  The reader can actually visualize this character with four legs situating himself/herself in the activity taking place and consciously exerting some impact on the course of events.

And so this brings me to the key theme of today’s post.  Domesticated animals absolutely do have their own unique personalities – qualities and nuances that make them different from others of their same species.  And when I think about the animals under my care, I believe they each have a soul, a being or spiritual essence that goes beyond just an endearing pet personality.  It may not be a soul in the human sense; however, it is a soul nonetheless.  As other people play important roles and touch our lives, our pets play equally important roles and touch our lives in affirming ways.  And so today I offer this Soul Food for Thought.  Every time I meet a new pet and they greet me, I first say hello and introduce myself.  Then I try to sense what makes this animal distinctive.  That’s my Ah-ha! moment!  I realize it is my search to understand their soul.

Read more about pet personalities at my website, www.deluxedogconcerige.com.