Happy New Year - 2010
another year over, a new one has begun - so what?
For Most of us it simply means - New Years Resolutions.
At least 30% of Americans are preparing new years resolution list. Don't you just LOVE it! Somehow it gives us all a sense of throwing off some of the old habits, as we work towards making a new and improved start to the new year. How wonderful to feel we can make believe the "old" year full of bad eating habits never existed we can now create a "new life" - "new start" - "clean slate" to just start again.
We all know the first thing on the majority of our new years resolution list is " I must improve my health" OR "I am going to cut out eating junk food" OR "must get more exercise". It seems only natural that our overall focus is improving overall health. New Years Resolutions help us take stock of our mistakes and provides us with a avenue to simply "try again".
Lets look at some of the typical new year resolutions;
- lose weight - do more cardio - work on getting my body more toned
- change diet
- introduce more vegetables
- reduce or eliminate junk food consumed in each meal every day
- reduce pharmaceutical medications
- introduce more natural remedies to address simple health problems
- work in building up the immune system
- improve the health of dry brittle hair
- work on clearing up skin issues?
- Allow time for meeting friends, playing and having fun!!!
Did I mention I am referring to the overall health improvement .........of our pets!
Yes. you got it - a new and improved holistic approach to the health and lifestyle of our beloved companion animals.
Don't worry its not going to mean you have to go back to school to become an animal therapist or nutritionist - I have put together some simple easy "do at home" steps for you to follow as you take your companion into 2010!
Change the Diet - Lose Weight:
I hear most pet owners complaining about the increased weight of their pets. I highly recommend you get into the habit of kook very closely at labels on the food you are feeding your pets. Check out and scrutinize the ingredients. Do you know how much "filler" goes into each bag of food? Usually the dog food companies add significant amounts of filler so they do not have to use as much meat, fish etc. this impacts significantly your pets weight gain. If you are feeding a much cheaper brand. You are likely to have to feed more to make your pet feel satisfied - the more you feed the more weight he gains. I recommend switching to a holistic pet food where the ingredients are meat, fish based no grains, more dense which mean you don't need to feed as much, you will see overall weight loss - without starving your pets!
Fruit and Vegetables?
YES on a daily basis add fresh pureed or ground vegetables to your dogs bowl. I highly recommend collard greens, kale, green beans, carrots(limited), squash, broccoli the list is endless. (please contact us to get a full list of the fruits and vegetables which are toxic to your pets)
More Cardio:
Our pets, no unlike humans need exercise to get all the organs in the body functioning at an optimum level i.e the more exercise you give your pets, you get the oxygen flowing the blood pumping, the muscles working, the energy dispensing. You will see an overall level of happiness from your pets, not only will they be active and healthier, active, they will lose weight and will sleep better too.
Natural Remedies:
The pharmaceutical industry are coming up with something to address every simple problem for our pets today. Please do not get me wrong, pharmaceuticals have such a valuable place in the treatment of many deadly diseases. However sometimes we can take simple steps to address some health issues with our pets, by using simple home remedies i.e. without pumping unnecessary chemicals into our pets bodies as the first option. Please research what remedies you can try at home before rushing to the vet (assuming the illness your pet has is not life threatening). The less chemicals you put in your pets body the healthier the immune system will develop thus naturally warding off common bacteria and viruses.
Dry Hair and Skin?
Try introducing natural fish oils into your pets diet, you will see an overall improvement of the coat and skin. Omega 3 fatty acids have such valuable properties, such an excellent overall supplement to any pets diet.
FUN FUN FUN!
Our pets need the opportunity to play and have fun with animals of their own species. Yes we as humans think we can provide everything our pets need. That is not totally correct. We cannot provide the animal communication your pet needs to grow and develop its natural animal social skills as well as its inate instincts. I highly recommend you get your pets around other companion animals of the same species so they can "shake hands" i.e. sniffing, playing, chasing, cleaning, grooming, romping, play biting, tussling - all the valuable social activities animals need. As with humans we need time to sit with our human friends over a cup of coffee and communicate. Animals need the same animal socialization with their species to provide enrichment to their life.
Want to learn more on how to incorporate any of the above health improvements or social enrichment for your pets?
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