Scratchings-and-Sniffings

A Holistic Approach to Nutrition

I've done a series of posts over on the pet insurance blog about a new approach to nutrition being advocated by the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). The latter group is made of of board certified Veterinary Nutrition specialists.

 Most ACVN members practice at university teaching hospitals at Veterinary colleges around the country. Others work in specialty referral practices or for pet food companies helping formulate and develop new diets. Purina has several on staff and consulting arrangements with many more around the country and the world.

Back Packing Tune up For Miles

Chris and I took Miles up to visit Alice, Phil and Martha at the fire lookout tower on Hillsboro Peak last weekend. It was Miles' first trip to the peak and a great opportunity to do a test run for our week long backpacking trip coming up.

I really wanted to nail down how much food Miles would need and make sure his new pack was working out well. We learned other valuable lessons, too.

The new pack worked well. We've had problems with other packs. We bought one from REI that looked really good in the store, but didn't hold up well on the trail. Both Miles and Alice have torn the saddle bags off these packs by hanging them up in brush.

Figuring Out How Much To Feed Your Pet

In the last post, I went through a convoluted process tying to figure out how much food to take for Miles on our upcoming backpacking trip. It can be tricky, especially when you consider the tremendous variation in caloric need created by different activity levels.

For most people it should be easier.

There are basically two ways to arrive at a starting point for how much to feed a pet. I say starting point because there can be significant variation in caloric need even in dogs and cats of similar weight and activity levels. That's important because most problems with excess weight happen because an owner feeds slightly more than a dog or cat needs over a prolonged period of time. As few a 15 extra calories a day over a year can add up to several excess pounds.

How Much To Feed Miles?

My wife and I are having an ongoing disagreement over how much food we need to feed Miles to keep him in tip top shape. We are planning a seven day backpacking trip and I've been trying to figure out how much food Miles will be carrying in his pack. We disagree about how much food we need for ourselves, too.

I tend to see backpacking trips as more about being out there than gastronomic adventures. Chris's biggest fear is that we run out of food. Mine is that we have some left in the pack when we get back to the trail head.

I've been feeding Miles about four cups of Purina ONE a day. Two cups in the morning and two in the evening. That comes to about 1530 kcals a day. I figure that Miles is about seventy five pounds or 34 Kilos and that he qualifies as an active dog.

The Grumpy Old Lady Climbs the Stairs

Just to make it clear - I don't do the stair thing very often. Over on Romeo the Cat's blog I shared my so effective wake-up tactic which involves getting my Mom and Tom to come down the stairs to me! (and I look just like this picture when they finally appear)

However, as you'll see when you visit Romeo's blog, I had to get creative yesterday - with his female staff member, who was visiting my Mom and Tom for some business meeting. BlogPaws stuff, they said. For three days it was, "BlogPaws this," and, "BlogPaws that," and, "Are we bringing Wabby to BlogPaws West?" (I said no but I'm not sure they were listening...I'm only going if Romeo goes.)

Meanwhile, I want to know how loud a cat has to be to get attention around here?

Do visit Romeo's blog and tell us how loud you have to be to get your staff up in the morning. Meow!

Miles Goes on Vacation

We took Miles to Tucson for Valentine's Day weekend. We stayed at Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort, a swanky and uber dog friendly place. Miles got a special tag, bowl and treat at check in and they even have a dog "room service" menu. Of course, Miles eats only Purina ONE, so he passed on that.

We had a blast. Chris hit the spa, I tried my luck on the "Shoot Out", the best group bike ride/ race in the West and Miles relaxed in regal fashion.

 

This place is nestled in the mountains on the north edge of Tucson and blends right in with the desert. We took Miles on several hikes in the area and he chased Road Runners and almost got into it with a roving band of Javelina's. Good thing he was on his leash and Gentle Walker Dog Harness.

Heroes: Purina®: ONE® is on the search

Purina® ONE® is Looking for Heroes in the Lives of Pets. The press release offers a number of ways to be a hero in the life ofa pet.

Here's how they get our attention on the opening of the press release: "Imagine waking up every morning wondering if you'll someday be able to find a home to call your own or how you'll find your next meal." We all know there are abandoned and neglected pets who do that, every day. It hurts to even think about it, doesn't it?

Well, Purina ONE has teamed up with Martha Stewart to "support pets in need." Martha, of course, is a big pet supporter - and shows it on her blog and even on her show, time and time again.

Pet Food Innovations: Hypoallergenic Diets

When I took early retirement from Purina® we had a party to celebrate my seventeen year career. At one point that evening, my boss asked me what I thought was my best accomplishment. Without hesitation I brought up my role in the development of a hypoallergenic diet for the management of food allergy. He seemed surprised. After all, I had worked on two of the most important brands at Purina and this diet was small potatoes compared to Purina ONE® and Pro Plan®.

It's about the innovation I told him. It proves that pet food can play a big role in the management of disease and it demonstrates that Purina, a company better known for its size, can be on the cutting edge of nutrition science.

 

Upon reflection, he seemed pleased with the answer. Or maybe he was thinking something along the lines of, "Typical response for a vet."

Caring for Your Diabetic Cat

I've got another excellent video recommendation for people with diabetic cats. This video is very similar to the chronic renal failure video from a few weeks ago and is made by the same group. You can view it here on the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Partners in Animal Health Website. The video is made possible by our friends at Purina Veterinary Diets. 

This video is an excellent companion piece to the pod casts Yvonne and I did with Dr Grace Long on caring for diabetic cats. The first installment was on last Monday and part two should be up next week.

What I really love about this video is how comprehensive it is and what a good job it does of graphically demonstrating what goes wrong with glucose metabolism in the diabetic cat. I also love the way the video incorporates snippets from actual owners of diabetic cats. 

Ah, Another Family Thanksgiving

I just read an interesting article in the NY Times about the trials and tribulations of getting together with the family for Thanksgiving. For many of us, it's a good time. My daughter Claire is coming home with her dog Miles and we're entertaining about sixteen close friends. I'm looking forward to it.

For some, as the Times article implies, family gatherings can become stressful events. This particular piece is about food and family tensions. Been there. In my family the worst possible fate in life is to be overweight. My ninety three year old mom is still trying to lose those extra five pounds. Seriously. 

 

We already have both a Thanksgiving day and Friday bike ride in the works to account for the additional calories we'll take in on Thursday. Mountain Bikes on Thursday and road bikes on Friday.