Canine and Feline Nutrition

31/12/2022

It puts it to good use at least!

However, if your dog has diarrhoea, there are MUCH better options than turkey (or chicken!) and rice. It’s ok but doesn’t make much difference and is pretty nutrient-free.

My go-to these days for unpickupable poos in an otherwise healthy dog is Hills Biome! Other good options are ProPlan EN or Royal Canin Gastrointestinal.

They all help the guts to heal while also ensuring your dog has all the nutrition they need.

If you have a dog prone to the occasional runny poo and your vet is happy there is no underlying cause and it’s probably self-inflicted (the technical term is dietary indiscretion 🤦🏼‍♀️🤣), these are great options to keep in the cupboard at home.

But if you have turkey leftover and everyone else is sick of it, giving it to the dog shouldn’t cause any harm!

08/12/2022

05/10/2022

Great news that certain Nutravet products including Nutraquin+ and Nutramega are now available to buy online rather than only through veterinary practices.

Did you know?

Your pet can take more than one nutravet product at the same time. Some pets need multiple health support and our products have been developed to be taken alongside one another.

Shop a selection of our range here http://ow.ly/XZc350KVymp

18/07/2022

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog/ice-cubes-for-dogs?amp&fbclid=IwAR277sMvcCHAAQ1JI12TMIenD9hfjJnJXoQ2C8SIQWUMvuk7oaRRTQTtk5A

Can dogs have ice cubes? There's a lot of misinformation circulating on this topic and we’re here to clear that up.

02/04/2022

🍫🐰 EASTER 🐰🍫

Chocolate egg season is here...

We will be sharing top tips on keeping your pet happy and safe over the next couple of weeks 🐶

Chocolate contains a compound called theobromine, which is poisonous to dogs. 🍫

Keep chocolate out of reach of curious paws and if you think they have got to some, please contact us immediately for advice. 🐾

11/01/2022

Nurse appointments are now available all day at Lynwood Vets Swanage. You can book in for such things as:
Nail clipping
Application of flea/worming products
New pet checks
2nd vaccination
Weight clinics
Post operative checks
Repeat injections
And of course Nutritional advice.
I will be there on Tuesdays.
Telephone 01929 422213

03/11/2021

⚡️ 🐾 D o g s & P a i n 🐾 ⚡️

It is a myth to believe a dog is only in pain if it yelps. If this is you then stop and read this infographic. ⬇️

If you are concerned about any pet being in pain or discomfort a chat with your vet is where you should start. There are many reasons for pain and it’s important to always rule out medical issues and nasties such as infection, the C-word (cancer!), internal organ pain or illness.

Following diagnosis management of pain in dogs should always be a multi-modal approach, i.e. incorporating veterinary care, complementary supplements where appropriate, allied health professionals (Physiotherapy & hydrotherapy) diet, ergonomics and exercise management.

12/07/2021

Did you know that dogs and cats are naturally crepuscular (most active at twilight) although domesticated pets adapt their activity to their owners routine.

It is recommended to feed twice a day for most dogs and cats metabolism, but remember you don’t have to split it 50/50 if they are less hungry at certain times of day.

29/06/2021

Do you have a pet that is being treated for cancer?

Cancer cachexia:
• Is the term used to describe the weight loss and muscle mass wastage that occurs in cancer patients that cannot be entirely attributed to a reduction in food intake.
• Tumour cells preferentially metabolise glucose for energy, using the host’s glucose and generating large amounts of lactate. (Case et al 2011)
• Glucose is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) and is a component of many carbohydrates.
• Therefore a diet low in carbohydrates is recommended. This enables the pet to gain calories from fats and protein which most tumours don’t use as fuel.
• A food that contains 50-60% of total calories from fat , 30-50% of calories from protein and the remaining from soluble carbohydrate is recommended for dogs and cats with cancer (Case et al 2011)
• Increased omega-3 fatty acids are also recommended
• For pets that are suffering with decreased appetite due to feeling poorly and can feed orally it is recommended to feed smaller amounts more frequently. Offering wet food and warming it to increase its aroma can also help.
• Always consult your Veterinarian before changing your pets diet.

16/06/2021

** Product Recall**

There is a voluntary recall happening from today for some brands of cat foods due to a possible link to the development of serious disease in cats eating them.

The affected products are from some ranges of AVA, available in Pets At Home, Applaws and Sainsbury's cat food.

For Applaws products it is only packs with a Best Before Date of Dec 2022 to Best Before Date of June 2023 and a site reference code of GB218E5009.

For AVA it is all batches and best before dates

For Sainsburys’ products it is all batches and best before dates

For a full list of products and the affected batch numbers issued by the Food Standards Agency, click here; https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cCTyXKchcBq5ljmMoRx_lS3UdqaLZIb2/view

To read the statement from Fold Hills Food - the facility where these diets are made, click here; https://www.foldhill.co.uk/fold-hill-foods-ltd-is-recalling-a-number-of-products-it-manufactures-on-behalf-of-partner-brands/?fbclid=IwAR2aL6XX3vO-HmOy3g62IpirulPXj2OOWN3Cwuq1TWbrfx-gKd1JAEEWC68

If your cat has been eating these diets, it may be wise to contact your vet to discuss it with them and possibly run some precautionary blood tests.

However, it is important to note that this is still a precaution and no definite link or cause has been found yet.

You can also join this Facebook group, which has been set up by owners of cats affected by this issue who are sharing all the latest findings and updates; https://www.facebook.com/groups/806871953557080

17/05/2021

Following on from the post about Renal diets, this is a fairly easy to understand video https://youtu.be/550crzspkAY

This video by Sean J. Delaney, DVM, MS, DACVN covers the nutritional management of renal disease in-depth. Specific strategies such as phosphorus restriction...

06/05/2021

Chronic renal disease in dogs:

It’s often thought that reducing the amount of protein in the diet is the main modification but it seems that the reduction of phosphorus is equally important.
Most of the normal diets don’t state the phosphorus level on the packaging. To find out the levels you would have to phone up the individual companies.

Supplements are available such as Pronefra or Ipakitine which are phosphate binders; And Denamarin helps as an antioxidant.

The main points I would use when looking for a Canine renal diet are that it needs to be 14-20% protein and 0.3 -0.5% phosphorus.

If you change your dogs diet I would always suggest that you check blood renal values a couple of weeks after the diet change to make sure the levels don’t get dramatically worse. And also obviously monitor their clinical signs for any deterioration.

Always consult with your vet before changing your pets diet as I don’t know all the history and other factors that may affect the suitability of a diet to your dog.

https://youtu.be/550crzspkAY

27/04/2021

Segments from ‘Inflammatory bowel disease – diagnosis and treatment’

Gerard Olivares and Mellora Sharman

* This article was originally published in Vet Times 48.12 (26 March 2018).

The term IBD has been adapted from human medicine, where disorders include Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The term chronic enteropathy (CE) has been suggested as more appropriate for veterinary use, as it recognises the difference between these diseases in most of our patients compared to human medicine1.

A diagnosis of CE usually involves careful evaluation of signalment, home environment, history, physical examination, clinicopathological findings, diagnostic imaging and histopathology of intestinal biopsies. CE is diagnosed in patients with chronic GI signs (longer than three weeks). Most often, these cases are presented with vomiting, diarrhoea and weight loss.

This is, perhaps, a particularly important consideration for cats, as concurrent inflammatory disease involving the liver or pancreas (feline triaditis) can be present and may contribute to clinicopathological findings.

Stable patients with chronic GI clinical signs and normal albumin concentrations can be given the option of empirical treatment trials, initially with diet. Dietary strategies may include use of hypoallergenic or novel protein diets, low-fat and easily digestible diets, or alteration of the fibre content.

A dietary trial with hydrolysed diet or antigen-restricted/novel protein source should be performed for a minimum of one to two weeks, depending on the frequency of clinical signs. Longer treatment trials may be needed for cases where less frequent, intermittent clinical signs are reported.

A single dietary approach is unlikely to suit all clinical cases, and the authors advise clients numerous dietary strategies may need to be tried before failure to respond to diet is concluded. A true dietary trial should always include a challenge phase, where relapse of disease is confirmed on introduction of the previous diet; however, many owners are reluctant to perform this step.

Concerns about long-term antibiotic use have prompted investigation of other methods of achieving the same results. The two main treatments with this aim are the use of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics, and faecal transplantation.