Ask Dr. Paola- Help! My Dog’s Won’t St...

Welcome to our “Ask Dr. Paola” sequence, the place each Monday we carry knowledgeable recommendation straight from Dr. Paola Cuevas (MVZ) to assist our readers higher perceive their canine’s well being and well-being.

Whether or not you’re a brand new pet mum or dad or a seasoned canine lover, Dr. Paola is right here to offer solutions to your most urgent questions. From diet ideas and preventive care to troubleshooting frequent behavioral points, Dr. Paola is able to provide insights that may preserve your furry pal comfortable and wholesome. Keep tuned for knowledgeable steering on a spread of matters that matter most to you and your canine, so you can also make knowledgeable choices and supply the very best care in your canine companion. ‎Have‎ a ‎question? Send it in here!

Assist! I Need to Change My Pet’s Canine Meals!

“Cher is a 9-month-old feminine Shih Tzu pet. She is presently consuming Royal Canin pet meals moist and dry. I’m contemplating transitioning her to Diamond Pure small-breed grownup dry meals. My thought is that the Diamond Pure model is inexpensive and appears to have comparable components. I’m asking in your recommendation on this Diamond Naturals model vs Royal Canin. Thanks upfront in your recommendation.“  – Alan

Hello Alan.

That is a vital and particularly reasonable query, as a result of many pet dad and mom wonder if the distinction between manufacturers displays science or just advertising and marketing energy. Bigger firms like Royal Canin spend money on feeding trials, make use of veterinary diet professionals, and consider how canines carry out on their diets over time somewhat than relying solely on calculated nutrient profiles. That degree of testing and high quality management requires vital monetary sources, which is why it’s extra frequent amongst massive producers. On the similar time, you will need to acknowledge that a lot of the analysis within the pet meals business is company-funded, so whereas it supplies helpful details about security, digestibility, and efficiency, it isn’t the identical as unbiased scientific analysis.

Smaller or mid-size manufacturers, together with Diamond Naturals, sometimes formulate diets to satisfy established nutrient requirements utilizing laboratory evaluation and formulation software program. This method is suitable and meets regulatory necessities, and plenty of canines keep good well being on these meals. A useful technique to clarify this to pet dad and mom is to consider two drugs that meet security requirements. One has extra inside testing behind it, whereas the opposite is developed to satisfy the required specs with much less in-house scientific analysis. Each can work, and neither method robotically ensures superior long-term well being outcomes for each canine.

From a broader dietary perspective, additionally it is useful to step again and see the larger image. Each Royal Canin and Diamond Naturals are extruded kibble, or canned wet food, which means they’re extremely processed and depend on artificial vitamins to exchange what’s misplaced throughout manufacturing. If the aim is to maneuver past evaluating manufacturers inside the similar processing class, a significant enchancment in dietary high quality comes from decreasing processing altogether. Full and balanced, gently cooked, fresh diets present vitamins in a extra pure and bioavailable kind, extra like complete meals than packaged cereal, and commercially ready choices make this method sensible whereas avoiding the dietary imbalances that usually happen with home-cooked recipes. In the end, a very powerful measure of any food plan is the canine’s general well being, physique situation, digestion, and long-term well-being.

Regards,

Dr. Paola

Assist! Can Meals Have an effect on Habits?

“Can canine meals have an effect on a canine’s hormones? I’ve an 8-year-old lab combine who has turn out to be extra testy, and his penis will elongate, and he desires to hump objects. Chief has been neutered for over 7 years. The one change to his food plan is that I’ve began including some moist pet food to his food plan for selection. Might that be influencing his conduct? He’s one among 3 canines who’ve all been round for six years. His conduct is making a tense atmosphere for all.“ – Sophia

Pricey ​​Sophia,

I perceive how traumatic this alteration can really feel in a beforehand steady family. Typically, business canine meals, together with moist meals, don’t include hormones and should not identified to affect reproductive hormone ranges or set off sexual conduct. The bulbus glandis, the conventional swelling on the base of the penis, can enlarge with arousal, pleasure, nervousness, and even social rigidity, and this will occur in neutered males as a result of the conduct isn’t pushed solely by testosterone. Mounting in neutered canines is usually a communication conduct somewhat than a sexual one, very like an individual pacing or fidgeting when emotionally overstimulated.

When a neutered grownup out of the blue turns into extra testy or begins mounting, the commonest causes are elevated stress, modifications in social dynamics, ache, medical discomfort, cognitive growing old, or elevated arousal ranges, somewhat than food plan. Even small environmental shifts, delicate rigidity between canines, modifications in routine, or underlying medical points comparable to urinary discomfort, pores and skin irritation, or endocrine disease like hypothyroidism can decrease a canine’s emotional threshold. At eight years previous, additionally it is sensible to contemplate a medical analysis, since conduct modifications in mature canines usually have a bodily element. The brand new moist meals is unlikely to have an effect on hormones, but when the addition will increase calorie intake or palatability, it may contribute to larger power or arousal in some people.

As a result of the conduct is creating rigidity within the group, early intervention is essential. Managing arousal via elevated psychological enrichment, structured train, and calmly interrupting mounting earlier than escalation may help, however a veterinary examination ought to be step one to rule out medical causes. Consider this example much less as a hormonal surge and extra as your canine’s emotional stress valve opening, and the aim is to establish what’s rising that inside stress so the family can return to a relaxed, balanced state. Good luck!

Dr. Paola

Assist! I Canines Received’t Cease Barking!

“I’ve 2 Hanesse. Benthic and Shelby. We simply moved into an house, and each canines are barking on a regular basis. What barking machine would work for each canines? They’re 9 years previous.“ – Susan

Hello Susan,

When barking will increase after a transfer, the conduct is often pushed by stress and uncertainty somewhat than disobedience. Your canines are adjusting to a brand new atmosphere stuffed with unfamiliar sounds, neighbors, and modifications in routine, so they’re reacting like delicate alarm programs that haven’t but realized what’s regular. At 9 years previous, main modifications can really feel particularly overwhelming, so the simplest method is to assist them really feel safe and decrease their general stress degree, somewhat than focusing solely on stopping the noise.

A really useful basis on this state of affairs is a calming pheromone diffuser, comparable to Adaptil Calm Dwelling Diffuser. These launch an artificial model of the pure calming pheromone produced by mom canines and might scale back stress-related behaviors, together with extreme barking. Consider it as turning down the quantity on their emotional alarm system so on a regular basis house sounds really feel much less threatening. Most properties discover enchancment inside one to 2 weeks. This works greatest alongside predictable routines, day by day train, enrichment, and background noise like a fan or white noise to soften hallway or neighbor sounds.

Earlier than selecting a barking machine, you will need to know that many instruments, particularly shock or harsh automatic ultrasonic systems, can improve nervousness and make barking worse over time, notably in delicate or older canines. In order for you a tool, the most secure choices are humane handheld or collar-based ultrasonic or vibration trainers that interrupt the barking with out ache. These work greatest when the barking is triggered by particular occasions somewhat than fixed nervousness. Timing is crucial. The interrupter ought to be used proper because the barking begins, and the second your canines pause, calmly reward the quiet in order that they study that calm conduct is what earns consideration. Computerized room gadgets are sometimes unreliable in flats as a result of partitions, echoes, and a number of canines can set off them unpredictably. It helps to consider these instruments as a quick pause button, not an answer, whereas the true progress comes from decreasing triggers, constructing enrichment, and instructing that quiet brings good issues. I hope this helps.

Dr. Paola