Keeping your pets healthy during the winter doldrums
Keeping your pet active in the winter is important for its continued health. This doggie umbrella is a great way to encourage your pup to walk in the rainy weather.
Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
The weatherman predicts nonstop rain for a week. It’s cold and you and your pets are stuck in the house. The holidays are long over but those extra pounds you’ve all put on are still around. It seems all you want to do is sit on the couch and watch television. Not a healthy scenario for either ourselves or our pets.
As a veterinarian, I am often asked how to keep dogs entertained and healthy when it’s raining endlessly. Sure, we can run off to the gym, but I doubt our four-legged friends would enjoy a treadmill. There are a number of ways both of you can stay fit while you wait for winter weather to end.
First off, we know our pets mimic our lifestyle. If you are a couch potato, more likely than not your dog is either sitting by your feet or begging for Doritos – or both. It’s usually the case that active people have active dogs, and the opposite as well. It is never easy for a veterinarian to tell pet owners that their darling needs to be more active or change her eating habits, but it must be done.
Dogs are instinctively active and social animals. They are descendents of wolves that lived in packs. It was always a matter of survival of the fittest in a harsh world, regardless of the weather. Wolves would hunt and scrounge for tidbits in the fiercest environments. As loving pet owners, we have made an evolutionary stretch to make them part of our pack. There is no competition and the bowl is ready to be filled at the usual feeding time.
One of the easiest things to do is reduce our pets’ caloric intake and make them work a bit for their food. That means checking with your veterinarian to recommend a low-calorie or low-fat diet. This includes treats. We can even work out a diet and exercise regime. It may be easier for pet owners to help their dog stay fit and trim during inactive periods than it is to adhere to their own New Year’s resolutions.
In the wild, most animals work hard to build up stores of body fat during the fall to prepare for shortages in the winter. Luckily, it is a lot easier to cut your pets’ calorie load than it is to expect them just to not eat and wait for spring.
Most canned dog foods are incredibly high in unnecessary fat. Substitute that chunk of canned food with unsweetened canned pumpkin. Pumpkin is low in fat and high in digestible fiber, and it makes dogs feel full. Most dogs will love it as much as their canned food. Many treats are significantly higher in calories than dog food. Try vegetables, such as green beans and carrots, instead.
Encourage your dog to brave the rain, because he needs to exercise. He might shake a bit, but he will follow you out into nasty weather even if you look funny in your yellow raincoat and rubber boots. Weight gain in the winter will mean more health problems, like arthritis, heart disease and even diabetes.
I also encourage dogs to drink water freely during the dark, cold months of winter. Many dogs and cats will reduce their water consumption, which concentrates their urine. If anything is not right in that finely tuned system, problems like urinary infections, stones and kidney disease may flare up.
Lastly, some dogs will need some help during the cold, wet days. Most dogs over the age of seven, if large, and 10, if small, will stoically hide their aches and pains. They might walk slower, seek warm places, or even refuse to take steps and walks. It is time to take them to see a veterinarian, to check for early stages of arthritis. Many easy remedies, from holistic to medical, can ease that discomfort and give them more energy to stay fit.
The groundhog may have predicted an extended winter, but simple lifestyle changes and astute observations by their owners will allow pets to stay happy and healthy until they can spend more hours running and frolicking in the coming spring.
Dr. Rosner has been practicing veterinary medicine for 20 years and has lived in Sonoma for 15 years. He is the owner of the Sonoma Veterinary Clinic, 21003 Broadway; 707.938.4455.
