dealing with an overweight cat or dog:

It really depresses me to see an overweight cat or dog. They usually know they're overweight too and actually seem embarrassed by it. I once left my cats with my Father for a prolonged period and when I came home they would have made Rerun from "What's Happening" proud of his personal physique. When a dog or cat gets overweight they usually gain weight sideways but one of my cats had gained so much weight he had also started to expand up and down. It was very depressing to say the least and I had always taken great pride in keeping my cats fit. This seemed like an impossible task but I was determined to get them back in shape for their and my own happiness.

The following are the keys to how I did get them to lose weight. I would consult with your vet before making any drastic changes.

1. I made sure they had no access to human food. I didn't leave dishes out and always threw away the garbage immediately.

2. I changed their feeding schedule. Most American cats and dogs eat the way Americans do, which is a few large meals a day. They say it's better to eat more meals but with smaller quantities. So instead of feeding my cats two large meals a day I started to feed them 5 small meals a day. Sure there was a transition period where they drove me crazy but the same thing happens when you want to feed your pets at a different time. In both cases if you stick with it your pets will adjust.

3. The type of food you feed alone can contribute to your pets weight problem. Not all pet foods are right for your pet and you need to consult your vet to decide what is best in regards to fat, protein and carb's. The answer to this question will also depend on how active your dog is.

4a. I got them back into exercising. You can click the following link to view a post I wrote about how to exercise your cat.

4b. In regards to exercising your dog there are many possibilities. One of the best ways to tire out a dog is to take them running. Almost any dog can run - even a pug, bulldog or boxer. You just need to start slow and gradually increase your distance every week. If you have a dog who likes to fetch or you want to teach your dog to fetch that is another great exercise your dog will surely love.

A misconception is that outdoor dogs do not need exercise but this is not true. The majority of dogs who roam free or spend their days in a yard spend most of their time sleeping in the shade, waiting for a human to play with.

Some quick ideas to keep your dog occupied mentally and physically:

1. When you take walks give your dog a task like carrying the newspaper or a toy.

2. Let your dog play with other dogs.

3. Play hide and seek with either yourself or an object.

dog health - the inhome / pocket dog:

owners who rarely, if ever, walk their dog and use wee wee pads in their house:

Plain and simple this is the least likely approach for a dog and owner being happy and healthy. Many owners of pocket dogs do not think their dogs need to go on walks nor relieve themselves outside. It's not a surprise to me that so many dogs of this type are fear biters, have leash aggression, are anxious and unhealthy. For the owners sake, using wee wee pads past one year of age is just no fun, expensive and not necessary. A dog who is not house trained is also hard to take in stores, to friends houses and to hotels. You CAN teach an old dog new tricks and you can also teach an old dog how to walk on a leash, be house trained and go to the bathroom outside. "But how is my chi-hua-hua going to go the bathroom in the middle of the winter? That's why I use wee wee pads", someone might say. If you teach your dog to go to the bathroom on command, like "do your business", then on a winter day you can pop outside for a quick bathroom break. If you continue to use wee wee pads you can never fully consider your dog house trained.

dog health: yoga for your dog?

The idea of doing yoga with your dog used to sound like one of those over the top shticks that would soon disappear. But apparently it's catching steam and as this discovery news report explains both people and their dogs love it!

animal news - a dog's size is determined by their genes:

In a fascinating study, it has been determined that the size of a dog is actually a result of their genes. Why is this important? Dogs have 200 to 300 diseases in common with humans ranging from high blood pressure to cancer. The study is saying that if you can understand how genes effect a dog both positively and negatively, you can possibly carry that over to human diseases. Please click the following link to read more about this "ap" news story on how a dog's genes determines their size.

which direction is your dogs tail wagging?

Italian researchers have discovered that the direction your dogs tail wags can actually be saying something. Please click the following link to read more about this case study of what the direction of a dogs wagging tail can tell you.