Welcome to our first post on Pet~Pourri. Our goal is to be an informational blog site for all kinds of pet owners. What makes us qualified to do this? We have been rescuing animals for over 25 years. Primarily American Eskimo Dogs, but also other types of animals. We hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Today, in Iowa, was the Healthiest State Walk, an event sponsored by Iowa's Healthiest State Initiative.
This is an initiative for all Iowans to improve their health. It's as simple as taking a walk. Today participants were asked to walk at least 2 kilometers. For my company, this was two times around the pond on our grounds.
So you may ask me what this has to do with pets. Well...I decided to use this opportunity to take our rescue dogs for a walk. This helps me get healthy, but it also helps our pets get healthy. People who love their pets sometimes tend to shower them with love by giving them lots of treats. Well...pets also need to watch what they eat. This goes for all types of pets, not just dogs.
I decided to do some research on helping you and your pet get healthy. I found out that, as of February 2012, 54% of the nation's pets are overweight. What is sad is that many people don't realize their pets are overweight. Dr. Ernie Ward of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention states that 22% of dog owners and 15% of cat owners believe their pets are normal weight, when they are actually overweight.
How many of you saw the story last month about Obie the overweight dachshund?? His owners showed him love by feeding him. A Lot!
When Obie was rescued he weighed 77 pounds. Top weight for a large standard dachshund is around 30 pounds. Obie is more than 40 pounds overweight. He is only 5 years old. His rescuer is on track to help him loose the extra weight. Today Obie is down to 67 pounds. Stay tuned for occasional updates on his progress. You can also follow his progress by visiting his Facebook page.
This brings me to the main topic for this post. What can we do to keep our pets Healthy?? Same as for humans. Exercise.
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Today, in Iowa, was the Healthiest State Walk, an event sponsored by Iowa's Healthiest State Initiative.
This is an initiative for all Iowans to improve their health. It's as simple as taking a walk. Today participants were asked to walk at least 2 kilometers. For my company, this was two times around the pond on our grounds.
So you may ask me what this has to do with pets. Well...I decided to use this opportunity to take our rescue dogs for a walk. This helps me get healthy, but it also helps our pets get healthy. People who love their pets sometimes tend to shower them with love by giving them lots of treats. Well...pets also need to watch what they eat. This goes for all types of pets, not just dogs.
I decided to do some research on helping you and your pet get healthy. I found out that, as of February 2012, 54% of the nation's pets are overweight. What is sad is that many people don't realize their pets are overweight. Dr. Ernie Ward of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention states that 22% of dog owners and 15% of cat owners believe their pets are normal weight, when they are actually overweight.
How many of you saw the story last month about Obie the overweight dachshund?? His owners showed him love by feeding him. A Lot!
When Obie was rescued he weighed 77 pounds. Top weight for a large standard dachshund is around 30 pounds. Obie is more than 40 pounds overweight. He is only 5 years old. His rescuer is on track to help him loose the extra weight. Today Obie is down to 67 pounds. Stay tuned for occasional updates on his progress. You can also follow his progress by visiting his Facebook page.
This brings me to the main topic for this post. What can we do to keep our pets Healthy?? Same as for humans. Exercise.
Here is an article that was posted on the Huffington Post today sharing 11 Ways To Exercise With Your Pet. Anything from hide and seek, to walking, to swimming along with some other excellent ideas. One of my favorite things to do with my cat was letting him try and catch the light from one of those laser lights. He loved it and it was fun for me too. Believe it or not, laughing does burn calories.
Be Well & Be Happy!!
Pet~Pourri
It's so true, sometimes we kill our pets with kindness. Thanks for the reminder...
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughtts
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