We've all heard of the obesity epidemic. Obesity was once considered a condition affecting adult men and women in predominantly western societies. As with humans, pet obesity has become a major health issue. An estimated 25-40% of dogs in the US are obese. Pet obesity is not an issue involving dogs alone, cats and all domestic pets are at risk from this potentially fatal condition.

Pet obesity is a major health concern and is one of the most common nutritional problems I see in pets. Alarmingly, obesity (similarly with humans) put animals at a greater risk for heart and respiratory disease, diabetes, cancer, liver and kidney disease. Degenerative diseases like arthritis and bone disease are also becoming more common as well as heat intolerance, all of which affects your pets quality of life and life expectancy.

 The problem is that as owners we dictate how much and what our pets can eat and also how long and how often our pets exercise. This ultimately affects your pets health and its weight. Animals need their own nutritional food as human food will have a different affect on the animals. For instance, 1 plain biscuit has the same impact on the animals system as 1 hamburger or a 100g sausage is equivalent to 6 donuts when feed to a dog.

Some of the main causes of weight gain in animals include:

What a wonderful day today has been....this morning as I was riding around beautiful Cairns, I met this adorable little puppy.  He was the most energetic little sweetheart.  Full of kisses and licks for everyone.   I thought after wards, isn't it interesting how babies are very trusting of everyone and everything.  This little puppy saw me from a distance and fixed me with the most adorable loving gave.  He kept jerking on the lead until I went to him....where he proceeded to shower me with excited affectionate licks.  It was the most beautiful moment.  If only we humans couldn't greet each other with so much joy rather than trepidation.  It was certainly a powerful reminder to me to look at life through the eyes of an innocent.  Joy will surely follow and it did.....and much laughter (that's just the bonus). 

The next recipe is dedicated to all the wonderful little puppies out there who bring so much to our lives.  The following is taken from the book 'Real Food for Dogs & Cats' by Dr Clare Middle. 

Sample Meal (250g) for a 5kg dog.150g meat, fat, bone (eg two chicken necks or one chicken wing)50g vegies (eg mixed juice pulp, banana, ginger peelings)40g of raw white bait1 egg1g capsule of fish oila pinch of kelp1 tsp cod liver oil

How do you keep motivated through the colder months?  Well for me, exercise is a must!  It keeps me sane when the rest of the world looks the opposite and your animals will also benefit from daily walks.  Its easy to get home from work, switch on the tv and just settle in for the night watching mostly non entertainment.  I don't know about you but I feel alive when I take a walk in the evening.  My brain feels like its rested and often I come up with clever solutions to any daily issues.  I also just love taking dogs to the park and watching them play with each other, sniff each other and generally just run around like maniacs (something I think we could all benefit from doing every now and again).  Exercise for your pets is vitally important (as it is for you).  Even in older dogs, a stroll around the block provides a change of scenery, interesting smells and some exercise to the body and mind.

Young and fit dogs really benefit from being tired out with a good run and will often spend a good part of the day just sleeping until you get home.  Many dogs will also be much happier and less inclined to miss the company especially if they are an only dog.  Dogs love company and if you lead a busy lifestyle often we forget the very basics for our animals health and wellbeing.  I would encourage everyone to walk their dogs at least twice a day (early morning and evening) and if thats not possible, then consider hiring a pet walker to assist.  My personal motto is 'outource it'! 

There is no argument that everyone leads a busy lifestyle and if you find you don't have the time to do the things you know you should do....then hire professionals who can do it for you.  Life is just too short to be running around just doing stuff all the time.  It leaves no time to rest for yourself which is nuts.  There is more to life than just speeding it up...so take time out, rest, relax and outsource with a pet minder, pet carer or pet walker.  For as little as $5 for 15min your animals can be well exercised and well looked after.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a passion for living a healthy livestyle. I love to exercise, I love to eat good quality healthy food and I love a simple life. One of the things that I see very often as a pet minder is the increase in arthritis, skin disorders, constipation and numerous allergies in animals. What I find interesting is that these increases also seem to correlate with what is occuring in people. If you do your own research, you will soon discover that our health system is having to deal with an unprecented increase in illnesses ranging from adult diabetes, allergies, autoamune diseases, bone degeneration, new forms of cancer, heart disease and the list goes on.

I am not a doctor and I can only comment on my own experience in terms of illness. When I chose to simplify my own diet; getting rid of processed food (where ever possible) the result was far greater than expected.  My energy levels increased, my body became leaner and stronger, my emotions started to rebalance, and many little things like back pain, arthritis and skin allergies just cleared up. Many of these things at the time I was told could only be removed through surgery and medication.

The reason I talk about this is to point out that many of our animal's illnesses seem strongly correlated to what they are consuming (likewise for people). Many tins of Animal food (pet food) are largely processed, full of preservatives and chemicals and questionable in terms of nutrition. Dogs and Cats like people require nutrition and balanced diet and unfortunately a lot of the commercial foods do not have this.

I recently looked after a lovely little Shitszu around 14 years old. Within the first day I noticed she had severe constipation and blood in her stool. After changing her diet and incorporating vegetables and fruit mixed in with raw meat the problem disappeared (if the case had been serious I would not have hesitated to take her to the vet). Sometimes we don't need to fix things in our health with a pill...sometimes it just means modifying our behaviour and choosing whole foods (unprocessed fresh fruit, meat, vegetables).
If you are interested in knowing more about how to feed your dog or cat whole foods. I would recommend a book called 'Real Food For Dogs & Cats' by Dr Clare Middle. She is a trained vet and well practised in alternative therapies. If you are interested in knowing more in terms of your own diet, then I would recommend www.drkarencoates.com.au who is a trained MD with years experience in alternative therapies for people. By the way, most people think that fast food is cheaper...its not actually. Unprocessed food is cheaper to make, more creative, tastes wonderful, gives you energy, emotionally balances and good for you (both you and your animals). Why not try it for yourself and feel the difference....consider.

One of the most wonderful aspects about my job is witnessing just how pets are loved by their owners. I have been very fortunate to work with some amazing people who completely adore their animals. It just goes to show how times have changed. I don't know about you, but when I was growing up, people loved their pets but often it wasn't as openly demonstrated as it is today.

I constantly see people lovingly embrace, show affection, pamper their animals with gifts and  openly love their animals in public. I can honestly say that people who openly show their feelings appear very very happy indeed and closer to their animals and perhaps to other people.
Often I get asked what I do for a living and when I tell them that I am a pet minder and that I look after animals in their own homes, the response is always....'that sounds like a lovely job'. Which it is! No wonder the statistics reveal that people with pets are often happier, feel connected, feel their animals give them meaning to their life, and according to www.petnet.com.au, less isolated and lonely. I figure, 'happy thoughts, happy body, happy heart and happy me'

We often give animals time we can spare, space we can spare, and love we can spare.  In return, animals give us their all.  It's the best deal we can ever ask for.

Animals are such amazing little beings. I can honestly say that I have grown as person by simply being around animals, observing their behavior and loving them unconditionally as they do for me. As a pet minder I have had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful types of animals and they have all been a joy to be around. I will admit that on many occassions, animals like people demonstrate behaviors that can be challenging to deal with....however with patience, compassion and love, an animals truth is always revealed. The colors of an animals soul always show the truth. When we can get back to the truth within ourselves, we have a lot more love and joy in our lives and that for me is just one lesson I can take away from the experience.