Holistic Select Staff Vet - Dr. Al

This month Dr. Townshend answers your questions about choosing a high fiber diet for your dog and the importance of canned food for cats.

Q: My vet put my dog on a high-fiber prescription food intended to improve loose stools. It has helped somewhat, but I’d like to try a more holistic solution. Does Holistic Select have a dry food that is high in fiber for my dog?

A: Yes, Holistic Select does offer a higher fiber dry dog food you could try to help with your dog’s loose stool issues. Holistic Select^® Weight Management dry dog food recipe has an increased level of fiber with the additional digestive benefits of added probiotics (the “good bacteria” essential for a healthy digestive tract) and digestive enzymes, both of which are important to aid in proper digestion.

Q: I’ve been told cats should be fed a combination of wet and dry food. Would you recommend feeding a diet that includes both wet and dry cat food? I currently give my cat only wet cat food – 1/2 can twice a day.

A: Some pet parents feed exclusively dry cat food, though it is essential to ensure plenty of fresh water is available for the cat as well. Veterinarians generally agree that cats normally do not drink enough water to keep them properly hydrated, which is why canned cat food is recommended in combination with any dry diet (canned cat food is approximately 78% broth).

The Holistic Select Canned Cat Recipes are complete and balanced diets on their own – they just happen to provide the added benefit of hydration. Since you are currently feeding canned cat food, there is no need to add any dry food to your cat’s diet.

Tags: Pet Health, Pet Nutrition, Vet

Holistic Select Staff Vet - Dr. Al

This month Dr. Townshend recommends a diet for a Teacup Miniature Pinscher puppy and a seven year old Yellow Lab.

Q:  I have a 5 month old, 1 lb 6oz teacup Miniature Pinscher. I purchased her this past weekend and would like to start her on your products. Since she’s under two pounds, I’m not sure how much to feed her, which recipe, and how often?

A: Holistic Select Small and Mini Breed Nourish Puppy Health Recipe dry dog food would be a great diet for your Min-Pin. I would suggest starting with ¼ cup per day divided into three feedings. By feeding this higher fiber recipe over multiple meals, you may help to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which can be common in smaller breed puppies. Keep in mind that this is a starting point and that feeding guidelines are meant to be just that – a guideline, which can be adjusted for different variables such as activity level, sex, time of the year, metabolic rate and more.  I recommend adjusting the amount fed so as to maintain a slightly lean body mass while allowing for your puppy to grow at a healthy pace.

Be sure to transition her diet from her current food to Holistic Select slowly, over 7 to 10 days to assure no digestive problems occur during the switch.

Holistic Select Small and Mini Breed Nourish Puppy Health Recipe dry dog food is formulated to contain more protein and fat than regular puppy foods to meet the needs of highly active smaller breed puppies.  This special puppy food also has an ideal amount of DHA, an Omega 3 fatty acid known to improve brain development and five different probiotics for digestive health and enhanced immune system function.

Frequent feeding a specific recipe for a mini breed that contains adequate levels of fiber also helps to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) common in smaller breed puppies.

Q: I have a 7 year old yellow lab who weights 106 lbs and I feed him Holistic Select Weight Management Recipe dry dog food. This food seems to work well for him to keep his weight down, but I am wondering if this is the best choice for an aging large dog? What would you recommend?

A: Holistic Select Weight Management Recipe is a complete and balanced recipe that can be fed long term. It contains double the glucosamine of many of the other Holistic Select recipes as numerous overweight larger dogs tend to have joint issues. It also contains all of the digestive health ingredients Holistic Select is famous for (probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes and ideal levels of  fiber).  It would work well for an older pet struggling to maintain an ideal body condition.

This recipe would also feed well for older dogs, especially large breed older dogs as they are more prone to problems with arthritis, heart issues and other concerns commonly associated with senior pets.

There are two feeding guides on the bag, one for weight reduction and one for weight management. This range in feeding instructions is designed to help the pet parent maintain a slightly lean body condition for their pet, ensuring for long term optimum health.

Keep in mind that in addition to diet, exercise is essential for long term weight management and general good health. It doesn’t have to be hard exercise.  Daily moderate exercise is ideal, depending on your pet’s ability.

Tags: Pet Health, Pet Nutrition, Vet

Holistic Select Staff Vet - Dr. Al

This month Dr. Townshend answers your questions about vitamin supplements for dogs and increasing water intake for summer.

Q: I feed Holistic Select to all my dogs, who range from five months to ten years of age. They eat different varieties, one eats Holistic Select Nourish Puppy Health, one eats Holistic Select Lamb and Rice and one eats Holistic Select Weight Management dry dog food recipe. Is there any reason to give any of them vitamins as a supplement?

A:  It’s great that you have adjusted each pet’s diet in order to provide for their life stage or special needs. Meeting a pet’s special needs or life stage nutritional requirements will certainly promote a long, happy and healthy life for your pets. All of the Holistic Select diets are not only complete and balanced but go beyond basic nutrition to provide optimum levels of nutrients including vitamins and minerals. There would be no benefit in supplementing with a general vitamin and mineral supplement and it could alter the nutritional balance by providing too much.

Q: I’m feeding my dog Holistic Select Dry Dog Food and I’m wondering what I can do to provide more sources of hydration for my dog this summer. Should I sometimes add water to his food? Should I offer canned dog food occasionally?

A: Dogs that are on exclusively dry diets will generally drink enough water to maintain adequate hydration. Increasing activity will usually encourage more water consumption. Holistic Select Canned dog food recipes are almost 80% water but they also contain additional calories so you must be careful to reduce the amount of dry food being fed when you add canned food to the daily diet. I would not recommend adding water to the dry dog food because it can soften the food and encourage dental plaque. Hot water will kill the probiotics on the food and should never be used. If the pet does not eat it all right away it can spoil and cause problems.

If you want to encourage more water intake, you might flavor the water in the water bowel. Add just a small amount of canned food to the water in order to make it more appealing. Keep in mind that the water will need to be changed regularly as it too could spoil.

Tags: Pet Health, Pet Nutrition, Vet

Holistic Select Staff Vet - Dr. Al

This month Dr. Townshend answers your questions about a dog with a history of tumors and a cat with seasonal skin allergies.

Q:  My 10-year-old pit bull terrier mix has had to have three skin cancer tumors removed from various parts of his body – first his leg, then his ear, and most recently his chest. Is there a food I can give him to hopefully minimize the recurrence of this? Perhaps something to boost his immune system?

A: There are several types of tumors that can occur in the skin. Surgery and in some cases chemo-therapy are the best approach. Diet is important in order to optimize the immune system and keep the pet in the best possible condition in order to do all that is possible to slow the progression. Generally speaking, providing a complete and balanced diet that contains natural antioxidants and Omega 3 fats would be essential. Holistic Select Vitalize Senior Health is designed with the older dog in mind.

Omega 3 fatty acids in a good ratio with Omega 6 fats, L-Carnitine, Vitamins A, D, E and C, Beta Carotene, as well as Pre and Probiotics are all included in the diet and would be ideal for your dog’s needs.

Work closely with your veterinarian to develop an ideal protocol for detecting new growths as soon as possible and removing them. Regular exercise and a great diet will also help to enhance your pet’s quality of life and hopefully help to extend its life as long as possible.

Q: Our cat appears to have allergies during the spring/summer transition. She is licking her feet and legs nonstop and we don’t know what to do. We are thinking of switching her food to help with the issue. Any suggestions?

A: Seasonal allergies are usually not associated with food as the food is fed all year long and one would expect the symptoms to also be all year long.

Feeding a diet with good levels of Omega 3 fatty acids would help to reduce some of the inflammation that may be causing the licking. All of the Holistic Select feline dry recipes contain optimum levels of fatty acids. Supplementing with additional amounts (fish oils such as salmon oil are a good source) during the most difficult times may help. Keep in mind that for the general health of cats, we also recommend feeding a canned diet in order to encourage water consumption as that is also critical for the health of our feline friends.

Work closely with your veterinarian to possibly determine the offending allergens in the environment and eliminate them from exposure.

Tags: Pet Health, Pet Nutrition, Vet