Welcome to the next installment of our Successful Aging Series! In this episode of Pet Talk, we’ll discuss issues that effect many creatures as they age – maintaining strength and mobility. Watch as Dr. Sarah dispenses her valuable veterinary insights about nutrition, weight control, and the importance of strength training for the preservation of healthy bones and muscles. If your dog or cat exhibits gimpiness, or just isn’t as lively as in younger years, you’ll be especially interested in learning about what options are available to you to make a positive difference in their lives, now and long into the future. Our good doctor explains how pain may be at the root of some problems, while in other cases diet may be responsible for a hitch in the get-along. Additionally, we’ll reveal some simple exercises you can do with your companion animal to make them feel better and age with grace. Be sure to share this important health message with your friends and family!

(Consult your veterinarian before starting an exercise program with your companion animal.)

Welcome to the first installment of our Successful Aging Series! In this episode of Pet Talk, Dr. Sarah addresses one of the most frightening and heartbreaking illnesses that afflict companion animals – cancer. According to the most recent data, nearly four million dogs will be diagnosed with cancer this year, which is why we’re dedicating an entire episode to “the C-word”. To aid you in your quest to help your fur kids age successfully, Dr. Sarah shares the latest news about our current understanding of how companion animals age and the obstacles they encounter later in life. Additionally, Dr. Sarah discusses prevalent pet cancers, what sorts of treatments are available now, and groundbreaking research into potential therapies and preventatives. Don’t miss this episode, as you’ll also discover news from the National Cancer Institute about its ambitious agenda to eradicate this silent killer. We encourage you to share this timely and vital message with your friends and family!

 

Enjoying daily activity without stiffness and pain is key to our companion animals living “the good life” in their Golden Years. Because joint stiffness, muscle loss, pain and weakness can negatively impact quality of life, maintaining good mobility and strength is vital for better ‘healthspans’, a term we introduced last month, which refers to leading longer, healthier lifetimes.

In companion animals of a certain age, bodily systems start to degrade, breaking down at a cellular level. Just like in the whisper-circle game, where one person tells another a simple message, which is then repeated to each successive person … invariably, the message changes over the course of multiple re-tellings. Similarly, the cells are replicating over and over again, and after so many redo’s, the genetic messages become garbled. On the macroscopic scale, this means a loss of strength and mobility. More...

You may have heard about the recent pet food recalls in the news and have some questions about salmonella poisoning. Although no Life's Abundance products are involved in this recall, we want to make sure you are aware of this current situation, as you may have friends who feed their companion animals one of the brands involved. In this video, Dr. Sarah discusses the details of this most recent recall and provides you with the information you need to know about the salmonella bacteria - including symptoms of salmonella poisoning and preventative measures to help avoid the further spread of infection. Watch this important video message and pass it on to your fellow pet parents.

 

I am truly saddened to hear of the current pet food recall concerning possible salmonella contamination. I have seen firsthand the devastating effects of this kind of infection in dogs and cats. Our hearts go out to the pet parents who are right now sitting on “pins and needles”, worrying about the health of their companion animals.

As part of our unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of all companion animals, we want to take time to alert you about this unfortunate situation.

Here’s what we know so far. According to the FDA, Diamond Pet Foods and other brands produced at their Gaston, South Carolina facility between December 9, 2011 and April 7, 2012 have voluntarily recalled dry dog and cat foods due to potential salmonella contamination. This recall affects the following pet food brands:

4Health
Apex
Canidae
Chicken Soup For the Pet Lover's Soul
Country Value
Diamond
Diamond Naturals
Kaytee Fort-Diets (a rat and hamster feed)
Kirkland
Natural Balance
Premium Edge
Professional
Taste Of The Wild
Wellness Complete Health®
Super5Mix®

The scale of this recall is massive … products were distributed to customers in 41 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming) and may have been further distributed to other states through various pet food channels.

Symptoms of salmonella infection in pets include decreased appetite, fever (possibly quite high), lethargy and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dogs and cats may experience vomiting and/or diarrhea (sometimes bloody), and they may refuse food or water. If you know a pet exhibiting any of these symptoms, please contact a veterinarian immediately.

Keep in mind that infected – but otherwise healthy – pets can still be carriers of the disease, potentially infecting other companion animals and humans. You should always thoroughly wash your hands after handling your pet’s food and touching surfaces that might have been exposed to the contaminated products. Since these bacteria can also be present in the feces of your dog or cat, you should dispose of it carefully. According to the Center for Disease Control, 14 people in nine states have been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Infantis.

For complete information on these recalls, we encourage you to visit the FDA’s web site at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm.

Please be assured that this recall does not affect any of our Life’s Abundance products. We are fully confident that our products are completely safe. As you know, we employ numerous safety and quality controls to ensure the highest quality of our products.

When a recall occurs, many pet food companies rely on the media to inform consumers. However, people lead busy lives and often they are not aware of news reports or articles, which can lead to an extremely unfortunate situation for affected pet parents and their companion animals.

The good news for Life’s Abundance customers is that we employ an unparalleled, quick-response system. If we need to share information about a product with our customers, we can do it quickly and effectively. Thanks to our unique distribution system, we are able to pinpoint the lot numbers which identify the individual products shipped to each of our customers. Because we maintain databases with our customer's contact information, we can email them immediately about any issues with their products, should they arise. Also, through our automatic Interactive Voice Response system, we are able to call hundreds of our customers anywhere in the country within just a few hours. At Life’s Abundance, we believe informed consumers make for healthy pets!

Thank you for taking the time to read this important post, and thank you for all that you do to make the world a better place for companion animals.

   Dr. Jane Bicks

Even though we act like it’s true, pets aren’t just like people. Ingesting empty-calorie snacks every once in a while can have a much greater impact on pets than humans, and not in a good way. Even feeding a diet of premium food may not offset the potential damage of ingesting “junk foods”, which often contain unsavory ingredients including artificial flavors and colors. In this particular health equation, it isn’t just a matter of subtraction (or taking away the bad stuff). Thanks to Dr. Jane’s wholesome recipes, you can actually add nutrients to your companion animal’s daily intake. In this episode of Pet Talk, Dr. Sarah reveals how simple it is to make a positive change. If you want to provide your fur kids with the best possible nutritional advantage, you owe it to yourself to watch the latest episode right now. And, please, share this vital message with your friends and family, too!

 

Forty years ago, the famous Australian virologist Sir Macfarlane Burnett said, regarding antibiotics, that “By the late twentieth century, we can anticipate the virtual elimination of infectious diseases as a significant factor in social life.”

Unfortunately, his prediction proved utterly wrong.

In the last couple of decades, we’ve seen the development of superbugs – bacteria that are resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, which has left researchers scrambling for solutions. Even a few years ago, our focus was on the targeted elimination of specific bacteria through the use of antibiotics. In an unforeseen consequence, the prevalent usage of these medications has altered entire bacterial populations. This change represents a paradigm shift in the treatment of both humans and companion animals. Fortunately, there is a tool in our arsenal to help us all lead healthier lives. More...

 

Labrador Retrievers are an iconic American breed. Often, when we think of homeless dogs, we picture mixed breeds. It’s hard to imagine a gorgeous Lab fighting for life in the wild, confined to a small cage or condemned to die a lonely death in a gas chamber. Still, even purebred pups aren’t immune to the vagaries of bad luck and hard times. Whether they’ve merely lost their way, or lost their primary caregivers, these four-leggeds need a helping hand. Fortunately, a group of people has opened their hearts and homes in a coordinated, ongoing effort to help big dogs in need. And our Foundation has just given them a grant to further their mission.

It gives us immense pleasure to tell you about the latest financial award given by the Dr. Jane HealthyPetNet Foundation, this time to a committed group wholly dedicated to alleviating the needless death and suffering of abandoned, abused and neglected purebred Labrador Retrievers in the greater Dallas and Fort Worth metropolitan area.

Founded in 1997, Dallas Fort Worth Labrador Retriever Rescue Club is the largest Lab rescue organization in one of America’s largest metropolitan areas. Their life-saving services are known well to shelters in their corner of the world. And even though they take in as many Labs as their resources allow, they estimate that they are only able to save about half of the purebred Labs in the metroplex. They recognize their work is an uphill battle, and yet they remain wholly committed and enthusiastic about their endeavors. These are true heroes, and we sing their praises. More...

If ticks were human-size, they’d be one of the scariest creatures on the planet. Even though ticks are tiny, they’re still an awful nuisance, especially if you don’t know how to minimize contact and the damage they can inflict if contact occurs. Over the course of the last couple of decades, large swaths of the U.S. have been churning out bumper crops of ticks, even in urban areas, and tick season is right around the corner. Thank goodness we have Dr. Sarah on-hand to clear up misconceptions about these little blood-suckers and to share helpful tips for dealing with these creepy-crawlies. If you and your companion animals plan to spend any time outdoors over the next few months, be sure to watch the latest episode of Pet Talk right now. And, please, share this video with your friends and family!

You may be groaning inwardly at another post on canine periodontal disease, but the doggone truth is, many of us pet parents could stand to freshen up on the topic. That’s not a guess, it’s a fact: 17 out of 20 dogs over the age of three have some level of periodontal disease that needs treatment. One of the most common canine diseases, it’s also one of the most easily prevented. Dental disease not only “stinks” at the source, it’s also known to negatively impact the health of the whole body. It’s not a stretch to say that to have true wellness, your dog’s teeth and gums need to be as healthy as possible. I know all of you are busy, so I’ll briefly cover the three most salient points to remember when it comes to canine dental care. You might want to take notes, or simply print this out for reference, as there will be an oral exam. At least, I certainly hope so! More...