Jan
2013
5 Common Health Concerns For Pets
A few months ago Banfield Pet Hospital put out its annual State of Pet Health Report and focused on 5 pet health concerns that have been heavily increasing over the past few years.
BIGGEST LOSER, DOXIE EDITION/VIA FACEBOOK
1. Overweight and Obese Pets. Since 2007, overweight and obesity have increased by 37 percent in dogs and a HUGE 90 percent in cats. 1 in 5 pets is overweight. Do I really have to give the fat pet lecture again? Fat pets are so not cool or healthy!
2. Arthritis. Arthritis has increased 38 percent in dogs and 67 percent in cats over the last 5 years and it’s no surprise that almost half of these pets are overweight. 22 percent of senior dogs diagnosed with arthritis are large and giant breed dogs.
3. Kidney Disease. Kidney disease is more common in cats than dogs and according to the Banfield report 1 in 12 senior cats has the disease. A majority of both dogs and cats with kidney disease also have periodontal disease. Average life expectancy after diagnosis of kidney disease for a cat is 2-3 years if it is caught early and less than six months if the disease is diagnosed later on.
4. Thyroid Disease. Hypothyroidism has increased six percent in dogs since 2007, and hyperthyroidism has increased 13 percent in cats during the same amount of time. Left untreated thyroid disease can lead to high blood pressure, kidney disease and heart failure. 1 in 200 dogs had hypothyroidism in 2011 and the numbers continue to increase.
5. Heart Disease. Heart Disease is Heart disease is three times more likely to be detected in dogs than in cats. Twenty-eight percent of dogs and 25 percent of cats with cardiomyopathy also have periodontal disease.
I’m assuming that periodontal disease would be next on the list, but that’s just a guess.
You can view the State of Pet Health Report here, and while you’re there I highly recommend that you check out the geographic trends of each condition.
I can say with certainly that from what I have experienced, this list is spot on for chronic health conditions that I have seen in pets and it’s quite alarming to know that most of these numbers continue to rise. I can’t stress enough the importance of routine check ups for your pet. Even if your pet is not due for any vaccines they should be seen by your vet at least once a year for a well visit.
Photo courtesy of the NCA
Senior pets, pets over seven years of age, should be seen at least twice a year, once for well visit and once for a full senior exam, and while I know that cost can be a concern, a good idea is to set up a “senior pet fund” where each month you set aside a small amount of money so you can give your pet that senior exam once a year. Normally a senior exam will include full bloodwork, a urinalysis, a full exam and some clinics may also offer blood pressure checks and radiographs at a reduced cost.
Even if your senior pet is feeling fine, I would consider doing the senior exam and my reason for that is because first, it’s always nice to have a baseline of what your pets values are, and second, very often, by the time a senior pet shows signs that they are not feeling well, a chronic disease may have progressed beyond help. The earlier you can catch a chronic disease and start treating it the better!
42 Comments on 5 Common Health Concerns For Pets
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SUGAR: Golden Woofs
January 3, 2013 at 1:15 am (168 days ago)Woof! Woof! My mom is aware of these health conditions. She is extra careful now that I am a senior dog. Golden Thanks for sharing. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:46 pm (167 days ago)That is wonderful to hear Sugar! I bet your Mom takes extra special care with you and your golden smile:)
tylersat99
January 3, 2013 at 1:54 am (168 days ago)Had Lexie checked for everything end of last year because she turned 7. I don’t want any bad surprises and hopefully won’t have any. She was checked for everything when she was younger and we tried to breed.
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:46 pm (167 days ago)That is great! We can never be too careful with these Newfs!
Mango Momma
January 3, 2013 at 5:46 am (167 days ago)With dogs living longer, we will certainly see an increase in ailments. But keeping your pet at a healthy weight is so important. I know it is hard for humans to lose weight, but given that we control our dog’s food intake completely, I am very impatient with overweight dogs. Well, with their owners.
When Mango officially became a senior dog, we slimmed him down from 230 to 200 to reduce the stress on his joints. 230 was a fine weight for him when he was bouncy and active, but too much for him when he got older.
Mango Momma
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:47 pm (167 days ago)I hear you! I am so paranoid about Sherman and Leroy’s weight! I always have my hands on them and take them in for regular weight checks! It’s so important to keep them lean.
Emma
January 3, 2013 at 6:58 am (167 days ago)I think that several of these issues are linked together as a result of inactivity and being overweight, just as they are in humans. My dogs are my work out buddies and no matter if I bring them to a vet or groomer people always comment on what great shape they are in, they also get their teeth brushed every night before bed and even at 10 yrs old my Kuvasz still has great teeth that have never been professionally cleaned. We owe it to our pets to keep them healthy through diet and exercise and by doing that it helps us humans too!
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:48 pm (167 days ago)Wow! That is just so great to hear! I wish that more pet owners would be so diligent in the care the give their pets!
2 brown dawgs
January 3, 2013 at 8:21 am (167 days ago)Our dogs are seen at least once a year for Heart Worm check. Of course we all know that ours go more often than that. lol You have shared good info and I am not surprised by that list.
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:49 pm (167 days ago)Thank you! I like to think my dogs are frequent visitors to the vet, they actually probably go too much!
Kimberly, The Fur Mom
January 3, 2013 at 9:10 am (167 days ago)As a blogger, I’m learning so much about pet care and nutrition and I hope that what I learn will help us provide better lives for our pet.
Thanks for the list and details.
~ Kim
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:50 pm (167 days ago)It is so important to be educate ourselves as bloggers and as pet owners. I love learning new things about pet health for me and for the dogs!
houndstooth
January 3, 2013 at 9:52 am (167 days ago)Dog obesity has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. We had a foster once who’d been grossly overfed. Complications from that ended her life much too soon and broke her family’s hearts. So many people live under the delusion that food = love. *sigh*
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:51 pm (167 days ago)For me too. I rarely see a healthy weight dog come into the vet, and if they do the owners wonder if they are underweight because that is what people have told them, it’s so sad:(
Roxy the traveling dog
January 3, 2013 at 10:08 am (167 days ago)Good stuff to know. Just like people, dogs get older and start having more health issues.
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:52 pm (167 days ago)That is so true, as pet owners we need to be in top of our pets health for their sake!
Peggy Frezon
January 3, 2013 at 11:22 am (167 days ago)Just wanted to say hi and happy new year! I’ve been around, but not commented lately. Thanks for helping us keep our pets healthy. As you know, Kelly was a bit overweight, but she’s fine now. Another common ailment is allergies. Poor Brooks suffers from them, and they seem to be year round. Keeping him comfortable is constant work. (but he’s worth it!)
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:54 pm (167 days ago)Happy New Year Peggy! I hope you had a wonderful holiday! The steps you took to get Kelli to a good weight is so inspirational to all of us because you both did it together!
I’m sorry to hear about Brooks and his allergies, over the years it certainly does seem like that is on the rise too:(
Gizmo (@GizmoGeodog)
January 3, 2013 at 11:43 am (167 days ago)Over the years, with different dogs, I’ve had to deal with #’s 2, 4, & 5, as well as epilepsy…I am super-vigilant about #1 and truth is my dogs always eat much healthier than I do. I’ve personally noticed the increased number of fat dogs and it concerns me greatly as the owners often don’t understand the harm they’re doing and yes, they seem to think it’s cute…Vets need to do more education on that issue with their patients
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:56 pm (167 days ago)I’m sorry to hear that you have had to deal with so many health concerns for your pets. I think the issue with the vets and pet owners is that vets need to be just downright blunt and show the facts to the owners that think it is cute. We need to change what people think is normal because it is not.
Two French Bulldogs
January 3, 2013 at 12:26 pm (167 days ago)We Frenchies could add to that list
Benny & Lily
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:57 pm (167 days ago)Tell me more:)
Jodi
January 3, 2013 at 1:01 pm (167 days ago)Delilah has thyroid, has had it almost since the day we got her. It is maintained by medication and her blood is checked only once per year. Do you correlate any of those diseases to the food they are eating? Just asking.
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 10:59 pm (167 days ago)I didn’t know Delilah was hypothyroid, I’m sorry to hear that Jodi but good to know that it is regulated!
I personally, haven’t done enough research on the food thing, but many people have and they do believe there is a link.
Flea
January 3, 2013 at 2:04 pm (167 days ago)Our Aussie and Aussie mixes have never been overweight. I think having young children to play with, then each other with the mixes, has been helpful. They stay active. And only eat dog food. And pizza crust.
But our first Aussie did have arthritis when she got up in years, nearly 13. Now cats – that’s a whole ‘nother story.
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 11:01 pm (167 days ago)That is great that the Aussies are at a good weight! I am sure having active kids is major plus! Now at 13 years old I would expect a bit of arthritis, those are some well used joints!
Kristine
January 3, 2013 at 3:19 pm (167 days ago)My childhood dog had arthritis pretty bad in her later years. It was pretty awful to watch and nothing really helped. She was never overweight, though, and led a really active life even after the arthritis worsened. I don’t know if we could have prevented it or if it was just inevitable. She was a Siberian Husky. I do worry my dog will develop similar issues one day as a result of her wild and crazy behaviour.
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 11:02 pm (167 days ago)I do think that in certain dogs arthritis is inevitable but over recent years we have learned that there are ways to minimize it and start preparing for it early.
I’m sorry to hear that you Husky had it so bad, it is never easy to watch
Taryn
January 3, 2013 at 3:40 pm (167 days ago)The Obesity issue is a tough one! Vets want to counsel the owners about their dog/cat being overweight, but have to walk a fine line between informing and offending. Many people take it personally when told their pet is fat, particularly if the person is also overweight or obese. I also think there is a correlation between an owner being heavy and the pet being heavy. If someone isn’t getting enough exercise for weight control, odds are very likely their pets aren’t getting enough exercise either. Obesity epidemic in humans = obesity epidemic in pets.
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 11:04 pm (167 days ago)This is true. I have seen clients leave a vet practice because they were told their pet was morbidly obese. Sometimes the truth hurt. I think that if all vets could just be consistent in sending this message than maybe more people would understand why it so important to be their pets at a healthy weight.
KB
January 3, 2013 at 9:33 pm (167 days ago)Thanks for the heads-up. My vet has mentioned the recent Banfield studies a few times recently. She says that they have followed such huge numbers of dogs over their entire lifetimes that they’re starting to be able to see correlations between various risk factors and cancers. I plan to follow that story closely.
We’ve grappled with thyroid disease with our departed K. It is something that can be screened for in the parents by good breeders. Also, arthritis… we’ve seen it in almost all our dogs, and they weren’t overweight. I hate it.
Jen
January 3, 2013 at 11:09 pm (167 days ago)It is so great that they do these studies to provide us with such important data and it’s nice to hear that your vet follows it!
I hear with the arthritis, I am dealing with the same thing with Sherman now and he is not at all overweight. It’s so frustrating because I took steps to try and keep this from happening so early. We feed them a good balanced diet, provide lots of exercise, give supplements and still it happened, but we are on top of it and trying alternatives to try and keep it from progressing to the best of our abilities.
Julie
January 3, 2013 at 11:21 pm (167 days ago)I feel terrible when I see overweight pets ;( We had two cats die from cardiomyopathy, one was 15 and the other was only 6, but neither had any sort of problems with their teeth. We have been really lucky with Cali (except for allergies!) she is going to be 14 this month!
Jen
January 4, 2013 at 9:43 am (166 days ago)Wow Julie! It sounds like you have pets that live a great long life! Cali is doing so wonderful for her age! Love her!
24 Paws of Love
January 4, 2013 at 12:44 am (167 days ago)Good thoughts Jen. Thanks for posting.
Jen
January 4, 2013 at 9:43 am (166 days ago)Thank you:)
Karen Friesecke
January 5, 2013 at 1:18 pm (165 days ago)Hypothyroidism is a common disease in Vizslas, so I have educated myself about the symptoms. Thankfully, both dogs do not have parents that had the disease, but you never know.
Jen
January 5, 2013 at 10:48 pm (165 days ago)Common in the Newfs too. I keep my eye out for signs also.
Kari
January 5, 2013 at 7:40 pm (165 days ago)In public people comment on how “lean” my dogs are. They have no idea that my dogs are what dogs SHOULD look like. My vet always wants to use them as models for perfect dog body shape
Stop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
Jen
January 5, 2013 at 10:49 pm (165 days ago)Isn’t it crazy how people think that a dog that is at a good weight is too skinny? Crazy and sad.
Tori
January 7, 2013 at 11:43 am (163 days ago)All great things to remember when thinking towards your pets health. I’m always worried about my boys..