Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/771993
If your pet is overweight, exhibits destruc ve behavior, is at risk for arthri s or other inflammatory dis-eases, then life style changes are required. Changes include diet (to species appropriate), diges on, reducing or elimina ng toxins in the environment and ge ng adequate exercise. Whether you are looking to share your home with a dog, cat, bird, rep le or pocket pet, seriously evaluate the pet's needs (research the species and breeds). Commit to provide a healthy lifestyle for them. This includes a good species appropriate diet, the me and space for adequate training, exercise and a en on, along with a budget for emergency health care if needed. If you're pet is overweight or has some of the challenges discussed above, you need to take ac on now! Where to start: U s e C o m m o n S e n s e New to exercise? Start gradual and build strength and endurance. Slow and steady is safer and more enjoyable. "No pain no gain" does NOT apply to your pet! H o w D o A n i m a l s S t a y F i t . . . W I T H O U T M A N ? Did you ever wonder if "pets" would be healthier if they were not subjected to their humans' lifestyle? Interes ngly, nature does really well without man's advice. Animals in the wild had to stay "fit" because if they didn't they couldn't capture their next meal, couldn't escape the predator and wouldn't win the best mate to perpetuate their lineage. They stayed fit by engaging in natural behaviors like running, playing, climbing (if appropriate) and mental s mula on. AND…they ate their species appropriate diet! It isn't a big shock that as man became more dependent on tools of convenience (cars, machines that replace man labor) and our day-to-day lives became more engulfed in "tasks", there became less me for physical ac vity. What was natural for our ancestors (who did manual work every day), we have to schedule me to accomplish and we give it a name….exercise! Bad enough we forfeit a healthy lifestyle for ourselves, but we do it to our fur kids too! O v e r 4 0 % o f t h e p e t p o p u l a t i o n i s o b e s e Animal diseases related to chronic inflamma on is rising at astronomical rates. Cancer, diabetes, arthri s, and chronic skin disease… the list grows daily. Pet owners have created ar ficial environments that don't support the natural behaviors of dogs and cats to run, play, hunt and think. Our household pets don't "work" for food, there is li le "play" unless the owner engages them or there are other pets in the household that offer s mula on. Many horses are boarded in stalls, having li le me to graze and move naturally outside. Rep les are confined to aquariums. B o r e d D o g s A r e D e s t r u c t i v e D o g s Destruc ve behaviors like digging and chewing are one of the leading causes of animals being abandoned. Worse s ll is the rising number of animals suffering from separa on anxiety! Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expec ng different results Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expec ng different results Page 24 | Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com