Question: I’ve been feeding my dog Lilly Halo Spots Stew dry chicken recipe for a few months now. She loves it! The only problem I have is that she seems to be gaining weight. I give her 1/3 cup twice a day. She is a Shih-Tzu. Her weight should be about 12 lbs. She now weighs 14.8. She gets a baby carrot cut up during the day for treats. I walk her ½ hour a day. Can you recommend anything else I should be doing? I had some blood work done and everything is negative. Help!

Answer: I am so glad you wrote in—for Lilly’s health, it is critical that we get her to shed those extra pounds! Even though 2.8 pounds doesn’t sound too serious, at 14.8 pounds she is actually 23% over her ideal body weight. That means she is obese which has many negative long term health implications. To compare, this would be like 34.5 extra pounds on a 150 pound woman—it is alarming when you think of it that way!

A normal dog of 12 pounds should eat somewhere between 230 to 300 calories each day (depending on activity, age, etc) and for that dog I would recommend 1/3 cup of the Halo Spots Stew Chicken twice daily. That amount of food supplies 264 calories each day.

Very similar to people, every dog has a different metabolism. Lilly has obviously gained weight on this amount of calories, so I would recommend a 20% reduction from this to achieve her ideal weight. This means you should try feeding her ¼ cup twice daily and this amount of food supplies 198 calories each day.

Also, remember that the biggest contributor to pet obesity is treats. You report feeding her only a baby carrot for treats. If it is just one carrot that is not a problem, however, if she is eating several carrots each day, they may be contributing enough calories that you need to count them. We are striving for around 200 calories a day for Lilly to lose the weight….so keep a close count of her calories to get her to that goal! Also keep up the good work on the exercise…make sure it is a brisk walk with no dawdling to stop and sniff the roses!

You can also check out my article Weight Loss Tips for more tips.

Hope that helps. Good Luck.
Dr. Donna J. Spector

Answers provided to pet owners by Dr. Donna Spector should be considered information and not specific advice. Answers are to be used for general information purposes only and not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice from your veterinarian. Communications on this site are very limited and should never be used in possible cases of emergency. Halo, Purely for Pets will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in a blog or article post.

Question: Dear Halo, my mother accidently fed my ten year old dog a whole bag (3.0 oz) of Liv-a-Little Healthsome cat treats with real chicken. I noticed that it has catnip, taurine, etc. in the ingredient list. Since it says to feed only 4 – 6 treats a day for a cat. Should I be concerned that he ate a whole bag at once? He is about 20 pounds and recently had surgery. Thank you.

Answer: Thanks for your concern. Your dog should be just fine. When a pet eats a large amount of something (even the healthiest food or treats!) it is common for them to experience some mild digestive upset (such as soft stool or nausea). There is no concern for your dog relating to the taurine or catnip component of these treats. Clearly he has acquired a taste for the good stuff!

Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna J. Spector

Answers provided to pet owners by Dr. Donna Spector should be considered information and not specific advice. Answers are to be used for general information purposes only and not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice from your veterinarian. Communications on this site are very limited and should never be used in possible cases of emergency. Halo, Purely for Pets will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in a blog or article post.

I have been getting quite a few questions about diabetes in dogs, even though it is a fairly rare occurrence (not like cats, where type 2 diabetes is at epidemic levels).

I turned for assistance in answering this question thoroughly to my newest professional colleague on the website and on my radio shows — Dr. Donna Spector from Chicago has graciously agreed to be both my new Official Veterinary Nutrition Consultant and the Official 2nd Opinion Vet on the show since she has it all: she is a board certified Internist, a member of the veterinary holistic doctors organization (AVHMA) and has a broad range of knowledge and talents.

Click over to my original blog on “Diabetes in Dogs: Why they Get It, How to Manage it” for the whole story!

Tracie Hotchner, author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible, guest blogs here every Thursday on healthy, natural choices for pets.

Question: My Pomeranian dog is 1 year old and for the second time has skin allergies…smells like a “dirty wet dog all the time”. Is there anything I can use besides shots of cortizone from the vet? I’ve tried different home remedies, other people told me to use but his scratching and smell is unbearable for me and my poor dog. Please help if you can, most appreciated!

Answer: Allergies are frequent and the most common ones are flea allergy, atopy (inhaled allergies–like hayfever) and food allergy. It is important to not just treat the symptoms of allergies with steroid shots. It is best to actually determine the source of the allergy and then avoid or minimize exposure to the offending allergen.

For some types of inhaled allergies, there are even allergy shots available. Your dog is very young and we don’t want him to have a lifetime full of cortisone shots in front of him. Regardless of the type of allergy, fatty acid supplements are often very helpful–they help to decrease the inflammation within the skin and minimize the allergy signs.

Many dogs with allergies often develop a secondary bacteria or yeast skin infection (often giving a wet dog smell)..and that must be treated with appropriate medications. Ask your vet more about your dogs allergies and what the next steps should be. Check out my article on dog allergies “Allergies in Dogs“.

Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna J. Spector

Answers provided to pet owners by Dr. Donna Spector should be considered information and not specific advice. Answers are to be used for general information purposes only and not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice from your veterinarian. Communications on this site are very limited and should never be used in possible cases of emergency. Halo, Purely for Pets will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in a blog or article post.

12 year old Keith Webster will tell anyone that Ned, his adopted Jack Russell Terrier, is the center of his world–”I play with Ned every day of my life because I care about him so much.”

Freekibble.com’s Kibble Krusader Kontest winner, Keith’s heartfelt essay won $1,000 of Halo Dinner Party which was donated to the Humane Society of Tacoma & Pierce County in Alderton, WA where he adopted Ned (read about Halo’s donation to the shelter here).

Animal shelters recognize the very special relationship between adopted pets and their new families and maintain a structured adoption process that allows them to make the best match for both parties–the goal is always to find a pet a lifelong home.

In addition to actually choosing a new pet, the adoption process usually involves filling out an application, an interview, a waiting period, a contract, fees and often a trial period.

Click here to read more about the adoption process.