I see weight problems in dogs that range from mild to life threatening. The most extreme example in my experience was a male Rottweiler who weighed 152 pounds during an office visit a few years ago. We receive many reports from people telling us how they feed their dog on cat products and vice versa. However, research into the feeding of pet animals clearly shows that the nutritional needs of cats and dogs do differ. For this reason, pet food companies take considerable trouble to establish product recipes to take account of these differing requirements.
Cancer cachexia is the most common paraneoplastic syndrome in veterinary medicine.
No matter what drugs, herbs, acupuncture points, homeopathic remedies, or flower essences you give your animal companion, none is as important to overall health as the food you feed. An animal cannot heal its body if its nutritional needs remain unfilled. Even apparent behavior problems such as irritability, fearfulness, aggression, jealousy, excessive grooming, and litterbox issues often, at their most fundamental level, have a nutritional component. One manifestation, hip dysplasia, affects millions of dogs. Genetics, environment, and nutrition all contribute to developmental skeletal disease.