Here are some observations regarding the declining health of our dog population during the last 40 years. Today’s post is designed to raise questions and get you to think about your dog and their life. Have you noticed that dogs seem to age much more quickly and are dying younger? They behave like elderly animals when they get in the age range of 10+ years old. Many begin losing their hearing and vision too. This is not just occurring to the larger breeds. It is occurring to the poodles, bijons, and most smaller dogs that used to last 15-20 years.
Seagate has written various articles about the declining health, quality of life, and shortened life span of dogs in our country:
Feeding commercial dog food vs. real food – Part I
Feeding Commercial Dog Food vs. Real Food Part II
Feeding our dogs (Part III) a more natural diet
Diet is plays a major role. Since 2009, there have been over 100 recalls of dog food due to bacterial contamination, foreign substance (plastics etc.), mold, toxins … etc. Most of these recalls and most of the dog food produced in this country comes from just a couple of manufacturing plants that produce for many different labels. Even if there were no contamination, these foods are loaded with cereals that are GMO (genetically modified). Dogs are supposed to eat real meat, not the waste from rendering plants or the imitation flavoring designed to trick them into eating. Mixing in some fresh vegetables is also important. But fillers like dried wheat, corn and rice are not their natural diet. It is even worse that these or now GMO grains. Thank you Monsanto.
Exercise is almost non-existent for most dogs. When you have an adult human population in the U.S. where >60% of us are considered to be overweight/obese, do you think these same people who own dogs are giving them an hour outside to run around or even to go on a long walk? When they are taken outside, have you noticed that the majority of the people walking their dogs are really just playing on their cellphones? Most dogs, if they are lucky, have their own back yard and are just let outside a couple of times a day “to do their business”.
Toxins are continuously being fed to our dogs. Does your Vet’s office recommend that they be on the latest Flea & Tick pills each month to prevent infestation? In most parts of the country, this can usually be reduced down to only those months during the Summer and Fall when there is high insect activity. Remember that these pills are poisons, low dose insecticides. Having your dog constantly exposed to an internal insecticide is not good for their liver and kidneys. At the same time, ticks and fleas carry different diseases. So you don’t want that to occur either. However, it may be healthier for the dog if you were to examine them for ticks if they have been exposed to parks and trails with a lot of vegetation and wait for signs of fleas before either giving them flea baths or pills.
Vaccines may be at the top of the list for causing harm and even death to your pet. Did you know that the rabies vaccine is one identical dose no matter the size of the dog? A Chihuahua weighing 5 lbs gets the same shot as a 150 lb. Great Dane. Many smaller dogs are dying as a result of being overdosed from vaccines. Take a look at what a Veterinarian has to say about this in a video from Planet Pet.
Dogs are dying needlessly. These are members of your family that are completely dependent upon you to make the right decisions regarding their care. But we are making the wrong decisions. The poor dogs are suffering the consequences.
This is very disturbing to me. Hopefully it is to you too. What I do when I am so upset is to go visit some fish. This fellow below is a nurse shark. They are harmless reef sharks that have tiny recessed teeth and eat by using suction drawing food into their mouth. Some of these sharks are so used to being around divers that they behave like dogs, following them around begging for food. While this may make a good diving experience and photo op, it is not good to train these animals to become too friendly or dependent toward humans.
