Recently, I went back to discussing food issues in some detail. It is important to understand that we do have ways of helping out pets not only with their diets, but with preventing things from happening long term.

Obesity in Pets and Ways to Deal with It We have discussed this before. Obesity is an issue for both humans and pets when talking about arthritis. Overweight pets are not only more prone to developing arthritis, those who have joint related issues experience greater difficulties when obesity is present.

Simple Solutions When pets are young, and I refer to those under age of one, we put them at greater risk of obesity through our own actions. I think that most of us are likely to feed them more and to provide "treats" because this seems to satisfy both pet and us. I mean, who can refuse food to a cute little dog or cat?

They are all little "beggars" at this stage. This is also time when their bodies are more prone to developing fat cells. Now, part of this is our own fault because we are more likely to "give in" when they are seeking food. Of course by doing so, we are setting in motion a long-term problem.

We Control Future Here This pattern of feeding too much in early years gives rise to long-term obesity. It is not found in animals that are living in wild. They tend to be lean and this leads us to conclusion that it is domestic pets that suffer greatest risk here.

No Symptoms but Trouble on Horizon I was reading a book other day about hip dysplasia in dogs. Before going further, I should add that this applies to cats as well. The article was written by a veterinarian and it had something very important to say about this painful condition.

An incredible 65-70% of young puppies display hip dysplasia when screened with an X-ray. That includes young pups that are not demonstrating symptoms; with no lameness or other symptoms of pain that would be visible.

Now, this number is staggering when you consider that this veterinarian was talking about puppies less than one year old.

What is Hip Dysplasia? Hip dysplasia is basically a "ball and socket" kind of condition. In short, joint does not fit right or it "pops" out of line. A cat or a dog may be born with this condition; or, it may result from activity and stress. Veterinarians face several different scenarios here. As I have said in previous articles this is a condition that larger breed dogs are prone to developing. However, this veterinarian was describing all young puppies he had studied.

The more fundamental question is this. If young animals have this condition, it generally worsens. Even though they are not demonstrating symptoms this early in life as it progresses, pain and disability are inevitable.