Do you know how to massage your horse?

Give a listen to this podcast by Megan Ayrault, author of the 

Horse Lover's Guide to massage.

http://allaboutequinemassage.com/2010/04/06/listening-with-your-hands-podcast/

Early Detection of Symptoms of Cushings Disease

I know I am guilty of hoping a symptom will go away on its own, and sometimes wait too long until the problem becomes difficult to treat.  Dr. Becker recommends proactive action to keep the symptoms of Cushings disease to a minimum....

Needless to say, identifying pre-Cushing’s syndrome early – or at least ensuring that your pet has a reduced likelihood of acquiring Cushing’s disease – is, hands down, the best approach.

My recommendation is for you to be proactive and check your pet’s ALP on an annual basis. Address it if you notice that the ALP is climbing. Do a screening test, a UCC, or CIALP to determine if your pet is indeed overproducing cortisol. Through this, you’re better able to manage the condition before your pet has fully developed Cushing’s disease, which is pretty difficult to manage.

Always remember that you shouldn’t ignore symptoms. If your dogs have consistent (even minor) symptoms, then it’s absolutely worth investigating endocrine or adrenal disease as a contributing factor to why your pet has symptoms that are concerning for you.

Frozen Pet Foods Can Lead To Acidemia

 – Tissue degradation and oxidation under high heat freezing (above 29° F), which occurs along the supply chain with RF pet products also leads to acidification. Increasing acid consumption can contribute to acidemia that lies at the base of virtually every chronic degenerative disease plaguing modern pets. (See references below.)

Frozen Pet Products Are Not Inert To Degradation

– In frozen storage there is deterioration in organoleptic quality – meat texture, fat turning granular and crumbly, and discoloration. Microbial enzymes also remain active, especially lipases that break down fats increasing their susceptibility to oxidation.

Dangers of raw pet foods: Freezer Burn Indicates A More Serious Problem

– Air reaching the meat surface is the cause for the freezer burns that result in the typical grayish-brown leathery spots. Frozen water on the surface or just beneath it sublimates (from solid state directly to vapor) into the air, causing moisture to be lost from the meat over time resulting in discoloration and a dry, leathery texture. Proper pet food packaging helps maintain quality and prevent freezer burn, however most packaging is permeable to air. The prevalence of freezer burn in RF pet products speaks to the fact that the product is being oxidized and with that creating free radical toxins to lay the seeds for various degenerative diseases.

Freezing Masks Inedibles

– Raw meat and organ tissue continues to use ATP (source of energy) until it is exhausted and the tissue enters a state of rigor. Endogenous enzymatic activity within the tissue continues to digest the muscle tissue (proteolysis) softening it until it becomes tender and develops the typical palatable taste. This process is retarded by cold. The freezing of properly aged meat presents few problems, however, any residual ATP present in the tissue during freezing will contract the muscle upon thawing resulting in a more unpalatable product. Mixed RF pet foods would hide this problem.

Display Packaging Causes Free Radicals

– Light, as well as air, can promote free radical production. Retail display pet packaging that is clear or light permeable permits light to catalyze the free radical (disease promoting) process.

French angora lion head bunny at the Humane Society

I volunteered time at the Pasadena Humane Society today, and fell in love with a bunny.  It was brought in as a stray yesterday May 27, 2010, so it will not be available for a few days; but I am first in line.