Pet Digest

🥕 Ways to Help Your Dog Lose Weight (Safely and Naturally) Let’s be honest — some of our pups are more marshmallow than muscle . Whether it's a few extra pounds from too many treats or a long-term weight gain issue, helping your dog slim down can improve their quality of life and even extend it. But where do you start? Here are vet-approved , natural , and dog-friendly ways to help your dog lose weight — without sacrificing love, treats, or tail wags. 🐾 1. Talk to Your Vet First Before making any changes, get a proper weight assessment and rule out medical conditions like hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, or joint pain that may be contributing to weight gain. Your vet can also help you determine a healthy goal weight. 🥦 2. Feed for the Weight They Should Be Most commercial food labels base feeding guidelines on ideal body weight, not your dog’s current size. If your dog is overweight, feeding according to their actual weight can perpetuate the problem. Adjust calori...

Why Vegetables Should Come Before Salt in Your Dog’s Food – And What That Tells You If you're paying attention to your dog's food labels (and you should be!), there's a small but mighty clue that can tell you a lot about what's really in the bag: the position of vegetables compared to salt on the ingredient list. Why Ingredient Order Matters In pet food labeling, ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight before cooking. This means the first ingredients are the most plentiful in the recipe. And here’s the kicker — salt is regulated to be no more than 2% of the total recipe . So if you see veggies like peas, carrots, spinach, or sweet potato listed after salt, you're looking at food with less than 2% vegetables . That’s barely a sprinkle. For a food that advertises “with garden veggies” or shows a bounty of vegetables on the bag, this can be misleading. Real, beneficial amounts of vegetables should come before salt if they’re going to have any me...