April 29th 2006
Pudgy Pooch Special-Overweight Animals
with JOAN EMBREY and NBC's Biggest Loser Trainer JILLIAN MICHAELS.
Jillian Michaels, The Biggest Loser
Who
would ever expect that Jillian Michaels, one of the personal trainers
on NBC's series The Biggest Loser, would have an obesity
problem in her own household! But Jillian's chubby Chihuahua,
Baxter, is one of a rapidly growing number of America's portly
pets that are tipping the scales at an all time high. As many
as 40 percent of American household pets are obese or overweight.
Listen in as Jillian tells
how she recognized the signs her pooch was overweight and what
she is doing about it. And if you have an overweight pooch, find
out how you can have your pet participate in the latest fitness
challenge sweeping the nation sponsored by Hill's 2006 National
PetFit Challenge, a competition designed to help raise awareness
of the serious consequences of pet obesity and encourage guardians
to make positive changes in their pets' lifestyles.
Who knows, maybe the next loser show will be a "Biggest Loser" for dogs?
Joan Embery
You've seen her on "The Tonight
Show" with Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, "Good Morning
America", "CBS This Morning", "Live with Regis
& Kathie Lee", and "Entertainment Tonight",
promoting the need for a global conservation effort. Animals and
the environment could not have a better champion than Joan Embery.
Undoubtedly, she is one of the most dedicated and caring animal
experts, determined to spread her message of preservation throughout
the world. Throughout the 32 years Joan served as goodwill ambassador
for the Zoological Society of San Diego, she was able to indulge
her passion for animals while working to educate the public about
a variety of endangered and exotic species and the need to preserve
them and their habitats.
Alligator Knocks on Woman's Door
Britt Savage
So now the alligators are going
door to door. When Lori Pachelli heard someone knocking at the
door of her home in a gated community in this southwest Florida
community earlier this week, she looked out to see an unwelcome
visitor on her front stoop: an 8-foot alligator. The bull gator,
which had wandered up from the pond behind the house, had a bloody
lip from banging its head against the door.
"He was pretty big, pretty aggressive," Pachelli said, adding that the gator may have followed her home from walking her cocker spaniel, Trooper. Pachelli's husband, Mike, said he sped home after his wife called him in hysterics. The animal remained at the Pachellis' door for about an hour before going back into the lake, where trapper John French captured it later. French said it's not unusual to find male alligators in some pretty interesting places this time of year.
"You're starting into what's called the crawl season, the breeding season," he said. "We get them out of front porches, out of garages, out of swimming pools." The Pachellis said they never dreamed an alligator would venture that close to the house. "I've never seen them walking around (the neighborhood), let alone banging on my front door," Lori Pachelli said.
Dog Helps With Weight Loss
Patti Lawson, The Dog Diet
Three years ago Patti drove
to PetsMart just to look at dogs because she was tired of being
lonely and thought maybe a dog would cheer her up. There fate
in the form of a lady volunteer at the Love-A Pet-Adoption Center
tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a little black and tan
puppy to hold for a minute.
Fast forward three years and this little puppy is now a long-legged Pollyanna type creature she named Sadie and simply cannot imagine her life without her.
While it was not love at first sight for either of them, they found their way together and formed a bond stronger that anything Patti experienced... Along the way, Sadie lifted her out of that depressive state, helped her lose over 30 pounds and fills her days with once unimaginable joy.
While Pattie won't lend her dog Sadie out to anyone, perhaps you already have one of these amazing dogs, or can find one at your local shelter.
Stop Those Yellow Lawn Burns
Leo Malantis, Earth's Balance
Are you one of those people who works hard on
your lawn only to have your dog's urine burn yellow marks all
over it?
Earth's Balance has created Dogonit for
Lawns, which is a pro-biotic complex of natural enzymes that speed
the breakdown process of pet urine to help grass grow back. Dogonit
helps flush dog urine out of tight compacted soils and helps break
down organic complexes in the soil to promote vigorous new growth.
By making the soil less toxic, it stimulates more desirable enzymatic
reactions, which results in a healthier, better-looking lawn.
You can apply it right after the dog has urinated on the lawn
or when first signs of yellowing appear.
You can also prevent dog urine burns before they
start! Lawn burns are caused by high levels of nitrogen in your
pet's urine. G-Whiz for Dogs is formulated with all natural edible
active ingredients that work internally to reduce blood ammonia
levels, and therefore, reduce the volume of nitrogen in your dog's
urine. Reduced nitrogen means no lawn burns!
Thanks to Earth's Balance - you can now have the best lawn on
the block!
Pudgy Pooches
Darlene Arden
Obesity
is as much of a problem with dogs as it is with humans. Darlene
offers suggestions such as when training a dog and giving them
treats, count this as part of their daily intake of food and not
in addition to. And, don't reward your pet with treats, when all
he may be looking for is attention.
The best thing for both of you is to get active. Instead of just putting your dog in the backyard, go outside and play games with him. You will find that a good old game of hide-n-seek will burn calories on both you and your pet!
There are many specialized diets out there for overweight dogs, but if they won't eat them, then they won't do any good. And as with any diet, make sure your pet is under the care of a veterinarian.
http://www.DarleneArden.com
http://www.petdiets.com
Bird Flu - An Abuse of Breath
Rae Ann Kumelos, Voice of the
Animal
As the influenza known as "Avian Flu" travels westward,
more and more media attention is focused on the disease, resulting
in an unfounded and unnecessary fear of birds. (There is no occurrence
of this disease ever being transmitted from wild birds to human).
Discover how birds have a very special and unique relation to
the human soul, and how the cause of the disease lies not with
birds, but with people.
http://www.VoiceOfTheAnimal.org
Owners May Pass Super Bugs to their
Pets
Dr. Jim Humphries, Veterinary
News Network
People can get plenty of diseases from animals. Bird flu for one.
Now there are signs that dogs and cats can catch a super bug from
people. At a large Philadelphia hospital, scientists report that
over a three-year period 38 dogs and cats and other pets caught
a drug-resistant staff infection. They think six of the animals
caught the bug from hospital workers. But, it's likely that at
least some of the other cases were spread to pets by their owners.
Talk With Your Animals
Joy Turner
Joy communicates with Riley B. Dickens, a 10-year old Border Terrier.
Dickens is a very happy dog who loves his job. At a pre-school
where one of his guardians work, Riley take all the new kids in
the class around for the day. But one problem that Riley has is
with Golden Retrievers.
http://www.TalkWithYourAnimals.com
Listen to the 1/2 Hour ABRIDGED VERSION Podcast of this show (#335).
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of 40 Pound Cat