Dogs are just like people, some are skinny and some are fat. If your dog is getting a little chunky, you may want to try and nip it in the bud, before it becomes a bigger problem.
By Brandy Highsmith
While there are medical conditions that can increase the likelihood that your canine will gain weight, most problems related to obesity are caused by owners. Dogs are similar to people. If they intake more calories than they burn on a regular basis, they will put on extra pounds. Unfortunately, excess weight can put stress on the joints while exacerbating existing health conditions.
Below, we’ll take a look at the most common factors that play a role in canine obesity. We’ll explore how the availability of food, lack of sufficient exercise, genetic predisposition, and a thyroid problem can each contribute to your pooch’s expanding body.
Too Much Food
Every dog is different. Some will eat as much food as is placed in front of them and then start looking for more. Others will eat throughout the day, coming back to their bowl only when they’re hungry. Some will only eat certain types of foods while others will consume practically anything.
The problem is that many owners fail to tailor their pooch’s meal plan to accommodate their tendencies. For example, a lot of people will follow a “free choice” plan where they make food available to their canines at all times. For many pets, this is a recipe for obesity; they will eat as much as possible.
Another common problem is that owners often prepare meals that are far too big. Even if the food is not always available, meals that are larger than necessary can contribute to your pooch’s weight gain. This is especially true if he leads a sedentary lifestyle.
Lack Of Exercise
The more active your dog is on a daily basis, the more calories he’ll burn. The more calories he burns, the more food he can eat without gaining weight. Plus, canines that enjoy daily exercise are less likely to become bored or stressed during the day. Both mental states encourage excess eating.
It’s In The Genes
Some breeds are predisposed to weight gain. For example, owners of Beagles and Cocker Spaniels often find that their pooches put on extra pounds more easily than similarly-sized dogs from other breeds. This is not to suggest that owners of these breeds (along with Labrador Retrievers and Collies) should relent and allow their canines to gain weight. On the contrary, they should take extra precautions to help keep the pounds off.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a condition in which your pooch’s thyroid produces fewer thyroid hormones. This hormone plays a role in regulating your dog’s metabolism; a decline in its production can lower his metabolic rate. As a result, he’ll need less nourishment to maintain his energy. In some cases, pets become obese when they develop hypothyroidism and continue eating the same amount of food each day.
Canine obesity becomes more problematic as your pooch ages. It’s more difficult to shed the excess pounds and the extra weight will take a greater toll on his body. If you suspect your dog is obese, ask your veterinarian to recommend a weight reduction diet that provides for his nutritional and energy needs.
About the Author
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When Mount St. Helens erupted, I had already been at work in Renton for a couple of hours. It didn’t take long for everything to be covered with a thick layer of ash. And apparently, the ash made it all the way around the world.
By Aydan Corkern
Volcanoes can be found all over the world. Some are downright dangerous while others have been laying low for quite some time. Here are the top 5 dangerous volcanoes in the United States.
Taking the top spot for most dangerous volcano is Hawaii’s own Kilauea, which is considered to be the most active volcano in the world. Kilauea’s first eruption is believed to have occurred some 300,000 to 600,000 years ago, and the oldest dated rocks found are more than 20,000 years old. Surround Kilauea is a rainforest and other volcanic formations, and the volcano, which is located in Volcanoes National Park is open to visitors. It has been erupting continuously since 1983 and is predicted to last for as long as the planet lives.
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Mount St. Helens is located in Skamania County, Washington, which is over 90 miles south of Seattle. Mount St. Helens is particularly famous for the deadliest volcano in U.S. History that occurred on May 18, 1980 and killed 57 people, damaged 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railway, and almost 200 miles of highway.
Also located in Washington state, is Mount Rainier, located over 50 miles southeast of Seattle in the Mount Rainier National Park. The lava dates back to over 800,000 years ago. While it is a generally dormant volcano with limited activity, there is the threat of mudflows caused by the excess ice that accumulates atop the volcano. Nearby communities, such as Renton, Kent, and Auburn could very well be destroyed and parts of Seattle could be affected as well.
Oregon’s Mount Hood, on first glance, belongs on the front of a postcard or the cover of a traveling magazine. Its peak reaches in excess of 11,200 feet and houses twelve glaciers. The volcano is classified as dormant in the time being and the likelihood of an eruption during the next few years is unlikely. As a result, the area around Mount Hood has been open to recreational activities, such as fishing, skiing, and river rafting.
Last on the list is Mount Shasta, located in Northern California’s Siskiyou County. Shasta is a single formation with no other mountains surrounding it. Mount Shasta has been quiet for hundreds of years, the last eruption believed to have occurred about 200 years ago. During the past 10,000 years, Shasta erupted every 800 years but records show that it has erupted every 600 years during the past 4,500 years. Deposits from its eruptions can be found under its nearby towns and although the volcano is dormant for now, it is only a matter of years before it shall erupt again.
About the Author
Visit Aydan Corkern’s sites: volcano vaporizer and e cigarette.
The leopard is a beautiful, sleek, fast and potentially dangerous cat. They are gorgeous to see, but I would want to be a ways away from them. Enjoy this read from ex-game ranger David Meisel.
By David Meisel
Latin Name: Panthera pardus
Weight: Females up to 60 kg (132 pds). Males up to 90 kg (198 pds)
Lifespan: 20 years
Gestation: 110 days
Habitat
The leopard is one of the most adaptable predators in Africa. They are able to survive in many different types of habitats, taking preference to savannah, woodland, riverine vegetation and mountainous regions. They can also be found living close to human settlements where domestic animals become a source of prey. Of all predators, the leopard is the most likely to become a man-eater as many of them have established territories close to human settlements, resulting in regular encounters with people.
Behaviour
Unlike lions, which are usually found in family groups, the leopard lives a more solitary life. Individuals seen together are most likely to be a mother with cubs, a male and female mating or encounters on the boundaries of their different territories. The collective name for a group of leopard is a “LEAP”.
Both males and females are territorial. The sizes of the different territories vary quite considerably. The males tend to have larger areas up to 100 km² and sometimes more, with several female territories overlapping within.
Leopard mark their territories by spraying urine onto trees and bushes that they periodically return to, to remark.
The leopard also advertises its presence within its territory vocally, by making a series of grunts described as the sound of a saw cutting through wood.
Their beautiful colouration consists of dark-brown to black spots, which form the shape of rosettes. The edges of their eyes are lined with a white colour which may aid their nocturnal vision by amplifying light that is reflected off its surroundings.
Along with its superb camouflage, it is a very silent and stealthy predator with a very high success rate in kills made on hunts. Pound for pound the leopard is the strongest cat in the world, capable of climbing a tree whilst carrying prey that is more than twice its own body weight. If the prey is too large to climb up with, it will often feed on the ground until carcass is light enough to hang to a tree.
They are very opportunistic hunters, sometimes having 2 or more kills at the same time. The leopard is not fond of eating fur, so before opening a carcass to feed on the softer meat, it plucks out the animal’s hair.
Many young and inexperienced leopards don’t drag their kills up into trees often resulting in lions or hyenas stealing it from them. A carcass strung high up in a tree is a lot safer, allowing the leopard to can come and go as it pleases and feed at leisure. In areas with few scavengers, they will sometimes leave the kill on the ground and cover it grass and leaves or drag it out of sight into thick vegetation.
Of all the large predators in Africa it is the second fastest sprinter after the cheetah, reaching speeds of up to 85 km/hour in just 3 seconds!
Diet
Their diet consists of mainly small to medium sized antelope such as impala, bush buck, steenbok and duiker. They will also prey on kudu, warthog, baboons, vervet monkeys, hares, guinea fowl and francolins. A leopard will even eat insects if it is struggling to hunt for some reason.
Breeding
Mating takes place at any time of the year. The male locates a female in “heat” by taste testing the urine she leaves behind on the vegetation, after scent-marking her territory. A female that is ready to mate is very vocal, often calling throughout the night to find a possible mating partner. Once a suitable male is located, the pair may remain together for a week while mating.
The female gives birth to 2 or 3 cubs which she hides in thick vegetation, rocky outcrops or even in caves. Every 3 or 4 days the female moves the cubs as the smell of their urine and feces becomes very prominent, often attracting unwanted visitors such as lion and hyena that would almost certainly kill the cubs.
Cubs start eating meat at around 6 to 8 weeks of age but still suckle off the female for up 3 or 4 months until weaning. At 12 months of age the cubs keen hunters and by 16 to 18 months they are too large for the mother to feed so she chases them off to be on their own. Cubs of the same litter that are independent of their mother will often keep together for a few months before parting ways.
I am an ex-game ranger from South Africa. I have 2 awesome blogs packed with information on all sorts of wildlife in Africa. I also talk about encounters with dangerous game while doing bush walks. Visit my Blogs to find out more: www.safari-stories.blogspot.com and www.southafrican-wildlife.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://www.articles4reprint.com
Chicken cooked in wine comes out so incredibly moist and tender and juicy. The Marsala wine is an excellent flavoring for this great chicken recipe.
Delicious ways to add Omega-3s to your meals
(Family Features) Foods for a healthy lifestyle can be full of great flavor. The traditional Mediterranean diet is a wonderful example of great food that can have a healthy impact on the body.
The Mediterranean diet is characterized by daily consumption of olive oil, fish, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains. It encourages eating fewer processed foods and reducing consumption of meat, a common source of Omega-6 fatty acids.
Everyone needs Omega-6 and Omega-3 essentially fatty acids because our bodies don’t produce them. But it’s important to keep them in the right balance to each other. The Mediterranean Diet helps achieve that balance by focusing on using olive oil instead of vegetable cooking oils that are high in Omega-6.
Chef Nick Stellino, of PBS-TV fame, uses Pompeian OlivExtra Plus with Omega-3 DHA for sautéing, baking and preparing soups, sauces and marinades because OlivExtra Plus has both olive oil and an added infusion of Omega-3 to help achieve a better balance.
“If you are going to cook with oil, doesn’t it make sense to cook with one that contains more Omega-3?” asks Chef Stellino.
These recipes for Chicken Marsala and Black Bean, Edamame and Wheat Berry Salad make it easy to set a healthy table everyone will be happy to sit down to.
For more delicious ways to set a healthy table, visit www.pompeian.com.
Chicken Marsala
Serves 4
2 1/4 pounds chicken parts, skin removed
2 tablespoons Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Pompeian Marsala Cooking Wine
garlic cloves with skin on
2-3 lemons cut into wedges
4 rosemary sprigs
Salt and pepper to taste*
Preheat oven to 400° F. Place chicken pieces in a roasting pan and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place garlic among chicken pieces and tuck lemon wedges alongside garlic.
Pour cooking wine over chicken. Scatter rosemary sprigs on top of chicken and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350° F. and bake for another 15 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear when chicken is pierced. Serve immediately.
*All cooking wines are denatured, so adjust your salt content accordingly.
Black Bean, Edamame, and Wheat Berry Salad
Serves 6 (3/4-cup servings)
4 cups water
1/2 cup dry wheat berries
1/2 of a 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen, shelled edamame, thawed
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons Pompeian Red Wine Vinegar
3 tablespoons Pompeian OlivExtra Plus
Salt and black pepper to taste
Combine water and wheat berries in medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 55 minutes or until wheat berries are just tender.
Place in a fine mesh strainer and run under cold water to cool quickly; drain well.
Combine wheat berries with remaining ingredients in medium bowl. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 8 hours in advance.
Note: Wheat berries are unprocessed wheat kernels and are sold in major supermarkets and health food stores.
Courtesy of Family Features
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Source: Pompeian
