Why pets are getting sick so young (it’s not what you think)

Are you worried about your young pet's health? Confused by all the advice swirling online about kibble, vaccines, and vet care?

In this eye-opening episode of "Call the Vet," Dr. Alex shares some tough love about the three biggest causes of poor health in young pets—issues often overlooked until it's too late.

Learn how to spot weight problems, tackle dental disease before it leads to pain, and what no one tells you about breed-related risks.

Armed with practical tips and expert insights, you’ll feel empowered to give your furry friend their healthiest, happiest life. Hit play and discover how you can prevent problems before they begin!

Dive into more detail over in the show notes

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Transcript

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Spend five minutes online and you'll be told that kibble is poison, parasite prevention is toxic, vets only care about money, and vaccines are destroying your pet's health. Does that sound familiar? But I can't help wonder why these people are ignoring the three biggest causes of poor pet health. I see every week, if not every day, in my patients. I talk about preventing two of these at every opportunity, multiple times every day. They are that important. The third, I wished people asked me about more because by the time I'm seeing them, it's almost always too late to do anything about. I'm veterinarian Dr. Alex. I've been a vet since 2006. And the first problem I want to talk to you about is weight. So over 60% of pets are overweight or obese. And being heavy has become, it's just become normalized. So it's often not even being recognized as being present anymore. But it can have major impacts on health and well, being, in fact, being just slightly overweight, so not even obese. Being slightly overweight compared to being lean in a dog actually means living up to two and a half years less on average being obese and things are even worse. And cats are no different. You know, we used to think that fat just sat there and inert substance around the body, but it's actually incredibly pro inflammatory. It sets up a system of inflammation throughout the whole body and it affects absolutely everything from skin to joints to organ health. It affects quality of life. But here's the thing. It's actually quite easy to tell whether your pet is overweight. You should be able to feel their ribs a little bit, like the bones in the back of your hand when you run your fingers over them. If there's padding, extra padding, or you can't feel them at all, they're too heavy. There should be a waist from above. It should be wide at the ribs, tuck in at the waist and then back out to the hips again. And then when you look from the side again, there should be a nice tuck. It goes from low along the ribs and up into the abdomen. If any of those are missing, you can pretty much be certain that your pet is overweight and you need to take action. If you're not sure, simply pop into your vet clinic and ask the veterinary team. They will let you know. And if your pet does fit into the 60% that are carrying a little bit too much or a lot too much, there are some relatively simple fixes. It doesn't mean it's easy, but they're quite simple. Measure out the food. Get rid of free feeding. Stop keeping that kibble bowl filled to the top. Use scatter toys. Hide the food in little packets around the house, in the garden, throw it out on the grass. Use food puzzles, use slow feeders. Exercise more. Use training to really engage your dog rather than relying on treats to show them that you care about them. Play more. Take advantage of weight clinics that are often free. Change their diet to one that's better suited to an animal who's overweight and track their weight. Even if your pet is healthy, keep track of their weight and take action if it's starting to creep up before it comes. Problem Big problem number two is oral health and dental care. So dental disease is a hidden disease. It hides away from under the lips and when it's mentioned in consult, it's all too often ignored until smelly breath becomes absolutely unbearable or the pain in your pet's mouth becomes so bad that they choose to stop eating. Just let that digest for a minute if that's what you're waiting to happen before you take action. You know, I've lost count of how many mouths that I've fixed. And even when an owner thought the problem was only minor, often that fixing involves the extraction of a scary number of teeth. And then just a few days later, the owner reports back that their pet is suddenly behaving like a puppy or a kitten again. The impact on their well being has been so great. Take that pain away and the improvement is huge. But also, just like fat, dental disease sets up a pro inflammatory state in the body and is linked to things like skin disease, to kidney issues, to poor heart health, to worsening arthritis, you name it. Dental disease reduces overall health and vitality. That slowing down with age is sometimes just chronic pain sitting in the mouth. Prevention needs a proactive approach. So we've got brushing, we've got diets, chews, different toys, oral gels, water additives, probiotics. And the more you do, the better. There's a reason why that we brush our teeth twice a day. We should floss, use mouthwash regularly, visit the hygienist. Dental care can take effort, but the impact of that effort is huge. And then the third issue is breed. And by the time I'm seeing a pet in the clinic, it's generally too late to make a difference in the breed that an owner has chosen. And this, to me though, is possibly the single biggest emerging global health issue out there. We're breeding more and more animals with extreme features. You know, I'm talking about no noses, screw tails, extreme skin folds, short twisted legs, long backs, malaligned jaws, bulging eyes, domed heads. I could keep going on and on. I'm thinking about breeds and individuals that have severe health issues built into them. Health issues that are either incredibly expensive or impossible to alleviate. And even healthier breeds are often predisposed to specific problems that would ideally mean that an owner takes care steps specific to their breed of pet to keep them as healthy as possible. You know, for all the online discussion about kibble chemicals and over medication, I very rarely hear the same voices talk about the health problems conventional vets have been trying to raise awareness of for years. The ones that we are deliberately breeding into modern pets. At some point we also need honest conversations about responsibility. Many breed related problems are predictable before a puppy or a kitten is ever brought home. And we cannot keep acting shocked by health problems or the cost to treat them when they are so well documented and so strongly linked to specific breeds or breed traits. I know most owners buy these dogs because they genuinely love them and they are normally really lovable characters. Not because they want an unhealthy pet, but normalizing extreme features. Breeding for cuteness has severe health and life limiting consequences that many of these animals are going to have to live through. And then once you've addressed these three issues, you can then supercharge your pet's health by avoiding these top 10 mistakes that I see pet owners make all the time. So tap on the video on screen. I'll see you over there. But until the next time, I'm veterinarian Dr. Alex. This is our pets health because they're family.