How What and Who We Feed Our Pets Affects Them, Us and Our Planet
Daily news reports warn us of the impact that our carbon foot print is having on our planet. We are told to change how we live and what we drive. But could our pets themselves -what and who we feed them contribute to their detrimental environmental pawprint? We pamper our dogs and cats like children and are told by pet food companies that we need to feed them like wolves and bobcats. But is this the best diet for them? Could these ancestral diets be contributing to the rise in obesity in our pets and climate destruction? What can we do for our pets that is easy, safe and nutritious and possibly reverse climate change?
My guest is Dr. Ernie Ward, an internationally recognized veterinarian, author and lecturer from North Carolina with expertise in senior pets, pain management, nutrition and founder of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. He will soon be releasing a book that is sure to be paradigm shifting for all pet parents who are concerned with providing the best possible care for their furry family members and the veterinarians who care for them.
BIO:
Early in his career, Dr. Ward was instrumental in bringing senior pet care guidelines to general veterinary practices in 1999. In 2001, he developed and published protocols for monitoring pets receiving long term medications such as Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Previcox, Metacam, Enacard, thyroid hormone, prednisone and more. His chart for drug monitoring guidelines is found in most small animal veterinary hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Ward was an early promoter of mandatory pre-surgical blood testing for dogs and cats, the administration of intravenous fluids throughout the procedure and pre- and post-operative pain management, even for routine surgeries such as spay (OHE) and neuter (orchiectomy). Dr. Ward was an outspoken advocate for extended vaccination protocols as early as 1999. He was an early adopter of C02 laser surgery, beginning to use surgical lasers in his practice in 1999. He gave over fifty lectures in the US, Canada and Europe on the importance reducing pet vaccinations by using extended duration vaccines and wrote and produced a veterinary staff training video and guidebook on immunology and vaccinology in 2004. In 2005, he founded the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention to help raise awareness on the dangers of excess weight in dogs and cats. He wrote "Chow Hounds: Why Our Dogs Are Getting Fatter" in 2010 and coauthored the American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) Weight Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats in 2014. He is a certified personal trainer and USA Triathlon certified coach and multiple Ironman finisher.