Curb That Summertime Sadness

With summer coming to an end, many of our schedules are starting to ramp up. Gone are the relaxing days spent outside, be it at the pool, the lake, a friends BBQ or even just the extended walks down at the off leash park. Getting back into the full swing of work, school and sports, with the holidays looming on the horizon, you may find yourself pressed for time. As most of our summer activities can and usually do involve our companion animals, they can be greatly affected by this lack of time and energy we may now have for them. Sometimes this can lead to a few behaviors rearing up that we are not used to seeing; damaging items in the house, excessive barking at outdoor stimulus, chewing on paws or licking at the forearms, whining or yowling at night and digging (looking at you, Huskies) are just a few. As many pet parents are not able to put a full stop to their increasingly busy schedules, we would like to recommend some tools and solutions you can add into your animal's feeding routine that can greatly impact their digestive and mental health. 

The first items we would like to recommend are puzzle toys that can be used to dispense treats, or even whole portions of food. Our favorite this summer has been the Toppl by West Paw. This deep bowl style toy can be filled with raw or canned or even softened kibble. Pet parents can layer them with food, liquid additions like goats milk or bone broth, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables and then choose to feed them as is, or freeze them for a few hours to add an additional element come feeding time. Karlsson (pictured) took a whopping 47 minutes to finish his Toppl! By having your animal lick, chew, and have to problem solve how to get all the last little bits of their meal out, you are engaging certain instincts that they may otherwise be left untouched. Though it is a bit morbid, our domesticated animals still have many of the same instincts as their wild cousins, who catch and break down their prey. 

A second highly beneficial tool we think pet parents should have in their arsenal (whether you have dogs, cats, ferrets or even rabbits) is a snuffle mat. These come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and skill levels. The main goal of a snuffle mat is to provide different textures and layers of fabric in which treats and food can be hidden. By choosing to feed your animal part or all of their meal concealed in the many pockets and rivets within the snuffle mat, this triggers your animal's foraging instinct. As you may know, our animals have a significantly better sense of smell than we do; while humans experience much of our world visually first, our animals often rely more on their noses. Experts have stated that 20 minutes of sniffling/snuffling can be equivalent to an hour-long walk in terms of mental enrichment. This is not to say that we believe you can skip walks or playtime all together, but snuffle mats are a great solution to when you are running low on time certain days of the week and you need a way to keep your four legged friend distracted for a while. 

Our final recommendation is for the animals who inhale their meals. If you have one, you know what we mean; you can barely set the dish down and step back before your animal has dove in, only to finish eating in record time. This is incredibly unhealthy for your animal for a variety of reasons. Animals who eat like this are more likely to have unhealthy weight gain, which can lead to joint pain as they age. Another common issue when an animal eats too quickly is that their stomach actually rejects the meal and they end up throwing it all up again. Purging is different from vomiting and is often due to the speed at which an animal eats. A slow feeder bowl or a lick mat will be your best friend in these situations. With different grooves and nooks, food can be spread, smeared or scattered in the dish or on the mat. Animals then must lick at their meal, preventing them from getting large mouthfuls. 

Our animals have much simpler lives than we do; their days are focused around observing the world from windows, napping, eating, spending quality time with us and spending some time outside, exercising and playing. Whether you find yourself short on time, lacking the energy to go for a walk or play vigorously, or if the weather is interfering with being outside (from heat domes to below -40), finding new and interesting ways to feed your animals their daily meals can greatly enrich their lives and take some of the pressure off of you. We’d love to help with that.