Speaker 1: You were listening to Petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 2: Funny and good afternoon. This is your host on Let's
Talk Pets with Doctor Jeff. And I am doctor Jeff
Werber here on this lovely Thursday at least lovely here
in southern California at one o'clock in the afternoon, and
for those of you back east, it's four o'clock and
we're here to talk about your pets, and I will
last week you may have. I hope you noticed, because
anyone who noticed that last week was a repeat tells
me that you were listening to our show. And you know,
first we had a week that I was gone, and
then we had a week at our producer was gone.
And now we're back. We're back live, and I'm one
of the few live shows here on pet Life Radio
where you can actually call in and talk to us.
And yeah, what's better than that, Gabe, to call in,
all you have to do is die eight seven seven
three eight five eight eight eight two. You can also
send me a little text to doctor Jeff at Petlife
radio dot com. You can also just here right here online.
Just start typing in a little note and we can
see you and start talking. So Anyway, I guess we
had a chance to talk about my amazing trip. I
got to speak in London. I got to speak in
Barcelona at the Southern European Venar Conference in London at
the London Vet Forum, and just saw amazing stuff that
that part of the world, especially a lot of museums.
I mean, it's amazing. I often joke I saw more
museums in like four to five days than I have
in my entire life. But it was a lot of
fun and it's great, and it's also we talked about
how funny it is how different people are when it
comes to their pets and how they eat their pets,
and you know, I guess that we're we're pretty lucky
that people like to socialize about our pets here in
the States, and I don't really like to talk about
their pets as much as strangers on the street. And
when you have a stranger like I am who loves
to sit and talk about pets, it was a little
I think they looked at me like I was nuts
or something. So I hope you all had a pretty
safe Halloween. I hope that any chocolate eaten was not
by the dogs but by the owners. Any left over
you can send my way. I am the consummate chocoholic.
And you know, you know it's funny with with the
Halloween and with other holidays coming over there. I know
there's going to be a lot of goodies. There's going
to be a lot of candy. It's not just the chocolate,
it's the rappers, because you know it's pretty hard. Dogs
are not that great at unwrapping chocolates, unwrapping candy, so
they'll say that with it, I'm just eating the whole thing.
And when they do that also can as we say,
therein lies the problem. I've just been writing some blogs
as well, and we have a lot of people want
to know about the holiday hazards as we call them,
the food hazards. They said, is not just the talk
that come Thanksgiving. We got what a mere three weeks
away from today to see today's the seventh, that's right
on the twenty eighth is Thanksgiving. And you know a
lot of us have our pets, especially our dogs, that
love to park themselves right at your feet by the table,
and they already know, hopefully that you are not a
great target, so they're not going to waste their time
with you so much, unless, of course, you don't follow
the house rules and you feed your dogs from the table.
Hopefully you don't do that. But what they do is
they're smart and they know who's usually not there, Who
can we pick on, who can we give those sad
eyes to, and maybe, just maybe they'll break down and
give me a little something. Well, the problem is a
lot of those little somethings on a Thanksgiving table are
really not that good for our pets. The biggest problem
would be they're too fatty. And when dogs eat fatty foods,
and turkey, by the way, especially dark meat turkey, is
a lot more fatty than chicken, and it's certainly more
fatty than chicken breast, which is what when we feed
our dogs chicken, we like to make sure it's white
and met. Chicken brea ham is very fatty. Most of
the fixings are cooked with a lot of seasonings and oils,
and they're grease and some fried foods you name it,
probably not the best. And especially this year, as many
of you know that the holiday of Hanukkah actually falls
right smack at the same time as Thanksgiving, very early
this year, and you know, one of those favorite tonic
foods is going to be the potato pancake and that's fried.
So all these things when dogs get a hold of them,
and trust me, they will because they really like them,
they can lead to something called pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is an
inflamed pancreas and it happens typically when dogs get a
hold of food that is too fatty, and when they
eat these fatty foods. That's why things like avocado and
certain nuts, greases, fats, bacon, things like that can cause
a pancreatitis. Dogs that get into garbages, these are things
that will cause this inflamed pancreas. And the typical symptoms
that we would see in our dogs start off with
dogs that start vomiting. They're vomiting. They are, as we say,
adr ain't doing right. They don't really. They lose their energy.
Their abdomens if you went to touch them on their belly,
very very tense. Even the sweetest dog in the world
might even try to snap at you if you popate
their abdomen certainly become anorexic and potentially potentially a life
threatening disease, obviously in its worst case, but nonetheless, dogs
of pancreatitis really need to be treated. They need to
be treated quickly, and it's not something you talk about
ruining your holiday. Let your dog or get pancretitis during
your holiday and it will definitely ruin your holiday, not
to mention. Not to mention that, you know, probably if
you know, all these nice gifts for the holidays, or
you're giving gifts for the holidays, you're not gonna have
a whole lot of money left to take your dog
to that and treat for pancretitis, which by the way,
can very costly number of days in the hospital on
ivy fluids. So obviously, obviously the best thing, as we
say in general, the best treatment is prevention. Know that
these things are just not good. If you want to
have your dog participate in the festivities, make sure they
have their own food. If you really want them there,
you can feed them, you know, kind of at the
table in their own bowls, their own food. Don't let
them beg Tell your house guests to you know, I
know Bowser is going to come over to you. He's
going to put his head on your lap, He's going
to probably salivate a little bit. So I hope you're
not wearing your best pants, but don't give in to
those said puppy dog eyes because you're trying to obviously
protect his health. And once again, as I say it
all the time, I say to my clients, any leftover candy,
just bring it to me. Well, I'll take I'll be happy,
happy to take the candy off your hands. So other
things as you're preparing, and we'll talk more about this
as we get closer to Christmas. Oh boy, that is
a whole slew of new problems we have come to holidays.
As a matter of fact, I'm supposed to be doing
a segment actually the week before Thanksgiving. I'm going to
be actually in New York in the East Coast and
from any of you in your neck of the woods,
and I'll be doing a segment on Fox and Friends
on Sunday before Thanksgiving, and then on Monday a show
called The Better Show. And again next week or the
week after I'll try to get you more information, but
that will be again. Initially, when they booked a segment
with me, they wanted to talk about one of my topics,
dear and dear to me, and that's the reconstructive surgery
for pets to do things for pets to sort of
ease their lives, make them happy and more comfortable as
they live with us. And of course being so close
to the holidays, they want to talk about the holidays.
They want to talk about holiday hazards, all the things
that we can anticipate, look forward to, and what we
can do to prevent them. So as we get closer,
you and I will have a chance to talk about
that as well. So I guess it's not that cold
a lot of but actually it is. I know, I've
already heard that. I was talking to a friend of
mine from Canada and they already have snow on the
ground in many places. As a matter of fact, they
said it's fifty to fifty that usually buy Thanksgiving they
already have snow, which I would boggles my mind coming
from California, where the only snow we get is up
in the mountains, and it it's not this early. As
a matter of fact, I remember the last year, I
don't think we had the big first snow fall up
in the Sierras until like probably mid December. So to
think that late October, early November there's already snow Minnesota. Also,
I understand already has some snow, so it does happen.
So make sure that you are you know, all the
things that you do to as I like to call
winterize your pets are in place. We spend so much
time talking about safety of pets during the hot summer months.
Went to exercise, dogs in the park, cars, protecting the feet. No,
don't forget. There are a lot of things that we
have to worry about as well when it comes to wintertime.
You know, for one thing, for dogs that are left outside,
dogs that have that good thick coat, I mean, they
usually can withstand some of the cold. But sometimes water
that you leave out for them might freeze faster than
they will, so again you have to be very careful.
Of course, I prefer having the dogs a really nice
warm place to get away, like a doghouse or a garage,
or a doggy door leading into a laundry room or
a mudroom, someplace they can actually get some protection from
the freezing cold. And for those little dogs, don't be
embarrassed to put those cute little sweaters on them. I
know people are going to laugh, that's their problem. The
issue is that the smaller the dog, the larger the
surface area per pound body weight. That means the more
likely they are to lose their heat to the cold
outside temperatures. So these dogs actually can freeze. So for
those of you that are walking around the cities and
you see these little cute Chihuahuas and the Pomeranian, den
the Maltese, you know Eta the Yorkis wearing their little sweaters,
do not laugh at them. I know they look kind
of funny sometimes, but believe it or not, those sweaters
can be protecting these guys from frostbite, from freezing, basically
getting way too cold. And of course we don't want
to just like during the summer, we don't want to
shave our dogs down. Certainly don't want to do it
during the winter. However, for that undercoat to work for them,
they need good rushing so they don't forget. You still
want to groom your pets, but the keys are make
sure that if they are going to be outdoor dogs,
they have to have a nice place to get away
from the wind, get away from the cold, nice warm doghouse.
And you know there's so many like outdoor safe heaters
you can use. Now you have a lot of options
to keep your dogs really safe during the cold months.
So anyway, we are approaching our halfway point here on
our show, and I haven't heard from anybody that upsets me.
Go ahead and give us a call eight seven seven
three eighty five eight eight eight two. I am sure
somebody out there had some questions about your pets, about
your dogs, about your cats. It could be anything from
behavior to medicine to surgery. Just gimme holler, we'll talk
about it. And I want to, of course thank our sponsors,
pro Sense that veterinary quality products available to you over
the counter at your mass retail outlets. And I want
to thank you for being here. It's nice to be
back after the break for the last week. And we
will be back in just a minute here on Pet
Life Radio, Ask the Vets with Doctor Jeff once again.
I'm your host, doctor Jeff Weber, and we'll be back
in just a few minutes.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back right after these messages. Stay tuned.
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Speaker 6: This year, Americans are expected to spend a jaw dropping
thirty six billion on their pets. From lighted leashes to
high end spot products, the discriminating pet owner can find
just about anything to pamper kiss or her pet. Hi,
this is Michelle Ferns. Join me every week for Best
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Speaker 2: Let's Talk Person.
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Speaker 2: I'm welcome, Matt. You're here listening to me doctor Jeff
Werber here on pet Life Radio. Ask the bets with
doctor Jeff. You know interesting here listening is commercial just
you know, coming at that last commercial with Michelle fern
about you know, pet products and you know, obviously a
great show to listen to this time of year because
as we know, this is the time of year we
love to give gifts to family, to friends, and obviously,
since pets are such an important integral part of the family,
you don't want to leave them out. You want to
get a prore gifts for them as well. And so
I think that's a great thing to do, is listen
in and find out what really is hot and what's
not and what is unique and what would be a
great gift for pets. But I want to talk about
one thing. I got actually an email from Eleanor and Florida,
and she had a question about what's the right thing
to do when you think you want to give a
pet as a gift. And you know, that always always
opens up some concern with me, because on the one hand,
not everybody is going to love pets as much as
those of us who are crazy about them do. And
also I have always had some reservations about giving a
pet to a family or to someone as a gift,
even if you think they want one, because there are
so many variables. There are so many things that can
go wrong, and you know the first one is that
the unsuspecting recipient was not really prepared for the pet,
even though they may have talked about it, even though
I said, oh my god, you know, in passing you
having a conversation with them, they go, oh god, I'd
love to have a dog. Oh oh my god, this cat
is so cute. You know, I really should have a cat.
Trust me, this does not mean you go out and
buy them a dog or a cat, because you know,
as I say that, one of my favorite expressions, talk
is cheap. You can say anything you want. The question
is the reality is do they really want it? Are
they ready for it? Are they prepared? Is there schedule
really the right schedule to have a pet? Do they
have the right lowe place? Does the apartment? Does the
condo allow pets? I mean, there are so many things
you have to be concerned about and that you have
to think about when you are even considering giving someone
a pet as a gift. My recommendation, of course the
surface is don't do it now. If you were to
do it, I mean, think about it. If you were,
you really have to plan. First of all, you have
to make sure that the person to whom the pet
is coming is someone to wear and expecting anticipating that
they are going to get a pet. Secondly, you want
to make sure it is the right pet they're expecting.
For example, if you have a person who are thinking
of giving a cat who is a gift, you want
to make sure that person doesn't have allergies to cats
or else. That person will not be your friend for
very long. If it's family, they'll always be your family,
but they're not gonna like you very much. So where
they live just the place loupets? Do they want a
bike pet? Do they want a small pet. Do they
want a pet that's very active? Do they know that
this is a responsibility they can have to get up
at five point thirty six in the morning and take
the pet outside for a walk. Are they ready to
the house training? I mean, these are the things you
have to really sit down with somebody. And the worst
thing you can do if you want to get that
pet as a gift is to do so as a surprise,
because trust me, it's going to be one heck of
a surprise and not necessarily a good one. In fact,
chances are more than not that it's not going to
be a good surprise. So it's one of those things
that I would highly recommend against unless you are working,
say with another family member like a spouse, and she
or he is totally into it, knows it's coming, knows
their husband or their wife wants it, and they can
help you through all of the other details as to
the type of pet, the size of the pet, the
activity of the pet, how old they want to adopt,
they want a brand new puppy or kitten, whatever the
case may be. That's about the only way I would
do it. You know, it's one thing when a parent
gives that cute little puppy is a gift to his
or her child, because, let's face it, we all know
that any parent who's ever gotten a pet for one
of their children, we know who's going to really take
care of the pet, especially when the kids are young.
So that's okay, then it's doable. Then it's a great thing.
Of course, you know that Christmas, you know, had good morning,
You get the box, you get the caves. The kid
comes down, sees a little puppy. Oh that's heaven. But
you know who you're kidding. You know you're going to
take care of it. You're gonna be taking care of
it all by yourself. Chances are, and you know, at
first the kid's gonna love it, and then pretty soon
they're going to you know, it's going to become sort
of the norm around the house. The excitement is going
to wear off, and then you just got yourself another child,
this one four legs. So I would be very, very
very concern and careful when thinking about it. But as
far as gifts, oh tune in, I think pet Life Radio,
listen to Michelle Ferns show, and that's a great way
to come up with some really great gift ideas to
make anybody very happy when it comes to getting gifts
for existing pets. You know, one thing I've noticed, and
you know, we're going to diverge here for a second
from pets, because I'd be really curious to know, and
this is I'd love to hear from you guys on
this one. Eight seven seven three eight five eight eight
eighty two. Is it just me? Or do you also
find that late afternoon traffic is insane now that we've
changed the clocks, and by five o'clock, all right, it's
already dark. I have to tell you, you know, we always
used to joke here in California because we don't get
a lot of bad weather. We don't get a lot
of rain that when it rains, oh my god, everybody
turns in to you know, a ninety five year old
person behind the wheel. They don't want to go, you know,
more than fifteen miles an hour. They don't see very well,
they don't do it. It's like everybody comes to it
almost a dead stop. Everyone's riding with their brake lights on.
It's crazy here. I noticed. And my hospital is on
a fairly major street, major boulevard here in West la
called Venice Boulevard. And I have to tell you that
my clients who are coming to pick up their pets
that have been with me for the day and picking
up their pets late afternoon, it's taken them an extra
twenty minutes to a half hour because nobody wants to move.
It's just that these people have never seen dark before.
And I'm just curious, is this like kind of like
an LA thing as we are so spoiled or to
many of you and other cities. Of course it'll be
might be a little different in the suburban areas or
or more you know, rural areas, but certainly in the cities.
Does everybody seem like traffic is so much worse now
that everyone's getting off work. It's getting darker much earlier,
and people are just afraid to drive in the dark.
It's driving me crazy, and it's not my client's crazy,
because I feel badly that you know, you don't want
you want someone to leave work their work early so
they can get here to pick up their pets before
it gets insanely crazy on the road. So yeah, give
me a call eight seven seventh crede five eighty eight eighty
two because I want to know if those of you
others have also noticed that insanity. And also one thing
that we want to talk about I would like to
hear as we are approaching the holidays. I know a
lot of you like to go away for the holidays.
What do you do with your pets? Are you going
to have a house sitter come in and stay at
your house. Are you going to take them someplace to
a private place, a private home where they can stay
with a pet sitter. Are you going to take them
to a boarding facility? What kind of boarding facility? Are
you going to leave them at your vets? So usually
when it comes to the big weekends, we are overcrowded
with borders. But I've noticed is because I think of
the increased popularity of these really cool boarding facilities, what
we call cage free boarding facilities where there are no cages.
They're not staying in cages. Maybe at night they're staying
in a run, but during the day they're in a
big center area and they're playing, they're doing they're doing
obstacle courses. You can log on and you can see
your dog or cat in the facility on a webcam.
I mean, it's it's amazing. It's also more expensive than
the Ritz, but it's pretty amazing. There are a couple
of places here in La You know, for those of
you in smaller towns, you're gonna you're gonna fall off
your chairs, and I tell you this, but you can
spend easily, easily eighty five bucks a day even in
some places if you want, Like there are a couple
of places here that have these themed boarding quarters, so
you can have the French chateau, you can have the
english manor castle. I'm talking with flat screen TV in
them and piped in music like the dog really can
tell the difference. I mean, we're obviously it's certainly just
appealing to the owner. But when saying is that one
hundred bucks a day for your pet, I mean you
can spend in a pretty decent hotel for one hundred
bucks a day. Anyway, it is. It's funny, and those
are becoming more and more popular, and I guess it's
kind of great for those of us that still do
good old fashioned boarding where they stay in a run
and they get walked three four times a day. They
have a little play area. You take them out to play,
and you're charging forty five bucks or thirty six bucks
or thirty eight bucks. Oh my god, what a bargain.
But I want to know how many of you what
would you spend? How much would you spend for your
pet to board while you're away in Hawaii or in Mexico,
or in Miami for the holiday, or in the Caribbean,
and so you're off having a grand old time in
the beautiful weather. What would you pay to have your
pets taken care of and luxury at one of these facilities,
one of these doggy daycare facilities. I want to hear
from you, because next week I want you to send
me an email to doctor Jeff Drjeff at Petlife Radio
dot com or to my personal email which is drjeffdoctor
Jeff at doctor Jeff dot com, or call us next
week eight seven seven three eight five eight eight eight two.
Let's talk about the craziest amount of money, the type
of place you've ever taken your dog or your cat
to spend for a boarding holiday. What did they offer?
How crazy were you in that what you paid? I'd
be really curious. I think others would run because that way,
if others know what you've done, how crazy you are,
then they won't feel so bad when they do something
equally is crazy. So anyway, time to get ready to
say goodbye. So I'm expecting I want, I want a
lot of responses. We're going to talk about this. I
think it's a really fun subject. And I just want
to hear what are some of the other amenities that
are out there at some of these places across the country,
because I know, I know these places are popping up
all over the place, and I think it would be
very interesting for all of us to know what's out
there what we can do. So anyway, I want to
thank you for joining me here and ask the bets
with doctor Jeff. I'm your host, doctor Jeff Werber here
on pet Life Radio and we're talking pets, and that's
what we love to do, talking pets. Want to thank
pet products, want to thank Walmart who is a big
supporter of pro sense, and we will most likely I
think we are going to see you next week here
on pet Life Radio. Thanks for joining me and we'll
see you next week. By bye.
Speaker 1: Let's talk pets every week on demand only on pet
Life Radio dot com.