The benefits of dog ownership are well known — from lowering stress and feelings of loneliness to decreasing our blood pressure, cholesterol, and our overall risk of heart disease, owning a dog definitely has its upsides. This is particularly true among older adults. However, despite these overwhelming perks, a recent study suggests that dog ownership among older adults may be linked to a higher risk of injuries related to dog walking.
The study examined the medical records of patients 65 and older who visited emergency rooms in the United States between 2004 and 2017. Within that 14 year span, researchers found over 32,000 cases of fall-related injuries associated with walking dogs. Some of these injuries were minor, but a few, such as hip fractures, were more serious.
Nearly all of the injuries identified in the study could have been avoided had the walkers taken a few basic precautions.
Mother Nature Network’s Mary Jo Dilonardo has compiled a list of basic exercises and other measures older adults can adopt to help take advantage of the benefits of pet ownership while minimizing the risk of walking-related injuries.
Balance Exercises
Dilonardo suggests light strength training of the core and other exercises to improve balance. By strengthening the muscle groups associated with balancing, older adults can reduce their likelihood of falling should their pets suddenly move in an unexpected direction during a walk.
Improve Your Dog’s Training & Obedience
Dogs who are well-trained — specifically in stationary commands like “stay” or ” heel” — are more easily controllable in unexpected situations. Dogs who obey commands consistently are less likely to move unexpectedly, resulting in an overall reduction in movements that may cause a fall.
Working with a dog trainer or behaviorist may be helpful for larger and stronger-willed dogs. While training is important for smaller dogs too, the risk of a dog causing a fall increases with the size of the dog.
For a complete list of things you can do to help reduce the risk of injury while walking your dog, check out the full article on MNN.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has withdrawn several compliance policy guides pertaining to pet food manufacturing practices. According to the FDA, the guides, CPG Sec. 675.400 (Rendered Animal Feed Ingredients) and CPG Sec. 690.300 (Canned Pet Food), had been rendered obsolete by provisions contained in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
In a continued commitment to the agency’s modernized risk-based approach to the regulation of animal food under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today withdrew three outdated Compliance Policy Guides (CPGs) pertaining to the use of certain animal-derived materials in animal food.
These CPGs originally were issued in 1979-80 to explain the FDA’s enforcement priorities regarding use of certain materials in animal food. Today’s action is intended to clarify FDA regulatory policy for manufacturers of animal food (including ingredients) and to remind industry about the agency’s expectations of manufacturers who use materials from “diseased animals and animals that died otherwise than by slaughter” under the the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) Act and the FSMA preventive controls for animal food (PCAF) regulations.
The FDA has decided to withdraw CPG Sec. 675.400 – Rendered Animal Feed Ingredients and CPG Sec. 690.300 – Canned Pet Food because of the additional regulatory tools gained through FSMA. Under FSMA and the PCAF regulation, many animal food facilities are now required to establish a food safety plan, including identifying and evaluating known or reasonably foreseeable hazards. Preventive control measures must then be put into place to significantly minimize or prevent hazards requiring preventive controls.
— The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The FSMA, enacted in 2011, has granted the FDA new approaches to ensure food producers, manufacturers, and processors comply with best practices. These approaches include requiring food makers to develop risk-based controls and safety plans to mitigate risks and hazards.
For more information about the FDA’s recent withdrawal of their compliance policy guides, read their full statement.
New research suggests dogs are able to selectively lock onto the sound of a human voice, even in acoustically crowded environments.
The study, conducted by a team at the University of Maryland and published in a recent issue of Animal Cognition, examined the responses of dogs when their names were spoken in increasingly noisy environments.
The dogs in the study were able to recognize when their names were spoken, even when other background vocalizations were present. Only when the background noise eclipsed the sound of the dog’s name being spoken did dogs lose the ability to pick their names out of the din.
The ability of the dogs studied surpassed that of year-old human infants (who were only able to recognize their name when no background noise as present) but fell short of adult humans (who could recognize their name in even the noisiest conditions).
“Dogs are social creatures who pay attention to the adults around them and have evolved to do so. In some sense, they are a really good comparison to infants.”
Steve King, CEO of the American Pet Products Association (APPA), is pleased to announce that Allice Tillett has been elected to serve as chair of the APPA Board of Directors. Tillett succeeds Kevin Fick, CEO of Worldwise, Inc. Additionally, Jeremy Baker has been elected to serve on the board as a director.
Tillett is the CEO of Doskocil Manufacturing, doing business as Petmate, where she has been since 2014. As chair, Tillett oversees all meetings of the Board of Directors, the governing body of APPA. She also serves in a leadership advisory role, guiding industry-wide activities and initiatives. Prior to her role at Petmate, Tillett was the president of Pacific Cycle, a division of Dorel Industries, for more than 12 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University and a master’s degree from Miami University.
Jeremy Baker is Vice President of Strategic Business Development at Oxbow Animal Health, and brings nearly 12 years of pet industry experience to the APPA board. Baker earned bachelor’s degrees in marketing and management from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“On behalf of the American Pet Products Association, I am pleased to congratulate Alice on her new leadership role and welcome Jeremy to the board. Based on their years of industry experience and passion for supporting responsible pet ownership, I am confident both Alice and Jeremy will serve their newly-elected positions well.”
The Innovation Showdown, a collaborative effort between the Petco Foundation, the Jackson Galaxy Project, and several other organizations devoted to animal welfare, brings innovators together to tackle some of the biggest issues currently facing animal welfare. Over 100 animal welfare organizations submitted their ideas for saving the lives of animals in need. Of those, three were selected to present their concepts to a panel of judges for a chance to receive an investment of up to $200,000.
The third place winner, Front Street Animal Shelter, received a $75,000 investment for their proposed automated scheduling solution to facilitate the process of socializing shelter dogs.
The second place winner, Day of the Dogs, received a $175,000 investment for their concept for a crowd-funded solution to preventing the euthanasia of shelter animals.
The first place winner, Dallas Animal Services, received a $200,000 investment for the proposed mobile app designed to allow potential adopters of shelter animals to meet potential adoptees via two-way video chat.
“The Innovation Showdown shows how thinking out of the box in animal welfare to solve problems is another way to help us become a life-saving nation. The nation’s top animal welfare organizations coming together to provide insight, guidance and ultimately investments to launch these ideas is instrumental to their success.”
— Susanne Kogut, President, Petco Foundation
For more information on the Innovation Showdown as well as this year’s winners, head here.
The Pet Food Council was created in 2018 to provide pet food-specific extension to the FPSA. In addition to the Pet Food Council, FPSA also has councils dedicated to processed and packaged food verticals, including dairy products, baked goods, beverages, meat, and prepared foods.
“With the explosive growth in the pet food industry and growing FPSA member involvement in it, this move made complete sense. FPSA is the only horizontal organization with members that provide manufacturing solutions for all of the food and beverage verticals and pet food fits very well within this spectrum whether it be for processing, packaging, or food safety. This inaugural Council Board is eager to make its mark with new programs that create value for both suppliers and pet food manufacturers alike.”
— Jarrod McCarroll, Chair, Food Processing Suppliers Association
It is common to hear about the beneficial effects of the human-animal bond on stress, but have you ever considered the effects stress can have on the bond between you and your pets?
In an article recently published to Petfood Industry, Anne Lepoudère takes a closer look at the ways stress can affect your pets and some of the steps you can take to offset them.
According to Lepoudère, your pets may encounter stress in the form of psychological stressors, such as separation anxiety or the introduction a new family member, or physiological stressors, such as pain or other symptoms from an underlying illness. Regardless of the source, stress can cause pets to act in ways that are undesirable, maladaptive, or harmful to them or others around them.
While most owners would be quick to remedy anything that might cause a pet to experience stress, Lepoudère suggests that may be more difficult than it might seem. Among the complications, Lepoudère notes that some animals’ responses to stressors may be misattributed by their owners. An owner who chastises a dog for barking — a behavior commonly associated with fear and anxiety — may inadvertently be reinforcing that behavior, resulting in an undesirable feedback loop for both the dog and the owner.
For pets and owners struggling to cope with stress, Lepoudère suggests the use of anxiolytic medications or dietary changes to help ease pets’ anxieties. For some, however, simple behavioral adjustments through conventional reward-based conditioning and reinforcement. For particularly tricky behavioral issues, consult your veterinarian; they may be able to identify underlying health issues or recommend a behaviorist to help track down the source of your pets’ stress.
Wisdom Health, a provider of genetic testing services for pets, has announced its plans to conduct a pet census in 2020.
The proposed Pet Census, scheduled to be conducted in tandem with the United States Census Bureau‘s own census, is intended to provide insight into the sizes, breeds, and lifestyles of pets living in the United States. In addition to the collection of survey data, Wisdom Health also plans to use data collected from its Wisdom Panel genetic testing service to provide a wider understanding of the pet population in the United States.
“The insights from the Pet Census, together with genetic information from Wisdom Panel, will help advance the healthcare of the Nation’s cats and dogs. We’re also hoping a genetic portrait of our nation’s pets will lead to greater awareness of which breeds are predisposed to certain complex health conditions such as gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV) or skin allergies (atopy), along with the genetic disorders found in the Wisdom Panel array of tests.”
— Angela Hughes, DVM PhD, Veterinary Geneticist, Wisdom Health
The Pet Census is scheduled to begin later this year, with results expected in 2020.
For more information about the 2020 Pet Census or its predecessor, the 2010 National Mutt Census, visit Wisdom Panel
A new study suggests that animal-assisted therapy (AAT) may help improve social functioning among those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The study, published in the most recent issue of Scientific Reports, suggests that patients with TBIs exhibited higher levels of social engagement during therapy sessions when an animal was present.
Conducted by a team of researchers based at the University of Basel in Switzerland, the study examined the self-reported moods and treatment satisfaction scores of 19 TBI patients over the course of 200 therapy sessions. Of the 200 sessions, some were animal-assisted and some were not.
Participants of the study expressed almost twice the number of positive emotions when in the presence of animals. Those in assisted sessions also tended to communicate more frequently and expressed higher levels of treatment satisfaction than during conventional therapy sessions.
Interestingly, AAT appeared to have little effect on the expression of negative emotions, such as anger.
“The results suggest that animal-assisted therapy can have a positive effect on the social behavior of patients with brain injuries”
— Dr. Karin Hediger, Principal Investigator & Psychotherapist, University of Basel
For additional information about the study, read the full article in Scientific Reports.
Mars Petcare has launched a new coalition to drive innovation in pet healthcare and nutrition.
The coalition, known as Kinship, is intended to bring together leading innovators and experts from the fields of science, technology, medicine, and, of course, pet care to create better futures for pets. By leveraging new discoveries in areas like microbiomics and genetics as well as new technologies and approaches such as machine learning and big data analysis, Mars hopes to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of pet health and pet nutrition.
“We’re excited about our new global division, Kinship, becoming a unique collaboration platform for entrepreneurs and innovators to create new products and services that deliver on our Purpose: A Better World for Pets. There are extraordinary opportunities in data, science and connected technology. Match them with the expansive reach, resources and core capabilities of a global industry leader like Mars, and together we can create a powerful force for transforming pet care.”
— Poul Weihrauch, President, Mars Petcare
The Kinship initiative offers several forms of financial support for startups in the pet space. Among them are a recurring pitch event with a $15,000 cash prize, an incubator program, and a dedicated investment fund of $100 million. Between them, these programs are intended to support innovation and the development of new startups from the concept and pre-seed phases to the growth phase.
Safe Walking Tips for Older Adults to Get the Most From Your Dog Walks
The benefits of dog ownership are well known — from lowering stress and feelings of loneliness to decreasing our blood pressure, cholesterol, and our overall risk of heart disease, owning a dog definitely has its upsides. This is particularly true among older adults. However, despite these overwhelming perks, a recent study suggests that dog ownership among older adults may be linked to a higher risk of injuries related to dog walking.
The study examined the medical records of patients 65 and older who visited emergency rooms in the United States between 2004 and 2017. Within that 14 year span, researchers found over 32,000 cases of fall-related injuries associated with walking dogs. Some of these injuries were minor, but a few, such as hip fractures, were more serious.
Nearly all of the injuries identified in the study could have been avoided had the walkers taken a few basic precautions.
Mother Nature Network’s Mary Jo Dilonardo has compiled a list of basic exercises and other measures older adults can adopt to help take advantage of the benefits of pet ownership while minimizing the risk of walking-related injuries.
Balance Exercises
Dilonardo suggests light strength training of the core and other exercises to improve balance. By strengthening the muscle groups associated with balancing, older adults can reduce their likelihood of falling should their pets suddenly move in an unexpected direction during a walk.
Improve Your Dog’s Training & Obedience
Dogs who are well-trained — specifically in stationary commands like “stay” or ” heel” — are more easily controllable in unexpected situations. Dogs who obey commands consistently are less likely to move unexpectedly, resulting in an overall reduction in movements that may cause a fall.
Working with a dog trainer or behaviorist may be helpful for larger and stronger-willed dogs. While training is important for smaller dogs too, the risk of a dog causing a fall increases with the size of the dog.
For a complete list of things you can do to help reduce the risk of injury while walking your dog, check out the full article on MNN.
Source: How senior dog owners can avoid injury
FDA Withdraws Pet Food Compliance Guide
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has withdrawn several compliance policy guides pertaining to pet food manufacturing practices. According to the FDA, the guides, CPG Sec. 675.400 (Rendered Animal Feed Ingredients) and CPG Sec. 690.300 (Canned Pet Food), had been rendered obsolete by provisions contained in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
The FSMA, enacted in 2011, has granted the FDA new approaches to ensure food producers, manufacturers, and processors comply with best practices. These approaches include requiring food makers to develop risk-based controls and safety plans to mitigate risks and hazards.
For more information about the FDA’s recent withdrawal of their compliance policy guides, read their full statement.
Source: FDA drops pet food ingredient compliance policy guide
Dogs Able to Recognize Their Names, Even in Noisy Environments
New research suggests dogs are able to selectively lock onto the sound of a human voice, even in acoustically crowded environments.
The study, conducted by a team at the University of Maryland and published in a recent issue of Animal Cognition, examined the responses of dogs when their names were spoken in increasingly noisy environments.
The dogs in the study were able to recognize when their names were spoken, even when other background vocalizations were present. Only when the background noise eclipsed the sound of the dog’s name being spoken did dogs lose the ability to pick their names out of the din.
The ability of the dogs studied surpassed that of year-old human infants (who were only able to recognize their name when no background noise as present) but fell short of adult humans (who could recognize their name in even the noisiest conditions).
For more information about the study, read the full version in Animal Cognition.
Source: Your dog can hear you, even when it’s noisy
American Pet Products Association Announces Board Changes
Steve King, CEO of the American Pet Products Association (APPA), is pleased to announce that Allice Tillett has been elected to serve as chair of the APPA Board of Directors. Tillett succeeds Kevin Fick, CEO of Worldwise, Inc. Additionally, Jeremy Baker has been elected to serve on the board as a director.
Tillett is the CEO of Doskocil Manufacturing, doing business as Petmate, where she has been since 2014. As chair, Tillett oversees all meetings of the Board of Directors, the governing body of APPA. She also serves in a leadership advisory role, guiding industry-wide activities and initiatives. Prior to her role at Petmate, Tillett was the president of Pacific Cycle, a division of Dorel Industries, for more than 12 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University and a master’s degree from Miami University.
Jeremy Baker is Vice President of Strategic Business Development at Oxbow Animal Health, and brings nearly 12 years of pet industry experience to the APPA board. Baker earned bachelor’s degrees in marketing and management from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Source: American Pet Products Association Announces Board Changes
$450,000 Awarded to Animal Welfare Concepts at 3rd Annual Innovation Showdown
Several high-tech solutions to the problem of shelter overcrowding took the top spots at the 3rd Annual Innovation Showdown held during the Humane Society of the United States‘ (HSUS) Animal Care Expo in New Orleans last week.
The Innovation Showdown, a collaborative effort between the Petco Foundation, the Jackson Galaxy Project, and several other organizations devoted to animal welfare, brings innovators together to tackle some of the biggest issues currently facing animal welfare. Over 100 animal welfare organizations submitted their ideas for saving the lives of animals in need. Of those, three were selected to present their concepts to a panel of judges for a chance to receive an investment of up to $200,000.
The third place winner, Front Street Animal Shelter, received a $75,000 investment for their proposed automated scheduling solution to facilitate the process of socializing shelter dogs.
The second place winner, Day of the Dogs, received a $175,000 investment for their concept for a crowd-funded solution to preventing the euthanasia of shelter animals.
The first place winner, Dallas Animal Services, received a $200,000 investment for the proposed mobile app designed to allow potential adopters of shelter animals to meet potential adoptees via two-way video chat.
For more information on the Innovation Showdown as well as this year’s winners, head here.
Source: Animal Welfare Organizations Award $450,000 at Innovation Showdown
Food Processing Suppliers Association Elects Board of Directors for Pet Food Council
The Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) recently held an election for the board of directors of its newly formed Pet Food Council.
The Pet Food Council was created in 2018 to provide pet food-specific extension to the FPSA. In addition to the Pet Food Council, FPSA also has councils dedicated to processed and packaged food verticals, including dairy products, baked goods, beverages, meat, and prepared foods.
Source: FPSA Pet Food Council elects board of directors
The Effects of Stress on the Human-Animal Bond
It is common to hear about the beneficial effects of the human-animal bond on stress, but have you ever considered the effects stress can have on the bond between you and your pets?
In an article recently published to Petfood Industry, Anne Lepoudère takes a closer look at the ways stress can affect your pets and some of the steps you can take to offset them.
According to Lepoudère, your pets may encounter stress in the form of psychological stressors, such as separation anxiety or the introduction a new family member, or physiological stressors, such as pain or other symptoms from an underlying illness. Regardless of the source, stress can cause pets to act in ways that are undesirable, maladaptive, or harmful to them or others around them.
While most owners would be quick to remedy anything that might cause a pet to experience stress, Lepoudère suggests that may be more difficult than it might seem. Among the complications, Lepoudère notes that some animals’ responses to stressors may be misattributed by their owners. An owner who chastises a dog for barking — a behavior commonly associated with fear and anxiety — may inadvertently be reinforcing that behavior, resulting in an undesirable feedback loop for both the dog and the owner.
For pets and owners struggling to cope with stress, Lepoudère suggests the use of anxiolytic medications or dietary changes to help ease pets’ anxieties. For some, however, simple behavioral adjustments through conventional reward-based conditioning and reinforcement. For particularly tricky behavioral issues, consult your veterinarian; they may be able to identify underlying health issues or recommend a behaviorist to help track down the source of your pets’ stress.
Source: Managing pet stress to preserve pet-owner bonds
Wisdom Health Announces 2020 Pet Census
Wisdom Health, a provider of genetic testing services for pets, has announced its plans to conduct a pet census in 2020.
The proposed Pet Census, scheduled to be conducted in tandem with the United States Census Bureau‘s own census, is intended to provide insight into the sizes, breeds, and lifestyles of pets living in the United States. In addition to the collection of survey data, Wisdom Health also plans to use data collected from its Wisdom Panel genetic testing service to provide a wider understanding of the pet population in the United States.
The Pet Census is scheduled to begin later this year, with results expected in 2020.
For more information about the 2020 Pet Census or its predecessor, the 2010 National Mutt Census, visit Wisdom Panel
Source: Wisdom Health to launch 2020 Pet Census
Animal-Assisted Therapy Shown to Improve Social Behaviors Among Those with Traumatic Brain Injuries
A new study suggests that animal-assisted therapy (AAT) may help improve social functioning among those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The study, published in the most recent issue of Scientific Reports, suggests that patients with TBIs exhibited higher levels of social engagement during therapy sessions when an animal was present.
Conducted by a team of researchers based at the University of Basel in Switzerland, the study examined the self-reported moods and treatment satisfaction scores of 19 TBI patients over the course of 200 therapy sessions. Of the 200 sessions, some were animal-assisted and some were not.
Participants of the study expressed almost twice the number of positive emotions when in the presence of animals. Those in assisted sessions also tended to communicate more frequently and expressed higher levels of treatment satisfaction than during conventional therapy sessions.
Interestingly, AAT appeared to have little effect on the expression of negative emotions, such as anger.
For additional information about the study, read the full article in Scientific Reports.
Source: Animal-assisted therapy improves social behavior in patients with brain injuries
Mars Petcare Launches Pet Care Innovation Coalition
Mars Petcare has launched a new coalition to drive innovation in pet healthcare and nutrition.
The coalition, known as Kinship, is intended to bring together leading innovators and experts from the fields of science, technology, medicine, and, of course, pet care to create better futures for pets. By leveraging new discoveries in areas like microbiomics and genetics as well as new technologies and approaches such as machine learning and big data analysis, Mars hopes to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of pet health and pet nutrition.
The Kinship initiative offers several forms of financial support for startups in the pet space. Among them are a recurring pitch event with a $15,000 cash prize, an incubator program, and a dedicated investment fund of $100 million. Between them, these programs are intended to support innovation and the development of new startups from the concept and pre-seed phases to the growth phase.
Source: First-of-Its-Kind Coalition Launches to Drive Pet Care Innovation