Paws For Reflection

10/17/2026

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10/08/2026

Don’t let advertising fool you.

🫐🐶🐱 BLUEBERRIES ON THE BAG DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN BLUEBERRY BENEFITS IN THE BOWL!

A peer-reviewed 2025 study published in the Journal of Animal Science examined 40 commercial dog and cat kibbles listing blueberries as an ingredient.

The surprising finding? 🤯

Researchers found very low to undetectable levels of certain beneficial plant compounds, including antioxidants associated with blueberries.

🫐 THE BIGGEST SHOCK: One kibble listed blueberries as its 4th ingredient, yet had the lowest measured level of quercetin, a beneficial antioxidant, in the entire study!

Just because blueberries appear high on an ingredient list doesn’t guarantee your pet is getting their expected antioxidant benefits.

🫐 WHY FRESH BLUEBERRIES MATTER

Blueberries naturally contain powerful antioxidants, including anthocyanins, that help protect cells from oxidative stress.

These compounds are being studied for their potential to support:

🧠 Brain health and healthy aging
❤️ Heart and cardiovascular health
🛡️ Healthy immune function

And here’s the best part: You don’t need to replace your pet’s food to add a little fresh nutrition!

Simply add a few fresh or thawed, unsweetened blueberries to their bowl.

🐶 HOW MANY BLUEBERRIES CAN PETS HAVE?

As a simple occasional topper:
🐾 Cats and Small dogs: 1–2 blueberries
🐾 Medium dogs: 3–5 blueberries
🐾 Large dogs: 5–8 blueberries
🐾 Extra-large dogs: 8–10 blueberries

💡 BLUEBERRY HACK: Mash or crush blueberries before serving, especially for smaller dogs. This breaks open the skin and makes the fruit easier to eat.

Sometimes the simplest nutrition upgrades are the freshest ones! 🫐

09/28/2026

Important information. Always test levels before you supplement a dog or cats diet.

☀️ CARNIVORES HAVE TO EAT THEIR VITAMIN D! Dogs and cats can’t make vitamin D from sunshine—they must consume it!

🦜 Birds have a clever evolutionary workaround: their uropygial (preen) gland produces oils containing vitamin D precursors that are spread onto the feathers, activated by UV light, then ingested during preening. Dogs and cats can’t do this.

🦎 🐢Many reptiles can also make vitamin D₃ in their skin with UVB exposure. Exotics must have daily direct exposure to sunlight (windows don’t count) or specialized synthetic lighting that replicates the correct UV spectrum necessary to create adequate vitamin D, but none of this matters to dogs and cats, because no matter how much 🌞exposure, they’ll be D deficient without feeding them adequate amounts. We have an epidemic of vitamin D deficient dogs and cats, but never supplement vitamin D without first testing your dog or cat’s levels (it causes kidney failure if there’s not a deficiency). Know your species to know what to do! This pic was taken exactly 24 years ago today at my exotic animal hospital (thank you to my amazing team members, Karrie and Lynda, for reposting 🥰).

09/25/2026

Just like humans, Vit D levels are crucial.

🐶 DOGS WITH LOW VITAMIN D HAD NEARLY 4X THE RISK OF CANCER.

Vitamin D is much more important to our dogs’ health than many pet parents realize.

In a peer-reviewed study published in Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, researchers measured vitamin D levels in nearly 350 dogs and found a striking association: the lower the dogs’ vitamin D, the greater their relative risk of cancer.

Dogs with vitamin D levels below 40 ng/mL had 3.9X the relative risk of cancer. For hemangiosarcoma, one of the most aggressive cancers in dogs, the relative risk was 4.1X higher.

As vitamin D levels increased, the relative risk progressively decreased.

Researchers also found changes in markers related to inflammation and parathyroid hormone as vitamin D increased.

☀️ And here’s what makes this especially important for dogs:

Unlike humans, dogs cannot make adequate vitamin D from sunshine. They depend getting D from their food.

🐟 Fatty fish such as salmon, trout, herring and sardines are natural dietary sources of vitamin D3 and can be healthy toppers.

But this does NOT mean we should blindly start giving dogs high-dose vitamin D supplements.

🩸 TESTING MATTERS:

A blood test measuring 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] can tell you your dog’s vitamin D status. If levels are low, you and your veterinarian can look at the diet and determine whether dietary changes or carefully controlled supplementation are appropriate.

Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so more not better: unnecessary supplementation can cause organ failure.

Considering dogs depend so heavily on healthy food for vitamin D, it raises an important question:

Do you know your dog’s vitamin D level? 🐶☀️🐟

09/24/2026

Always looking for ways to naturally cooperate with your animal companion. This is my new boy Archie. Watch how he gets his ‘new home’ flower essences.

09/24/2026

Just talking to a client about this yesterday. Some dogs need to learn to rest and self soothe. Thanks Kindle!

09/20/2026

Keeping your dog at a light, healthy weight and the best possible whole food source you can afford. Start early to avoid arthritis.

🐶 ANOTHER NEW LIBRELA PAPER PET PARENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT:

A scientist sent me a brand-new peer-reviewed paper this morning examining a possible biological explanation for some adverse events reported after Librela.

Librela reduces arthritis pain by blocking NGF (nerve growth factor). But NGF does more than transmit pain—it also supports sensory nerves involved in bone and joint health, nervous-system function and bladder control.

🦴 THE POSSIBLE “DUAL-HIT”

Reducing pain may increase weight bearing on an already damaged joint, while blocking NGF may alter sensory pathways involved in how bone responds to stress. The authors propose this as one possible explanation for reports of rapid joint deterioration, fractures and ligament ruptures.

Research also suggests sensory nerves participate in bone repair and regeneration. Loss of sensory innervation or disruption of TrkA signaling has impaired aspects of fracture healing in experimental studies.

🧠🚽 Post-marketing reports have also included ataxia, weakness/paresis, lethargy, behavioral changes/disorientation, impaired consciousness, seizures and urinary problems. Because NGF has roles in neurological and bladder pathways, the authors suggest these effects warrant further investigation. Although this paper does not prove Librela causes these problems, it proposes biologically plausible mechanisms and emphasizes that direct evidence in Librela-treated dogs is still lacking.

Blocking NGF may affect more than pain. We need long-term research to understand those effects—and, in the meantime, informed consent matters when veterinarians prescribe this drug. Proactive pet parents avoid using it; find a qualified veterinary rehabilitation specialist with many other tools in their toolbox at American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (www.vsmr.org), American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians (www.rehabvets.org), or Canine Rehabilitation Institute (www.caninerehabinstitute.com).

09/17/2026

Some declines are happening around age 6. So start supporting early, before you see symptoms.

🧠 OLDER DOG CONFUSED, ANXIOUS, UP AT NIGHT OR HAVING ACCIDENTS?

Changes inside an aging dog’s brain may begin years before obvious cognitive problems appear.

Research highlighted in a 2025 systematic review found that by age 6, glucose metabolism in some regions of the Beagle brain can decline by as much as 25%.

Glucose is normally the brain’s primary fuel. As dogs age, their brains can become less efficient at using it.

But there’s another fuel the brain can use: KETONES.

🥥 That’s where MCTs come in.
MCTs are rapidly converted into ketones, providing aging brain cells with an alternative source of energy.

A very high-quality trial, highlighted in the 2025 systematic review published in GeroScience, studied older dogs fed an enriched diet containing MCTs + DHA/EPA omega-3s, and after just 90 days, dogs improved across EVERY cognitive dysfunction category evaluated, including:

🌙 Sleep/wake problems
😟 Anxiety
🧠 Confusion/disorientation
🏠 House-training problems
🧩 Learning and memory
🐕 Activity and social interaction

🐟 So how can you add some of these nutrients to your dog’s bowl?

Dr. Karen Becker’s Roe Mega™ combines MCT oil with marine EPA + DHA from sustainably sourced herring caviar, but there’s another fascinating nutrition connection: LP815™, a probiotic strain in Dr. Becker’s Primitive Probiotics™, has also been studied in dogs, with research showing improvements in anxiety-related behaviors and more consistent sleep.

👉 For more details about these important senior supplements check out ProactivePaws.com