Olsen's

FEATURED STORY | Healthy Living for the Entire Family

"One could say we are health nuts," said Christine Glogowski. "As a family, we seek to have optimum nutrition."

Christine and her husband, Bob, market wellness products for USANA Health Sciences, a science-based, research and development nutritional company. USANA develops and manufactures nutritional supplements, weight-management products, and personal-care products.

"What a joy it is to help others improve their lives," Christine said.

TOBY
Growing up Christine always had a dog, but when she got married and it was time for her to have children of her own, she and Bob decided to wait to get a dog until their kids got older. Owning a puppy takes a lot of time and work, and Christine knew that with three little kids running around it would be difficult to take care of a dog as well.

"We got Toby when our children were 10, 8 and 6," said Christine. "In a way, I'm very glad we waited because I didn't have to choose between taking care of a baby and getting the puppy outside quickly to go to the bathroom."

The Glogowskis got their first family dog, Toby, four and a half years ago. He is a golden retriever and definitely lives up to his name. Retrieving tennis balls and chasing "red dot," the Glogowskis' pointer laser, are some of his favorite things to do. But Toby wasn't always able to do his favorite activities. He has Myesthenia Gravis, which affects his voluntary muscles, mostly in his hindquarters. Before being diagnosed, he wasn't able to run, chase balls, or climb stairs and even had trouble going to the bathroom. Fortunately after testing, positive diagnosis, and treatment Toby's back on his feet and doing fine.

"He is such a nut once it gets dark outside," said Christine. "He knows where we keep 'the laser and perks up when we say the magic word, 'red dot'."

As a member of the Glogowski family, Toby likes to do his part to help out. Each year the Glogowskis and some of their relatives go camping in the beginning of August.

"Every year we bury a time capsule," said Christine's daughter Laura. "One year Toby decided to dig the hole for us!"

HEALTH NUTS
Like Christine said, healthy living isn't just a thing for the human Glogowski family members. When Christine went into her local feed store she was told about the Infinia Holistic™ pet food trial and quickly jumped at the chance to participate.* Infinia Holistic™ pet food uses fresh, never-frozen chicken or turkey, or savory, natural bison or salmon. Each bag also contains a variety of flavorful superfoods including sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, kelp, and parsley that are full of vitamins and minerals that support immunity, vitality, and longevity. She transitioned Toby onto Infinia Holistic™ dog food and could tell that he loved it since he was excited for mealtime again.

"As a family we understand the science of nutrition and how critical that is for humans as well as dogs," said Christine. "It was an easy choice for us to make the switch to Infinia™ Turkey & Sweet Potato Recipe. Feeding a product with probiotics, glucosomine, and other healthy ingredients was the right thing to do for Toby. We don't eat junk food, so why would I feed junk food to my dog?"

"These animals give us such joy and comfort in our lives. For us humans we have one body for the rest of our life, our animals are the same. It's our responsibility to give them the best that life offers," Christine said.

If you have any questions about healthy living for Christine or you would like to learn more about USANA Health Sciences please visit www.LMShealth.usana.com.

*The Glogowskis were provided with Infinia™ products at no charge in order to fully test them prior to going to market.


PET TIPS | Winterizing Your Pet








Food and Water
When it's cold outside, dogs and cats often need to eat more food to keep warm, especially if they're active. As always, make sure that your pets haves fresh, unfrozen water available to drink at all times so they don't get dehydrated.

Housing
If you have an outside dog in a dog house, make sure it's ready for winter by repairing any holes and adding a warm bed and a door or plastic flap to keep the cold air out. You can also put up sheets of plastic along the walls of outdoor runs to stop cold drafts and make it more enjoyable for your dog. For dogs that come into the garage, make sure that they too have a warm bed to lie in.

Keeping Your Pet Warm
Long haired dogs that are bred to withstand the cold and snow love the winter months. However, if you have a short haired dog they don't have enough fur or fat to insulate them. Consider getting them a coat or sweater that has a high collar and covers from the base of the tail to the belly.

Keep your cats inside, or offer them constant access to shelter such as a barn or garage. Also provide them with some sort of warm bedding such as a cat bed or basket with blankets.

Remove ice, salt, mud, and snow from your pet's fur and feet as soon as possible. If your dog is long-haired, trim the hair between its toes and footpads to make cleaning easier.

Additional heat sources used in the winter, such as fireplaces and portable heaters, can severely burn your cat or dog. Protect them by putting screens on fireplaces and keeping portable space heaters out of reach.

Hypothermia
Hypothermia occurs when animals spend too much time exposed to cold temperatures, so your pet can't keep their body temperature from going below normal. When your pet's body temperature goes between 89 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit, it is classified as mild hypothermia, between 77 and 71 F moderate, and between 46.5 and 32 F severe. Symptoms for mild cases include shivering, depression, lethargy, and weakness. As it gets more severe muscles stiffen and heart and breathing rates slow. If you suspect hypothermia, try to warm your pet by wrapping it in blankets and using a hot water bottle wrapped in fabric and contact your veterinarian.

Frostbite
Just like people, animals can get frostbite too. It happens when the body pulls blood from the extremities, including the ears, tail, or paws, to keep the core warm. Frostbite damage often isn't visible for a few days. But if the skin looks reddish, white, or grey or is scaly or peeling, it could be frostbite. Get your pet warm by soaking its extremities in warm water (don't rub), and then wrapping your pet in blankets, and take it to your veterinarian.

Puppies and Seniors
Don't leave puppies outside for long periods of time, because they can't handle the cold as well as adult dogs. If taking your puppy outside to housebreak it is difficult, you can consider paper training him inside or using a puppy training pad. Cold temperatures are also difficult on older dogs, especially if they have arthritis. Make sure they have a thick, soft bed in a warm area, and consider making its living environment easier to get around.

Holidays
Decorations and snacks are an integral part of celebrating the winter holiday season for many families, but they also bring new risks for your pets. Certain plants including mistletoe and holly can be toxic to your pet, so keep them out of reach. Also, cover or hide all electrical cords from lights and decorations such as tinsel, ribbon, fake snow, and glass ornaments so your pet can't chew on them. Not only will this protect your pet, but it will also keep your decorations from getting ruined. At holidays many of us have candies, chocolate, alcoholic beverages, meats, and other foods available. Although a few treats of meat might be okay, letting your dog eat other human foods and drink can upset its stomach or be toxic.

Automobiles
Although it's necessary for your car during the winter months, antifreeze is deadly to your pets. Pets love the sweet taste, but even a small amount can do a lot of damage. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills and store it in a secure place.

To stay warm, cats and kittens often climb into engines of cars. Before turning on your car, bang on the hood, honk your horn, or look under the hood to avoid accidentally hurting your furry friend.

Never leave your cat or dog left alone in the car, during the winter they can become even colder than outside.


GET TO KNOW | Infinia™ Turkey & Sweet Potato Recipe






Infinia™ Turkey & Sweet Potato Recipe is a holistic nutritional formula that is grain-free and perfect for dogs in all life stages. With its flavorful superfoods and fresh, never-frozen turkey and chicken as the number one ingredient, there's no room or need for unnecessary fillers. Infinia™ knows no boundaries, and all the ingredients inside each bag work together for your pet's health and well-being, supporting healthy and digestive systems, active bodies and beautiful coats.

• Antioxidants—from sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, berries and added vitamins and minerals to support the immune system
• Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids—from salmon and canola oil to help keep your dog's coat shiny and skin soft
• Fiber—from chicory root and microbials like those found in yogurt to help maintain a balanced digestive system
• DHA (a natural component of mother's milk)—from salmon oil to help support healthy brain and vision development in growing puppies

INFINIA™ HOLISTIC SUPERFOODS
This select blend of ingredients including fresh, never-frozen turkey and chicken, salmon oil, sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, kelp, and parsley, are full of vitamins and minerals that work together to support immunity, vitality, and longevity.


The information contained in this article is from PMI Nutrition's Better Animals e-newsletter.