Holistic for Dogs!

Archive for the ‘Raw dog food diet’ Category

I eat raw salmon all the time and it has never occurred to me that it could cause serious disease in my dogs.  The cause of salmon poisoning is not limited to salmon, it also can come from any fish that migrates from salt to fresh water to spawn.  It is most commonly caused by fish from the west coast where the primary hosts (snails) are found.  Other examples of fish able to carry richettsia are trout and steelheads.  Be sure to cook these fish well before feeding or avoid them if cooking is undesirable.  I’m sure not every single salmon out there is necessarily a host but you never know which one is.

In a nut shell, salmon can carry a worm that can be a host to a organism known as richettsia.  When the dog eats the salmon flesh, small cysts in it can hatch out in the dog’s stomach.  The flukes then infest the dog and also release the richettsia.  Salmon poisoning disease may be a bit of a misnomer as it isn’t a poisoning so much as an illness.

Richettsia infestation can cause swollen lymph nodes, high fever, dehydration, diarrhea, vomiting, and lethargy.  Discharge may be seen in the eyes and nose.   Dogs usually fall ill quickly within about a week of eating infested fish.  If a dog becomes severely ill and raw fish was fed to the dog recently it is important to mention that to the vet treating the dog.

If you have fed your dog raw salmon, don’t panic.  When caught and treated properly, most dogs survive their encounter with richettsia.  Extra vigilance needs to be taken to watch the dog’s condition as the mortality rate of untreated dogs can be as high as 9 out of 10 dogs.   Contact the vet if the dog has eaten raw salmon and ask for directions.  If no symptoms have presented and are instructed to carefully observe here are some basic things to watch out for.

Watch out for these symptoms up to a month after fish consumption.

If the dog has a change in its behavior, acting more morose than usual take the time to feel their lymph nodes and take its temperature.  Two of the easiest places to feel for swollen lymph nodes is in the “knees” of the back legs (the largest bend in the back legs) and under the chin.  The lymph nodes under the chin are analogous to our own.  If a firm sac is felt in these areas that indicates a swollen node.  The temperature of the dog may become elevated to as high as 107 degrees a few days after consumption before falling back to a normal temperature.  If the dog begins to vomit and pass bloody stools bring the dog to the vet and inform the vet of the situation.  Symptoms may be appear as severe as some of the most dangerous infections like distemper and parvo.

Once at the vet, a stool sample may be taken or a biopsy of the lymph node to confirm the infestation.  The vet may administer liquids to maintain proper hydration as well as use a combination of a deworming drug and antibiotic to clear the infection.  After proper treatment recovery should be fairly quick.

I really have never heard of this disease before a few weeks ago and I can imagine thinking salmon is a great raw food as we often eat it in sushi.  It is important though to feed only cooked fish that may harbor this disease or exclude them from a raw diet.  We need to be vigilant of our dogs normal behavior.  This disease definitely requires vet treatment and should not be taken care of at home.  And don’t worry!  Humans are immune to this disease and our sushi is still safe for humans .

Technorati Tags: raw food diet, richettsia, salmon disease, salmon poisoning

So as I’m sure every one can tell, until now my main doggy menu consisted of home cooked meals of starch, veggies, and protein.  Truth be told, I was struggling to find foods that made my dogs less itchy.   Rice= scratching, sneezing,and stomach aches.  Cooked chicken = scratching excessively.  Certain foods made my poor puppies immediately and incredibly itchy.  But there has been a low level of itch that has persisted in spite of my best efforts.

This whole dog allergy situation really reached a head a few weeks ago.  Emmala began scratching so vigorously that she was leaving open sores along her mouth and behind her ears.  She has a dime sized bald spot behind her ear.

So after a lot of thought, I decided to try all raw meats to see if that offered relief.  I would consider this basically an attempt at a raw dog food diet.   As a biology major in college, I thought about the nature of cooked meat.  When proteins are heated they begin to denature.  The proteins break apart and no longer have the three dimensional shape that they had when they were being used by the body.  As protein is the real culprit that cause immune response, I thought could it be that the denatured proteins matter?  Even in potatoes and rice, protein in those foods are the culprit for allergies.
I’m not going to lie.  I don’t really understand how my dogs were not more itchy when they were eating kibble as that is all obviously cooked.  Maybe they weren’t allergic to the corn in the food?  Perhaps the percent of the protein in their food was less.  I’ve even considered giving up and going back to kibble! (Briefly)

Any way, I began feeding my dogs all raw meats raw dog food diet.  If they are going to eat it I have to be willing to eat it so everything comes fresh from the grocery store.  I began feeding slabs of raw tuna, some hamburger, raw chicken, and raw organ meat.  I still supplement with raw veggies and an occasional cooked potato but I feed them their meat all rare.

The dogs really love this new raw diet.  But don’t really prefer the gizzards and livers.  (I wouldn’t suggest stocking up until you know your dog will eat it.)  I am giving them a varied diet of body parts and animal types.  There is a whole movement called the BARF (biologically appropriate raw food.. I believe) diet.  The diet consists of entirely raw meat with the philosophy that raw animals are exactly what a wild dog would eat.
After a few weeks of raw meat, low and behold my dogs are no longer pink all the time.  They are still scratching a little but this seems to make a world of difference.  No more swollen lips or scabs.  I will keep you updated.  But so far that is looking really good.

Technorati Tags: dog allergies, raw dog food diet, raw meat

When I took my dogs in for a food consultation, I received some basic guidelines on what to feed them and how much.  Along the way, I’ve realized that there are a lot of things I wish someone had told me.  I was expecting a doggy stomach ache with the food change but not some of the other issues.

Tip one

When starting a home cooking or raw dog food diet, start off slowly.

I started from kibble and began by soaking the kibble to introduce more moisture into the diet.  Even with this large amount of water, the kibble had enough substance to easily be processed by my doggy’s stomach. After soaking kibble I moved onto canned food.  The canned food really wreaked havoc on my dogs’ stomach and I had a lot of cleaning to do.  Ew.  If I could have done it again, I would have definitely skipped the canned food.

In retrospect, the best way to introduce the new diet would have been to add one new food to the diet at a time.  By planning out a complete meal, each part of the meal can be added to the diet and judged whether or not the dog benefits from it.  A complete meal would consist of a meat, vegetable, and a starch.  Since every dog is different, a little research would help to determine the approximate needs for a dog.  Many dogs are allergic to certain starches and by adding some starch first to the kibble, it will be easy to tell if the doggy is allergic.  To completely switch over to  home cooked or a raw dog food diet, wait at least a few days to  add a new ingredent and cut back on kibble proportionally.

Tip 2

If your dog does have allergies

If the dog begins to scratch excessively, cough after meals, or shows intestinal upset, it may have a food allergy to one of the new foods.  For my dogs it was the rice that was causing allergy.  Eppie began to scratch intensely after meals and also started to cough immediately after meals.  Not to mention the terrible upset stomachs.  I suspected a food allergy so I switched them to potatoes.  Since then Eppie hasn’t had any symptoms.

Tip 3

Buy a Food Processor!

This is just a suggestion based on my fervent wish of having one as I slave away chopping potatoes and veggies and chicken into itty bitty pieces.  Chopping the food into small pieces might not be necessary at all but it does save time when I cook the potatoes.  I also feel like it’s easier for my dogs to eat!  It cuts down on the mess in my house because my dogs do not feel the need to not so sneakily carry away big pieces to eat on the couch.

Technorati Tags: Home Cooking for Dogs, raw food diet

Dog nutrition is just like human nutrition.  The latest news is always changing things up and shaking the established status quo of a balanced meal.  Doesn’t it always seem that tofu is good for you one moment and then the next causes cancer?  The same goes with dog nutrition; what was hailed as a break through last week may be old news by this week.  We all hope to stay up to date on the latest studies but realistically most of us won’t get the memo.  My best advice is to feed a varied diet that is as fresh as possible that makes sense to you.  And maybe avoid those foods that apparently are really, really, probably still will be really, bad for dogs this week!

Dogs need at least approximately 10-15% fats and 10-20% protein in their diet.  They also need some fiber and carbohydrates to be healthy.  When preparing a home meal for dogs, it should start with a high quality protein source.

While the most common proteins are chicken, beef, and fish, some dogs may benefit from novel proteins like rabbit especially those prone to allergies.  It is also recommended that pets sometimes be fed organ meats and not just flesh.  These meats provide different concentrations and combinations of nutrients.  Introducing proteins one at a time will help to avoid allergy riddles.

The next important aspect of a balanced diet is fats.  Like people, many pet dogs lead a rather sedentary lifestyle with abundant food sources generously donated by their owners.  In people, increased tv watching and microwavable food lead to..?  Obesity!  That’s right!  Many pet dogs and cats are fat.  And just like humans it’s unhealthy for a dog to be over weight.

Too much fat contributes to obesity, but at the same time fats are necessary for over all health and to promote optimal skin and coats.  Some fatty acids cannot be produced by the dog and need to be obtained through dietary sources, usually meats.  Fish oil can be supplemented from the local health store to encourage healthy skin and fur.  Oils can also come from plant sources like plant oils and from seeds and nuts.  Small amounts of oil are sometimes included in recipes to provide this need.

In commercial pet food, frequently the major ingredient is from starch.  Dogs require some carbohydrates but not nearly as much as we humans consume or is present in commercial pet foods.  Starches often are allergy culprits and are another huge contributer to obesity in pets as it is quickly metabolized and has a high caloric content.  In general, starches are the least important contributor to a healthy diet for dogs.

Dogs should eat produce!  Fresh fruits and vegetables are great sources of vitamins and minerals that dogs need.  Some healthy snacks for dogs could be a few nuts or a carrot stick or celery.  My dogs love some fresh cut melon or apples. There are some plant types of foods dogs should avoid but the vast majority are great contributers to a healthy diet.  Fruits and veggies should make up a hearty portion of home cooked and raw dog food diet meals.  A variety of produce should be offered to make sure doggy gets all of the different nutrients he needs.

As a last note, dogs on a home cooked diet may still need their diets supplemented with a multivitamin.  This question will require some research by owners to decide if a supplement is needed by their dog.

Technorati Tags: dog nutrition, holistic dog care, home cooking, raw dog food diet

Contrary to what Candace may have lead you to believe, Nala the English Mastiff is not my first dog. In fact, I cannot ever recall not having 3+ dogs in the house in… well in ever!

After living with Nala for a few weeks, I realized that regular dog food is just not good enough for her. She needs something better. Being a large dog, her lifespan is already only expected to be around 9-12 years—makes me sad just thinking about it.

In order to provide the best quality, as well as the longest, life she could possibly get I have decided to feed her only the best quality foods—kibble and regular (raw and cooked) human food.  A report that I’ve recently read about commercial dog food seriously scared me away from buying Nala’s food at Costco.  I don’t know how much of it is true, but there is a 100% satisfaction money-back guarentee that’s probably worth checking out here.

English mastiff puppy

Most experts agree that raw-dog food is, in fact, good for your dog. It is believed that feeding your dog raw fruits, vegetables, and meats can help your dog live longer and be an overall healthier dog. Some believe it to be pure fiction, while other maintain that feeding your dog raw food has many benefits. First, dogs on a raw food diet tend to have better dental hygiene. Second, depending on the dog’s, a raw food diet can be cost effective as well. For little dogs, a raw food/home prepared diet may be very cost effective.

On the flip side, if you have a large dog– feeding your dog a home prepared meal may not be worth the money. Considering the amount of food that you will need to prepare compared to your dog’s size is often a problem. Regular people food does not have the caloric content per volume as kibble.

Being a college student, I can’t afford to feed my dog fresh fruits and veggies every day as is ideal. As often as possible, I mix both high quality kibble, vegatables, and meats in Nala’s meals. She loves the occasional egg (with the shells for calcium) as well.

A raw food diet does have its risks. First off there’s the risk of parasites and bacterial infections. Even regular kibble often has a lot of bacteria and parasites in it. To be honest, this problem is a little over-exagerated. However, if you’re like me and you worry about your dog getting sick or getting worms, I like to freeze the meats (which kills most anything in the meat). Just remember to handle the food in the right temperatures. For example, don’t feed your dog a celery that’s been sitting outside for weeks. A website that

A rule of thumb that I, my vet, Candy, and many others like to use is this: don’t feed your dog what you would be very nervous about eating yourself. They can handle some raw meats that we can’t (chicken and pork for example). But anything that is spoiled, old, moldy or just plain not good should be thrown away and not given to your dog.

This topic has too much information to cover in one post. However, I’d like to leave you with a list of foods that should, and should not, be included in your animal’s raw food diet:

Vegetables
Celery
Brocolli- in small amounts. Brocolli in large amounts is toxic to your dog.
Cabbage
Lettuce
Carrots
Small amounts of garlic- This is toxic to dogs in large amounts. However, it is VERY good to feed your dog small amounts of garlic as it does a lot to promote liver health. Just don’t feed them garlic every day.
DO NOT FEED ONIONS- Onions are highly toxic to dogs. Simple rule: feed your dog onions and you’ll have a dead dog. (It takes a few bites to kill a dog but you don’t want to take the chance)

Fruits:
Apples
Bananas
Oranges
No grapes or olives- this will kill your doggy.

Meats:
Animal Bones- Never give your dog any type of bird/fowl bone (chicken and turkey for example). These bones shard when broken and will—you get the picture. Your dog will not be very happy. Or dead. Beef, pork, horse, and rabbit bones are good however. They’re an excellent source of calcium and are very good for your dog’s teeth.
Chicken
Beef
Duck
Rabbit
Goose
Turkey
Goat
Human … no not really but dogs can eat pretty much any type of meat.  But as normal, exercise discretion.