Section One: Foods

Section Two: Supplements

The latest toxic pet food recall has left many people at odds as to what to feed their pets.  I know that I am frequently getting calls and emails from clients and concerned pet owners, asking just what they should feed their animal companions.  So, in this section I am going to attempt to answer some of those questions and then take a look at how to read a pet food ingredients label, and why it is important that we learn to do so.

But, before we start I would like to take a moment to say to those of you who may have lost a deeply loved companion or, to those of you who may still be struggling with your pets health crisis due to being exposed to the toxic pet food; I am truly sorry that you are having to experience this, and my thoughts and prayers go out to all of you.

We hear that a healthy dog (or any other animal) eats a well-balanced diet, and that brings us right back to "what is a well-balance diet?", so a good place to start would be to take a look at what Nature intended them to eat.  While I was at Wolf Park in Indiana, one of the first questions I asked was "what do you feed the wolves?", the answer, quite simply was Deer, usually road-kill reported to Wolf Park by the local Sheriffs office, and the occassional cow or calf courtesy of local farmers.  This along with occassional fruit and vegetables and some healthy leftovers from the park's staff as treats, can be called a well balanced diet.

Snack Time! Wolf and Deer leg

Times have changed since the days that dogs were able to go out and hunt for their own food, and even since the time that I grew up as a child in Scotland where our dogs mostly ate leftovers of what we were eating (which was always fresh & pretty healthy), along with an abundant supply of seasonal fruits that they would forage for on our walks, and actual dog food comprised of only about 25-30% of their total food consumption.  Nowadays most of our animal companions are totally reliant of what comes out of a can or bag to fulfill their nutritional requirements, and that is why I believe it is our responsiblity as caretakes to fully educate ourselves as to what exactly we are feeding to our animal friends and what we can do to better improve their diet.

Section One: Foods & Label Reading

HOMEMADE DIETS

Alot of people, myself included like to prepare their pets meals at home, whether you choose to feed raw   

(I like to feed raw) or cooked, just remember that balance and variety are key. Also the quality of the foods you are using are exceptionally important, personally I use free-range, organic foods that are free from hormones, antibiotics, preservatives and pesticides whenever possible, not only with my animals, but also for myself.  As I mentioned before variety is key and there are plenty of different foods to choose from like; chicken, lamb, turkey and beef, it is also beneficial to feed organ meats once or twice a week such as, heart and liver.

Animals that are prey for wild dogs are Herbivores, which means they eat greens, grains and fruits like berries, the stomach contents are the first thing that a wild animal will eat after it has killed it's prey, followed by the organ meat.  With this in mind, let's take a look and fruits and vegetables in the diet.  I feed my dogs a variety of fresh raw vegetables, including green beans, brocolli and spinach, I usually puree them in the blender with some bottled water, along with a small clove of garlic (keeps the fleas away) and some fresh sliced ginger. I also will add some fruits such as berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries), apples and bananas into the blender with the veggies and use about 3-4 tablespoons per dog per day mixed in with the rest of their meal.  Another big hit is boiled sweet potatoes, these are also great for a dog recovering from an upset stomach.  Try adding some other ingredients such as organic pasta, organic brown rice and potatoes, use dairy products sparingly, but an organic egg once of twice a week is fine.

If you are planning on making homemade meals for your animal friend bear in mind that you should transition slowly and remember that if your pet has been on a highly processed commercial pet food it's stomach muscles may be weak and may need more time to adjust to a healthier diet, but as the animal becomes more healthy on a good diet it's system will become stronger.  It is also advisable that you choose a Home-Prepared Diet best suitable for your dog's needs, below is some suggested reading that would be beneficial before starting out on your venture.

Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats, by Richard Pitcairn, DVM

The Nature of Animal Healing, by Martin Goldstein, DVM

Foods Pets Die For, by Ann Martin

If, for whatever reason you are not able to prepare your pet's meals at home then it is important to learn how to read food labels.  This will become a wonderful tool and assist you making an educated decision in choosing the right food. 

Food Labels

The first ingredients that you should see on a label are meats (chicken, turkey, lamb, beef), which should be followed by other real food items, you will want to avoid any foods that contain By-Products.

By-Products are leftover body parts that you and I wouldn't like to look at never mind eat.  For example, poultry by-products may consist of chicken heads, feet, beaks and intestines. In some commercial foods by-products are the only parts of the chicken that make it into your pets food. I think it is also important to point out that chicken by-products often come from what is known as 4D Chickens.

 4D means; Dead, Dying, Disabled or Diseased 

Just think about that for a moment........how healthy can that really be for Fido or Felix?

The next ingredients we want to look for are Preservatives which are used to prolong the shelf life of the food by the manafacturer.

• BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole)
• BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)

Both of the above preservatives are KNOWN CARCINOGENS, they are still used in minute amounts in people food, however we may only eat them once in a while and our immune system has the chance to recover when we mostly eat healthier, whereas our pets are subjected to eating them at every meal if they are given foods that contain them, and therefore this increases there exposure to them at higher levels.

• ETHOXOQUIN

Ethoxoquin was originally manafactured as a rubber stabilizer, and today is still used as the major preservative in tires, yes..you read that correctly TIRES!  It is actually used to prevent the rubber in them from oxidizing.

For those of you who wish to educate yourselves further (and I hope there is many) on what goes into our pets food, Ann Martin's book "Foods Pets Die For", not only is a must read, but is truly an eye-opener.

Comments on the Pet Food Recall by the Editor-in-Chief of Animal Wellness Magazine, June/July Issue 2007: "When I started hearing about the pet food recall several weeks ago, I was very upset.  But I must admit I wasn't particularly surprised. Our animals are not second class citizens to us, so why should there be two food chains - one for humans and one for animals?  Whatever makes it not good for us surely can't make it healthy for our dogs and cats. 

To date, we've trusted that the FDA is watching out for the dogs and cats in North America, but the fact remains that we've had two major pet food recalls in the last several months.  Many animals died or got sick as a result.  Clearly, the guidelines currently in place aren't working."  And maybe, the contaminated products don't belong in pet food anyway."   She goes on to say "So what's the bottom line?  As we've said for years, it's up to us, as the decision makers for our animal companions, to choose wisely.  Read the label, do a little research, and use your intuition when it comes to selecting products not only for your animals, but for your family."

Click on the link below to go to the ASPCA's Pet Food Recall List.  This list is updated regularly.

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=recall_list

If you have more questions on any of the above information and/or still have concerns about what to feed your animal companion, then please call or email me and we can schedule a Nutrition & Wellness Consultation.

Section Two: Supplements

Of course, in the perfect world we would not need to take any supplements but, today seemingly more than ever we are finding that taking certain supplements can enhance our vitality and general well-being. Not only may we not be getting our nutritional needs met through our diet each day, our bodies also have to combat the added stresses of exposure to the environmental polutants and toxins that are present in the atmosphere

today.  Even around our homes we daily come into contact with toxins present in such things as household cleaner and pesticides we use on our lawn. I acknowledge that with all the products on the market and the frequent advertisements of vitamin companies in magazines and TV, we often don't know where to start when choosing a supplement that is right for us or our pets.

As we discussed in Section One of this page it all begins with diet.  Whether you are feeding your animal a raw diet, home cooked, premium dry or canned food, all will play a role in when, what and how much you should supplement your pet.  Other factors to take into account when you are considering adding supplements to your pets diet are; the age of the animal, current health condition, is he or she recovering from a physical injury or suffering from some other sort of ailment or behavioral issue?  These all play a major roll when choosing the right supplement for your pet (or yourself).  It is also just as important not to over supplement your pet, balance is what you are looking to achieve and sometimes less is more.

Below we will take at look at a few types of supplements and the roles they play.

Vitamins & Minerals

The most efficient way to go is to opt for a good vitamin and mineral combination, as opposed to trying to figure out how much of each individual vitamin and mineral you should use, and just like with human supplements you will want to choose a brand that is high quality from a reputable company that stands behind it's products.  Personally, I use Showdown, a vitamin and mineral supplement from Dynamite Speciality Products - more on Dynamite products at the end of this section.

When talking about vitamins and minerals – always look for vitamins and minerals in an absorbable form…. what does that mean? When searching for foods, vitamins or minerals always look for “chelated in amino acids”.  This means that they are absorbable.  Chelation means that it is bound in an amino acid and therefore protected as it enters the intestinal wall and into the blood stream.  That’s the only way to metabolize the mineral.  If your supplements (human, dog, cat, horse, pig) are solely oxides, sulfates or carbonate, there is a good chance they won’t be absorbed because they are inorganic.  On occasion there will be a mix of inorganic minerals with chelates, but because of the chelation process, it is more absorbable than if it stood on its own and entered the system.  Crudely put, chelation is the only way to make sure that basically you don’t pee it out.

Probiotics

Normally many different kinds of beneficial bacteria can be found in the gut, and each one of them has a job to perform to aid in functions such as digestion, absorption of nutrients, balancing the body's PH levels, as well as general well-being.  There can be many reasons as to why this intricate balance can be knocked out of whack, anything from diet to a round of antibiotics or stress, and the good bacteria get wiped out and the bad guys move in.   Animals experiencing digestive problems and will often benefit from a good probiotic.  Animals who may be travelling for shows or events would benefit from probiotics starting a week or so before and continuing through their schedule.  Also if your animal is in a training program, or will be staying at a boarding facility or with a pet sitter, then you may want to consider using a probiotic during that time. Just like with the vitamins and minerals I encourage you to choose a high quality product from a reputable company. 

Joint Supplements

You really have to be wary about the quality of joint supplements on the market, most of the brands you will find on grocery store shelves will have very little beneficial value to you.  The two most popular joints supplements you will come across are Gloucosamine and Chondroitin. I find that it can be more beneficial to find a product that not only contains Gloucosamine & Chondroitin, but also includes other nutritional building block components that will address the joints, cartilage and ligaments, with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant components.   A product that I personally have seen wonderful results with is Dynamite's Free & Easy. 

With the increase in use of anti-inflammatory drugs in dogs, it also brings caution in the long term use of such drugs.  Just as with similar human drugs there may be some serious side effects of long term use.  You may want to discuss with your veterinarian as to whether a high quality joint supplement may be a good alternative.  Below is information on an athritis drug released by the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine.

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine revealed that 39% of adverse drug experience reports for 1999 were attributed to Rimadyl, a widely-advertised arthritis drug for dogs. 13% of the 1998 Rimadyl reports involved the death of the dog. Pfizer is now educating the veterinarians more on possible side effects, and providing a handout for the client as well, and "death" has been added to the list of possible side effects. Rimadyl should be stopped for dogs who exhibit: