Healthy Dogs…  Nutritionally!

 

Dogs’ healthy genetic make-up provides for a lifespan, without health problems, of 15 to 20 years.  Why, then, are our dogs consistently being diagnosed with more and more degenerative disease?  Dying at 5?  7?  9?  Dealing with cancer?  Liver disease?  Organ failure?  Immune System diseases?  Why are they suffering from allergies, ear infections, dry itchy skin, hot spots, diabetes, thyroid problems, parasites, intestinal problems, urinary problems, arthritis, and behavioral problems all their lives??  And WHY have we been led to believe that many of these unhealthy states are ‘minor issues’ and/or are normal for our canine friends?  THESE SYMPTOMS OF ILL-HEALTH ARE NOT NORMAL, and they are NOT necessary!

One of the biggest impacts on our health, that we can personally control in our own lives, is what we eat.  Poor diet is THE major risk factor for the top three killers in the US today: heart disease, cancer and stroke.  Nutritional studies show that the foods we eat play a crucial role in how and how quickly our bodies deteriorate.  It has been known for centuries that severe, often fatal diseases can be prevented and cured by appropriate diet; Scurvy, BeriBeri, and Pellagra are three well-known examples.  Why in the world would we think that these same realities don’t apply to our pets?  Fortunately (meaning we can do something about it!), the same rules DO apply!

Most Americans don’t consciously consider that the simple daily habit of eating is THE primary factor in their healthcare; diet is the only available source of the nutritional components that are VITAL for the body to achieve health, maintain health and enhance its ability to fight disease.  Again, the same reality applies to our pets!

Unfortunately, our American Healthcare System, including a large majority of the veterinary healthcare system, is motivated strongly by profits of food producers and pharmaceutical companies, and quite easily (albeit sometimes unknowingly) manipulates our habits and assumptions.  The bottom line is that processed food is far cheaper to produce, transport and store, and marketing is ingenious.  When the dreary results of this processed, refined foods, grain and sugar-laden diet kick in, people go to the doctor to get a prescription to “save” them, and they take their pets to the vet with the same intentions.  Unfortunately, most prescription drugs and surgeries have nothing to do with curing or preventing illness and disease; they’re most often about treating symptoms (so people and pets can move on with their unhealthy diets and lifestyles!).  Unfortunately, in the 20^th century, both medical/veterinary education and medical/veterinary practice shifted their focus from health maintenance to disease treatment, giving up their leadership role in our quest for health for ourselves and our pets.  It seems that our current system of Western human and veterinary medicine has somewhere run amuck!  So, who do we have to listen to?  For dietary counseling, it seems television advertising has taken over.  We have forgotten the obvious; the obvious that has been known for centuries:  Choices made regarding lifestyle and nutrition can have a major impact on our health and can, in many cases, result in medical ‘treatment’ never becoming necessary!  Whole, healthy, nutrient-rich food has everything to do with your own and your pets’ health and well-being! 

Fortunately, many factors in healthy diets help the body to rid itself of toxins, keep weight at healthy levels, properly regulate blood sugars, strengthen the immune system, encourage healthy cell communication and regeneration, fight bacteria and parasites, and properly support the digestive, endocrine, nervous, lymph, and circulatory systems of the body.  What you feed your body, and what you don’t feed your body, DIRECTLY affects your health!  What you feed your pets, and what you don’t feed your pets, DIRECTLY affects their health too!

The purpose of food is to provide bodies with the nutrients they need to function properly - to help your pet realize his highest health potential, you MUST provide his body with the nutrients it needs IN FORMS IT CAN ASSIMILATE based on canine physiology, rather than on commercial pet food producers’ advertising hype. 

Let’s start with a look at the basics.  There are some nutrients that are ESSENTIAL to physical health (yours and your pet’s!).  Science continues to uncover the ‘reasons’ proper foods cause health, and those ‘reasons’ are given names, such as vitamins or minerals.  Years ago, vitamins, and their importance to health, were discovered.  Further research revealed things such as healthy bacterias and enzymes.  As nutrition continues to be ‘disassembled’ so that its many facets can be ‘discovered’, there’s little doubt that more and more ‘essential’ nutrients will be discovered.  One thing is very clear from the research, though; ‘solo’ nutrients are much less effective in building health or fighting disease, than are healthy whole foods that contain those nutrients, quite simply because these food components (those that have been discovered, and most likely those that have not!) work together, synergistically, to feed the body, nourish the cells, and fight disease.  Lemons and limes could prevent and cure scurvy; isolated vitamin C does not provide the same effects!  So far, science as led us to knowledge of the following essential nutrients, all of which are available from whole, fresh foods, and many of which are available through whole-food supplements, VERY FEW OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH PROCESSED HUMAN OR DOG FOOD: Essential Fatty Acids, Vitamins, Minerals, Sugars, Healthy Bacteria, Complete Proteins/Amino Acids, and Enzymes.  Cooking (ie; commercial kibbles and cans) breaks down the proteins and amino acids in meat, thus destroying most of its nutritional value.  In addition, cooking destroys all enzymes, essential fatty acids, vitamins and healthy bacterias – leaving little in the way of optimal nutrition.  Yes, a dog can exist on a diet of cooked food (ie; commercial kibbles and cans), some resilient dogs doing better than others, but the lack of nutrition will result in less then optimal health.  POOR NUTRITION RESULTS IN DEGENERATIVE DISEASE.

“The further an animal’s diet departs from its evolutionary diet, the more health problems that animal is likely to develop.  That is why modern grain based pet foods, no matter how well researched, cause so many health problems.”  Ian Billinghurst, DVM, The BARF Diet

“… natural diet has a very large and effective influence on disease prevention.”  Juliette de Bairacli Levy, The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat

“Starch was introduced into our pets’ diet as a cheap [and the major] energy source about 70 years ago.  This was the time we began to feed our pets cooked grain as the bulk of their diet.  From that time forward, there has been a massive rise in degenerative disease within our pet population.”  Ian Billinghurst, DVM, The BARF Diet

“… the majority of dogs are fed habitually on a cooked-foods diet… and dogs so fed survive.  It is true they are hosts for a multitude of worms, they have unpleasant body smells, have bad breath, and age rapidly; over 70 percent of them have disordered kidneys by their seventh year, also failing eyesight and hearing; their teeth are so filthy with a brown ‘fur’ deposit that they have to be scraped regularly by a veterinary surgeon.  But they survive…  I personally, as well as many other breeders, can promptly tell from examination of the teeth, limbs, and eyes whether or not an animal is being Naturally Reared, and we are seldom mistaken.  As many breeders have told me: “Nature Reared stock look so different!  They are so vitally alive!’”  Juliette de Bairacli Levy, The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat

“The living testimony exemplified in the many people and animals who thrive on diets that include plenty of fresh raw vegetables, fruits, dairy products and other foods is enough to convince me that a diet of cooked foods alone will not keep a pet in top-notch condition.  Moreover, my clinical experience over the last 20 years confirms this.  The positive change in many animals given a home-prepared, raw-food diet after eating processed foods is nothing short of amazing.”  Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, PhD, Natural Health for Dogs and Cats

“One illustration of this point concerns a remarkable experiment run by Sir Robert McCarrison, a doctor stationed in India some years ago.  Impressed by the enviable degree of health enjoyed by the Hunza, Pathan and Sikh peoples, he wondered if a diet similar to theirs could produce comparable physiques and health in experimental rats.

“For 27 months Dr. McCarrison fed over 1,000 laboratory rats a variety of live foods, including sprouted beans, fresh raw carrots and cabbage and raw whole milk, along with whole-wheat flatbread and a bit of meat and bones.  He also provided the rats with good air, sunlight and clean living quarters.  At the close of the experiment, when the rats had reached an age equivalent to about 55 years in human terms, he sacrificed them and autopsied them thoroughly for signs of disease.  To his amazement, he could find none.  The only deaths that had occurred among those rats were from accidents.

“Later Dr. McCarrison fed two other diets – one that was typical of poor people from England and the other typical of poor people in parts of India – to groups of laboratory rats.  Rats on the poor Indian diet had disease in every organ they possessed.  Those that lived on the boiled, sweetened and canned foods commonly eaten by the English poor grew so high-strung that they ate each other, the weaker rats succumbing first. 

“One of the most fascinating sources of information about the importance of raw foods comes from what is now known as the Pottenger Cat Studies.  Dr. Pottenger did not set out to study cat nutrition, but he became intrigued by differences in the health of a number of cats he was using in experimental studies.  Turning his attention to this topic, he did a series of nutritional comparisons.  For several generations one group of cats was fed completely raw food (meat, bones, milk and cod-liver oil).  Another group of cats was fed the same foods either partially or completely cooked.  What he found is of definite importance to those of us who want to raise really healthy pets.

♦          Cats on the entirely raw-food diets were completely healthy, never needing veterinary attention.
♦          The more the food was cooked, the less healthy were the cats that ate it.
♦          The health problems seen in the experimental cats on the cooked diet were remarkably like those commonly seen in cats
            today – mouth and gum problems, thyroid disorders, bladder inflammation and the like.
♦          Over a period of three generations, the cats on the cooked-food diet continued to deteriorate until they could no longer
            reproduce.
♦          When the cats were put back on a raw-food diet, it was not until four generations later that the animals totally recovered
            from the physical effects of the cooked diet.” 

Research summaries extracted from Natural Health for Dogs & Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, PhD

“The advantages of a natural diet are many.  Health and longevity are increased, there is resistance to disease and the diet can be tailored to individual needs.”  “Young dogs raised naturally grow more slowly than dogs raised on commercial food and therefore fewer musculoskeletal problems are observed.  Fleas, ticks and worms are almost unheard of on the Natural Diet.  Skin, ear and eye problems are rare, as is bloat.  Teeth rarely, if ever, have to be cleaned.  Overall vitality and energy are unequaled and dogs love to eat it.”  Wendy Volhard and Kerry Brown, DVM, The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog

“You can boost your pet’s health profoundly by making one simple decision.  All you have to do is to change his diet from unhealthy, commercial-brand fare to something you may never have imagined giving him: real food!”  “And yet the conventional wisdom among most veterinarians remains that pets should never eat table food.  Pets in nature ate table food; they just didn’t have tables!”  Martin Goldstein, DVM, The Nature of Animal Healing

“The foolishness about table food underscores a larger point: that veterinary schools are the third culprit in the Great Pet Food Conspiracy.  When I was at veterinary school, the whole issue of animal food was addressed only as one of percentages:  what percentage of a pet’s (unvarying) meal should be protein, carbohydrates, fats, and so forth.  Quantities were stressed; quality was all but ignored.  Switching my brother’s dog Leigh from Gaines Burgers to a macrobiotic diet was the first step we took toward questioning our teachers’ approach.  Soon enough, I realized that the ideal diet for a pet was the polar opposite of what he gets in a can or box.”  Martin Goldstein, DVM, The Nature of Animal Healing

“When I tell an owner that a change of diet can affect his pet’s health in a matter of days…  Toss out the prepackaged food, I say.  Soon, symptoms you’ve grown all too accustomed to – or tried in vain to dispel with antibiotics – may improve dramatically.  Everything from skin irritations and dull, matted fur to bad breath and digestive problems to lethargy and lack of appetite can be alleviated.  All you have to do, I add, is to start preparing your pet’s meals yourself.”  Martin Goldstein, DVM, The Nature of Animal Healing

“I have always liked the adage, “We are what we eat,” and this applies as well to dogs and cats as to humans.  The digestive system will usually bear the brunt of poor food intake.  Other organs affected secondarily include the liver, pancreas, kidneys, and skin:  the liver and pancreas as part of the digestive process, and the liver, kidneys and skin as organs of elimination.  As with humans, fresh foods provide the healthiest source of nutrition.  This is partly because many nutrients such as vitamins and enzymes are extremely sensitive and easily destroyed by processing.”  Don Hamilton, DVM, Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs

“…promotion of health is the best choice for long-term well being.  This involves primarily nutrition and lifestyle choices.  Good nutrition for dogs and cats is similar to that for humans in that fresh foods are best.  Eating out of bags and cans is a poor substitute.”  Don Hamilton, DVM, Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs

 

Understanding Basic Canine Anatomy &
How it Relates to Ideal Diet

“There is a belief that modern pets can no longer eat whole raw natural foods because their basic physiology has been altered by either the process of domestication or by having eaten cooked and processed pet food for approximately 70 years.  Our pets’ basic physiology has changed very little with domestication despite obvious and dramatic changes in their physical appearance and mindset.  The 70 years our pets have been eating processed pet food is an impossibly short period of time in which to lose traits developed over millions of years.  Such changes would take hundreds of thousands of years.”  Ian Billinghurst, DVM, The BARF Diet 

Paleontologists estimate that approximately 100,000 years are required before evolutionary changes occur within a species. 

Just 100 years ago, ALL dogs were eating whole foods; no physiological changes have been made to our dogs’ genetic make-ups since the very recent introduction of processed dog foods.

Dogs and wolves are nearly identical.  Their DNA differs by only 1% to 2%.

Dogs and wolves, as primarily carnivores, are designed to eat prey animals.  Their anatomy reveals, without question, which foods are appropriate to them. 

Dogs’ teeth are designed for grabbing and tearing meat, and their jaws for crushing bone.  They do not have broad, flat teeth designed for chewing, as do herbivores.

Dogs have no digestive enzymes in their saliva.  (Humans and herbivores, on the other hand, have amylase in their saliva, an enzyme that begins to digest carbohydrates during chewing.)  Digestion doesn’t start for a dog until the food reaches the stomach.   Because dogs have no ‘chewing enzymatic action’, coupled with very short digestive tracts, they are not designed to eat foods, such as grains, that require lengthy digestion.

I once had a healthy boarding dog who consumed, as usual, his grain-laden kibble breakfast.  About 8 hours later, after a robust play period and some water, he vomited.  The contents of his vomit was dog food (a bit swollen and softer than it had gone in – but otherwise in perfect form!), a bit of bile, some mucus, and clear liquid (the water!).  Having vomited all over his blanket, I promptly shook the blanket and put it in the washing machine.  When the wash and double rinse cycle were completed, I put the blanket in the dryer.  When I removed the blanket from the dryer, I realized I had inadvertently missed some of the kibble in my shaking out of the blanket.  There in the bottom of my dryer were a number of pieces of perfectly formed kibble!  Hmmm…  8 hours in the stomach of the dog, through a wash and 2 rinse cycles, and through the dryer, and not one bit of digestion, erosion, or damage to the kibble.  I was doubly glad I was no longer feeding kibble to my pack!

On the other hand, when I first began feeding my dogs a natural raw diet, my adult dogs would, literally, swallow chicken wings whole (yes, they were excited about the prospect of real food!).  At first terrified, but later pleasantly pleased with the ‘scientific’ results, I followed them around like a mother hen, waiting for some sign of internal damage from the bones that they forgot to chew!  Much to my surprise, my dogs weren’t bothered in the least.  And when they began to eliminate the raw natural food that went in the front end, out of the back end came not big whole bones, but normal looking fecal matter (except that it was about one-quarter the size of the fecal piles I was accustomed to!).  The ability of a canine to digest RAW food, even large chunks of bone (which I don’t encourage, by the way!), is simply amazing.

Dogs have very strong stomach acids and short digestive tracts.  Both characteristics protect dogs from ever-present germs in their natural environments and food choices.  Food-borne bacterias are either killed by the stomach acids, or hastened through the system before they can multiply and cause problems.  Dogs’ bodies are designed to eat and digest food rapidly.

“[A good natural diet] takes into account the limitations of the dog’s short digestive tract, strong stomach acid and the enzymes the canine system produces to break down food.”  Wendy Volhard and Kerry Brown, DVM, The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog

Whether you wish to admit it or not, dogs, both domesticated and wild, are members of the carnivore family. Anatomically, they are built for it. No one describes this more eloquently than Juliette de Bairacli Levy in her book, The Complete Herbal Book for the Dog A Handbook of Natural Care and Rearing:

 

A Dog’s NATURAL Diet

All parts of a prey animal (herbivore)…

Meat, bones, fat, offal (organs), stomach (pulverized and partially digested plant materials) and intestines (digested or partially digested plant materials, a plethora of enzymes, lots of healthy intestinal bacteria, and fresh fecal matter)

Plus, other scavenged foods, such as…

Already-fallen animals (rotting or not), fresh eggs, fallen fruits, insects, and fecal matter (mmm….)

 

A Quality Replacement for your Domesticated Dog

Creating “All parts of a prey animal”…

Meat, bones, fat, offal, pulverized vegetables (stomach contents) and healthy supplements such as probiotics (organic kefir or yogurt – preferably not pasteurized) and enzymes (intestinal contents)

Plus, “other scavenged foods”…

Fresh eggs, ripe fruits, yogurt/kefir, ground nuts & seeds (a palatable replacement for fecal matter)