Posts Tagged ‘dog food’

Dog Problems: Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth & Fleas

IdeaMan21 | May 12th, 2009

What is different about the healthy raw fed dog that renders him intolerable to fleas? My dog is healthy and raw fed but used to eat crappy food and get vaccinated. After getting DE there are almost no fleas. I’m still working on it and dreading another hot summer and the possibility of fleas. She used to never get fleas until 2 yrs ago. She’s raw fed for 6mos.
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That is a tough question. It totally depends on your dog and her overall health. How old is she? You say she has had no vaccinations for two years. Was she vaccinated regularly before that? The fact that she is having a recurring flea problem indicates that she is not in optimal health.

Some dogs never can reach optimal health after being over vaccinated and fed commercial pet foods, unfortunately.

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Tags: commercial pet foods, DE, dog food, dog health problems, dog health questions, dog itching, dog problems, flea killers, flea problem, food grade diatomaceous earth, natural diet, natural raw diet, raw feeding, raw meat diet, vaccinations

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Dog Health Problems: Ear Infections Caused by Diet?

IdeaMan21 | April 25th, 2009

I feed primarily meats of all kinds, along with their bones, all raw. If we have leftover potatoes, they’ll get some, and I do throw in a few ground vegs and fruits. I’m pretty sure the problems the dogs are having with their skin is due to too many grains.

If I just use the small treats made with ground fish or meats, its okay, and they love them. Their skin and ears were fine. I gave them 2 days in a row way too many grainy foods, and soon after, I noticed the itching and biting, as if they had fleas, which they don’t. They’ve checked, rechecked, and checked over again.

They’ve been treated with a topical flea and tick repellent that is 100% biological, with essential oils today, just to keep them at bay, since ticks are a huge problem here where we live out in the rural area of Germany.

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Tags: chronic ear infections, dog food, dog health problems, dog health questions, dog itching, ear infections, ear mites, itchy skin, natural diet, natural raw diet, raw feeding, skin problems

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Dog Itching: More Cures For Dry Flakey Skin

IdeaMan21 | April 25th, 2009

It was recently written:

We put in their dry food twice a day. They get fed twice a day and we have 7 dogs. 4 ten lbs. and 3 60, 60, and 80 lbs…
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 canola oil
1/4 cup cod liver oil
1/4 cup flax seed oil
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What these oils do is add fat to your dogs’ diet. There is no magic to olive, canola or flax seed oils, and all-being plant-derived-are as likely to provoke further inflammation as fix any of it. The only functional oil in the menu is CLO, and that, added to either a raw or kibble menu also delivers more vitamin A and D than either way of feeding warrants.

And FSO, although it does eventually provide some Omega 3 fatty acid, starts with a precursor to it (alpha linolenic acid) which must be converted by the dog at great expense of metabolic energy to linolenic acid. This conversion process all by its lonesome can be inflammatory.

Golden Retriever

Golden Retriever

Yes, add fat to your dogs’ menu. If you want to use an oil, junk all of those and stick with fish body oil (not liver oil). Use capsules or liquid; dose similarly to what your recipe recommends. A tablespoon of fish body oil a day for all but the smallest dog should be adequate.

The small dog can get a teaspoon or so a day. Also consider adding ordinary raw fat to the menu. Supplemental oil can only do so much. Changing/tweaking the diet is more likely to provide faster and less expensive results.

My guess is the oils in the recipe are not recommended because of value but rather because of availability and low price. That they are inappropriate and counterproductive is apparently beside the point.

I’ve also been giving our dogs salmon oil into their daily diet, but Marley has been having dry skin as of late, nevertheless. I’m thinking
all the dry breads and treats made of all those grains might be the root cause of some skin problems. Could the time of year also cause
dry skin, like shedding the winter fur?

Doberman

Doberman

Animal fats like of sheep iis said to also be important in their daily diet as well as other fats, but just minimal amounts. Some days they get chicken with some fat, or heart with that white stuff.

Why do you give the dog bread? This is undoubtedly contributing to his problems. Yes, the dry winter air can cause their skin to be dry, just like ours, but really, stop with the bread! Fat is very important to the diet. Does not have to be super fatty meats like lamb, but it certainly would not hurt to feed these.

You may also find Emu Oil in spray or liquid form at many larger pet supply stores. A relative had gotten the spray for his Doberman and I used it on my Golden. It has a very slight but light scent that is gone within minutes and it did help their skin & coats. Unfortunately the store that carried it has closed down and we don’t have a large supply store here so I’ll be checking elsewhere. I do think Feeders Supply or Pet Smart may carry it if you want to try it.

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Tags: alpha linolenic acid, cod liver oil, dog food, dog health questions, dog itching, dog problems, dry flakey skin, dry skin, Emu oil, flax seed oil, itchy skin, salmon oil, seed oils, skin problems, yeast infections

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Dog Health Problems: Loss of Appetite and Vomiting

IdeaMan21 | April 23rd, 2009

Our 12 year old Collie-Akita mix has been experiencing loss of appetite and regular vomiting for the past 2 weeks. We have taken him to the vet for another issue (infected eye) recently and at all visits (4) we mentioned the vomiting. We’ve been told to keep an eye on it and come in again if it continues.

Up to this point, Willy has had no health problems and has always had a hearty appetite. The eye problem and the appetite problem seemed to occur at the same time.

I should note that he has not stopped eating, he just needs to be coaxed to eat and doesn’t eat his normal portions. Also, he is up to date on all his shots. We haven’t been feeding raw, but he does get a good quality canned and dry food – most recently EVO.

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I’d suspect that a super high fat and protein dry food like EVO is way too much for your 12 year old dog. And unfortunately, being ‘up to date on all his shots’ is not a good thing, and is likely contributing to his state of feeling unwell. At his age he should never have another shot.

Rabies is the only vaccine required by law, and if you give it, should only be given once every 3 years. He no doubt has immunity to the rest of the things vaccines are given for, and you can’t boost immunity with more vaccinations. Please don’t vaccinate him any more, and if you won’t consider a raw diet, find a human grade meat based food that does not have 42% protein and 22% fat.

It is most unfortunate, that your 12 year old Collie-mix is up-to-date
with all of his shots. What shots, other than rabies, has the dog
received? And how often?

Do you also give heart worm medicine? Its hard to believe that the dog has been so healthy before all this vomiting, I mean with ears, skin and maybe diarrhea at some points or another?

A lot of times you’ll hear vets give you all kinds of sayings like, oh that’s normal, or that’s nothing serious, when in fact, they could are usually are signs of something else that needs to be looked at and taken care of.

The most important thing is to find a vet that will not ignore the
vomiting. If my dog were vomiting, I would want to know why. Is it a stomach issue? Is something blocked somewhere down the line? What does the vomit look like? Does it have foam? Is it bile? Vomiting,
especially if it does happen too often is definitely NOT a good thing.

The issue with the eye… maybe going to an eye specialist would be your best bet sometimes. I don’t know how infected it is, or what it
looks like, but be very weary of an antibiotic cream for the eyes. They can do more harm than good. Find yourself a more holistic vet for starters. And DO NOT give your senior dog any more shots of ANY kind.

They are not necessary, and if mandated by law that they have to have a rabies, see if an exemption would satisfy the county’s conditions, since health can be the reason for exemption in this case.

I’m really sorry your dog has to go through all this. Before you can treat the dog, you have to be 100% sure of the diagnosis. Fasting is
sometimes a medicine in itself, and if its losing water through
excessive vomiting, then you need to hydrate.

Hope the pup is feeling better now. Get well soon!

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Tags: collie mix, diarrhea, dog food, dog foods, dog health problems, dog health questions, dog illnesses, dog nutrition, heart worm, loss of appetite, natural diet, raw feeding, senior dog, vaccines, vomiting

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Dog Itching: Don’t Use Homemade Recipe for Dry Flakey Skin

IdeaMan21 | April 22nd, 2009

Someone wrote a post on a recipe for dry flaky skin for their dogs that I think isn’t right. I have a couple of reasons for this as I will state as follows:

These are all plant oils, except for the Cod Liver Oil. Plant oils cannot be properly processed and assimilated by dogs, who are carnivores.

The Cod Liver Oil, while derived from fish, is too high in vitamin A, which can seriously skew this nutrient in the body. Much better to supply with a good quality Salmon or Fish Body oil, for the Omega 3s, with no additives or plant oils.

Instead of applying a band aid, its much a better plan to honestly assess the current feeding plan, and change what is needed for optimum health.

Dogs are carnivores, and need raw meat (including fat), organs and edible digestible bone to thrive.

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html

http://www.rawlearning.com/supplementmyths.html

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html


http://rawfeddogs.net/Recipes


http://rawfeddogs.net/FAQlist

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Tags: barf, carnivores, cod liver oil, dog allergies, dog food, dog foods, dog health problems, dog nutrition, dog problems, domestic dog, dry flakey skin, dry skin, flaky skin, healthy skin, itchy skin, natural diet, omega 3s, raw feeding

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