Dogs Health Information

For a rawfed dog, there is no such thing as too much protein. Too much food, yes. Too much fat, yes. Too much of whatever the dog digests poorly, yes. Oh, and too much (as in “any”) plant-based protein like soy, yes indeed. A dog has two nutritional requirements in its pyramid: Protein and Fat. You cannot take either away without significantly affecting the dog as a whole.

It would seem that your homeopathic vet does not know or doesn’t care that dogs, being domesticated wolves, have no dietary requirement for anything but protein and fat. Your dogs need plenty of meat. The protein count comes with naturally with meat.

Digestive system, liver and metabolism in an otherwise healthy dog are not adversely affected by raw protein. You may indeed want to try something other than beef (feedlot beef is corn fed and if there is anything that’s likely to screw up your dog’s digestive system et al it would be corn. Or any other grain), but if/when you remove beef, you should be prepared to feed some other meat.

It’s not the presence of meat that’s likely messing with your dogs, it the presence of meats that are less than optimal (for a variety of reasons).

Your vet is utterly, completely missing the point of carnivorism if veggies and fruits have been recommended. This so undermines any vote of confidence I might otherwise have for the vet. Regardless of what kind of meat protein you want to feed, getting all (as in ALL) the species inappropriate stuff OFF the menu and OUT of the dog is job one.

I would argue that job two would be to find a different homeopathic vet.

Tags: carnivores, dog foods, dog health problems, dog nutrition, eating habits, homeopathic remedies, natural raw diet, raw feeding

Related posts

• Dog Nutrition: Is Large Breed Dog Food Different From Small Dog Food? (1)
• Dog Itching: Don’t Use Homemade Recipe for Dry Flakey Skin (1)
• Dog Nutrition: Need Some Advice on Raw Feeding (2)
• Dog Health Problems: More on Colitis in Mini Schnauzer (0)
• Dog Health Problems: Loss of Appetite and Vomiting (15)

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.

———————————————————————

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!

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

Related posts

• Dog Health Questions: Nightly Cough, Could This Be a Heart Problem? (1)
• Dog Health Problems: More on Colitis in Mini Schnauzer (0)
• Dog Nutrition: Is Large Breed Dog Food Different From Small Dog Food? (1)
• Dog Itching: Don’t Use Homemade Recipe for Dry Flakey Skin (1)
• Dog Illnesses: My Dog Has Lymphoma – What Do I Do Now? (12)

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

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

Related posts

• Homemade Dog Food Recipe for Dog Itching & Dry Flakey Skin (4)
• Dog Itching: Treating Dandruff With a Raw Feed Diet (1)
• Dog Health Problems: Ear Yeast Infections – Change Diet to Raw Feeding (0)
• Dog Nutrition: Need Some Advice on Raw Feeding (2)
• Dog Itching: What to Do About Dry Skin (0)

Can anyone explain the difference (details plz) between small breed puppy food and large breed puppy food? Is it the digestible protein or fat content? Or is there basically no difference if you feed high quality food?

Small breed puppy foods are formulated with smaller breeds in mind, meaning it is usually more nutrient dense since small breeds can only eat so much and pieces are smaller for smaller mouths. Large breed puppy foods are designed for slower growth and different ratios of nutrients….but since this list usually frowns on discussing commercial dog foods, I don’t want to offend anyone by discussing it any more detail.

There isn’t such a thing as “high quality” if you are referring to processed foods. Regardless of protein or fat percentages, the ingredients are all wrong for a carnivore.

But, to answer your question….it depends! Not very helpful, huh?
Seriously, there doesn’t seem to be any standard. I just compared 6 brands. Some are higher in fat and protein for the large breed foods, some for the small breed foods.

Any breed, any size requires lots of good quality protein and fat for proper growth, little to no carbs and not excessive amounts of calcium and other nutrients….of course you can only find that when feeding raw.

As I recall the large breed puppy foods are formulated more to do with growth and bone needs of larger breeds. The more difficult stand is which breeds are considered ‘large’; it is subjective with some thinking any dog larger than a miniature poodle is large while more canine knowledge seem to consider large breed as those above naturally 100+# at healthy adult weight.

I do not consider a Golden Retriever a large breed dog yet when I got my girl her former vet had the previous owner feeding her large breed puppy food; I immediately changed her diet and explained I consider large breed dogs more in line with Mastiff or Great Dane.

It seems all Group Members do care and love our pets, and joined this Group to exchange ideas and concerns without degrading of each others thoughts or beliefs . The Group description states this Group does support raw feeding.

In the beginning I thought that meant while we all might discuss different foods, I should be prepared for those who also fed raw. It took me a while to realize food topics other than raw acceptance are generally frowned upon & discouraged in group topics.

I explain this as a matter of fact and do not wish to offend any one, therefore, while the Group supports raw feeding, if you are not following that diet, please discuss this issue with your friends and vets for their opinion.

I think that foods marketed for large breed, small breed, senior, puppy, sensitive stomach, etc are all gimmicks, like Royal Canine marketing different foods for different breeds! Ridiculous.

Why would a Labrador Retriever have different nutritional requirements than a boxer? I am always amazed by those who feel that they have found the ‘perfect’ food for their dog, because the very label has a photo of their breed on it and says it was made specifically for that kind of dog.

Some of these ‘formulas’ may have a few minor differences, like glucosomine (not enough to make a difference) in a large breed formula or smaller bites in a small breed formula. If you compare the labels, they are all very similar.

Pet food companies love to dupe the consumer into believing that their food is best. Though I do feel that some kibbles are worse than others, none are appropriate for a dog. They simply do not have the proper enzymes or the type of digestive tract that is meant to process all of those grains and carbohydrates.??

Its pretty much all the same – species Inappropriate!

A raw feeding plan is best for puppies and dogs, who are carnivores;

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

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

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

http://rawfeddogs.net/Recipes

Raw is the ultimate evolutionary diet, with nutrients that are optimally bio-available, since they aren’t denatured by cooking or interfere with the dog’s digestive process.

http://rawfeddogs.net/FAQlist

Tags: carnivores, dog foods, dog health questions, dog nutrition, eating habits, glucosamine, Golden Retriever, great dane, kibble, large breed dogs, large breed puppy food, natural diet, puppy foods, raw feeding, senior dog

Related posts

• Dog Health Problems: More on Colitis in Mini Schnauzer (0)
• Dog Health Problems: Loss of Appetite and Vomiting (15)
• Dog Allergies: More on Dog Ear Infections and Diet (0)
• Dog Nutrition: Homeopathic Vet Has It Wrong (3)
• Dog Itching: Don’t Use Homemade Recipe for Dry Flakey Skin (1)