Healthy Dogs

Why Healthy Dogs?

This is probably one of the most common reasons for people contacting me with their "My dog..." questions... l have decided the best place to start is to compile my knowledge and research and make it freely available to you.

First: I cannot diagnose your dog by e-mail - and I will not attempt to! I am not a vet and am not giving medical advice. Trying to avoid paying vet fees by asking me instead of taking your dog to the vet is simply not reasonable to anyone, and certainly not your dog. Having said that, I can often help you identify what kind of problems you can deal with yourself, and which ones you need to involve your vet in. And I can also help you with a strategy for how to work with your vet. But I cannot and will not diagnose your dog and prescribe any medical treatments for its specific ailments.

The digestive systems of dogs and cats are short, acidic, and handle bacteria well. This is why they are not susceptible to salmonella, parasites, or e-coli from tainted meat as humans are. Humans have very long digestive tracks which allow food to 'linger' for 24 hours or more, thus allowing more time for parasites to get into their bloodstreams. Some people add fulvic acids to their pet's raw food diet.

According to research, Fulvic neutralizes toxins and can eliminate food poisoning within minutes.. fulvic acid acts as a refiner and transporter of organic materials and cell nutrients. Fulvic acids enhance the permeability for digestive, circulatory, cell membranes. According to A. Szalay, fulvic acid has the ability to dramatically detoxify herbicides, pesticides, and other poisonsthat it interacts with – this includes many radioactive elements. This detoxification process may extend to animals and humans.

The food your animal eats should provide all of the nutritional components which are necessary for all organs and systems of a healthy body to perform in harmonious unison. A properly functioning body does an amazing job at preventing disease and healing itself, and to do this it requires the energies and nutrients of a well-balanced diet. In terms of finding the proper diet for our companions, this means learning to look beyond our own needs, opinions, and agendas to address the natural needs of the animals that we caretake.

In the wild, no one cooks for the coyote or wolf; no one brushes their teeth. Their foods are raw and unprocessed.

Processed foods and drugs have seriously depleted the natural vitality and immune systems of many pets. Whereas large amounts of red meat can cause cancer in humans, a lack of RAW red meat in an animal's diet can lead to serious health problems.Animals require the enzymes, amino acids and other nutrients in the raw meat in order to stay healthy. Many skin and coat problems are a direct result of a lack of raw animal fat in the diet - fat which humans often believe is bad for their pet. Animals need at least 30% raw fat, and their systems are not designed to handle cooked meat or cooked fat. Restaurant grease has become a major component of feed-grade animal fat over the last 15 years. Often held in 50-gallon drums for weeks or months in extreme temperatures, this grease is usually kelp outside with no regard for its safety or further use. The rancid grease is then picked up by fat blenders who mix the animal and vegetable fats together, stabilize them with powerful antioxidants to prevent further spoilage, and then sell the blended products to pet food companies. Rancid, heavily preserved fats are extremely difficult to digest and can lead to a host of animal health problems, including digestive upsets, diarrhea, gas, and bad breath. In the wild, a panther or jackal does not barbecue, grill or smoke its prey. It definitely does not walk to the local supermarket to buy dry food either. Yet most pet owners recoil at the thought of feeding raw meat to their dog or cat, concerned about bacteria or parasites. Dog and cat digestive systems have evolved over millions of years to consume a raw diet, and they can tolerate foods containing a wide range of naturally occurring bacteria. You've probably seen your dog enjoy eating something you consider disgusting and wondered why he doesn't get sick!

I have fed a commercial diet and raw diet to my dogs without any problem. My dogs THRIVE on raw food and SURVIVE on commercial food. Dogs are carnivores, before commercial food was introduced in the 1960's dogs ate more human grade food then than they do now and when they died it was prodominately because they were hit by a car - not cancer as we see so often today. I understand that canine nutrition is truly a matter of opinon and because l respect that not everyone can afford feeding a raw diet l researched the products and tested on my own dogs different brands of kibble and prefer feeding premium kibble like Solid Gold, Wellness, Innova, Candidae instead of Iams, Science Diet, Bil o Jack, Alpo, Pedigree etc .

At Least Do This Much
Avoid generic store brands. They use the poorest quality ingredients. Mix table scraps and greens with commercial food. Add raw eggs and raw organic meats several times a week. Cultured yogurt protects the stomach and digestive system from antibiotics found in most meat. Add a little to each meal. Avoid food with the fast-food smell of rancid fat and oil. Cheap, unsavory dry food has an unforgivable odor wafting from obviously oily bags. Always think variety.

http://rawfed.com/myths/vets.html
This site might assist you to understand how much nutritional training vets receive.

SATIN BALLS
This recipe is one for putting weight on an animal quickly, as some use it for putting a couple extra pounds on a show animal prior to the big day, or an animal that may have been ill and needs a weight gain program. It has also been reported that this recipe will help with some forms of hair loss, such as when your dog(s) blow their coat, to keep the coat healthy and shiny. This recipe is entended to be fed raw.

10# hamburger meat
1 jar wheat germ
1 lg box of oatmeal (uncooked)
1 1/4 Cup vegetable oil
10 eggs
10 sm pkgs unflavored gelatin
1 1/4 Cup unflavored molasses
A pinch of salt
1 lg box Total cereal (2lb's)
(You may also add a pinch of garlic powder to add flavor)

Mix all ingredients together well, much like a meatloaf....put into separate freezer bags and freeze, thawing out as needed. It puts weight on in a very short time, not to mention the gloss in their coat. You can use it every day when they have a show to do and it does not produce diarrhea. It can be fed alone or with kibble.

This recipe was originally received from Dianne Carreon

Here is the reason for this website:

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Books, Articles on educating yourself on food and vax issues listed here

I understand that there are several hundreds of thousands of happy dogs that give the "greenie" seal of approval however as a society, we tend to be influenced by certain aspects of marketing. We have a tendancy to believe that a higher price is indicative of a better quality product. We also have a certain amount of faith; sometimes blindly and we do not question the company's claims to the virtues of the product. Many Vets sell greenies but they wont take them off the shelf for only a few deaths caused by greenies stuck in the oesophagus or intestine. I personally will not take the risk. Yes, it contains a protein but it's value on the food scale is questionable - IMO.

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Here is a list of alternative remedies for some of our dogs’ common ailments that you may wish to consider:

Note that in order to provide dosage or the best remedy is best advised by a holistic Vet or a homeopath.

COLITIS & IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME
They are common symptoms associated with toxins, especially yeast and other food allergies. The constant stress of other chronic conditions can also result in diarrhea, constipation (or both), mucous covered stools and flatulence.
Digestive Enzymes can be appropriate but l suggest introducing digestive enzymes slowly. Yucca is a soothing herb as are Aloe and Slippery Elm Bark.
Several factors contribute to bowel upsets, including medications often used during a crisis, such as antibiotics, steroids and antihistamines. Eliminate any possible culprits such as
- Hard to digest pet food ingredients, such as plant cellulose – often soy castings, peanut shells
- Lack of exercise, especially with six hours or more of prolonged confinement
- Inadequate amounts of fluids ingested
- Excessive ingestion of fur due to licking and chewing
- Poor sources of dietary fibre

Cooked oatmeal added to meals or given alone with vegetable, fish or meat broth, provide excellent sources of fiber. Psyllium Seed or Husks is commonly used however when used on it’s own can harsh on the digestive tract.

It has been noted that Chinese mushrooms such as Reishi and Shiitake are an excellent source of fiber and is known for a curative potential in reversing chronic colon conditions.

Old fecal matter can become toxic (especially with bacterial infection) and can push the body to eliminate the irritation so that diarrhea results. Supplement with a high quality garlic supplement

JOINTS
Yucca
Is a very effective anti-inflammatory. It’s stalk and roots contain steroidal saponins, which react in the body like chemical steroids, but without the side effects. Reduces tissue inflammation and pain.
Yucca encourages a range of motion in joints that assist in keeping it from freezing up.

Garlic
Wonderful supplement for inflamed joints

Milk Thistle, Licorice, Alfalfa and Dandelion
Excellent remedies for liver and blood circulation. They can reduce free radicals that may irate joints.

Vitamin C
Reduces inflammation, strengthens ligaments, tendons and reduce allergy sensitivity. It is an excellent anti-oxidant. Many consider this one of the best joint and ligament vitamin.

MSM
A sulphur based product, reduces inflammation, assists with poor skin and coat conditions

Anti-oxidants
Selenium and Vitamin E reduce inflammation

Glucosamines
Helps replenish synovial fluid, an imbalance that can create the rubbing of bone upon bone, resulting in pain and encouraging more calcium build up – the repercussion of which is worse arthritis

You might want to consider reading this before you use flea and tick products, perhaps unnecessarily depending where your dog ventures. It appears that most of the ingredients found in these products either cause cancer, organ and/or nervous system damage
http://www.apnm.org/publications/resources/fleachemfin.pdf cut and paste this into your web browser.

a safer alternative than your monthly frontline treatment:

http://www.ghorganics.com/DiatomaceousEarth.html