Thanks Rob - a great read as usual. Spot on. Having said that, our (over-bred) dog did develop pancreatitis and protein allergy aged 9 after having been raised purely on home cooked offal, sardines, rice and probiotics, so one can’t always side step illness unfortunately, even though in my profession as an NT it’s what I most believe in.
As I said in my comment, we gave her offal too - maybe you missed that. Sardines are also absolutely appropriate for a carnivore - even if dogs were true carnivores, which they are not. There was a little rice mixed into protein for bulk, either meat, offal or fish. I did not say she only ate rice and probiotics. Also cats are carnivores and need animal protein, dogs do not and are classified as omnivores. Even so, I would never not feed a dog animal protein. I assume you also missed the bit about developing a protein allergy? So not sure how you would side-step this issue if giving your dog a "carnivore diet"....
I totally agree with Rob about commercial pet food, and also the well-informed comments from Janet Vernon (I will definitely buy the book you recommend!). We have an 8 year old terrier who was a rescue dog, and although not abused, has some increasingly bad abandonment and anxiety issues. Almost from the start, he had all the symptoms of IBS, maybe even leaky gut, and we quickly discovered that giving him cooked food, even the organic variety, was a complete disaster. So we switched to Honeys Real dog food which is minced raw meat (a large variety on offer) with added vegetables and chopped bone. As long as we stick to that, plus daily probiotics, we can at least manage Freddie’s condition (although I wish I could say the same about his anxiety, which seems to worsen year by year). He has never had injections or vaccinations and we use a herbal tick and flea deterrent in summer (Biospotix) plus daily foot baths in water with 2.5% iodine mixed in to stop him chewing his paws. It’s not perfect but we are doing our best, which is all we can do!
So good to meet another Honeys Real food user! Hello Niki - I give our girl raw apple cider vinegar ,with 'the mother' (about 2 teaspoons) in her food every day, this helps to protect against fleas and is anti-inflammatory, good for correcting acid/alkaline balance, itchy skin, if he licks his feet use 50/50 dilute with water, ACV is so good for lots of conditions. This information is available in another fantastic book by the same author as 'Tip' entitled 'The Real Epidemic' which will give absolutely everything you need to know about treating allergies and autoimmune diseases in your dog and yourself, naturally. Anxiety may be helped with homeopathy, I have just (within the last year) started researching and using homeopathics for us and our girl who (also a rescue and is now 11) is prone to ear infections, using 3 treatments, one after the other, manages this. It is a fascinating subject and cannot harm if overdosed, and is cheap at around £8 for 200 tablets.
Oops - slight mistake sorry, homeopathic tablets around £6 for small vial of tiny tablets, I was getting mixed up with tissue salts which we also take, but still very good value for money.
Excellent information. I’ve found homeopathy to be very effective for my dogs and have worked with some amazing homeopathic vets in the past but can’t find one anywhere in the area I’m now living. I’d love to know more about the remedies you use?
Hi Niki, My girl was prescribed Belladonna for really hot, red ear infections, this remedy is for any hot inflammatory condition, but homeopathy treatment is a really individual thing suited to the patient as well as the condition as you probably know. I have got several books on homeopathy and have now got confidence to treat ourselves and our girl for minor ailments. Arnica is a good standby for any physical trauma, sprains etc. and before and after any surgical procedure. I get my remedies online from Helios homeopathics which do kits for animals. As you cannot overdose (more than required will just not work) it is a safe treatment to experiment with.
We have a Bengal cat which has a life expectancy of just 12 years but our is still doing fine at 21! I'm sure it's because of the offal and chicken and (human) tinned fish that have always got mixed into his 'normal' cat food!
Never mind dog food! Have you looked Into cat food? I've tried getting my two cats to eat actual food but they are addicted to the rubbish stuff (no idea whats in it) from the pouches. They wouldn't dream of eating real meat.
Try adding bone broth - it is wonderful for joints, ligaments etc., and tastes good, also a teaspoon of coconut oil will tempt their taste buds, melted down and mixed in their raw meat. It can be very difficult at first to switch, but it won't hurt if they go without for a couple of days, eventually they will be hungry enough to try it, we all like junk food but it takes a bit of time to adjust, try 50/50 raw junk at first, and gradually .....
Commercial dog and cat food is almost worthless in terms of nourishment. Dry food is super heated to destroy bacteria which also destroys most vitamins and minerals, then it is extruded to remove moisture which effectively destroys the remaining vitamins, then they add synthetic vitamins and minerals. Cooked food is little better, I have never seen a dog or cat cook ..... Dogs and cats need a species-appropriate diet - raw meat with a little added veg and fruit for dogs. Please read Catherine O'Driscoll's 'The Tip of the Needle' a jaw-dropping book telling the truth about the horrors of commercial pet food, over vaccination and chemical flea treatments. She has spent 20 odd years of her life researching the above after losing several of her beloved retrievers to ill health, this book is fully referenced and an absolute MUST for every pet owner, please buy it and share the knowledge.
Thanks Rob - a great read as usual. Spot on. Having said that, our (over-bred) dog did develop pancreatitis and protein allergy aged 9 after having been raised purely on home cooked offal, sardines, rice and probiotics, so one can’t always side step illness unfortunately, even though in my profession as an NT it’s what I most believe in.
Sardines? Rice and Probiotics? Canines are carnivores.
As I said in my comment, we gave her offal too - maybe you missed that. Sardines are also absolutely appropriate for a carnivore - even if dogs were true carnivores, which they are not. There was a little rice mixed into protein for bulk, either meat, offal or fish. I did not say she only ate rice and probiotics. Also cats are carnivores and need animal protein, dogs do not and are classified as omnivores. Even so, I would never not feed a dog animal protein. I assume you also missed the bit about developing a protein allergy? So not sure how you would side-step this issue if giving your dog a "carnivore diet"....
I totally agree with Rob about commercial pet food, and also the well-informed comments from Janet Vernon (I will definitely buy the book you recommend!). We have an 8 year old terrier who was a rescue dog, and although not abused, has some increasingly bad abandonment and anxiety issues. Almost from the start, he had all the symptoms of IBS, maybe even leaky gut, and we quickly discovered that giving him cooked food, even the organic variety, was a complete disaster. So we switched to Honeys Real dog food which is minced raw meat (a large variety on offer) with added vegetables and chopped bone. As long as we stick to that, plus daily probiotics, we can at least manage Freddie’s condition (although I wish I could say the same about his anxiety, which seems to worsen year by year). He has never had injections or vaccinations and we use a herbal tick and flea deterrent in summer (Biospotix) plus daily foot baths in water with 2.5% iodine mixed in to stop him chewing his paws. It’s not perfect but we are doing our best, which is all we can do!
So good to meet another Honeys Real food user! Hello Niki - I give our girl raw apple cider vinegar ,with 'the mother' (about 2 teaspoons) in her food every day, this helps to protect against fleas and is anti-inflammatory, good for correcting acid/alkaline balance, itchy skin, if he licks his feet use 50/50 dilute with water, ACV is so good for lots of conditions. This information is available in another fantastic book by the same author as 'Tip' entitled 'The Real Epidemic' which will give absolutely everything you need to know about treating allergies and autoimmune diseases in your dog and yourself, naturally. Anxiety may be helped with homeopathy, I have just (within the last year) started researching and using homeopathics for us and our girl who (also a rescue and is now 11) is prone to ear infections, using 3 treatments, one after the other, manages this. It is a fascinating subject and cannot harm if overdosed, and is cheap at around £8 for 200 tablets.
Oops - slight mistake sorry, homeopathic tablets around £6 for small vial of tiny tablets, I was getting mixed up with tissue salts which we also take, but still very good value for money.
Excellent information. I’ve found homeopathy to be very effective for my dogs and have worked with some amazing homeopathic vets in the past but can’t find one anywhere in the area I’m now living. I’d love to know more about the remedies you use?
Hi Niki, My girl was prescribed Belladonna for really hot, red ear infections, this remedy is for any hot inflammatory condition, but homeopathy treatment is a really individual thing suited to the patient as well as the condition as you probably know. I have got several books on homeopathy and have now got confidence to treat ourselves and our girl for minor ailments. Arnica is a good standby for any physical trauma, sprains etc. and before and after any surgical procedure. I get my remedies online from Helios homeopathics which do kits for animals. As you cannot overdose (more than required will just not work) it is a safe treatment to experiment with.
We have a Bengal cat which has a life expectancy of just 12 years but our is still doing fine at 21! I'm sure it's because of the offal and chicken and (human) tinned fish that have always got mixed into his 'normal' cat food!
Never mind dog food! Have you looked Into cat food? I've tried getting my two cats to eat actual food but they are addicted to the rubbish stuff (no idea whats in it) from the pouches. They wouldn't dream of eating real meat.
Try adding bone broth - it is wonderful for joints, ligaments etc., and tastes good, also a teaspoon of coconut oil will tempt their taste buds, melted down and mixed in their raw meat. It can be very difficult at first to switch, but it won't hurt if they go without for a couple of days, eventually they will be hungry enough to try it, we all like junk food but it takes a bit of time to adjust, try 50/50 raw junk at first, and gradually .....
Commercial dog and cat food is almost worthless in terms of nourishment. Dry food is super heated to destroy bacteria which also destroys most vitamins and minerals, then it is extruded to remove moisture which effectively destroys the remaining vitamins, then they add synthetic vitamins and minerals. Cooked food is little better, I have never seen a dog or cat cook ..... Dogs and cats need a species-appropriate diet - raw meat with a little added veg and fruit for dogs. Please read Catherine O'Driscoll's 'The Tip of the Needle' a jaw-dropping book telling the truth about the horrors of commercial pet food, over vaccination and chemical flea treatments. She has spent 20 odd years of her life researching the above after losing several of her beloved retrievers to ill health, this book is fully referenced and an absolute MUST for every pet owner, please buy it and share the knowledge.