Deep chested breeds of dog are highly susceptible to bloat, this can lead to emergency surgery and the possibility of the dog not surviving.
So how does your dog get bloat?
Bloat occurs due to a build up of gas trapped in the gastro-intestinal tract. This gas is created by microbacteria in the hind gut as a result of bacterial fermentation of starch.
Starch in the mammilian body is digested by amylase, however dogs produce very small quantities and therefore have no capacity to deal with the large amounts in commercial diets.
Therefore small amounts of starch can be coped with in the canine diet, large amounts of starch such as found in dried and tinned foods, from grains, cereals, rice & potatoes can and do lead to bloat and death.
A holistic approach to Canine Health, addressing Nutrition, Communication, Behaviour & Natural Remedies as opposed to the "classical view".
Monday, 2 April 2012
Saturday, 31 March 2012
How many times a day should you feed your dog?
The answer is once.
The dogs' digestive system is set up to eat only once a day. Canine stomach acid is much stronger than that of a human, hence they can digest bone etc., however putting anything in it, reduces it's strength and only time with an empty stomach can bring it back to it's full pH.
Therefore feeding more than once a day, or providing the ability to graze, actually reduces the dogs ability to digest what it is being fed. With the gastro-intestinal tract being 80% of the immune system, multiple daily feeding has a negative effect on the immune system, increasing the likelyhood of illness.
Therefore feed your dog once a day, the occassional treat is fine, and a weekly starve day will help boost the digestive and immune system.
The dogs' digestive system is set up to eat only once a day. Canine stomach acid is much stronger than that of a human, hence they can digest bone etc., however putting anything in it, reduces it's strength and only time with an empty stomach can bring it back to it's full pH.
Therefore feeding more than once a day, or providing the ability to graze, actually reduces the dogs ability to digest what it is being fed. With the gastro-intestinal tract being 80% of the immune system, multiple daily feeding has a negative effect on the immune system, increasing the likelyhood of illness.
Therefore feed your dog once a day, the occassional treat is fine, and a weekly starve day will help boost the digestive and immune system.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Teeth as an indicator of health
In a preliminary study the following was shown:
80% of dogs over the age of 3 on a commercial cooked diet had teeth like this:
80% of dogs over the age of 3 on a commercial cooked diet had teeth like this:
80% of dogs over the age of 3 on a raw diet had teeth like this:
Monday, 16 January 2012
Debunking the "Little Red Riding Hood" Myth
The Story
When I first told my mother I fed raw to my dogs, as internally they were wolves, her instant reaction was to tell me to keep my pets away from small children and babies as they might be tempted to eat them. A number of other people have expressed the same worry.
This worry has been extrapolated from the story of Little Red Riding Hood, as there is not 1 documented wolf attack on record that was un-provoked.
The story of Little Red Riding Hood is not about weir-wolves or even about the dangers of wolves, it is in fact about the dangers of Rabies.
Think of it this way, a little girl gets taught to use a safe path to go visit her grandmother, on the way sees a rabid dog, but remains safe, gets to granny's who's been bitten by the rabid dog & tries to bite her (looking for all the world like granny gone mad).
That is much more logical and likely than the fairytale and a good lesson for children, unfortunately its lesson has been twisted over the years.
The Science Bit
It has been shown that animals fed a raw diet are gentler than those on a cooked one, due to the higher accessability of nutrients needed to control the Amygdala (the area of the brain responsible for aggression).
When I first told my mother I fed raw to my dogs, as internally they were wolves, her instant reaction was to tell me to keep my pets away from small children and babies as they might be tempted to eat them. A number of other people have expressed the same worry.
This worry has been extrapolated from the story of Little Red Riding Hood, as there is not 1 documented wolf attack on record that was un-provoked.
The story of Little Red Riding Hood is not about weir-wolves or even about the dangers of wolves, it is in fact about the dangers of Rabies.
Think of it this way, a little girl gets taught to use a safe path to go visit her grandmother, on the way sees a rabid dog, but remains safe, gets to granny's who's been bitten by the rabid dog & tries to bite her (looking for all the world like granny gone mad).
That is much more logical and likely than the fairytale and a good lesson for children, unfortunately its lesson has been twisted over the years.
The Science Bit
It has been shown that animals fed a raw diet are gentler than those on a cooked one, due to the higher accessability of nutrients needed to control the Amygdala (the area of the brain responsible for aggression).
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Starch, malabsorption & bloat
Ever wondered why dogs get bloat? It's the Starch in their diet!
Most pet foods are grain based, even gluten free ones are either based on rice or potato.
These are very high in starch content. Amylase is what is needed to digest starch. Dogs do not produce amylase in their saliva, and only produce a very small amount from their pancreas.
The starch lines the stomach wall, having a negative effect on the pH of the hydrochloric acid in the stomach reducing the dogs ability to digest food. The only way starch can be broken down other than the very small amounts of amylase produced by the pancreas is via microbial fermentation in the gut.
This fermentation process produces large quantities of gases, which promote bloat & further reduces the ability of the dog to digest other food ingested.
Therefore the answer is simple, if you don't want to risk bloat, don't feed starch.
Most pet foods are grain based, even gluten free ones are either based on rice or potato.
These are very high in starch content. Amylase is what is needed to digest starch. Dogs do not produce amylase in their saliva, and only produce a very small amount from their pancreas.
The starch lines the stomach wall, having a negative effect on the pH of the hydrochloric acid in the stomach reducing the dogs ability to digest food. The only way starch can be broken down other than the very small amounts of amylase produced by the pancreas is via microbial fermentation in the gut.
This fermentation process produces large quantities of gases, which promote bloat & further reduces the ability of the dog to digest other food ingested.
Therefore the answer is simple, if you don't want to risk bloat, don't feed starch.
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Pet food definitions: 100% Complete & Balanced
The definition of 100% Complete is that the food contains all the nutritients essential for life.
The definition of Balanced is that the food contains the minimum quantities necessary of all essential nutrients.
Therefore a pet food can be labelled 100% Complete, but not be able to sustain life without the pet having to eat large quantities of it in order to obtain it's minimum requirements; leading the owner to believe that the pet enjoys the food and the pet towards obesity.
Patrick, J.S. (2006) Deconstructing the Regulatory Façade: Why Confused Consumers Feed their Pets Ring Dings and Krispy Kremes. [Internet] Available from: http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/784/Patrick06.html#fn77 (accessed 21/12/2011)
The definition of Balanced is that the food contains the minimum quantities necessary of all essential nutrients.
Therefore a pet food can be labelled 100% Complete, but not be able to sustain life without the pet having to eat large quantities of it in order to obtain it's minimum requirements; leading the owner to believe that the pet enjoys the food and the pet towards obesity.
Patrick, J.S. (2006) Deconstructing the Regulatory Façade: Why Confused Consumers Feed their Pets Ring Dings and Krispy Kremes. [Internet] Available from: http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/784/Patrick06.html#fn77 (accessed 21/12/2011)
Friday, 9 December 2011
Pack behaviour and dominance
The words 'dominance' and 'alpha' have fallen out of favour with regard to behaviour, due to being misinterpreted by owners to mean that your pet is always trying to 'get one over you'.
Due to the fall from grace of verbage, there is now even more confusion about behaviour.
Dogs still have the minds of wolves, they still see you as their pack or family. They intuatively know that someone must be the pack leader if the pack is to survive, and if your communication tactics do not elicit this then they will feel that they have to take on this role.
The problem with this is that due to the way we keep our pets, we do not allow them to 'grow up' mentally, they are not allowed to learn to hunt or defend and therefore most of them are absolutely terrified of taking up this position, and haven't got a clue how to do it. This is when we tend to see behaviour issues as the dog takes on a role he/she has no idea how to do, gets very stressed performing it, but uses whatever previous knowledge they have at their disposal to attempt to cope.
Remember that out in the wild the pack leadership is always changing, so they need consistancy in communication letting them know that they need not take on such a stressful role, you have it covered.
There are many ways to achieve this, and we can teach you via one to one consultations. If you feel you could do with some pointers, please get in touch. http://caninehealth101.web.officelive.com/
Due to the fall from grace of verbage, there is now even more confusion about behaviour.
Dogs still have the minds of wolves, they still see you as their pack or family. They intuatively know that someone must be the pack leader if the pack is to survive, and if your communication tactics do not elicit this then they will feel that they have to take on this role.
The problem with this is that due to the way we keep our pets, we do not allow them to 'grow up' mentally, they are not allowed to learn to hunt or defend and therefore most of them are absolutely terrified of taking up this position, and haven't got a clue how to do it. This is when we tend to see behaviour issues as the dog takes on a role he/she has no idea how to do, gets very stressed performing it, but uses whatever previous knowledge they have at their disposal to attempt to cope.
Remember that out in the wild the pack leadership is always changing, so they need consistancy in communication letting them know that they need not take on such a stressful role, you have it covered.
There are many ways to achieve this, and we can teach you via one to one consultations. If you feel you could do with some pointers, please get in touch. http://caninehealth101.web.officelive.com/
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