When a dog can't handle raw...

[janeah7@gmail_com]

I started my 2 1/2 yr old rescue on raw when I got her at 4 months old.  She was quite malnourished and had a rough start.  She got gradually worse until we got her off raw.  I switched her to the best kibble/canned i could find and continued to add in some "real food' like afew veggies and fruit.We gradually progressed to Honest Kitchen but unless I added in some canned she would not eat all of it. Now I am switching her to home cooked meals (Innstapot) + some fresh, raw veggies etc and she is cleaning her bowl!  It has only been a few weeks so I am still not sure this is right for her long term.  MY question are:

1) I know Honest kitchen is clean etc but it seems so processed- like astronaut food that I don't feel good about the vitality there.  Your thoughts?

2) Making home cooked meals- there is a lot of conflicting recipes etc...  Some say 1:1:1 meat"veggie"starch etc.  I'm still not clear if proportions make that much difference?

Thanks

Janeah

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Janeah-

Great to see you here!

You are so right, vitality of your pup's food is key.

What got worse over the 2+ years that you were trying raw?

1) Honest Kitchen is indeed processed and is not as vital as fresh food. However it is still healthier than commercial foods (especially dry).

Lucy Postins (the founder and formulator of HK) only uses the freshest and highest quality ingredients and in general I would recommend it.

However, fresh food feeding the way you are now introducing is even better for her.

Fantastic that your dog likes and tolerates it!

2) Yes, there's lots of conflicting feeding info. out there and some of it is quite DOGmatic.

The reality is that meat to veggie ratio will vary depending on your pup's <strong>individuality</strong> and how much meat she will thrive with.

In general, the more variety that you can give her, the better.

In fact, our protocol for feeding real food is based on just 3 words: <strong>Freshness, Variety and Moderation.</strong>

I will post the URLs of the fresh food feeding portion of the 5 Holistic Essentials email course which have a lot more detail.

Dr. Jeff

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi again Janeah-

Whenever you're next logged in, take a look at these three articles. They could be helpful:

https://www.holisticactions.com/my-courses/fresh-feeding-benefits/

https://www.holisticactions.com/my-courses/balance/

https://www.holisticactions.com/my-courses/feeding/

Dr. Jeff

 

[janeah7@gmail_com]

Thanks for the articles.  The 2 1/2 yr old was fed raw from time I got her at 4 months til about 6 months.  She came to me malnourished, bad skin, slt mange, etc.  I had had such good results with a previous dog with raw food so I didn't question why she was getting worse--basically failure to thrive.  Once I switched her food things shifted quickly.  I have tried to give her a little raw over time but she always gets sick that nite and throws up yellow bile.

She tolerated the Honest Kitchen but I can tell she doesn't love it unless I doctor it up.  She is loving the home cooked instapot meals the past few weeks but I just want to make sure I'm feeding her properly

Thanks

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Yes, great Janeah.

Did her failure to thrive manifest as an inability to gain weight?

Some individuals do definitely do better with some fresh well-cooked organic grains in the diet. Especially sprouted grains (like in the treat and dry food = Carna4)

We learn what all of us need by varying diet and trying new things.

You can still keep vitality high by using foods like grains and veggies (chopped, grated, juiced, steamed, etc.) that are as <strong>fresh as possible</strong>.

Monitor EWS (early waning signs) like dry flaky coat, shedding, doggy odor, runny eyes, etc. to decide if any food works well for your pup.

In human animals, this can be assessed by anyone by measuring heart rate variability (HRV) before a meal.

HRV can also tell you whether any specific intervention is working well for you, e.g. the cold shower, 2 cups of broccoli sprouts/day, etc.

Dr. Jeff