[nagdu] Changing diet

Sun Sep 7 06:40:44 UTC 2014

Greg,
Good on you for wanting to educate yourself about diet to benefit your
boy. As someone who has been down the road of trying to fix a dog's
health issues via diet, let me give you the most valuable piece of
advice:
processed packaged foods are your problem. There is no kibble that
will clear up the health problems because it can't. If you trade
processed food for another, you are only trading one health problem
for another, if you aren't exasperating the existing one.
What I suggest for anyone dealing with a dog with health issues is to
go natural, nontoxic, holistic, and raw. Feed your dog what Mother
Nature feeds hers; she never ever gets it wrong. In nature, dogs eat
raw meat, bones, and organs. It is what their very bodies were created
to consume. Their teeth come together in a scissors bite, perfect for
ripping meat and crushing bone; their necks and jaws are muscular and
powerful for managing large pieces of prey; their stomach is highly
acidic, perfect for breaking down chunks of meat and bone; their
digestive tracts are short and smooth to easily pass meat, bones, and
organs. In addition, dogs do not produce the digestive enzymes amulace
and cellulace, responsible for breaking down plant matter, and so dogs
are not able to properly digest it. Everything about your dog's body
screams that it functions optimally on a prey-model raw diet.
I beg you to not waste time researching which processed foods are the
best or have the healthiest ingredients. Frankly, none of them are
healthy. They are loaded with plant matter your dog cannot use, sugars
and starches that are taxing on your dog's digestive system, and
synthetic nutrients that your dog is not able to use. Even grain-free
recipes contain starches to hold them together, which the body turns
into sugars. In addition, kibble is sprayed with flame retardants and
contains carcinogens from cooking, setting your dog's immune system up
for failure.
Just as the healthiest thing for humans is fresh, whole foods, the
same is true for your dog. Do not fall for any company's claim of
complete and balanced. With the crap that they put in their foods,
that just isn't possible. And furthermore, balance comes from variety,
not eating the same nutrient-poor cereal day in and day out, as many
dogs are forced to do.
And since I'm the queen of research, I've got a handful of links for
you to back up everything I just wrote. It's a lot of information, but
reading most, if not all of it is imperative for your dog's health.
Your dog is experiencing all of these issues because his immune system
is shot. Most of the immune system is located in the gut, so
logically, immune function starts with diet.
If anything below sparks your interest in rawfeeding, I can send you
the Beginner's Guide to Feeding Prey-model raw. I have helped others
on the list switch their dogs to better diets, and I can provide you
with the same guidance. If you find that you are uncomfortable with
raw and also with kibble, there are other options. Freeze-dried,
air-dried, and dehydrated diets are far superior to kibble and are
more beneficial for your pooch.
The articles below are from dogsnaturallymagazine.com and
dogfoodadvisor.com. I strongly recommend anyone to click around those
sites and learn more about carnivore nutrition and holistic care for
pets.

The harm of carbohydrates in dog food
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/canine-nutrition/dog-food-carbohydrates/

Kibble causes dental problems
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/dry-dog-food-cleaner-teeth/

Cooking destroys nutrients in dog food, calling for the needed
addition of a poisonous vitamin premix
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/why-kibble-harming-dogs/

Kibble is laden with toxic chemicals such as molds, carcinogens, and
flame retardants.
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/kibble-never-a-good-option/

What else is in kibble? Various dead and diseased animals, and
farming/manufacturing waste.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/shocking-truth-about-dog-food/

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/animal-by-products/

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/dog-food-grain-by-products/

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/helpful-dog-food-articles/

Dogs are carnivores
http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html

All necessary nutrients for canines can be found in raw meat
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/raw-diets-for-dogs-getting-enough-vitamins-and-minerals/

More sites to check out:
The many myths about rawfeeding
http://rawfed.com/myths/index.html

Contains a number of articles and scientific research behind the raw
diet, and against feeding processed foods
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/petowners.php

Articles explaining the ins and outs of rawfeeding, looking at
rawfeeding objectively, and natural canine healthcare
http://manteega.com/pack_lunch/index-of-articles/

Pet health articles written by a veterinary homeopath
www.vitalAnimal.com

Pet health articles
http://www.vetsallnatural.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=18

And more on rawfeeding
www.rawlearning.com

www.rawfeddog.com

Happy researching!

On 9/6/14, Nicole Torcolini via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I do not know of a good resource for information on different dog foods,
> but
> I can give you tips on how to determine from ingredients what a good food
> is. I would recommend Blue Buffalo, which is what I feed Lexia. Their
> website says, "*NO chicken (or poultry) by-product meals," and "*NO
> artificial colors, flavors or preservatives". Also, "And LifeSource Bits
> are
> cold-formed to help retain the potency of their ingredients. Other brands
> process their foods with heat up to 350°, which can degrade the potency of
> vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients by up to 75%." Finally, do you know to
> what exactly your dog is allergic? You might want to try a grain free diet
> before trying one that has fish. What are you feeding now?
>
> Nicole and Lexia
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Greg Aikens via
> nagdu
> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2014 5:13 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Changing diet
>
> Hello all,
> I am looking to change my dog's diet and am looking for recommendations of
> independent resources or guides that might help me make a decision on what
> food would be best vs. cost, etc. I have a 6 year old male golden who is
> prone to the itchiness and skin allergies that are apparently fairly common
> to his breed. These seem to have gotten worse as he ages. My vet
> recommended
> I switch to a food with salmon or some kind of fish in it but did not
> recommend any specific brands. Choosing a dog food is something I have
> never
> really thought about. Where can I go to get informed?
>
> Thanks,
> Greg
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ntorcolini%40wavecable.co
> m
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ravend729%40gmail.com
>

-- 
Raven
"if God didn't make it, don't eat it." - John B. Symes, D.V.M.
http://dogtorj.com