Diet and Food Cases

To add onto the real food diet questions. Can I boil chicken? This past January my boarder collie left this world to go to run free from pain. I had a certified end of life vet support us during that process; I recommend that to anyone who can do it when the time comes.  However two days (!) b4 this happened my husky needed to go to the ER, thought she was having a seizure but it was a significant case of vertigo. She came home, thank goodness, and we gave her meds for nausea and dizziness. After we lost Ollie And With my huskys vertigo (torturous time) she wouldn’t eat, go in the backyard or sleep in their spot, or at all, howling all night. In order for her to eat I cooked chicken n rice…long story short I kept her on real food. I boil chicken (is that ok?) for breakfast n dinner. she loves pumpkin, and coconut oil, bone broth; I freeze them for treats. Her melancholy subsided , we worked on that together ; but I can honestly say this girl of mine appears and acts 5 years younger; healthier weight, walks, plays like a puppy sometimes and she’s 14! Coincidental? Maybe, but I’m a firm believer that this was life changing for her…and us, we saw how healthier food can actually make you healthier!!! Thank you so much for being on the show on Sunday. You are a wealth of knowledge!!! I am intensely interested in this now; also I’m a pediatric occupational therapist and I’m now interested in pet rehab! Let’s try and prevent some of these ortho issues in our dogs! Searching more into holistic ways; just wish I would have started this years ago with both of them, Then maybe I could have had Ollie longer…

Dr. Steve's Advice -  Absolutely you can use boiled chicken as the meat portion of your dog's recipe. I'm very glad to hear of how you and your Husky have rallied following your other dog's passing, and that the real food has been making her feel younger again! Enjoy the ride!

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Hello Dr. Steve and thank you for your time and expertise. I am writing because I would love some advice on dog food. We have a 2-year-old Australian Labradoodle who has been really healthy. She is medium, 35 pounds and has been this weight for about a year now. I am finding the pet food industry very overwhelming and confusing, everywhere I turn, I get a piece of different advice. She has been eating about 50% kibble and 50% raw (NW Naturals frozen nuggets) for over a year. She does not enjoy the kibble and if fed without the raw, she will walk away from it. Our vet says that her diet is not balanced. Our vet also recommends feeding a grain-inclusive diet (due to risk of DCM). Do you have a recommendation on what would be a good food to feed our put for optimal health if we were to buy already prepared balanced food (fresh/frozen, etc)? What is your opinion on food such as Ollie, NW Naturals (grain free), etc? Thank you!

Dr. Steve's Advice - congratulations on taking a look at changing up the diet. I know it sounds bewildering, but it really doesn't have to be. AAFCO sets a very low but adequate bar for nutritional completeness that most raw and even home cooked diets could readily leap. If you're contemplating a particular raw or cooked fresh food diet, ask the company (or the store where you're buying it) regarding which of their foods meet AAFCO standards. 

Alternatively, you can cook your own. It is as effortless to create a balanced diet for your dog as for yourself. Gold Standard Herbs and Aleksandra Topic provide recipes for making your own food in the Featured posts above. I know from personal experience that the Gold Standard diet will produce a food that meets AAFCO standards and is essentially an embellishment of a home made diet created by a board certified veterinary nutritionist.

The two diets you mention are air dried diets. Studies show they still contain significant levels of AGEs, pro-inflammatory compounds formed during the heating and drying of foods, so I don't see them as a great alternative to kibble, personally. Freeze dried would be much better if you must feed your dog out of a bag.

I don't personally recommend what you're doing now, which is feeding half kibble and half real. I know many people advocate that as much better than all kibble, with studies that back up their stance. Personally, though, I notice that dogs on half kibble and half real food have the same medical problems as dogs on all kibble diets. From my perspective as a clinician, the half measures just don't really cut it.

Hopefully this helps you out!

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I have a question re. your Real Food Guidelines for dogs. With regard to kelp: "...500 to 1000 mg of bone meal (NOT the gardening kind), calcium carbonate or calcium citrate ... Kelp powder is largely made out of calcium but is rich in other trace nutrients and is thus an excellent choice as a calcium supplement."

Would the kelp be supplemented at the same recommended 500 to 1000 mg as the other calcium sources? 

Is buying ground meat ok? Eg. Beef, chicken or turkey?  Should I be concerned about fat content in ground meats (and assuming ground pork would have way too much fat).

Thank  you so much!  I appreciate your time, effort and expertise in helping all of us.

Dr. Steve's Advice - If you're using kelp instead of calcium, I'd go with the same amount: 500 to 1000 mg.

Ground meats are fine if you're cooking them. Even pork is okay if you can get some of the fat off it. You could saute the meat, then pour off some of the grease from the pan before adding in the other ingredients.

Hope that helps!

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Can you tell me your feelings on feeding a Golden Retriever a raw diet. I have a 2 year old and he has been raw fed since he was about 7 months old. The reason I ask, is so many people are telling me it is not safe for this breed because DCM in Golden’s is very common. Breeder wanted me to keep him on kibble (nothing grain free)

He is a very healthy boy and no issues whatsoever!

Dr. Steve's Advice. - the FDA has quietly walked back its condemnation of raw (and other grain-free) diets as causes of DCM, just in time for Mars to buy Nom-Noms and Orijen. Coincidence? Some don't think so. Anyway, here is one such article indicating the cessation of research into the subject because of lack of evidence: https://www.petproductnews.com/.../article_a46176aa-9045...

If there is any single food item that is linked to it, it is processed pulses used in kibble or canned diet. Real beans (as opposed to processed legume powders from a factory) do not pose a threat per my personal conversations with board certified veterinary nutritionists

Hopefully this helps you out!

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Hello Dr. Steve,  thank you for sharing your time and expertise! 

I have a question about food: I've read your suggested diet but I am curious as to why every vet I've asked all recommend certified prepared dog food (AAFCO) and you don't?  I am finding the pet food industry overwhelming!  I would love a little info on your stance for this diet and any thoughts you may have regarding the food industry. 

Thank you.

Dr. Steve's Advice - t's quite easy to make a food that will pass AAFCO standards, even in your own kitchen. The recipe here is one such example and is basically one that a nutritionist friend of mine, Dr. Susan Wynn, put together for the book we wrote together called Manual of Natural Veterinary Medicine. I simply expanded upon it to make it easier to implement. 

I actually prefer NRC requirements, which almost no companies ever mention as a guidepost for food development. It's easy to achieve those, too, with a homemade recipe and they are a bit more user friendly and precise than the AAFCO standards. In my opinion, AAFCO standards should be viewed as only the most basic standard of nutritional completeness, which virtually all commercially prepared pet foods (whether raw or kibble) achieve with relative ease

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I was looking at your home cooked recipe in the featured section, and want to make sure I have it correct for cats. I did a cut/paste of the sections pertaining to cats. Also, if I add this cat multi-vitamin (by Vital Planets) ... does it suffice for the taurine and calcium? Or do you have another preference for vitamins?

• Meats: Varied meats, cooked lightly. Organ meats fed daily are best for cats.
• Veggies: Steamed, pureed or grated vegetables Perhaps just 5 to 10% of the amount fed for cats.
• Taurine: Add 150 – 250 mg Taurine per day.
• Calcium: Bone meal (NOT the gardening kind), calcium carbonate or calcium citrate (available from drug or health food stores). How many mg a day for cats?

Omega 3 fatty acid supplement. Cats enjoy salmon oil. If your animal’s coat is greasy, or if they are highly prone to severe inflammation, use omega 3 fatty acid supplements with caution. Dose at the low end of the recommended range, if you use them at all. Thank you so much!!

Dr. Steve's Advice - I think you have it figured out and the supplement looks fine. If you use organ meats, give just a small amount daily, or a larger amount once or twice a week.

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I am so sorry for all the questions but Teo’s allergy symptoms are not improving .he continues to rub his eyes and scratch them with his paws, scratch his face( around his mouth) and chew his paws. He has lost lots of hair around his eyes but the vet said there are no sign on skin injury on his body because of itching.
He eats lots of grass when we take him outside so I was wondering if this might be a guy issue  and not allergy?

As you know he is on real food diet, Cessorex and Halscion. I stopped all his supplements in case he has allergy to them( he was taking bone meal, egg shell powder,taurine,and multivitamin by wholistic). I have stopped his flea/tick spray and gave him a bath to wash it off his coat.
Should I start him on a probiotic? If yes what do you recommend.
Should I do anything else to stop his itch and runny eye?

Dr. Steve's Advice - probiotics are always advisable, especially ones that contain Lactobacillus or Bacteroides. Can you get Gussys Gut? That's an easy place to start, and the probiotic has that much better a chance of surviving because it's favourite foods are included with it! Make sure there is adequate plant material in the diet, about 1/6 of what is in the dish. Ensure as well that it is not canned or kibble. At the most it should be freeze-dried. Ideally it should be a fresh food diet. 

If improvements are visible but only partial, consider use of a topical eye ointment on the skin around the eye to see if you can accelerate improvements.

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I’m so grateful to have found your page, I’m really hopeful that I can finally get some help for my poor dog .

I have a male French bulldog, he’s 3 years 9months , in tact .
He has no chemical worming or flea treatment .
He was raw fed from when I got him at 8weeks old .
I have battled with he’s itching and licking for pretty much 3 years .
I’ve tried supplements, introduced probiotics and omegas , I’ve battled with flare ups and had to get antibiotics, a few times he’s had steroids .
The last time I went to the vets I got apuquel and put him on the hydrolysed protein food (canned patè form)  and the itching has reduced loads but the paw licking is still daily .
This has been for approx 6 weeks .

He’s itching had got so bad and I was exhausted from it all and I’m nervous to go back to raw but I want him on a better diet .
I was able to introduce omega capsules and a multivitamin, but was told to stop the vitamin while on the hydrolysed food .

How do I ween him back onto raw and what can I give him to get off apuquel and help stop this itching ? 

I’m happy to start over from scratch with whatever you suggest going forward, I just want him to live and enjoy living rather than dealing from this issue he has , wether it be yeast, intolerances or low immune ???
For 3 years I’ve listened to forums and looked online , I’ve tried it all , we both need a break , please help 

Dr. Steve's Advice - hopefully you've read all the posts at #skindiseasedogs and #cessorex. Cessorex (https://goldstandardherbs.com/products/Original-Cessorex-85g-p647327434) is what I would recommend for now, to see if you can eradicate the rest of the itch. If so, then it means the problem that Cessorex treats (leaky gut and dysbiosis leading to allergies) is what is going on, so you then have good reason to try targeting it with a real food meat-and-vegetable diet, probiotics like Gussys Gut (https://gussysgut.pxf.io/c/4643206/1738316/19832), immune stimulants for the gut like colostrum, and continued use of Cessorex.

As for why this happened, you probably have a suspicion if you've researched your dog's condition on this site. Some dogs have evolved to be reliant on certain species of bacteria to produce metabolites that regulate their immune systems. Raw diets that are devoid of plant material kill off those bacteria, setting the stage for allergies. Making a quarter of what is in the dish vegetables, berries, beans or cooked grains, and adding in a probiotic like Gussys Gut will help restore normal immune function. Once Cessorex has demonstrated 'proof of concept' by improving the paw licking further, you'll know that is the direction you should head in to cure your dog and prevent future problems

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I have a quick question about allergies and intolerances.

We did the Nutriscan test for food sensitivities.  What I’m wondering is, if my dog showed a negative reaction/no sensitivity (both lgA and lgM) to a particular protein, could he still have an allergy to that protein?  Or does the negative reaction basically rule out an allergy as well?  

Thank you for all your help!

Dr. Steve's Advice - the test looks for antibodies to particular proteins. If they are lacking, it means that a reaction to that food is less likely.

That being said, dogs can have sensitivities seemingly in response to foods, without having antibodies against them. The most common example of this (I believe) is a leaky gut situation, where a food may just change the mix of bacteria in the gut, by feeding one species more than another. If that species was more pathogenic, it can create a leaky gut. The immune system on the other side of the gut wall responds, not necessarily by targeting the food that was eaten, but instead it targets the pathogenic gut bug. It panics and primes the entire system to be ready to respond in anticipation of a full scale breach of the intestinal tract (which won't happen, but it doesn't know that). It's the wholesale priming of the immune system that then revs up any inflammation already in progress, such as what might have been a low-grade yeast or bacterial skin infection becomes highly noticeable. 

Along comes the vet, and they do a food allergy test. Finding no antibodies, they assure the owner that food is not an issue, even though the owner may have been wondering because they saw a ramping up in inflammation when they changed to a new food. Instead, the vet cultures a skin swab or does some cytology, finds the yeast overgrowth, and diagnoses it as a yeast infection, or a Staph infection or allergy. In this scenario, though, the problem would not resolve in response to antimicrobials or would come back quickly when they were discontinued, leaving the owner frustrated. Meanwhile, the antimicrobials potentially unbalance the microbiome even more.

This is likely an extremely common scenario and is why I harangue people to change the diet to one that uses real food, and then add in a Lactobacillus probiotic. This is why people are finding Cessorex works so well and so often - because it likewise targets the microbiome and then fans out from there. Cessorex doesn't kill the yeast or bacteria on the skin, but they are actually red herrings. Instead, it just fixes the original problem.

Now sometimes, it is a yeast or bacterial infection, and that's why I counsel people to add in Lift the Qi or Galvanex from Gold Standard Herbs next. Lift the Qi helps with the original microbiome issue AND targets the skin infection.

Hope that all makes sense. It's probably a much longer answer than you wanted!

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 Hi Dr. Steve, and thank you so much for all the work that you do for all of us. You definitely are a godsend! 

I’ve been reading a lot of your articles that state incorporating fruits and vegetables.  I have been feeding raw (80%,10%,10%), but have been on the fence regarding adding fruits and vegetables, but I think I’m going to start. Is there a specific amount of each to incorporate, like 2 ounces of broccoli, 7 ounces of blueberries, etc.? What is the ratio of vegetables and fruits per meal I understand it’s 10% of each meal but is at 5% fruits, 5% vegetables?

Also, I have a four year-old French bulldog. She was spayed after her first heat, which occurred when she was 13 months of age. It seems lately that she is leaking urine. I actually witnessed her leak about 3 tablespoons of urine and I think she had no clue. What can I do for her? 

I also have a seven year old pitbull mix. He currently eats raw food and will be incorporating first and vegetables. I have just started the second bottle of Cool The Blood, I am almost done with a third bottle Cessorex and I am waiting for an order of gussy’s gut. He is constantly licking and chewing at his feet and ears to the point where his ears have cuts. They are red and bleeding. His paws are red. He whines every time he goes at either of them. So anything else I can do or what do you suggest?

Again, thank you SO VERY MUCH!!!!!

Dr. Steve's Advice - the amount of plant material needs to take up at least 1/6 of the room in the dish, maybe up to 1/4. Ten percent will be too low to make a difference, I think. Exactly what you use in the way of ingredients and how much of each to put in can be varied. just render it eminently digestible, by shredding it, or at least steaming and mashing it. Probably you'll err on the side of vegetables, but cater to your dogs' tastes.

For your leaky bulldog, if that is happening just now, then try Lift the Qi from Kan Essentials or Galvanex  from Gold Standard Herbs. You can source it from Aleksandra Topic using the instructions she provides here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1158575954706282/posts/1420037418560133/ If that doesn't help, circle back and tell us what happens. Use the doses Aleksandra provides, rather than the label dose

For your allergic dogs, ensure you're giving enough Cool the Blood. The label dose is WAY too low. Once you have the Gussys Gut going and have upped the plant material component of the diet, that should help a lot. It's possible as well, if you're dealing with some sort of bacterial or yeast overgrowth, that Lift the Qi may help this dog, too. But if you've been using label doses of Cool the Blood, remedy that first.

Hopefully this helps you out!

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