[beagleowner]

My 14 year old beagle has lipomas. One quite large. He is 14 and we can’t risk surgery. Have switched to feeding Nature Valley Instinct Chicken which is grain free. Interested in homemade since he needs to lose 7 or 8 pounds. He now weighs 48 lbs. We did make a batch of homemade with low fat hamburg, sweet potatoes, apples, green beans, carrots, 2 eggs. Feeding him 2/3 cup twice a day. Thought about adding 1/3 kibble a day as well. Figure it will be 786 cal per day which may be too high. He is 14 and pretty inactive. He is Hungary all the time and wants snacks constantly. Since weather has turned nice so will start short walks. There is so much info out there it is confusing. He loves his treats and since he has become deaf he barks constantly. Have a recipe for jerky using chicken breasts and thought that would keep him busy in the evenings. He does drink lots of water, sleeps during the day and during late night. He is healthy otherwise. Had him to vet and other than weight and lipomas he is good. Eyesight good and coat really nice. Grain free food eliminated ear and anal problems and allergies.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi beagleowner –

According to Dr. Karen Becker:

“Lipomas are benign fatty masses that are incredibly common in dogs. The traditional veterinary community believes there is no breed, sex or age predisposition for the development of lipomas. And it’s true any dog can grow a lipoma – young, old, spayed, neutered, obese or thin.

However, holistic veterinarians believe there’s a correlation among the quantity and size of lipomas, the vitality of a dog, and how well she metabolizes fat. If a dog doesn’t have a vibrant, thriving metabolism, what tends to happen is that dog lays down fat in what I call ‘glumps.’

When you or I gain weight, we tend to gain it in several places on our bodies. When a dog with inappropriate fat metabolism gains weight, he adds glumps of fat in one spot. These glumps of fat are lipomas, or benign fatty masses.”

Dr. Marty Goldstein believes that high carbohydrate, processed (species-inappropriate) commercial foods cause some dogs to lose the ability to metabolize fat, resulting in lipomas. He recommends feeding dogs as close to their natural diet as possible.

Dr. Shawn Messonier recommends supplementing the diet of dogs having lipomas with immune-strengthening herbs such as alfalfa, burdock, goldenseal and thistle.

On Holistic Pet Info, Dr. Colleen Smith claims that there is a correlation between high carbohdyrate diets and lipomas.

Given this information, I would say that you’re on the right track by moving towards homemade food and high protein, grain-free kibble. However, the homemade diet you described above is extremely unbalanced and in the long term will likely cause more harm than good. If you’re going to continue to feed this recipe keep it to no more than 20% of your dog’s total intake and feed the grain-free kibble as the other 80%. If you would like to venture into an entirely homemade diet (which would be wonderful!) I’d recommend checking out some balanced recipes. There are many wonderful books available on homemade diets – “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” by Steve Brown, “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Dr. Becker, “Optimal Nutrition Raw and Cooked Canine Diets” by Monica Segal and many more (check out Amazon – look for books that are written by veterinarians or nutritionists or that contain AAFCO compliant recipes). Dogaware.com is a great resource on health issues and on homemade diets. You could also utilize a pre-mix (i.e. The Honest Kitchen’s Preference, Urban Wolf, See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix, Birkdale PetMix, Dr. Harvey’s, etc.) – pre-mixes contain all the nutrients your dog needs, all you need to do is add fresh meat. I’d also look into supplementing whatever food you decide to feed with immune-boosting herbs, as mentioned above. Good luck!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[theBCnut]

Please be aware, a beagle will eat until he makes himself sick and as soon as he is done barfing, will start eating again. Do not feed him according to what he says he wants!!! Find out how many calories you should be feeding him for what he should weigh and stick to that, including treats. If he wants more and won’t quit barking then try giving him a raw bone to occupy himself with.

[InkedMarie]

Good post, HDM. Also, didn’t we used to have a thumbs up thingy here?

[beagleowner]

Thanks for all the great replies. I will check on the suggestions and will sur keep you in the loop. I am in the process of making chicken jerky and msybe can ward off another night of barking.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Yeah we did used to have a thumbs up. Not sure what happened to it – I didn’t even notice it was gone until you mentioned it.

[InkedMarie]

Wow HDM, I finally beat you to something round dfa!! Lol

[beagleowner]

Made chicken jerky for Henry and he loved it. Cut chicken breast into 8″ strips and baked for 2 hours at 200 degrees. They were still chewy. Think next time I will bake 1 hr on one side and turn them over for the second hour. I had hoped they would occupy Henry for a little bit but he ate them really fast. Need to find something to keep him busy in the evening. I know that rawhide can be dangerous. Any suggestions. Thanks for all your help. I am so frustrated by his constant barking because he wants treats. It is a “monster” I created. Hope there is a good solution.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Treats and chews I use to keep my dogs busy:
-Raw bones
-Frozen kongs (I layer canned pumpkin and a grain-free kibble then freeze it)
-Natural chews (bully sticks, cow hooves, dried trachea, pig ears – make sure they’re sourced from the US)
-Himalayan chews
-Zuke’s Z Bones dental chews (the only “dental” chew product I’ll give my dogs, they’re grain-free and contain superfoods – I don’t give them too often though because they are high in carbs)

Also – depending on how powerful of a chewer your dog is you may want to avoid really dense bones (like marrow bones and knuckle bones) or hooves. Less powerful chewers should be fine but strong chewers can chip teeth.

[soho]

Hi beagleowner

It is a great idea making your own chicken jerky. I make my own chicken jerky, I also make fish jerky, beef jerky and turkey jerky. For a more traditional jerky you could bake them longer. For air flow you could leave the oven door slightly ajar. This will help to dissipate the moisture. Either way they won’t last long.

For a longer lasting healthy chew I would look for Bully sticks made from South American cattle. Look for ones that say they are from cattle that are pasture raised without the use of any hormones or antibiotics. Most U.S. cattle are full of hormones and antibiotics.

Beef trachea’s from south american cattle are a great treat full of natural chondroitin, glucosamine, and collagen.

I would stay away from canned foods unless they specifically say they are BPA (Bisphenol A) free.
Here is an article on the dangers of cans with BPA:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/december-2009/food/bpa/overview/bisphenol-a-ov.htm

Dental chews like zukes contain potato flour or other starches as their main ingredients. Potato flour can contain solanine a poison found in potatoes. Potatoes also contain lectins which can have a negative affect on gut health as well as make your dog more prone to allergic reactions to the food they eat. Dental chews like Zukes also contain vegetable glycerin which could also contain toxic substances. Dr Sagman the owner of this website wrote an article on the dangers of one type of vegetable glycerin:

/dog-food-news/chinese-dog-treats-glycerin/

[beagleowner]

Thanks HDM. Henry is a strong chewer. Our vet had told us to get knuckle bones and par boil them and give those to him. But he chewed so hard that I was afraid he would break a tooth. Didn’t take him long to lose interest. What kind of raw bones do you feed? I thought of the kongs but didn’t know what to fill them with. I will try your suggestion. Also will look for the natural chews. The chicken chews I made in the oven were no task for Henry they are gone in a flash. I spoiled him rotten with treats and now he “hunts” me down every night. It is hysterical that a grown woman would hide from him til he decides to lay down. However that Beagle nose tracks me down most of the time. Thanks again for the great information.

[beagleowner]

Hey thanks James D. I appreciate the info. These suggestions are such a big help. My life will be easier and Henry will not be so frustrated. Thanks again!

[Hound Dog Mom]

If you give bones they should be fed raw, cooked bones are more likely to splinter. I feed my dogs fully edible raw meaty bones such as chicken backs, turkey necks, pork necks, etc. I don’t do marrow bones or knuckle bones as my dogs are strong chewers. Bestbullysticks.com has a great selection of natural chews and they’re fairly reasonably priced – all their chews are USDA approved.

[DogFoodie]

I know this thread is older, but HDM mentioned Himalayan Chews, which I’ve recently discovered myself. My dogs love ’em!

However, Sam, my Golden, got hold of my Cavalier’s chew and it was smaller than his. In nothing flat, I noticed it was gone. I freaked out. Thankfully, he didn’t choke on it, but I worried about an intestinal blockage. Everything turned out alright, so now I keep a much closer eye on them when they start to get smaller.

I read something interesting online that I wanted to share about Himalayan Chews. When they get too small to safely chew on, throw it in the microwave and it’ll puff up like a marshmallow and get soft enough to be safely eaten and digested.

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