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aimee
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July 13, 2017 at 9:56 pm in reply to: Food suggestion for diarrhea #102978 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility
aimee
ParticipantHi Heather,
My recommendation would be for you to ask the vet who is treating your dog for a food recommendation.
Susan,
Iām glad your dog does well on TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb but it always puzzles me when you describe it as one protein and limited ingredients. Every ingredient you listed after the lamb.. sweet potato, peas, egg, and potato has protein in it as do ingredient you didnāt list like tomato, blueberry, raspberry, chicory root and possible natural flavors and fermentation products. The food is neither single protein nor limited ingredient.aimee
ParticipantHi Kelsey,
Pitlove is right Petfooled is laden with misinformation itās too bad really.. anyway here are just a few comments I made about it on the review section
ā Here is an excerpt from the trailer and the film as an example of misinformation. In reference to corn wheat and soy āthose are the things that cause overweight, diabetes, arthritis,chronic skin allergies, infections..ā
The problem is, is that there is just as much evidence to say that beef, lamb, and chicken are the things that cause overweightedness, allergies, diabetes, and infections as there is to say corn, wheat and soy cause those things. In other words there is no basis to be making either statement. It is all āfake newsā
āWhat was presented was very biased. For example in regards to rendering there were pics of body piles and dead stock and road kill but no real discussion that the material used in pet food is usually always from a USDA integrated facility leading the viewer to think that road kill and dead bloated cattle is the primary source for pet food ingredients.
Major blunders in facts ( they couldnāt even get the anatomy labeling correct ) and appeal to nature fallacy.
Dr. Becker incorrectly reported that the scientific name of the dog was
changed from canis lupus familiaris to just canis lupus because dogs
are essentially wolves vs them being a recognized subspecies.She reported the change was because the only differences between wolves and dogs is āouter packagingā
Shesh!!
Fact check people, just donāt lift garbage off of raw feeding sites
and repeat it! What she said was pretty much verbatim from here https://www.balanced-canine…What really happened was that the dog was canis familiaris and was
changed to canis lupus familiaris. Similar renaming occurred with other
domestic animals: separate species names were abandoned in favor of
classifying under the same species and assigning a subspecies name.No mention of the Nature journal paper that reported on the genetic
adaptation of dogs vs wolves in regards to carbohydrate metabolism.Hmm
wonder whyā¦.Implications that major pet food companies wonāt disclose where they source from because they declined to be interviewed for the film. I understand why they would decline to be interviewed and if the producers of the film were interested in looking at sourcing info
they could have just lifted it from company web pages.Did they not want the viewer to know that human grade 1 and 2 grains and meat from USDA integrated plants is used in pet foods?
All in all a waste of time. Not worth paying for and not worth watching.ā
Also, did you know that the average debt for a person graduating vet school is upwards of $167,000 with 20% owing more than 200,000? Therefore this statement, āVets push Science Diet so hard because Science Diet puts them through school. Science Diet is somewhat like a sponsor for the vet.ā is complete āfake newsā Oh sure they may get a pocket protector and some free pens or a back pack . Vet Students used to get a āhardā copy of Small Animal Clinical Nutrition. Donāt know if they still get a hard copy as you can just download it off their site, (You can too for that matter and if you are interested in nutrition it is worth your time to read it.) and I think vet students can buy their Hillās food at a reduced rate. Big deal, nothing that would even make a teeny tiny dent in the cost of their education. Student loans are what puts vets through school not Science Diet.
July 8, 2017 at 3:29 am in reply to: Food to promote good Urinary Tract health #102830 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Christie,
I hope your Momās dog is feeling better.
When I read this statement it struck me as interesting. āThis vet said that the dog should have been put on antibiotics for two weeks instead of one week than the other vet prescribed. He also said that the other vet should have given the prescription food at the same time as the antibiotics to help dissolve the struvite crystals, while the antibiotics worked against the infection. So that was strike two.ā
Iām interpreting it as as two strikes against the first vet and I found that interesting. Was the first vet incorrect in the assessment of your dogās condition? Was the second vet incorrect? Or were both correct or neither correct? Those are the options.
It seems one concern was over duration of treatment. Is there a right answer or is it an unknown? Way back when in the late 80ās early 90ās when my dog had UTI the standard treatment duration was 3 weeks of antibiotics. Now most consider that overkill and that that type of duration only damages the gut microflora. A newer protocol for E coli calls for only 3 days of treatment. So the āstandardā is changing and shifting to shorter courses is more common, sometimes only 3-5 days are being used and 1 week is considered overkill LOL So I donāt see it as a strike against vet 1 for scripting a 7 day course.
Crystals: Are they a problem and is a special diet needed? The significance of crystals depends on the type. Since you mentioned s/d Iām going to assume they were struvite crystals. Struvite crystals are common⦠so common that they can be considered normal in dogs and rarely in need of any treatment. Did/do they in this situation need to be addressed with a special diet? Hmm personally Iād lean to saying no⦠So for me I really donāt see a big issue with the food not having been given concurrent with the meds and wouldnāt call āstrike twoā on vet one.
June 29, 2017 at 9:31 pm in reply to: Early Stage Kidney Disease and Diet #102630 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Linda,
Sorry to hear about your dog. I too have a black lab.
I wouldnāt have any concern feeding the Royal Canin Renal support. I understand that people donāt like corn and wheat and by products if that is your concern. As for myself, after spending a lot of time reading the published literature ( search Pubmed) I donāt have any concern about them.In regards to kidney disease using plant based protein can be advantageous as the phosphorus is bound in the form of phytate. I read some interesting reports in humans that vegetable based protein for pregnant woman with kidney disease is preferred as then they can feed more protein needed for child development but not overly increase the phosphorus burden. Vegetable proteins are incomplete and need to be balanced with each other and or a animal based source. What is important is the overall balance of the amino acids. the body doesnāt care where they came from.
Foods sold without veterinary oversite will likely be inappropriate for most kidney disease patients who need restriction. Kidney disease is one area where customizing a diet through the use of a veterinary nutritionist is valuable.
June 29, 2017 at 3:03 pm in reply to: Is a raw diet safe for dogs with cancer? #102619 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi KodaHappyTails,
So sorry to learn of your dogs illness. I lost one of my dog at the age of 14 possible from her Mast Cell disease. She was diagnosed ~ 7 years prior and treated twice with Chemo therapy. Her oncologist said sheād never had a dog with such extensive Mast Cell cancer do so well for so long. I didnāt change her diet, she ate a therapeutic low fat diet made by Eukaneuba probably about 50%-60% carb calories with fresh fruits and vegetables.
My sisterās dog survived Lymphoma, the only dog Iāve ever known that survived that disease. She was feeding Iams Mini chunk before the diagnosis and continued to feed that through Chemo and recovery.
Cancer cells do preferentially utilize glucose but I donāt think a low carb diet or a ketogenic diet influences growth to any appreciable degree as the glucose levels in the blood will remain within a narrow range. There are some weak published studies in mouse model brain cancer and a ketogenic diet but it is a large leap from that to application of cancers of other types in other species.
Personally I think the KetoPet group is after a money grab. They havenāt published anything in a peer reviewed journal. I think ultimately they are going to try and generate a lot of hype through their unsubstantiated reporting and then market a diet to pet owners and this is why you wonāt find any information on the diet on their site. If you want to feed a ketogenic diet Purina makes Brightmind and Neurocare.
I see no advantage to feeding a raw diet. The safest way to do this if you elect to do so is to use a commercial HPP product The only one Iād consider is Natureās Variety
aimee
ParticipantHi Susan,
You wrote āHi Jenny you go girl, educate your vet about pet food nutritionā¦ā WOW!The vet may be making those recommendations because he/she is very highly educated in nutrition. Dr. Wynn a holistic vet and boarded nutritionist feeds Science Diet, Royal Canin and Purina. I find that it is the most highly educated that feed and recommend products from these companies.
Jenny, not sure how the vet will answer in regards to ingredients from China but as someone who feeds Science Diet to my dogs I can tell you my thoughts. There are unscrupulous businesses and people everywhere. I donāt condemn everything from a particular country based on a few unscrupulous individuals and simply avoiding ingredients from a particular country doesnāt insure that the ingredients are pure. No matter where the sourcing is done trust no one and test everything. Larger companies have to ability and resources for quality control testing.
June 17, 2017 at 1:23 am in reply to: Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition #102305 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Brian,
I think pitlove may have been quoting me as that sounds like something Iād say š
For background my current Lab is my 4th. During growth I use foods from companies that demonstrate a vested interest in canine health. For me this means feed trialing and growth monitoring above and beyond the min AAFCO trial requirements. Few companies go to this extent.Iāve raised my last two on Purina Pro Plan and have been very pleased with the results. The breeder of my current Lab recommended Pro Plan as she found it worked best with her line. Iāve rotated in other brands but her coat does best on Pro Plan. She has a lot of coatā¦big rounded otter tail and a lot of bone. She is a beautiful girl. Her littermate is MBISS( Multiple Best in Specialty Show) Grand Champion Paradocs Delainās Scrubbin in
June 2, 2017 at 12:36 pm in reply to: Chronic Yeast in ears in Labrador #101701 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Kristen,
This myth that carbohydrate in the diet feeds yeast has proven to be a hard one to crack. While I have found certain people state that it is true Iāve never found a reference in the published scientific literature to support that idea. If you have a link to such a publication Iād love to see it.
As PitLove said, Mallassezia is a fat loving yeast. With some strains, you can offer it all the sugar it could possible want but if you donāt give it fat it simply wonāt grow well or dies off, offer it fat and the growth takes off.
Besides the fact that Mallassezia prefers fat to grow there is simply no mechanism through which higher dietary levels of carbohydrate would lead to higher levels of carbohydrate on the surface of the skin to āfeedā the yeast as they live outside the body. If you have an explanation Iād love to hear it.
Read through Masuda et al 2000 Study of Lipid in the ear canal in Canine Otitis Externa with Mallassezia pachydermatis. Some interesting findings are the difference in the amount of fatty acids in the ear wax between breed and the correlation with yeast.
May 25, 2017 at 9:48 am in reply to: HELP! Raw diet confusion! #101510 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Shandi,
As you are new to making a homemade diet my recommendation would be to wait until adulthood to introduce a homemade diet. Use a commercial food during the critical growth period. One that is complete, balanced and has been through growth trials for a large breed dog. Growth is a demanding stage and mistakes in nutrient balance can have life long consequences.
The one pup I know raised on homemade raw, by an owner that had been feeding raw for years to her adults, ended up with poor growth, anemia and needed orthopedic surgery to correct the bone growth problems.
This life stage, growth, is unforgiving. It isnāt the lifestage for you to ācut your teethā on in regards to raw feeding.
aimee
P.S. Petfooled doesnāt in any way reflect what is happening is the pet food industry. It contained a lot of misinformation. Heck, the producers even went so far as to mislabel the anatomy and taxonomy of the dog in order to fool the person watching it. It is easy to be fooled by PetFooled. They were very good at accomplishing the what they set out to do.. Fool the pet parent hence the title.
May 18, 2017 at 2:44 pm in reply to: Advice for 4 month old puppy #101026 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantMegann D,
Properly balancing a homemade diet is a challenge for an adult, I wouldnāt advise it at all for a pup. The one pup I personally knew that was raised on a raw homemade diet ended up anemic, with poor growth and needed orthopedic surgery to correct the limb abnormalities that developed. The owner had fed raw homemade for years⦠but always to adults. You have one chance to grow your pupās structure. Why risk that?
Raw chicken is a great source of Salmonella and Campylobacter and while adult dogs with mature immune systems may be able to tolerate this bacterial challenge, puppies often surcumb to illness
If you insist on feeding a rawdiet to your pup use a product that has been high pressure pasteurized and has passed feeding trials for growth.i.e.Natureās Variety
May 14, 2017 at 6:15 pm in reply to: HK base mix: preparing the protein to mix in #100895 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Mon C,
Iām like Rachel.. I shred the meat post cooking to mix in better and as anon said I donāt serve as chunks as mine are gulpers I worry about choking. When using Honest Kitchen bases mixes keep in mind that according to the nutritional information the company posts the mixes plus protein donāt make a complete and balanced diet. The only premix Iāve found to make complete and balanced meals are the ones from balanceit dot com.
When I fed Preference to my dog the food components came out looking exactly as they went in. I think this is because the dehydrated components of some sources are not digestible. If I cooked the food after rehydrating them the food appeared digested.
aimee
ParticipantHi Soph M,
Iād heard of Hilaryās Blend but never really took a look at it until now. I have multiple concerns which would lead me to pass. The major concern I have is this: āIts exact composition is a trade secret.ā Without knowing what is in the supplement no one can check her formulations. Secondly, the recipe example uses vague ingredients that will have very variable nutrient profiles. ( canned applesauce, tomato sauce). Additionally, she states all the recipe meet AAFCO yet includes a chapter on renal patients. (A correctly formulated diet for renal patients in need of diet modification would never meet AAFCO.) Finally, she calls herself a pet nutritionist which rubs me the wrong way. The term is meaningless, I can call myself a pet nutritionist too. Though she doesnāt hold any advanced degrees in nutrition, she is formulating for dogs/cats with disease conditions.
Hilaryās blend falls far short of the parameters I look for when I compare to balanceit. I have no hesitation to use balanceit but lots of red flags in regards to Hilaryās blend.
Hope that helps!May 12, 2017 at 11:11 am in reply to: Homemade vitamin mix #100701 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Soph M.
While Iām sure the woman at the pet store meant well the advice you received was inappropriate and will over time surely lead to problems.
Strombeckās recipes were based on the nutritional information known at the time but today are considered unbalanced. Additionally, multi vitamins differ significantly in nutrient profile and because human supplements have increased the Vit D levels in them in response to human findings the levels are too high to supplement a canine diet.
If you havenāt yet looked at balanceit dot com please do so. There is an interactive tool in which you can choose what ingredients you want to feed and them it balances the diet and tells you how much of the balance it supplement to use. Balance it is run by a boarded veterinary nutritionist.
May 10, 2017 at 1:26 pm in reply to: Please review Only Natural Pet Wholesome Homemade dehydrated #100573 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantNot having heard of Only Natural Pet Wholesome Homemade I took a quick look at the product and have to say like other niche natural foods Iām flabbergasted by what I found. It appears to me that the product consists of kibble into which some dehydrated veggies are mixed. The instructions are to add water to rehydrate the veggies.
This is what took me aback. The company reports that the diets have been formulated to meet AAFCO. AAFCO set a limit on calcium as max of 2.5%. The company reports the calcium levels as 2.7% in the chicken, 2.9% in the fish and a whopping 4.8% in the redmeat. How I ask can a company not see that all of those values exceed the AAFCO allowed max?? Either the company doesnāt understand that 4.8 is greater than 2.5 or they failed to notice that the nutrient content exceed AAFCO either way it is a company Iād pass on.
Lisa in regards to Good Friends Naturals by Rural King contact the company and ask who formulated the food and what that persons credentials are, where is it being made and is there a veterinary nutritionist or PhD nutritionist on staff. Have them describe their quality control procedures. ( is every ingredient independently tested before being incorporated in to the food? What type of post production tests are being done) Will they provide you or you vet with a full nutrient analysis. This is a good article on choosing a pet food /choosing-dog-food/brand-guidelines/
May 9, 2017 at 9:55 pm in reply to: Homemade diet supplement #100559 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Soph M,
Have you checked out balanceit dot com? Thatās the only one Iād trust. In regards to raw veggies Iād puree or cook them to get the most benefit from them.
May 9, 2017 at 5:38 pm in reply to: Need recommendations for dog foods #100547 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Honey Bar,
I pick a food based on the company. In my opinion there are two types of companies. Those that have a vested interest in canine health and those that just market dog food. Companies that have a vested interest in health feed the foods they make to animals in their care and follow their health, contribute to the understanding of canine nutrition through research and often reach out in times of needed disaster relief, community shelters etc. Marketing companies in comparison focus on getting the consumer to buy the food and the health of the animal may take a back seat to that goal. Iāve found some marketing companies to be woefully inadequate in regards to quality control, nutritional knowledge and food formulation, others are adequate.
Companies that are vested in canine health and nutrition are generally the larger companies: Hillās, Royal Canin, and Purina. They invest their money back into research. The bulk of my dogās diets consist of products from these companies.
Raw diet generally may have a slightly higher digestibility then commercial diets but that is of little practical significance. Of the raw food providers I think Natures Variety makes the best products.
In regard to Hillās products I utilize them and they are one of the companies that Dr. Susan Wynn, who I think is one of countryās top ,if not the top, holisitc/integrative vet, veterinary nutritionist, and past president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association feeds her own pets. I think you and your vet did fine by choosing these products. That said I do mix it up a bit and feed foods from several companies and add fresh foods as well.
aimee
ParticipantHi Donna,
Hair and saliva tests are completely unreliable so donāt bother basing a diet off of them. I sent in IV solution as āsalivaā and cotton from the swab in the kit as āhairā to Glacier Peaks and my ādogā was reported to have numerous sensitivities. A couple vet dermatologists did testing with Immune IQ and found the tests unreliable.
http://news.vin(dot)com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=44539That said if you want to look further into adverse food reactions as the cause of your dogās problems talk to your vet about doing a proper elimination diet using a vet diet made for this purpose or a home made diet. You can find more information here. http://www.veterinarypartner(dot)com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2499
May 7, 2017 at 5:53 pm in reply to: What's your favorite commercial raw brand? #100294 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi FrankiesDoggie,
Iāve looked at a lot of commercial raw diets including Darwins, Primal, Natures Variety, Answers. Natures Variety as a company was able to correctly answer my nutritional inquiries to them and they HPP their diets. In general when Iāve looked at the nutrient profiles of other raw diets Iāve found self reported deficiencies. When I contact the company to inquire about the self reported deficiency they donāt reply.Some providers simply grind up animal parts and sell it as dog food. Personally I wouldnāt use that type of product at all. In order to balance such a product youād need a full nutrient analysis and Iāve never seen this type of information provided. Dogs can look great on highly unbalanced/improper diets but eventually they cause problems.
May 3, 2017 at 10:22 am in reply to: Early Stage Kidney Disease and Diet #99790 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Kelsey,
In addition to the blood testing was urine tested? If not that might help in determining the best course for your dog.
Ask your vet about g/d diet. The phos level is lower than commercial foods but protein is higher than K/D. I believe it is for just this type of situation. To determine if a non vet food meets your needs verify with the company what the max phos is. Non therapeutic diets are not specifically formulated for medical problems and the company may not be monitoring the the phos level in the diet as closely as the vet may want. Hillās, because they are kidney centric likely does monitor phos in their senior products
April 29, 2017 at 9:30 am in reply to: Bravecto (chewable flea and tick) #99437 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Cameron,
I just wanted to say I enjoyed your posts and got a chuckle from your āstraying deep into the weedsā comment.
aimee
ParticipantPurina and Hills also each make a very low fat therapeutic diet. Perhaps one of those would be easier to consistently find.
April 18, 2017 at 9:45 am in reply to: Grandma Lucy's Premix Ingredients #98420 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Anna,
Check an actual bag of pre mix. AAFCO requires the source be listed. Some time ago I contacted my state feed control official about this issue along with others. A stop sale order was issued and new labels were made. Maybe they just never updated the website.
If the label isnāt listing the source contact your feed official.
Some things are proprietary, but I also think companies hide behind āproprietaryā when they havenāt a clue as to what is in their food. I think GL falls into this later category.
April 11, 2017 at 10:03 pm in reply to: CleanLabelProject.org #98192 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Craig,
Thanks for posting this. I plan on spending some time checking the site out further. On first glance it looks quite interesting. I saw that some products/brands that people vilify here such as Purina were assigned 5 stars and others like Acana/Orijen that many posters to this site embrace were assigned the lowest rating of only 1 star.
I like that ratings are based in part from actually testing the diets for contaminants and that this isnāt a pet food ratings site per say. It looks like the same group of food scientists and medical professionals also tested baby food
April 11, 2017 at 2:30 pm in reply to: food supplement and beginning homemade #98158 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Marie,
This recipe even with nu vet supplement looks to be very deficient.
For example for the entire recipe using the usda nutrient database for nutrient information and Wild caught Atlantic Salmon and medium grain brown rice I calculated out it contains 363 mg calcium. The nu vet supplement reports 100 mg Ca
NRC recommended requirements for a 50 lb dog are 1300 mg Ca/day Even if the 50 lb dog ate the entire recipe in one day plus the supplement the total Ca intake would be 463 mg Ca, falling far short of the required 1300mg.
Looking at another nutrient Vit A. The recipe contains 1100 IU and the supplement 1000 IU. NRA recommended amount ~1716 IU/day for 50 lb dog. If the dog ate the entire recipe along with the supplement the need would be met. But from feeding guidelines it appear that eating 1/3 of the recipe /day is more likely which doesnāt meet the requirement. To meet requirement the dog has to eat about 3/4 of the total recipe/day.
I donāt consider Nu vet to be an appropriate supplement for home cooking. When I tried to get a full nutrient profile for the supplement I was told it was proprietary and only the nutrients they post are available. This makes it impossible to use as a supplement for a home prepared diet.
Note: I had to make some assumptions when making the recipe so different values can be calculated. I used cups measured fresh not cooked and I didnāt add in the garlic.
April 10, 2017 at 2:45 pm in reply to: Antlers a safe alternative to bones? #98137 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHii anon,
Does your vet utilize social media? If yes and you agree to it it would be great for the vet to take pics of your dogās mouth and post through social media to spread the word about what a huge health difference brushing makes.
Hi FrankiesDoggie,
I use a Crest Spinbrush on mine. I find using the electric to be a lot easier. With a traditional brush my dogs would just try to suck the flavoring agent off the brush. With the spin brush that funny feeling on their tongue keeps them from doing that.I introduced the sound first and paired with food, then the vibration aspect starting by placing the unit on their shoulder and pairing with food then moving gradually forward and in to the mouth.
April 10, 2017 at 1:59 pm in reply to: Antlers a safe alternative to bones? #98131 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi anon101,
Your link from a pet insurance company made me recall this story. The owner gave the dog a bone to chew. The dog in the course of chewing on it/eating it got it stuck in the back of the throat and it was blocking the airway. Lucky for the dog the owner noted the problem and rushed him to the vet where the dog was promptly sedated and a scope was used to retrieve the bone. The owners were so thankful they had insurance to cover the fees. BUT the insurance company denied the claim because the owner had purposefully given the dog the bone.April 10, 2017 at 1:52 pm in reply to: Antlers a safe alternative to bones? #98130 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi FrankiesDoggie,
My advice is if you want to maintain a healthy mouth get out the brush. A brush is necessary to sweep away the plaque that collects in the space between the gum and the tooth, Bone chewing cleans the crown of the tooth,,, but that is really more of a cosmetic problem than a health concern.
When the mouths of African Wild dogs and feral cats that ate a natural diet were examined it was found that they had clean teeth but the incidence of periodontal disease was quite high not to mention the fractured teeth that comes from bone chewing.
April 6, 2017 at 2:06 pm in reply to: Homemade food to loose weight #97743 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Barbara,
The current diet sounds unbalanced and depending on the type of ground beef may also be very high in fat. In any case it isnāt working for your dog.
Feeding a food specifically formulated for weight loss is recommended. Ask your vet for advice.
aimee
ParticipantHi Susan,
Because growth diets have to have enough minerals present to support bone growth they as a group are too high for a kidney patient in need of a low phosphorus food. AAFCO currently requires 2.5 grams phos/1000kcals to meet itās nutrient profile for growth. Previous requirement could be as low as 2 grams/1000kcals which is the min amount reported for the Canidae puppy diet you suggested.
March 25, 2017 at 3:12 pm in reply to: Good toppers for dry kibble? #97098 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Bobby Dog,
Thanks for the kind words.
Food for thought regarding the 10% rule. I think it is conservative and is based to cover those dogs whose energy requirements are on the low end of the spectrum. As example a dog that is on the low end of the energy requirement scale require 1 cup a day to maintain weight while another dog of the same weight needs 2 cups a day. If it only requires 1 cup to meet the dogās nutrient needs that the other cup is for energy and therefore those calories donāt necessarily need to come from a rigid complete and balanced source.
March 25, 2017 at 12:52 pm in reply to: Good toppers for dry kibble? #97090 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantIf your dog requires for example 800 calories a day to maintain the correct body condition youād want no more than 80 of those calories /day to be from unbalanced sources.
aimee
ParticipantHi Nicolette,
To find a food suitable for your pup I recommend that you go back to your vet and ask what phosphorus level she would like to see in the diet. In other words have her define ālowā for you.
AAFCO requires phosphorus levels that are higher than the diets formulated specifically for kidney patients. The phosphorus levels in the kidney diets differ depending on company and formula but can be about .5-0.8 grams phos/1000kcals. For diets you can buy in the store without a vet oversite the min is currently 1 gram/1000kcals recently changed from 1.4 grams/1000kcals. Most diets greatly exceed this and companies only report their min and not average phos level.
In general the Hillās company is renal proactive and their senior diets are formulated to be close to the old min of 1.4 grams/1000 kcals. Most of their diets include grain. They make a Salmon and potato grain free and the phos level in that is reported as ~1.6 grams/1000kcals
Your may have to switch to meal feeding your dogs to best meet the nutritional recommendations from your vet.
March 25, 2017 at 11:39 am in reply to: Good toppers for dry kibble? #97083 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Krista,
In regards to unbalanced additions to the diet, the ārule of thumbā recommendation from veterinary nutritionists is that no more than 10% of the total daily calories come from unbalanced sources. Because of the different water contents and fat contents of potential toppers if you follow a % rule based on volume you could cause nutritional deficiencies or excesses. 25% of the diet based in vegetables is very different nutritional profile than 25% of the diet of added meat with a fat content of 20 %.
January 28, 2017 at 4:44 pm in reply to: Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition #94123 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Jeannine M,
The article isnāt āwrongā the levels reported are the ranges that are currently adopted/adapted by AAFCO. AAFCO based its range on NRC recommended and safe upper limits and is that groups interpretation of the available research. NRC minimum Ca level is 2 grams/1000kcals, adequate is 2.5 grams/1000kcals, recommended is 3 grams/1000kcals and safe upper limit is 4.5 grams/1000kcals
I think where the confusion comes in is that veterinary nutritionists, when writing about LBP generally recommend to stick to the NRC recommended level which is 3 grams Ca /1000 kcals. More Ca than that isnāt needed. Considering that there is individual variation in energy intake between dogs and activity levels and even how tightly a manufacturer is monitoring their finished products the best way to avoid excessive Ca intake or even insufficient Ca intake is to stick close to the NRC recommend level which is 3.0.
In regards to ratio it may not be as important as the actual intake amount but nutritionists will recommend to stick to a ratio close to the reportedāidealā of 1.2:1
As for myself, and others too, when you consider you only have one chance to form a sound orthopedic structure I only purchase products from those companies that have shown a vested interest in supporting proper LBP growth and have the quality control procedures in place to ensure that their food is meeting their specifications. Iāve found that it is the larger companies that do this. Theyāve actually fed their diet to Large Breed Puppies and monitored growth parameters. This is why youāll find vets recommending Hillās and Purina and Royal Canin
January 17, 2017 at 1:13 am in reply to: Struvite stones surgery need advice #93476 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Matthew,
From the Minnesota Urolith Center: āControl of urinary tract infection and appropriate antimicrobic administration is essential to prevent recurrence. Diets with reduced protein, phosphorus and magnesium that promote formation of acidic urine are helpful, but cannot be used as a substitute for appropriate control of urinary tract infections.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6sipzyMhHpyYTRLUnZJdm93eUU/view
In addition to the diet recommendation what measures did your vet recommend to try to minimize recurrence of infections and monitor for early detection of same? Whatever you decide in regards to diet make sure you follow directions in regard to frequent monitoring for return of infection.
December 13, 2016 at 1:13 pm in reply to: Petco: Stop selling ineffective homeopathic products for pets #92571 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Anon101,
There is a lot of money to be made in Woo, so I doubt that stores will stop selling homeopathic āremediesā
People encase themselves in a system of belief and reject information that conflicts with that belief. My husband uses the term ābubble of beliefā to describe this phenomenon, the person is insulated from evidence.
Correlation doesnāt equal causation. I think though that to make such links is strongly rooted in the primitive portion of our brain which is why people have such difficulty setting aside correlation and evaluating objectively. If the correlation was a personal experience the ābubbleā is thick.
The movement to evidence based medicine is in response to the recognition that what we think works often doesnāt.
November 19, 2016 at 2:15 am in reply to: desperate food recomendations for lab #91756 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Laura,
I truly hope that your vet didnāt recommend this test as it is not valid. The company has in my opinion been avoiding FDA crackdown by continually renaming and relaunching the ātestā The most recent renaming and relaunching came right after I told Glacier Peaks that I ran a negative control sample. I purchased a test kit and sent in IV fluid as my saliva sample, as it is very near the composition of saliva, and instead of hair I sent in the cotton fibers from one of the swabs in the test kit. My ādogā tested positive for 63 food āsensitivitiesā 29 environmental āsensitivitiesā and 9 out of 12 positive concerns.
The company at that time was saying that the test was based in the field of quantum physics. I contacted 2 PhD quantum physicists and both said that what the company sent me was all āhokemā and that nothing in physics would explain what they were claiming.
Keep in mind that the company states that any item marked as a sensitivity may not have any adverse effect for your dog and that items that do not test as sensitive may cause a reaction. In other words the ātestā is worthless.
If you want to purse food reaction as a cause for your dogās problems take a good inventory of everything that has ever crossed your dogā lips, then feed a diet that doesnāt contain any of those items . Use a therapeutic diet from your vetās office formulated specifically for use in adverse food reactions and eliminate any other source of exposures which means no flavored medications, no chews, no poop eating, no scavenging etc. Hope you find resolution for your dogs problems.
November 4, 2016 at 1:08 pm in reply to: Heartworm Medicine inactive ingredients #91171 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Jenn H,
I wanted to comment on this statement you made for others who read it.
āFor heartworm I have their fecal tested every 4 months. Before the parasites reach the worm stage. This way if something shows up they can take the preventatives at that point, but not have to have the full blown heartworm treatment.ā
Iām assuming that it is a simple ātypoā when you said you have your dogās feces tested every 4 months for heartworm, but for clarification I wanted to correct that error as it is blood that is tested not feces.
The current antigen heartworm tests detect the presence of a protein from adult female worms. The test does not detect the parasites in the larval form. If the test is positive, with the rare exception of a false positive test result, adult heartworms are present and āfull blownā heartworm treatment will be needed.
October 13, 2016 at 1:25 pm in reply to: Calcium Content Calculator #90692 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi P.G.
It is a very simple calculation. Divide the % Ca by the number of kcals/kg then multiply the result by 10,000.
The percent Calcium tells you how many grams of Ca are in 100 grams of food. 1.2% Ca is equivalent to saying there are 1.2 grams of Ca in every 100 grams of food.
If you multiply the % Ca by a factor of 10 that gives you how many grams of Calcium are in a thousand grams of food ( kg) of food; in this case 12
We want to know how many grams of Calcium are in a kcal of food. If the food had 3500 kcals/kg dividing 12 grams/kg by 3500 kcals/kg = .0034grams Calcium/kcal
It is typical to express nutrients on a āper thousandā kcal basis. So multiply the number of grams in a kcal by 1000. In this case the result is 3.4 grams/1000kcals
To state another way (1.2 x 10/3500) X 1,000/1 =3.4 grams/kg which is the same as 1.2/3500 X 1000 X 10 or 1.2/3500 x 10,000.
Hope this helps!
October 8, 2016 at 11:49 pm in reply to: Calculating calories for weight loss and protein needs #90599 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHattie,
Iāve always had Labs and mine have all been āeasy keepersā, meaning that they had low energy requirements. If your Lab is an āeasy keeperā then for weight loss youāll be decreasing calories down to a point at which you need to watch nutrient levels to ensure that all nutrient needs are being met on fewer calories.
You have a good start by measuring her food. Did you measure her food before starting her on a weight loss program? If you did, the best way to know how many calories to feed for weight loss is to cut back about 15-20% from the number of calories she was consuming. A reasonable weight loss goal would be 1-2% a week. If she isnāt loosing then you need to decrease calories/ increase exercise or both and then weigh her the next week and adjust as needed to reach a 1-2% /week weight loss.
In regards to protein. an easy rule of thumb is 1 grams for each lb ideal body weight. So if her ideal is 70 lbs that means 70 grams protein a day. Currently with the 3 cups Fromm and .5 cup Keen you are feeding about 78 grams a day. If you decrease the calories to 1000 calories, ~25% decrease, the protein intake drops to ~ 60 grams. Sheāll still be meeting NRC recommended amount at that level but you might want to switch to a food geared for weight loss that has a higher percentage of calories coming from protein.
Another rule of thumb is if you are feeding less than 80 % of the manufacturer recommended amount than you need to change foods.
This article is very comprehensive in regards to weight loss https://www.aaha.org/public_documents/professional/guidelines/weight_management_guidelines.pdf
October 4, 2016 at 8:53 pm in reply to: Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition #90482 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Molly,
If you are using Purina Smartblend Lamb and Rice, as Pitlove said, it is an All life Stages food. Purina reports the average nutrient analysis Ca content as 3.48 grams/1000kcals. Iād consider this level appropriate for an 8 month old large breed. I donāt see any need for you to switch off of it. As a bonus it has been through feeding trials
October 1, 2016 at 6:17 pm in reply to: Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition #90439 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantI just thought Iād comment since The Honest Kitchen ( THK) foods have been discussed in regards to LBPās with the concerns referenced back to me.
The concern I have with THK is that not all of the nutrient profiles they have published currently meet AAFCO.
Here are a few examples:
āLoveā is marketed as an all life stages food: ~4825 kcals/kg
THK reports Loveās Ca content as 1.19% DM Using the AAFCO min 1%DM and that any diet over 4000kcals/kg must be corrected for energy density the min calcium should be 1.37% The correction factor is 4825/3500 X 1% = 1.37 %So here we see a diet below AAFCO min for Calcium. Using the newer AAFCO min of 1.2% DM and energy density of 4000kcals/kg. It is clear that even before using the necessary correction factor the diet will be below AAFCO The correction factor in the new guidelines 4825/4000 x 1.2% = 1.44%
āThriveā is another all life stages food ~4859kcals/kg
THK reports Ca as 1.34%. Min Ca to meet AAFCO profiles :4859/3500 x 1 = 1.38% or 4859/4000 x 1.2 = 1.45%. Either way a smidge below AAFCO.
Looking at another nutrient from Thrive: THK reports Vit E as 54.11 IU
AAFCO min 4859/3500 X 50 = 69.4IU or 4859/4000 X 50 = 60.7 IU.. either way the diet falls short.THK used to report the Vit E content in Keen as 23.45IU; clearly below AFFCO min of 50 IU. I contacted them via chat and they confirmed that was the correct and most current value. Then I asked why it was below AAFCOā¦and then they gave me a new number- 56.24 which is now on their website. Presto Chango!
They report 4524.6kcals/kg 4524.6/4000 X 50 = 56.56IU or 4524.6/3500 X 50 = 64.67IU. Either way their new number falls a bit short too.
It also concerns me that they do āPresto Changoā the nutrient information on their site when I inquire about a concern. That wasnāt the first time THK has immediately changed a nutrient level in their tables after I contacted them.
I like the concept of the food and I think it would be OK to use for intermittent or supplemental feeding but personally I wouldnāt raise a pup on any of their diets.
September 23, 2016 at 1:51 pm in reply to: Questions concerning raw #90273 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Cannoli,
I read a post from a vet who wrote that chicken and turkey neck bones are the most frequent foreign body he has had to remove via scope from the esophagus ā¦no doubt due the irregular shape.. all those protuberances.
Sadly those protuberances also puncture right through the esophagus and make removal challenging. He wrote that in the last month he had euthanized several young dogs due to perforation from bone. So sad and so avoidable.
I know of 3 bone cases from my own vet. One had already passed before arriving to the hospital ( choked on a chicken thigh bone cartilage āend capā), in another the bone was successfully removed via scope ( the dog had pet insurance but claim was denied since the bone was intentionally given to the dog) the third was referred to a specialty hospital because the esophagus was perforated⦠the dog didnāt survive.
Here is a paper on removal of esophageal foreign bodies citing bone as the most frequent problem and reported a mortality of 11% http://www.irishvetjournal.org/content/63/3/163
Iām with you⦠it isnāt worth the risk.
September 23, 2016 at 3:16 am in reply to: Questions concerning raw #90263 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Spy Car,
Cannoli, Is making valid points in regards to feeding bones. Disclosure: When I was a teen I saw a young shepherd choke to death from a bone.. it was a horrible thing to witness.. and no doubt has forever shaped my thoughts on the feeding of bones to dogs.
The risk may be small⦠and you may think it will never happen to your dog, and most likely it wonāt, but what if it does?
I would never be able to forgive myself if my dog choked or had an esophageal or intestinal perforation or a blockage from a bone I gave him/her, which is why Iāll never feed bones. Others may be able to deal with such a situation differently which will lead them to a different choice.
The dental benefits from bone chewing are primarily cosmetic (Clarke 1998) and do not come without dental risk in addition to the risk of death. Since brushing teeth is superior to bone chewing in maintaining dental health there is no ācostā to not offering bone.
Finally, Iām having difficulty in understanding the following statement and hoping you can explain it to me.āThe PMR style of feeding with 10% bone keeps the Calcium Phosphorus ratios at the perfect 1.2:1 levelsā I did the calculations for an 80/10/10 PMR breakdown and do not get a 1.2:1 ratio. 80 grams chicken breast has 4 mg Ca and 170 mg Phos, 5 grams chicken liver has 0 Ca and 15 mg Phos, 5 grams beef kidney has 1 mg Ca and 13 mg Phos. 10 grams chicken bone has 1800 mg Ca and 830 mg Phos. Adding them all together yields 1,805mg Ca and 1,028mg Phos for a Ca/Phos ratio of 1.75:1 and a mind blowing 16.4 grams Ca/1000 kcals.
Nutrient levels for chicken meat/ liver and beef kidney taken from USDA Nutrient database. Ca and Phos content in chicken bone from Suchy et al 2009 ā Chemical composition of bone tissue in broiler chickens intended for slaughterā
September 20, 2016 at 11:46 pm in reply to: Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition #90193 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi John B,
The pet store employee needs to sharpen up his/her nutritional knowledgeā¦. that advice is outdated. It may have had some validity many many years ago before puppy foods formulated specifically for large breeds were available, but not only is it is no longer valid, but it could be dangerous!
Correctly formulated large breed puppy foods are specifically formulated to help prevent growth disorders, that is the whole purpose of them. : )Adult dog foods.. not so much
In regards to Frommā¦. both the āadultā and the āpuppyā large breed are formulated for growth and there really isnāt that much difference between the two. Both report Calcium at 3 grams/1000 kcals which is the level nutritionists recommend, so either would meet your dogās nutritional needs. But if the company itself recommends their puppy over their adult line, take their advice. Other companiesā adult foods are totally inappropriate for a growing large breed pup which is why to advice to use any āhigh quality adult foodā is incorrect.
This article addresses the adult food for puppy myth http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=3501
September 13, 2016 at 2:08 pm in reply to: Questions concerning raw #89919 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Courtney,
In regards to your questions:
I would get full blood panels on each dog prior to starting your new diet so that you have a baseline to compare back to. Iāve seen it recommended to repeat blood panels every 6 months for dogs on homemade diets.
Some feel comfortable feeding bones.. I do not⦠I do not think the risk is worth the benefit. If using raw bone as your calcium source I feel finely ground is much safer. Disclosure: I do not feed a raw diet. If I did Iād either use a commercial HPP product or would buy large cuts and partially cook to kill off the bacteria both on the surface and those that have migrated deeper and grind myself. I remain unconvinced that dogs tolerate food borne pathogens significantly better then people do.
What supplements you use are up to your own personal philosophy. The primary concern is that you feed a balanced diet. Unfortunately, when the raw diets that people were feeding have been analyzed, most people who participated in the study did not accomplishing this.
I understand the appeal of a simple 80/10/10 mix but honestly I think it requires just as much attention to detail to balance a raw diet as it does to balance a cooked diet.
There are a few veterinary nutritionists that will balance a raw diet, most will not. Veterinary nutritionists legally can not consult directly with you unless they examine your dog which is why you found that they do not do phone/e mail consults. However they can consult indirectly via your veterinarian. Your vet orders the consult and works with the nutritionist on your behalf.
In regards to carbohydrates, people do not have a dietary requirement for carbohydrates and dogs do not either. Both species require carbohydrate from a metabolic standpoint, the body just has to generate what the diet doesnāt supply. But I donāt understand this statement āCarbohydrates carry significantly less calories by volume than protein doesā Protein and carbs are considered to carry the same number of calories /gram, the volumes involved will depend on the water content.
September 6, 2016 at 4:36 pm in reply to: Kibble good for yeast infections and other skin issues? #89655 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Joseph,
Iām glad to hear that you are willing to continue to learn. When you posted that you thought the authors of the link I referred you to were spewing garbage it didnāt seem to me that you were willing to consider what they had said could be true.
I donāt disagree that by researching a focused topic you can become well educated on that subject. The key is to make sure that the sources you are using are credible. It is easy to get lead astray. I use Pub med and google scholar when I first start researching a new topic.
Iād encourage you to spend some of your hours researching Malassezia reading clinical microbiology journals. Through reading those I learned that this isnāt a sugar loving yeast, as is say Candida, it is a fat loving yeast (lipophilic). For the most part it is a fat dependent yeast, meaning that it requires fat to grow. Most strains of Malassezia pachydermatis, the yeast type most often found on dogs, are not lipid dependent but some are and other lipid dependent Malassezia species have been found on dogs. The organism thrives on fats not carbs.
Houndmusic: Besides the fact that Malassezia is a fat loving yeast. The other big hole in the ācarbohydrates feed yeastā mantra is that the skin is a long way away from the gut. A high carb diet will directly provide substrate for intestinal yeast to munch on if one suffers from intestinal yeast overgrowth, but on the skin???⦠I donāt think so.
To get carb from the gut to the skin it has to travel and the means of transport is blood. Glucose levels in the blood are tightly regulated, unless you are a diabetic. Remove all carbs from the diet and your blood glucose isnāt going to be that different from that found when eating a carb inclusive diet. In other words, a similar amount of glucose is transported to the skin on a daily basis regardless of diet.
The final problem for me is how would glucose even get to the outermost surface of the skin on a dog which is where the yeast resides? N/P in people as glucose is a component of sweat⦠but dogs donāt sweat, except for paw pads and nose and sebum doesnāt have any appreciable glucose in it. Hmmm Housten we have a problemā¦
See how this whole idea that dietary carbs feed yeast falls apart? The organism prefers and thrives with fats not carbs and I canāt come up with a mechanism that puts carbs on the outermost surface of the skin of a dog much less one in which a high carb diet would deposit higher levels of carb on the skin than a low carb diet.
But Iām open to hearing the other side. Explain to me how eating a high carb diet results in a high level of carbs on the surface of the skin leading to an overgrowth of yeast. I donāt see it. What I do see is a lipid loving organism feeding on the sebum of skin altered from a primary cause.
September 4, 2016 at 12:20 am in reply to: Kibble good for yeast infections and other skin issues? #89596 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Joseph,
I have no doubt that you could post link after link claiming that the carbohydrate level in the diet influences yeast growth on the skin, but none of your links would be to articles authored by board certified veterinary dermatologists, human dermatologists or be from published peer reviewed journals. The reason for that is because there is no link between dietary carbohydrate levels and yeast infection on the skin in people or dogs. There is a lot of misinformation on the web and unfortunately some of it is spread by people who should know better.
I understand that testimonials are compelling, bloodletting used to be the cutting edge of medicine based on the observation that āit workedā. But things that appear to work, when tested can be found not only not āto workā but to cause harm.
You came here asking for help because what you have been doing isnāt working. Be open to new information that takes you in a different direction. Malassezia is secondary to things like environmental allergies, adverse food reactions (allergy), hormonal disorders, immune suppression, parasites⦠focus on finding and treating the primary cause. In the mean time bathing with an effective shampoo can help your pet immensely.
Best Wishes
September 3, 2016 at 10:27 am in reply to: Kibble good for yeast infections and other skin issues? #89584 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibilityaimee
ParticipantHi Joseph,
The amount of carbs, grains, sugars, etc in the diet have nothing to do with yeast growth on skin. If your dog has a food hypersensitivity reaction (allergy) to an ingredient in the diet the adverse reaction can alter the skin and allow yeast to grow.
You can find good information about yeast on skin here http://www.healthyskin4dogs.com/blog/2015/9/8/facts-myths-about-yeast-dermatitis-in-dogs
aimee
ParticipantHi Andrea,
For my dog with GI issues it was a combination of evaluation by the internist and trial and error food trials.
Between the tests at the regular vet and the ultrasound by the internist many causes were ruled out. Intestinal disease was suspected as the root cause based on the ultrasound findings but there were some pancreas changes as well.
The internist at this point recommended food trials over biopsy, at first eliminating all treats and using limited ingredient OTC foods. I did a trial with California Naturals chicken and rice and later lamb and rice. I kept a journal of symptoms as GI symptoms can wax and wane and we wanted to track in a more objective manner. I donāt remember how long I had him on each diet before changing I think about 6 weeks. The first two changes, no difference was found. Next we went to a vet therapeutic limited ingredient food and signs then resolved.
If I were to do it again I probably would approach a trial like I would for food āallergyā meaning taking an inventory of everything he had been exposed to and then taking in consideration common cross reactions choose a veterinary therapeutic diet for the trial.
Iām not a fan of using a hydrolyzed version of an ingredient the dog has been exposed to but I know of several dogs now with G problems that have done very well on hydrolyzed diets of an ingredient novel to them.
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