The Life of Alfie & Hannah

A female Schnauzer about 12 years old. Her troubles began with failing eye sight and hearing. Now she has developed countless tumors across her body. There is no way to tell if this is actually pet food related but many say this could be a result of a poor diet. This dog’s owner has had her on nothing but Ol’Roy since he got her as a puppy. This dog has suffered no outside injuries but simply “developed” these problems as she aged. I don’t really think you need to see the review for Ol’Roy.

Shih Tzu Mix, four years old, “Smokey”. He has corn related fever in his ears. You can tell the ear leather is two to three times the thickness of a normal, healthy ear. No hair has been removed from the underside of the ear leather. The loss of hair is a result of the “hot spot” produced by consuming corn. Looking inside the ear you can tell, what hair is actually there, is sticky and wet due to the endless drainage from the ears. One of the pictures shows this drainage well.

Smokey always shakes his head due to the pain. His mother treats him daily with ear drops and Benedryl. Smokey eats Purina Dog Chow Healthy Morsels.

Hot Spots

This is “Cloe”, two or three years old, with corn related hot-spots on her rear and lower part of the back. She is currently on steroids and has been for some time due to allergies. This is a very common reaction to corn.

You can see the sore skin and bare spots full of fever. She can’t reach these areas herself to scratch but she can chew on these sites. Cloe’s mom reports she eats Pro-Pac made by Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc.

The transition should begin a couple of months after your dog stops growing in height. The kind of dog you have will determine the time to switch. Small-breed dogs, for example, tend to mature physically much sooner than large-breed dogs. Follow these guidelines to help you decide when to switch formulas:

• Small-breed dogs who weigh 10 kilograms or less when fully grown are usually ready to go to an adult food when they’re about 12 months of age.
• Medium-breed dogs who will weigh between 10 and 25 kilograms as adults normally also mature at about 12 months of age.
• Large-breed dogs-those weighing 25 kilograms or more when fully grown-might not be ready to switch to an adult food until they’re about 24 months old.

Make the Transistion

It’s always a good idea to consult your vet before changing your pet’s food.

To avoid upsetting your dog’s intestinal tract or causing diarrhoea, make the change from a puppy formula to an adult diet over a period of four days by mixing the food in your dog’s bowl:

• Day One: Fill your dog’s bowl with 75 percent puppy food and 25 percent adult food.
• Day Two: Mix the adult and puppy food in a 50/50 ratio.
• Day Three: Feed your dog a mixture that’s 75 percent adult food and 25 percent puppy food.
• Day Four: Switch to 100 percent adult formula.

Below are some benefits that owners who feed their dogs the raw food or BARF diet:

• Vet bills are generally reduced after switching to a nutritious species appropriate diet.
• Dog’s teeth are naturally cleaned by eating raw meaty bones.
• Clean breath and no doggie odor after changing to BARF feeding
• Ripping and chewing raw meaty bones develops the neck, jaw and shoulder muscles of dogs.
• Stools are smaller and quickly degrade into the soil.
• Dogs tend to maintain a healthy weight and the chances of obesity are minimized since it takes longer to chew and digest raw meaty bones.
• Kibble may sit around for hours untouched but dogs tend to be excited and love their BARF species appropriate meals.
• Health problems such as arthritis, lack of energy, allergies, skin conditions and dull coats often improve when switching from commercial dog food to BARF raw feeding.
• Ability to custom tailor your dogs’ diets for their activity level, age, health problems and specific nutritional requirements.

Information from AmericanDogTreats.com

BARF is an acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food



Sure looks yummy!!!

Daily Feeding Chart - Raw Bones & Handling Raw Food Safety List

Approximately one Link = 5.3 oz or 1/3 lb

2 oz to 4 oz = (1/4 cup to 1/2 cup) of Hunter’s Essential Raw Diet per 10lbs of dogs weight per day as a guide. Dogs can be fed once a day, but if they are used to two meals, then divide the portion for AM and PM feedings. Activity, breed, age and individual dog will dictate quantity.

Let your dog’s weight be the ultimate guide!

Proportion of Raw Bones
We also suggest that 30% to 50% of the dogs diet should be raw meaty beef bones, raw chicken backs, wings, necks and or turkey necks to be fed daily along with Hunter‘s Essential Raw Diet. Always supervise your dog when feeding raw bones. We supply the raw Chicken and Turkey with bone in a ground form for easier digestion and for owner convenience.

Handling Raw Food Safety List:

• Always wash & disinfect surfaces-bowls -utensils.
• Thaw frozen food in sink of cold water or refrigerate till thawed.
• Refrigerated food remains fresh approximately 2 to 3 days.
• Don’t feed food frozen.

(Source)

Pica is a medical term for eating dirt, rocks, or any other non-food materials. Eating non-food materials may be associated with behavioral issues or health disorders.

Some veterinarian specialists associate pica with health disorders:

• iron deficiency anemia. - a condition characterized by decrease in the number of red cells in the blood caused by too little iron. Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying pigment in the blood. The causes of iron deficiency are too little iron in the diet, poor absorption of iron by the body, and loss of blood.
• chronic stomach or intestinal disease, such as chronic pancreatitis - a progressive disorder of the pancreas which causes destruction of the pancreas. Dogs with chronic pancreatitis lack sufficient pancreatic enzymes. This lack of enzymes results in the body’s inability to properly digest fat, carbohydrates and proteins (Mike Richards, DVM).
• esophageal dysphagia:  - swallowing problems
• lead toxicity
• enterocolitis - inflammatory bowel disease

First, you should consult with your veterinarian surgeon about your pet’s possible health problems. Your veterianrian may suggest changing your pet diet or including approved mineral supplements into your pet’s diet.
Some veterinarian experts believe that chewing on non-food materials starts when puppies are weaned too early or too abruptly.

If all health disorders have been ruled out, then bahavioral reasons for pica should be considered. Your dog or puppy may eat dirt, or pick up a rock just to gain your attention, or because he is bored, or because a puppy or a dog was encouraged and trained to pick up objects. Some cases need medical treatment with behavior modifying drugs.

Information from GoPetsAmerica.com