 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
   |
 |
 |
      |
Community | Ask The Vet
Holistic Feeding
10.05.2006Hi,
Firstly thanks for answering my question on swallowing/licking alot!
My rescue has been with me for over 6 weeks now and is getting on great and now I would like to get some advice on natural feeding.
I've never been to keen on complete diet foods for dogs - I take the view that if no-one sells us complete diets for our children, why do we accept them for our dogs?! In reading up, on such diets the daily repetition, even of tiny errors, becomes significant over a period, even in so-called 'natural' brands.
At the end of the day, few of us actually know whats in pet food. All we know is that it contains things vaguely described as 'ash', 'derivatives of a vegetable origin', 'animal byproducts', etc...
I very much would like to feed my staffie on a natural home-prepared diet and although I have read up on a huge amount of information via Canine Health Concern I wondered (as we are registered with Barton Lodge) if you could advise on this and what your views are.
I personally feel that my bitch would thrive on a natural diet, I share the opinion of some others - 'Today, vast multi-billion-dollar international businesses exist to help pet owners feed their friends in a convenient way. But how convenient is it, ultimately, to be nursing a sick animal - sick due to nutritional inadequacy...?'
Also, if I do proceed with natural feeding I have been recommended Hawaiian Pacifica Spirulina as a vitamin and mineral supplementation - not sure if you have any knowledge/comments on this?
I look forward to your response, views and advice.
Thanks again, Eva
- Eva
Hello Eva,
Glad to know that your rescue dog is settling in well. Your wish to feed your dog the best possible diet is commendable and we would be glad to advise you on pet nutrition. You have asked for an opinion on natural feeding, by home-preparing dog food. If you do prepare your dog's food from purchased ingredients it is very important that you achieve the correct ratio of protein fats and carbohydrates plus vitamins and minerals. In our opinion this is not always easy to achieve because different batches of even the same ingredients can vary. For example, minced beef can vary widely in fat content. We have no experience of Hawaiian Pacifica Spirulina but understand it to be a diet supplement made from blue-green algae. Again it would be very important to feed the correct amount of any supplement to avoid the risk of over or under-dosing on vitamins or minerals. Because it is so important to get the balance right, we think home-prepared diets potentially can present problems.
We don't believe we see nutritional deficiency diseases as a result of dogs being fed good quality commercial diets. In fact pets are living longer as a result of eating them. Over the past 30 years there has been the development of a wide range of reliable, well-balanced dog foods which has actually benefited canine health. Reputable manufacturers use only high quality ingredients. As an example we used to see rickets, brittle bones and vitamin deficiencies in some puppies fed home-prepared foods. We just dont see these problems now when bitches and their pups have been fed well-balanced commercial foods, of which there are many to choose from. Many of the vets at Barton Lodge feed their own pets on Hills Diets. Some of our dear old pets are living to a ripe old age (between 15 and 20years!) eating just these diets. We honestly wouldn't recommend such products if we didn't have the confidence to use them for our own pets.
If you want further specific advice it is best if you visit the surgery. Many of our senior nurses are trained advisors on nutrition and can provide you with detailed literature on diets, with reliable references to substantiate the information.
Sorry for such a long answer but it was a long question!
- The Barton Lodge Veterinary Team
Back
