A common belief among dog owners, and believe it or not many veterinarians, is that older dogs should be on low protein diets to protect their kidneys. The logic, or illogic, is that as dogs age they suffer from kidney disease and need lower protein diets to manage the condition. Dietary protein does not promote kidney disease and aging dogs actually need more protein. Here are 3 reasons your older dog should be on a higher protein diet.

.

.

You have heard a lot about omega-3 fats and how important they are in our diet. Well, they are important in dogs’ diets as well. Omega-3 fats calm dogs’ red, itchy skin and relieve joint pain in arthritic dogs. You probably also know that omega-3’s even improve learning in young puppies and decrease the symptoms of old age dementia and improve heart function in senior dogs. But these positive effects require only small amounts of omega-3 fats in the diet. Dogs actually need 8 times more omega-6 fats than omega-3 in their daily diet.  Read more...

For 33 years I have amazed my veterinary clients with what they think are my psyche powers. Dog owners will tell me they feed a certain, popular brand of premium pet food. And I will make an off-hand reply that their dog probably makes stools nearly as large as elephant stool. If it is a cat I will tell them the size of the stool is probably the length of a cigar. Amazed, every client (no exceptions in 33 years) will say “how did you know?” My answer is always the same, “I know the food.” This food brand, despite the company’s astronomical advertising budget, is a low quality food and the proof is in the poop.

Preservatives are used in food products to decrease spoiling and increase the shelf life of food. There is no question that without them packaged and canned meat products would probably not exist. That is true for most of the packaged products in the middle isles and freezer section of the supermarket. Fresh meats, fruits and vegetables without preservatives are always in isles along the walls. But are these chemicals that make food convenient safe for our dogs? Are they safe for us? Honestly after all of these years of using preservatives in food, we still don’t know for sure. Here is what we know. Read more...

A balanced homemade or commercial diet should contain all of the essential nutrients your dog needs for adequate health. But who wants just adequate health for their dog? The key to great health is a good diet. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, put it best when he said “Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Two supplements can help transform your dog’s diet into a great diet- fish oil and probiotics. Last week we discussed the first. Now find out about the second. Read more...

Do you think your dog’s itching is caused by food allergies? Does your veterinarian think you have a dog with food allergies? Do you just want to try a new diet to see if it will improve your dog’s fur coat? These days many dog owners, like you, are asking themselves and their vets these same questions. They want to try a hypoallergenic diet for their dog. But how do you tell if a dog food is hypoallergenic? How do you compare different brands of hypoallergenic dog foods? There are  3 important requirements for hypoallergenic dog food.  Read more...

“I only feed my dog a grain-free dog food because it doesn’t have fillers which are bad for pets.” I hear this a lot during my nutritional consultations with pet parents. So, what is a “filler”? The word “filler” is used to describe a “bad” ingredient and generally refers to grain products in pet food. Grains are carbohydrates. But so are the potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans and tapioca used in grain-free diets. So, why is one type of carbohydrate given the bad name “filler” and another type of carbohydrate considered better nutrition?  Read more...

All of the sudden your dog starts drinking a lot of water. He needs to go out more frequently to urinate. You also notice that the urine is clearer and less yellow than it used to be. After blood and urine tests your vet tells you your dog’s kidneys are failing and will need a special low protein diet for the rest of its life. You leave the vets office with so many unanswered questions. What is kidney disease? What caused it? Why my dog? What do these treatments do? Why does my dog need a special food? What if my dog won’t eat the food, then what? You need answers. Read more...

Your neighbor tells you her dog has had long episodes of vomiting and diarrhea for the last two years. She is convinced that it is some sort of reaction to the ingredients in the food. She just hasn’t found the right food that will stop the symptoms and recover the lost weight. You tell her that those symptoms may be a sign of something more serious and she should take her dog to the vet. Instead she says she is going to the pet store and find out which food the 18-year old dog food expert behind the counter recommends for her sick dog. You’re right. This dog needs a trip to the vet, not the pet store. The dog could be suffering from inflammatory bowel disease or IBD. With proper treatment and diet, her dog could enjoy a quality, symptom free, longer life.  Read more...

You shop for a dog food with lots of protein. But did you know that the type of protein in the food is even more important than the total amount of protein? Proteins are not all the same. It turns out that the proteins used in regular dog food are not as healthy as you would like to believe.  Read more...