Canine Nutrition
The basis for our and our pets' health is diet. It is the most basic support for the best health and it can be the biggest challenge to health…depending on what you eat. No matter what wonderful holistic approaches you use, if the diet is a non-supportive challenging diet, then your body will always be challenged.
Canine Nutrition is an area of interest/study for many years for me. It started when I had 2 dogs over 20 years ago with some serious health challenges that were not responding to medical help. I became suspicious these challenges were diet related. After a lot of study/research/learning from true experts on canine nutrition, I decided to switch my dogs to a complete grain free raw diet. The results for my 2 dogs: complete reversal of all health issues… no more seizures, liver returned to normal within 6 months (after 2 years of abnormal liver function), IBD issues resolved and the allergies also.
It can be disturbing to discover what is in commercial pet foods (by-products, renderings, additives…). Pet food has been a dumping ground for the human food industry to profit from food that is unfit for human consumption. Because of the poor quality ingredients, lack of proper storage, and processing procedures which leads to over processing which damages the nutrients in the food, our pets' health is challenged.
It is important to remember that a dog's GI tract is a carnivore's tract. Their saliva does not contain enzymes to start the fermentation process of plant material, it is mostly a lubricant. The enzymes they have are different in nature than humans. They produce protease for animal protein digestion and very little amylase for plant digestion (grains/starch). Their relatively short digestive tract is designed to easily digest meat protein and fat.
There is no 'best' food for all dogs. What works well for one dog may not be supportive for another, especially for dogs with some health issues which may require some adjustments. However, I have found that for the majority of dogs, a nutritionally complete, grain free, low carbohydrate diet helps to best support our dogs. It is better for a dog to get a variety of foods and especially different meat proteins (chicken, beef, turkey, rabbit, salmon), rather than just one food for its whole life.
Top Picks for Prepared Raw Diets
Primal (except for beef, lamb, chicken = lower rated), Stella & Chewies (only recommend chicken, venison, rabbit and pheasant), Answers Detailed Dog Food (recommend all)
Top Picks for Freeze Dried Raw Diets
Stella & Chewies Meal Mixer Freeze Dried (except Duck and Goose), Nutrisca Raw Freeze Dried (all OK), Primal Freeze Dried (do not recommend beef, lamb or chicken)
Top Picks for Canned Food
Tiki Dog Aloha Petites (all OK), Wellness Core Dog Food (all OK), Canine Naturals Grain Free Stew (all OK)
Top Picks for Dry Food
Acana Regionals Dog Food USA (all OK — best dry), Nutrience Grain Free (all OK), Natures Variety Instinct Original (all OK)
If you choose to feed a dry food, please go with a grain free, high quality, specific meat sourced food, if possible add some quality canned food to bump up the more readily usable meat protein. At least a few times a week or each meal if possible: 1/3 canned mixed with 2/3 dry.
Make sure you provide clean water (no plastic bowls) every day. Bacteria can build up into water from dog dripping water back into bowl from mouth and grow in cracks that form in plastic.