Guest Post: One Dog’s Journey from Kibble to Raw, Chapter 3

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How I Improved my Dog’s Nutrition- One Dog’s Journey from Kibble to Raw

Guest Post by Orly Leitner  

DISCLAIMER: This is our personal story of which I am happy to share with you. Everything I keep learning is from hours and hours of research, experimentation and of course, common sense. These installments will provide you with insight into the challenges that surround transition, balancing nutrition and trying to do everything right. Pet owners should always conduct their own research and consult with a veterinarian before making changes to their pet’s diet. Every dog is unique with its own specific needs and please keep in mind that I am neither a veterinarian, nor a nutritionist. I am a passionate dog and cat enthusiast on the path to becoming a holistic pet nutritionist.

I dedicate this blog to Skai Wantstofly, who unexpectedly and accidently passed recently at the young age of 16 years. He will always be remembered for being full of vitality and vigor and as the ambassador who taught me that dogs can grow old and still have a great quality of life. A big thank you to all my mentors and teachers who have guided me on this journey and continue to inspire me to keep learning and never stop trying new things. Dr. Peter Dobias, Dr. Karen Becker, Dr. Richard Pitcairn, Dr. Jean Dodds, Dr. Andrew Jones and the one person that keeps me grounded, Dr. Amanda Glew.

How I Improved my Dog’s Nutrition- One Dog’s Journey from Kibble to Raw

Volume 1 | Chapter 3

TO SUPPLEMENT OR NOT TO SUPPLEMENT

Hello readers a cheery HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

In this chapter, I will share with you why I chose to feed Chloe more than just raw meat.

While I was quite content in feeding Chloe a raw meat mixture of 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% offal and 5% liver, I added a digestive enzyme and probiotic and that was that. The net result was a happy dog with more energy, carrying less weight.

Then it suddenly occurred to me. After months of doing this, I realized that it can’t be right. She must need more than that to sustain her body. Please refer to the chart below which lists the essential nutrients for a dog.

I decided to analyze the meats on the nutritional database to see what nutrients from my list were included in them. I could not find any complete information of what is in the meat mixture, as there is no analysis for raw meats that include bone, liver and offal. However, after crunching the information from the nutritional data base as best as I could, I could admit that the variety of raw meats and blends that I feed Chloe do cover most of the nutrients. Surprisingly, they even contain some of the necessary vitamins and minerals.

However, during this investigation, Chloe was developing a problem. She began scooting a lot and her anal glands started swelling and required to be expressed every so often. Feeding raw meat produces smaller poops, as most of the food is digested and there is little waste. It then occurred to me that adding fiber to her meat would bulk up her poops and at the same time, I could add more nutrient value to her meals. I started to look up nutritional information on vegetables and fruit. Do not try this at home, as it will make you completely crazy. Just use common sense and a good guide as to what is NOT safe for dogs to eat. Other than that, it goes by what they like. There is always this chatter about complete and balanced diet for dogs….really? Do you eat complete and balanced foods at every meal? I will bet you don’t. Although I am sure over time, you are getting everything you need in the variety of foods you eat. So, why would it be different for our dogs?

The key my friends is this mantra…VARIETY-VARIETY-VARIETY…

Ok, so what is the best thing to feed my dog? I believe, fresh raw vegetables mostly, but I do add some berries or apples and not too much because you don’t want to add too much sugar to the mix. Vegetables and fruits contain sugars and they add up fast, so I choose to add more of a vegetable variety and 1 fruit per mix only. My home-made mix is based on this principle:

50% DARK GREENS    One from each:

1.   Romaine Lettuce or any lettuce except Iceberg which has little nutritional value.
2.    Swiss Chard, Kale, Kelp, Beet, Dandelion, occasionally Spinach, or any other greens
3.    Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Raw Beets
4.     A handful of Parsley

25% SWEET   

Any combination of Cucumber, Green Beans, Peas, Snap Peas, Zucchini, Celery,

Celery Root, Carrots-not too much, Apples, Bananas, Blueberries, Cantaloupe or any

other sweet vegetable or fruit that your dog loves. Not too much fruit. Root

vegetables should be cooked.

25%      

Sweet Potato, or Cooked\Canned Organic Pumpkin

A cap full of Brags Apple Cider Vinegar and optionally a little coconut oil

I make a large batch in the food processor that I separate in 4 oz. containers that I freeze. It lasts about a month as I only add 1 oz. to every meal. So in effect Chloe weighs 22 pounds. She gets 3 oz. of her meat mixture (75%) and 1 oz. of her vegetable and fruit mix (25%) twice a day.

OK, so now I have covered the meat, veggie and fruit mix. So, why supplement vitamins, minerals etc..?      I do not believe that our earth’s soil is what it used to be, as far as richness of nutrients to grow or sustain our food chain. By the way, I think that is true for us humans, as well.

It was all a learning process based on what was happening with Chloe and her age. At first, the supplement I used was a micro algae superfood that I put in her food. It was recommended for containing a broad range of supplementation. She was young and it worked well for quite some time. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, except that as Chloe got older, her needs changed. In 201, at the age of 10, I decided it was time to break out the supplements by category. I started her on a series of organically produced vitamins, mineral powder, and a good quality fish oil.

For me, this is the basic supplementation that I would say every older dog should have, no matter what food they are on. I have used other supplements, which I will cover in another chapter, when I talk about Chloe’s specific health challenges and how I successfully or not tried to resolve them. I hope that information will be helpful to you.

In my next chapter, I will cover a question I have been asked quite a few times. If I want to feed my dog a premium processed food, HOW DO I KNOW WHAT IS REALLY IN IT? Ahhh… a tricky one! In my next blog, I will share with you how to read a label, so you know what is in it and how much.

Previous chapters: 

Volume 1 | Chapter 2

Volume 1 | Chapter 1