Most pet foods that claim to be “natural” or “holistic” are indeed not! All you need to do is look at the official definitions of these terms to understand what I’m saying. The standards for pet food labels are set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). AAFCO’s definition of natural is: “a […]
Nutritional reductionists believe that they can formulate complete and balanced diets for dogs and cats. They create pet foods from ingredients that the ancestors of our dogs and cats did not have access to. The conditions under which the animal body was finely tuned over millions of years can give us insight into what is […]
As a holistic practitioner, I treat the whole pet. Animals often come to me because they have a specific problem. The Western medicine way of dealing with such difficulties is to only focus on the issue at hand. In veterinary school we really learn more about disease care than we do about health care. The […]
A sustainable foods-oriented, consumer advocacy organization, The Cornucopia Institute, recently released a scathing report on commercial pet foods. Of course, most of what they found will not be shocking to the readers of this blog. It is interesting to have such a group back up many of my concerns and come up with a few […]
Carrageenan is an ingredient of canned pet diets used to thicken, stabilize, and emulsify the food. It is used in many canned pet foods basically to improve the appearance and texture. There is absolutely no nutritional value to this ingredient. Carrageenan is actually a group of compounds extracted from various species of red seaweed. As […]
When I lecture to veterinarians (and especially veterinary students) about raw food for pets I often get the question, “Where’s the research?” The push for “Evidence-Based Medicine” strongly resonates with many veterinarians, especially those with little real-world experience. They tend to think that unless there is a validating study, the idea must be wrong. The […]
Vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin) is a critical nutrient. It regulates the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the bowel and is involved with its mobilization from bone. It works with other hormones to balance the calcium levels in the body. Too little vitamin D is associated with many problems discussed below. Too much Vitamin […]
Who doesn’t? This study found that, for people, the consumption of fermented foods helped to reduce neuroticism and social anxiety. It seems reasonable to think that the same could be true for pets. (And, believe me, there are a lot of pets with anxiety issues). The researchers relate that the most likely reason for the […]
If your pet has been diagnosed with kidney failure, there are natural treatments that can help. The first thing to be aware of is that monitoring will help you know what is needed. Many veterinarians will do blood work periodically to see how things are progressing. The BUN and Creatinine are the most commonly monitored […]
The canine influenza virus has been making a run lately. It started in the Chicago area and has now spread to more than a dozen states. With the mobility of our society and our desire to bring our dogs along, vacation season means the canine flu will most likely continue to spread. Here are a […]