My Recent Dog Food Story and a Liver Treat Recipe
I have recently been on a steep and painful dog food learning curve and I wanted to share it with you in case it helps you.
My dogs have always had varying requirements for dog food, as in my last blog post about choices one could not digest raw food and another one was better on raw food and I have always done my best to provide what is best for them. So as a vegetarian I was interested in the vegan foods for dogs but wary too, then one supplier shared a study that showed dogs who were on vegan food had better life expectancy and better health than those on a meat diet. The part of the study I read was not, however, the full study as I was to find out later. Anyway, I transitioned all four dogs onto vegan food – two have been ok, one I didn’t think it suited and the other, I believe, led to her physical problems deteriorating much more quickly than they would have. She is a Romanian street dog, captured horrifically by the dog catchers and flung into their van and then the public shelter. Words chosen here are deliberate. She came to me four years ago with issues and further ones developed over the four years since she has been here. She has emotional issues too of course but here the relevance is on her physical issues. She now has rheumatoid arthritis with one knee like a “bag of crisps” (my vet’s description) and elbows and toes also going the same way. This was coming anyway but I believe it was accelerated by the vegan food. Dogs, I have since been told, need the long-chained protein/amino acids found in meat. Dogs also need a good balance and supply of calcium and phosphorous for their bone structure. Phosphorous is more efficiently absorbed from meat than vegetables. Interesting post here on mypetnutritionist.com and a study here on phosphorous in food.
So we are back on the meat based food we were on previously, it is cooked food but freshly prepared (Different Dog) as this one dog is better on that than raw food and it suits my very old dog and also my two younger more active ones as well.
I found out that the study I read that quoted dogs on vegan food were healthier and longer lived was part of a bigger study, that did not include all types of dog diets and did not, in its entirety, advocate vegan foods at all. I am usually very good at looking at the source or who commissioned the study for any biases, but in this case I thought I had got to the full study. It is always wise to dig as deep as you can go.
I have been kicking myself ever since. Always wanting to do my best for my dogs and for the earth and the animals on her, this sadly did not work but I took immediate action in both diet and helping Grace, the one with rheumatoid arthritis. She is being helped by the vet, homeopathy, essential oils, radionics, energy healing and my colour lamp.
An interesting article on the canine digestion process:
Bonus Liver Treat Recipe
Just one ingredient – liver!
Directions:
Wash the blood off the liver.
Line a baking tin with tin foil.
Lay the liver on the tray.
Bake in a low oven – 150C (300F/Gas Mark 2) – for one and a half to two hours making sure it is completely dry, there should be no juice in the tray.
Cut up the liver into small pieces and put in a container.
They can be stored in the fridge for 3 days, if you won’t use them all in this time they can be frozen.
Do use a treat bag or put them inside a plastic bag when you carry them around as they will make your clothes smell. These are amazing for recall training!