I got this email: Hello, I don't know if you can help me or not, but here goes. I've been cooking for my two pugs for about 8 yrs. now. I feed them a diet of : 30% (beef, chckn, etc.) cooked meat, 30% veg. pureed (mixed veg. raw or cooked), and 30% grains (usually brown rice). They also receive a tsp. of flaxseed oil, 1/2 tsp. of digestive enzymes, a multivitamin, and several tablespoons of yogurt. Here is the problem. My oldest dog Max who is now 9 had to have about 16 teeth removed because they were loose. We take them to the vet. regularly. The vet. was also shocked because she thought his teeth looked fine. He also has hip displasyia now and seems to be getting arthritis. I of course am now scared and am turning to you for help. I've been reading and finding that perhaps he may be suffering from a lack of calcium and perhaps Vitamin D. I forgot to mention that they also receive table scraps as well as an egg or sometimes oatmeal in the morning. Do I need to add bone meal? How much? If the phospherous and the calcium balance in bone meal, would ground egg shells work better? How much for a 20lb. pug? They eat about 2 cups a day. Do I cut out the brown rice all together? Please help me, I feel lost.
This is a good example showing that there is no one "best" diet for every animal. From my report on nutrition ($10 from Healthyanimals@aol.com), "You have already seen that our carnivores are designed for eating chunks raw meat and bones. Dr. Clive McCay of Cornell University, in Nutrition of the Dog (1944), stated in the days before commercial food was available: "The cooking of meat for dogs is a waste of time from the point of view of nutrition. Cooking tends to destroy vitamins. Raw meat is probably the best digested protein.” Cooking destroys enzymes and denatures the proteins rendering them less digestible to cats and dogs. Dr. Francis Pottenger was a medical researching doctor who was trying to keep his research cats healthy after surgery. He had been feeding cooked meat scraps, cod liver oil and raw milk. When he fed raw meat, their health post operatively dramatically improved so he began a formal study.
Between the years of 1932 and 1941, Dr. Pottenger conducted feeding experiments. Kept in large outdoor enclosures, groups were fed cooked or raw meat, cooked milk (pasteurized) or raw, raw, then cooked, then raw, and other combinations. Examinations were made with radiography, blood calcium and phosphorus levels, exams. He found that kittens born from the cooked meat diet had deficient skeletons, heart problems, infections of the kidneys, testes, ovaries, bladder, allergies to milk or meat, hypothyroidism, decrease in litter sizes, and much more. The problems were worse if these ill cats were bred, and symptoms occurred at younger ages. Pottenger found that cats fed a raw diet remained normal. Most important for you to know about returning your animal to health is that it took about four generations of proper feeding to have a full return to health.
From a Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic perspective, some animals thrive on cooked meat and some thrive on raw. Keep track of how your animal does on different foods and do not believe what I or other “experts” tell you until it proves to be true for your animals."
One key to knowing if the diet you are feeding is the very best for your dog or cat is to check the "Early Waning Signs of Illness" on a monthly basis. (www.theAVH.org or www.ChristinaChambreau.com) The hip dysplasia was probably showing some hints earlier.
"Feeding chunks of meat lets your pet exercise jaw muscles, form saliva and enzymes in the stomach (most animals swallow their food relatively whole) needed to digest food properly. Even better for jaw and teeth health is to feed meaty bones (whole chicken thigh, vertebrae, rib bones with meat attached). I find in my practice that some animals just do not seem to be healthy until on chunks of raw meat, although others are fine with all the fresh ingredients pureed. Purchasing ground meat can increase the chance of contamination since the bacteria can multiply in the environment created in the ground tissue. This is not a problem with organic and free range, and rarely a problem even with factory farmed meat. Remember – our dogs are designed to be scavengers eating tons of bacteria. ...
Calcium and Phosphorus: In the wild, dogs and cats are eating bones along with the muscle meat (high phosphorus). If you are not feeding raw bones you MUST supplement with Calcium. The form of calcium is hotly debated, the main ones being bonemeal, egg shells, grinding your own bones and Merritt Naturals calcium form algae. My experience has showed that any form is fine. Probably having free range, organic bones ground to a powder is the best. If you grind egg shells, you need to give ½ teaspoon for each pound of meat. If you purchase the Merritt Naturals, follow their directions. If you are using bone meal, you want to get a powdered form for convenience, and notice the ratio of Phosphorus to Calcium. Of all the minerals, calcium is required in the greatest amount. Calcium is essential for bone formation, blood coagulation, muscle contraction, and nerve impulse transmission. The calcium content of food ingredients varies widely. Bones, dairy products, and leguminous plants contain large amounts of calcium, whereas most cereal grains, meat, and organ tissues contain small amounts. Phosphorous is required at levels slightly less than calcium (1 part phosphorus to 1.2 parts calcium). Meat or organ meats are high in phosphorous but relatively low in calcium. Phosphorous deficiency occurs very infrequently in dogs and cats, and too much phosphorus may hasten renal failure in cats. Dr. Pitcairn's book, Natural Health for Dogs and Cats has several pages discussing the different forms of calcium (50-52, 67) and gives guidelines as to how to use it with his recipes. If all this sounds too complicated, I would suggest using "Call of the Wild" from Wysong (www.ChristinaChambreau.com - products) ". There is more information about this issue in my Nutrition reort.
Once a problem has been discovered, like with the bulldogs, you MUST have professional help with chiropractic, homeopathy or great chinese medicine to correct the symtpoms that may have resulted from the mineral imbalances.
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