What's wrong with dog food: Mainstream and natural diets (Proceedings)

There is no such thing as the one and only ideal diet. Why?

• More than one possible type of animal (young, old, different breeds, etc.)

• More than one possible ideal diet

• They have to like it and eat it

• It has to agree with their system

• It has to be good for any problems they may have

Dogs vs Cats

• Cats are obligate carnivores

• Cats need animal-source vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids

• Cats need more protein than daily protein turnover suggests

• Dogs can be vegetarians and scavengers

• Dogs are "carno-omnivores"

Problems with Commercial diets

• Artificial flavors, colors, preservatives

• Glutens and byproducts

• Contamination (China)

• "Natural" diets that aren't natural

• Based on MDR rather than the optimum daily requirement

Optimum Daily Requirement

• Usually different from MDR

• Based on findings in animals older than original research, or with different problems.

• Taurine for cats

• Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are lower in dry food

• Zinc—may need more

• Iodine level may be too low

Definition of By-Products

• Any part except hair, horn, hoof, or hide

• From rejects from human food, 3 Ds (dead, diseased, dying)

• Can include euthanized animals

• Rendered

• Some rendering plants do not take dead animals or downer cows

Meat Meal

• Rendered

• Skeletal muscle, some fat and bone allowed

• Cooked in steel vat until dry, fat drained off, then ground

• Volatile amino acids gone, some cross linkages

Effect of heat on protein

• Cooking lightly has the least effect on protein quality. Canned has the next least.

• Rendering causes loss of some volatile amino acids, and cross-linkages of others, creating substances with much less digestibility

Cats: Obligate carnivores

• Can't use flax oil (check the vegan cat diets)

• Need animal source of B 12

• Require higher level of protein than apparent maintenance level

• All cats in one study had PBDEs in blood but hyperthyroid cats had more

• 20 wet and dry cat foods: all have PDBEs

• Canned, fish-flavored cat food has up to 12 times as much as dry food

• Canned, fish-flavored cat food has up to 100 times as much as human diet

Dogs: Increasing incidence of IBD, some forms of cancer

• Increasing use of gluten meals, especially corn gluten meals

• Some dogs seem to need carbohydrates (scavenger diet)

• Some do better without (wolf diet)

In humans, IBD and cancer are highest in countries with the Western diet, lowest in populations with a more traditional diet (whether it be Mediterranean, Eskimo, Masai, Chinese, etc., it is low in processed foods, high in omega 3 fatty acids and natural, organic or near organic items)

Carbohydrates can contribute to:

• Obesity (but can help thin animals)

• Diabetes

• Usually more appropriate for dogs than cats

• Carbohydrates can make diarrhea better

• Carbohydrates can make diarrhea worse (especially with food allergies)

Other observations

• Pet food companies often have open labeling practices (amounts can change, as long as they match the relationships on the label)

• Pet food companies change primarily for market reasons, not for animal health reasons, and not from veterinary requests (Hills and k/d)

• Pet food companies do not always follow or complete their own research (Iams and omega 3, Hills and original n/d )

Labeling laws inadequate

• Nutritional analysis: percent protein, fat, minerals (ash), water

• Ingredients listed from most to least

• Multiple sources of carbohydrates to hide the high carbohydrate level

• Food that matches recommended amounts can be marketed without feeding trials

• An old leather shoe, sawdust, crankcase oil, and a vitamin tablet can meet the nutritional analysis

Homemade Diets

• Chance of imbalance

• Bacterial contamination

• Easy to omit critical items (especially calcium)

• Basis for Diets

All cats are wild cats

• Dog diets should be a combination of a wolf diet, a feral dog diet, and modifications for breed, age, and disease differences

The Wolf Diet

• Raw, grass-fed hooved animals high in omega 3 fatty acids, low in fat

• Rodents, including beavers

• Whole birds (including backs and necks with the rest) and their eggs

• Everything but the squeal, including fur: Internal organs, hair, hoof, horn and hide

• Fish

• Earthworms and bugs

• Some fruit and grass

• No artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives

• Scat consists of bone fragments wrapped with fur

• More large bones than small ones

• Wolves eat seasonal diets

• Spring: sprouts and young grass, eggs, young animals

• Summer: mature vegetation, mature animals

• Fall: fat animals, berries, grain

• Winter: thin animals, carrion, no veggies, straw, fasting up to 3 days, hair, hoof, horn, hide

• They are carnivorous carno-omnivores

• They may fast up to several days

Anthropocentric canines (coyotes, foxes, feral dogs) are more like present day dogs

• Wolves can be tamed, not easily trained vs dogs

• Wolves live mostly on meat. Pariahs live on scraps.

• Commensals are generalists, living and reproducing in metro areas (coyotes, foxes)—wolves don't do this.

• Primary diet of South American tribal dogs:

• High carbohydrate

• Carrion, bones

• Originally low-gluten

• Only the most prized dogs are given meat

Lessons from pariah dogs

• Adaptable

• Lower protein than wolves

• Originally, lower gluten, higher carbohydrate meals

• Feral dogs in primitive societies are healthier than tame dogs

Breed predisposition for GI disease

• When we selectively breed dogs, we get unintended problems that can affect their digestive system

• Genetic differences (Dalmatians)

• Predisposition to diseases (colitis)

• Humanoid traits (chocolate poisoning)

• Food addictions in cats including shape addition

• Achlorhydria of Boston Terriers

• Colitis of Boxer Dogs, French Bulldogs, and German Shepherds

• HGE of dachshund, miniature schnauzer, toy poodle

• IBS of working and toy breeds

• GI manifestations of food allergy in german shepherds and sharpeis

• Gluten enteropathy in the irish setter

• Gastritis/gastroenteritis of the basenji, lundehund, dachshund, miniature schnauzer, and toy poodle

• Pyloric problems in the lhasa apso, maltese, pekingese, shih tzu, boston terrier, boxer

• Still more inherited GI problems in dogs

• Bloat in the basset, doberman, gordon setter, great dane, irish setter, saint bernard, weimaraner

• Acute gastroenteritis in the german shepherd, sharpei, and beagle

• In addition there are inherited predispositions to many diseases which can be modified by diet, e.g., hypothyroidism

Designing a diet

• Any food or ingredient or supplement or diet can cause diarrhea or vomiting in at least one patient.

• "Ideal" diets don't fit special cases: autoimmune problems from vaccinations, genetic problems, aging

• Elderly cats need high calorie, high digestibility

• Senior cat diets often consist of higher fiber, lower calories

• Wolf diet does not necessarily apply to old or sick pets

Grass-fed beef

• Campylobacter and e. coli are lower in grass fed beef

• There are higher concentrations of beta-carotene, of alpha-tocopherol, omega-3 fatty acids, a more desirable omega-3:omega-6 ratio, increased levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)

Fiber

• Fruits and Vegetables are a good source of fiber

• Good filler (fat dogs)

• Can cause or help diarrhea

• Can help constipation

• Source of phytonutrients (red, orange, yellow, blue colors), immunomodulating polysaccharides, help induction of Phase II of liver detox, are antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic or carcinostatic, anti-microbial, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, and inhibit mast cell production

Best types:

• Sprouts

• Berries (blue, black)

• Cruciferous family

• Dark green leafy veggies

• Colors: red, orange, yellow, blue—the darker the better

Seasonal meals

• Spring: sprouts and young grass, eggs, young animals

• Summer: mature vegetation, mature animals

• Fall: fat animals, berries, grain

• Winter: thin animals, carrion, no fruits or veggies, straw, fasting, hair, hoof, horn, hide

Beneficial Gut Flora

• After antibiotics, especially if diarrhea develops

• Can help IBD

• Acidophilus plus Bifidobacter species

• Saccharomyces

Antioxidants

• Excess single antioxidants can result in health risk

• Glutathione excess in alpha-B-crystallin mutation: progressive heart failure

• Vitamin E excess without additional vitamin C: increased cancer risk

• Studies showing harmful effects usually use one antioxidant in excess

• Studies using combinations generally show anti-cancer activity

Problems when the average client tries to cook for their dog

Basic AAFCO dog diet for 40 pound dog

• 1 ⅜ cup cooked barley

• ¼ lb ground meat or poultry

• 2 tsp oil or fat

• 4 gm bone meal or Ca2PO4 (4000 mg)

• 1/6 tsp potassium chloride

• 1 human adult vitamin/mineral tablet

• 21% protein, 20% fat, 6.5% fiber, 52% carbohydrates, .66% Ca, .59% P, 820 kcal/lb ME

If you remove the barley, you get 60% fat and only 62% of recommended calories www.balanceit.com