Thanks!
Bridgett Clark

Linda MS

Linda MS

Just wanted to mention that commercial diets are a BIG revenue source for various sectors of the pet industry. So, I believe there is a vested interest in the comments coming out in the media supporting commercial diets.

In the early 1990’s I was a clinic associate at an innovative clinic—not only did we have a natural canine and feline nutritionist but also services that included pet psychics, alternative animal training and behavior, a holistic veterinarian, and cryobank expert…were were considered heretics (yes, even here in California). Now all of us are more accepted but people still follow the pop culture standards despite options.

My point is that change is not accepted easily and that there is inherant risk in food handling of any kind but at this point I have to agree that the statements regarding commercial diets versus make those at home (or other options) are ridiculous.

I am old enough to remember a time when pets got lots of table scraps, bones, and when prepared diets were not the rage. Is it my memory or did they were they not overweight to such a high degree nor did they have dental issues to such a degree either. (Yes, specialty services have changed but “give a dog a bone” really seems to have an impact on dental health.)

The pet food recall issue brings up another point…why are we importing items from countries that use toxic substances (pesticides sprays) on food, use slave labor, and that are not regulated to the alleged standards of the USA?

Yikes! If that isn’t a motivator to go organic…

As some conspiracy theorists have expressed—the wide range of distribution and casualties of pets could illustrate where the weak links are in this country.

Unfortuanately, the animal tragedies are being dismissed and illustrating the potential impact on humans will probably be the only thing that motivates regulatory agencies into further investigation and action.

One of my dogs doesn’t do so well on rice - I’ve been using sweet potatos.

I also use an organic imported (not from China) Safflower Oil, and I fry (low heat) the eggs in it. It takes awhile to get used to the oil, so cut it in half or even in thirds for awhile.

I also add some Molasses for the calcium and potassium.

Usually meat can cause a few problems, and if I question if the meat is the one ingredient that is problematic, then I use low-fat cottage cheese and take the meat out and use a few more eggs. Hamburger is good to stop runny stools and chicken is better than turkey for the same reason but hamburger is the best. And I boil all my meats in water and drain the water and fat off. If I use hamburger I use ground chuck, but any hamburger will do but the higher fat content needs to certainly be drained.

Then I run my veggies through the food processor, after I wash them, and finely chop them, along with some fruit, but avoid seeds of apples. There’s a few good books on this. But in the beginning go easy on the fruit and the veggies - I increase these gradually.

And also you can add enzymes for the dogs intestines until your pet gets used to the home cooking. I go to the health food store and buy them and add. Usually they are in a capsule that you can pull apart and put directly in the dog’s food.

When I’m in a bind for ingredients, need to go to the store, I crumble up some good whole grain bread (that was when we could trust the bread - but now with the wheat gluten scare - I haven’t been using or buying my bread.)

These are just a few things that I’ve tried.

Linda MS