Tag: diet

Leaky Gut in Dogs & Cats

11 August, 2023

Leaky gut syndrome, also known as intestinal permeability, is a condition that affects both dogs and cats. It occurs when the lining of the gastrointestinal tract becomes damaged, allowing toxins, undigested food particles, and bacteria to leak into the bloodstream. This can trigger a cascade of health issues, ranging from digestive problems to immune system disorders and food sensitivities. The most common causes of leaky gut in dogs & cats is chronic low-grade inflammation which may occur as a result of toxicity, poor diet, overuse of medications, bacterial imbalance (dysbiosis), parasites, food allergies & autoimmune diseases. Diet and Nutrition One…

Grains or No Grains?

30 March, 2023

Grains or No Grains? What is the answer to feeding or not feeding them to your pet? As you may have discovered by investigation, there is a variety of information on the inclusion of grains in a pets diet. Should you add them, lots of them, a small portion of grains or no grains at all? Did you know? Are Grains Safe? Yes, they are safe when implementing them into your pet’s diet. See below for my reasons why: Dogs Versus Cats What is the difference between dogs and cats when it comes to grains? Lenny’s Kitchen Natural & Complete…

Inflammation in Cats & Dogs

14 July, 2021

Inflammation in cats and dogs is a common physiological response, typically triggered by injury or illness. It serves as the body’s mechanism for protection and self-healing by expanding blood vessels and dispatching white blood cells to the affected area. While this immune response is essential for survival, it can at times spiral out of control. When this happens, the healthy inflammatory response doesn’t switch off when it is meant to, which causes chronic, low-grade inflammation. While acute inflammation helps the body heal, chronic inflammation can be harmful and is associated with various health problems and increases the risk for disease….

Horse Diet – Feeding Naturally

9 July, 2021

Horse diets vary significantly based on the individual horse and its regular activities. The nutritional needs of a racehorse, for instance, are markedly different from those of a weekend leisure pony. The following is provided as a basic guideline and will need to be varied according to your horse’s breed, workload, and nutritional needs. Horses are grazing animals and naturally cover extensive distances in the wild (averaging 30+ km daily) to find food and water. Wild horses spend around 18-20 hours daily grazing on native grasses with relatively low nutritional content. This differs from the lifestyle of most domestic horses,…

Feeding Grass Affected Horses

8 July, 2021

If your horse has diet related issues, what you feed in the way of hard feed can either reduce the problem or add to it. So, for the horse’s metabolism to ‘rest’ and ‘reset’ their self-regulating mechanisms, we keep hard feeds as simple and basic as possible. Over the years we have realised that potassium, crude protein and soluble sugar content are the nutrients we need to be mindful of. When there is an excess presense they place undue and cumulative stress on the horse’s metabolism. Green feed like lucerne/alfalfa, fresh herbs, willow or poplar leaves and other items such…

Garlic – Toxic or Health Food?

16 December, 2020

Using Garlic in Dog & Cat Food: Garlic has been widely used as both a culinary and medicinal herb for thousands of years, both for people and animals. In more recent times, the use of garlic in dog and cats foods has been questioned because there is evidence that at high doses it can cause toxicity (its close relative, onions, are also quite toxic when fed raw). Whilst this is true, the reported toxic doses are in the order of one large clove of garlic per 5kg bodyweight of animal daily (which is a very high dose), and it is…

Cat Diet – Feeding Naturally

3 September, 2020

Cats are strict carnivores and have a high protein requirement. Their diet should be totally raw, and should not contain any canned or dry foods. They can not survive on a vegetarian or vegan diet. 90% daily ration * It is good to include some large chunks of meat to encourage chewing.* If feeding minced meat, ensure it is free from all preservatives. 10% daily ration Optional extras How much to feed The amounts fed can vary depending on how active your cat is, so this is a rough guide only and you may increase or decrease quantities to ensure…

Fussy eater no more!

8 July, 2020

Fussy eater no more! I would just like to let you know how well my dog is doing since starting on your supplement, she was a very on and off eater, she is fed natural food, no dry dog food and eats all of her food raw, including vegetables. I put the Essentials in with her vegetable mix and she does not miss one meal now, she is a working dog, doing walking twice a day, backpacking in which she has achieved her Qld title, she also goes gig racing in the winter and this season starts weight pull, she also swims…

Vegan / Vegetarian Diet for Dogs

6 August, 2019

Dogs can survive on quite a varied diet as long as they get all the essential nutrients they require. Cats, however are strict carnivores and cannot survive on a vegan diet without risk of health issues long term. They have difficulty absorbing some essential nutrients from plant sources. It is not only harmful to their health, but I believe it is cruel to deprive them of their natural food source. To raise dogs on a vegan diet does take a bit more time and effort but it can be done as long as you ensure they are getting their nutritional…

Raw Feeding Dogs & Cats – A Vet’s Perspective

28 July, 2016

Raw Feeding Dogs & Cats has been a much debated topic due to the potential risks of food poisoning, salmonella infection and the dangers of feeding bones to dogs. So it may be of interest to note that much of this information (or mis-information) relates back to the very nature of the gastric environment of the dog and cat, which in turn, is directly related to diet. Gastric Acidity, Digesting Bones, Gut Transit Time and Salmonella The gastric acidity (gastric pH) of the stomach of a dog or cat eating a diet predominantly made up of raw meat is very…

Pottenger Cat Study

15 April, 2016

The Pottenger cat study came about like many great discoveries, Dr Francis M Pottenger accidentally found that his laboratory cats were noticeably healthier when fed on a diet of raw meats rather than cooked meats. Dr Pottenger, a human doctor, was involved in using cats to assess the potency of adrenal extracts for use in human medicine. Pottenger’s cats were fed on table scraps from the local restaurant. When the restaurant closed during the off season, he was forced to source his meat scraps directly from the local abbatoir (which came raw). During the time he was feeding the raw…

Gluten Intolerance in Dogs

20 October, 2015

Gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity in dogs is a well-recognized condition in humans. There are shelves full of products designed to help sufferers manage the condition and avoid unpleasant symptoms. But did you know some dogs suffer gluten intolerance as well? What causes gluten intolerance? In general the canine digestive system has no issues digesting grains such as wheat, rye, barley and oats but, as with humans, some dogs can’t tolerate gluten. If a dog is gluten intolerant/sensitive their small intestine becomes inflamed when they consume gluten as a result of abnormal protein reactions in the small intestine. This allergic…

The Link Between Behaviour and Nutrition

20 October, 2015

The links between nutrition and animal behaviour have been poorly researched, and still to this day, are quite unclear. It is quite apparent in the human population that what we feed ourselves and particularly our children, will have quite a dramatic impact on behaviour – modern food colourings, preservatives, and flavourings have all been demonstrated to have close links to certain behavioural syndromes like ADD (attention deficit disorder). I personally have seen many dogs respond in an extremely favourable way to the removal of processed dog food from their diet. Whether this is due to the removal of chemical colourings…

Calm Healthy Horses Plan

8 September, 2015

Tick off any symptoms that you find from the Horse Symptom Checklist. Make the recommended diet changes in the CalmHealthyHorses Plan for one month, then, revisit the Checklist. If necessary continue the process for another month or until your horse is completely back to normal. This may take several months for more serious problems such as Head-Flicking. The Calm Healthy Horses Plan will help eliminate digestive flora problems, mineral imbalances, mycotoxin overload and correct the natural buffering system. Your horse will be calm and healthy and riding will be enjoyable again. Introduce any new feeds or supplements slowly, over a period of…

Dog Diet – Feeding Naturally

8 September, 2015

Providing dogs with a natural diet consisting of raw, natural food is recommended for optimum health and longevity. For optimum health, we recommend avoiding highly processed pet food including processed rolls, canned or dry kibble with added fillers, salt, preservatives, meat/poultry meal and artificial flavours or colours. RAW MEAT & BONES should make up approximately 85% of the DAILY RATION: VEGETABLES should make up approximately 10% of the DAILY RATION: Avoid starchy (high carb) vegetables for dogs with fungal/yeast issues. Avoid feeding any onions or chives. NON-ESSENTIAL EXTRAS can make up 5% of the DAILY RATION: The following foods are great…

Healthy Fast Food For Your Pets

8 September, 2015

You can provide Healthy Fast Food For Your Pets with little fuss to ensure they stay healthy and happy. We all know the old saying ‘you are what you eat’, and if this is the case, then it is no wonder that our loyal companions are suffering from such a variety of acute and chronic health complaints. Can you imagine living on take away food your whole life? Some animals have never eaten any fresh food, living on processed foods totally. It is certainly possible to do, but you could not expect to be feeling fantastic all the time on this…