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

Article

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

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

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