Ellen Metzger MS, RD aka The PrimalRD, is BACK !!! Buckle up and enjoy this deep dive on the finer points of canine nutrition, as seen through the lens of a functional dietitian. Take it away, Ellen…
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend The Thriving Pet Expo in Newport, CA.
Yes, a conference about Pet health and nutrition!
But… “don’t you work with humans? Why your interest in Pet Nutrition?”
Because…there IS a connection.
These ‘Pillars of Health’ as previously discussed by PrimalMD, address the whole picture of one’s lifestyle with the goal of optimizing metabolic health.
Nutrition
Movement
Sleep Optimization
Stress Mitigation
Community
Purpose
Pharmacological intervention when necessary
In Pets, the Pillars of Health are so similar to humans. At times, in both humans and pets, it is absolutely necessary to use medications in acute care and disease states. However, in both humans and pets, there is often a revolving door of medical symptoms, unless underlying issues are addressed.
At The Thriving Pet Expo, numerous Vets noted an increased frequency of pets with allergies, gut issues, skin conditions, infections, bumps and lumps, lameness and anxiety. The diagnosis’ given to humans, are now seen in younger aged pets - cancer, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, pancreatitis, to only name a few.
In Humans, our food quality is largely affected by the environment, ingredients and food processing. Our soils have become depleted of minerals and altered microbial diversity, with many crops sprayed with glyphosate (Roundup). Genetically Modified foods have the potential to improve world hunger, malnutrition and increase yield with fewer pesticides, but there are questions about its health and safety including allergic reactions and increased antibiotic resistance. link here
Food has become so processed with flavorings, colorings, sugars, vegetable oils - that the ‘food’ we ingest today, may not be the food our body recognizes to digest, absorb and utilize, providing our cells with nutrients needed for optimal metabolic health.
In Canines, ultra-processing and poor food quality is not much different from humans. In my opinion, this is the driving force of ailments and chronic disease in dogs. (My focus is on dogs since my interest is from our own almost 11-year-old dog, Hudson).
I am not a Vet nor a Certified Canine Nutritionist, but I believe dogs thrive best when provided a fresh cooked and/or raw food diet - either commercially prepared and balanced or home cooked, formulated under the guidance of a professional practitioner to assure an optimal diet is provided.
There is such a vast array of dog foods on the market - from kibble to canned, to air dried and dehydrated, to cooked and freeze-dried raw, or simply raw. Within each category, there are spectrums of better to worse, depending on ingredients and sourcing, company transparency, third-party independent lab testing and any acquisition by large companies perhaps compromising food quality and customer service. On top of all these choices, owners must consider affordability, preference, life stages, intolerances and convenience.
There is a long history of how kibble came to market, and how it became the largest, commercially prepared dog food industry it is today. link here
To strive to feed healthy diets to our pooches, what should we look for in foods? Ask these questions:
• Are foods processed in ways that preserve vital nutrients? Most kibble is high heated and extruded when cooked (a mechanical process that takes heated, liquefied food and pushes it through a machine to aerate food before baking, adding starch to make this process work). Such a process results in vitamin and mineral losses and is thus replaced in the form of synthetic vitamins and minerals, to meet minimum AAFCO requirements (Association of American Feed Control Officials). At what cost do synthetic nutrients impact digestion, absorption and utilization? High temps, greater than 300 degrees F, may further result in carcinogenic compounds.
Foods not heated, do not have this loss of vitamins and minerals, so none are added back in. Cooked foods may have synthetics added however these foods are not as high heated as kibble. Cooked and even raw foods, may have synthetic nutrients added in order to extend shelf life, such as vitamin E (tocopherol), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), or rosemary extract, but these are generally listed at the end of the label, in small amounts. At other times, synthetic nutrients may be added to cut costs, in order to minimize the full quantity of real food in the product. There are plenty of cooked and raw food companies that do not use synthetics but will use only to safely preserve the product.
• Do certain foods have more recalls? Most kibble has potential for recalls due to human and supplier error, since there’s a risk of miscalculations of synthetic nutrients added after processing. This was unfortunately seen in the massive pet food recall of Hill’s Science Diet years ago, resulting in thousands of pet deaths because of Vitamin D toxicity noted in supplier error link here. A similar elevated vitamin D recall was also seen link here. And also link here. And also link here. Look at an ingredient label and notice most kibble has a long list of synthetic vitamins, minerals added. Overdosing on naturally occurring nutrients, inherently in food, is much less likely to occur, and if this were to happen, the body would generally expel excess appropriately.
Aside from human and supplier error, foods that contain grains such as corn, wheat and rice may have increased incidences of mold, dependent on weather conditions, harvest, storage and transport. Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by certain molds (fungi); Aflatoxins are mycotoxins produced by two species of Aspergillus, a fungus found especially in areas with hot and humid climates that can cause acute toxic illness. The only way to know the risk is to test and evaluate each ingredient. Such recalls have been noted by kibble companies link here.
• Do foods have flavorings, chemically derived, not naturally flavored? Natural flavors are generally lost from high heat and processing. Is this why dogs look for table scraps because they crave the taste of real food? Is this why they eat grass - intuitively knowing they’re obtaining something they’re lacking, perhaps minerals or beneficial bacteria from the soil? In holistic pet health, herbs such as dandelion root and milk thistle have been used for years to support digestion and liver function, as well as detoxification and excretion of waste products. So much can be healed by nature. So much can be prevented, naturally.
• Do foods have a high concentration of carbohydrates, greater than 50-60 % as determined by guaranteed analysis? Most kibble has a minimum of 30% carbs, needed in order to bind into kibble. Carbs break down into sugars, and dogs, unlike humans, don’t have the amylase enzyme in saliva to break down starch into sugar. Is this one of the causes of excess tartar and plaque, resulting in dental cleanings? Is sugar the cause of yeast and ear infections? In large amounts, starchy carbs may lead to blood sugar fluctuations and insulin resistance. Between the carbs, calories - and perhaps less movement - we see increased obesity and diabetes, inflammation, joint issues and other health concerns.
• Do foods have vague labels? An example is listing unspecified fats as simply ‘animal fat’ without specifying the source, such as fish oil. Generic or unnamed ingredients are vague as well, such as ‘by-products, meat meal or animal protein’ without noting a named source of meat. Furthermore, are food formulations created with good nutrition and health in mind? Meat meal and bone meal or “slaughterhouse waste” may contain beaks, intestines and other animal parts. This is certainly not high-quality protein as in real cuts of meat.
• Do foods have replacement food substances, commonly known as ‘fillers’, added to bulk up food and lower costs? Many kibble foods include genetically modified corn, soy, and wheat gluten (inflammatory!). While these ingredients may provide some nutritional value, they are also some of the most common food allergens in dogs. Many may have trouble digesting, manifesting as itching and skin irritations. Listed commonly as the top 5 on a label, such ingredients are in great quantity, as ingredients are always listed in descending order. Companies may add macaroni, rice and potatoes, which may be fine! But, in my opinion, as noted above (greater than 50-60% carbs), the more starchy foods added, the higher the carbohydrate content - and the less it becomes a species appropriate diet.
• Do foods have colorants and unnatural scents added to fake bones and treats and toys? Are these fun colors and luring scents for the dog or for the owner? Perhaps playing and eating these products is the cause of allergies, itchiness, and skin issues. Are we creating an imbalance in the gut microbiota, disrupting the immune system, promoting hypersensitivities more likely to overreact to allergens? And sugar (my biggest pet peeve, literally) is added for flavor, yet the word ‘sugar’ may be disguised as corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose, rice syrup, and maltose. And be careful with Xylitol - a highly toxic sweetener to dogs, found in common foods such as peanut butter. Xylitol is now labeled as ‘birch sugar’… how tricky is that? Just a note to also be careful where you discard gum - with xylitol, Sucralose, colorants and flavors.
As an aside, colorants and scents used in pet (and human) products, also absorb into a dog’s largest body organ, the skin, a protective barrier to their environment. Think of scented shampoos (unless diluted essential oils), paw wipes, and lawn chemicals (weed killers, herbicides, etc.). Think of where pets sleep, and the household cleaners on floors and stain resistant couches and carpets. Fragrant detergents, dryer sheets and perfumed room deodorizers, aggravating the very problem we are trying to address. Can we not connect the dots?
• Do foods use chemical preservatives, to increase shelf life of food? Some kibbles use butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Propylene Glycol, which are actually banned in the EU. Standard regulations do not exist globally. Emulsifiers such as Carrageenan, have been linked to digestive issues, seen in humans as well.
• Do foods contain ingredient splitting, a practice that lists the same ingredient in different ways to hide the total percentage within the food. Potato, for example, can be listed many ways: potato flour, potato starch, potato protein. By splitting potato 3 different ways it allows beef, for example, to be the first ingredient, with the majority of the recipe, however, being potatoes. This practice may be also used in peas, corn, soy - however, beef or another protein may be listed as the first ingredient - falsely claiming high quality food.
• Do commercial grain-free diets substitute pulses and potatoes for grains? (Pulses are a category of plants that includes peas, lentils, chickpeas, and dry beans). Grain-free diets have been a controversial topic in the industry regarding cases of DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy). Some research suggests that perhaps lectins, the protein found in these plants, may interfere with absorption of taurine, an essential amino acid needed for cardiac health. Per the FDA, they are “investigating a potential dietary link between canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and dogs eating certain pet foods containing legumes like peas or lentils, other legume seeds (pulses), or potatoes as main ingredients.”
• Do foods, when exposed to air, render fats oxidized? Most kibble, bought in large bags, has the potential to become rancid each time opened and exposed to air. This daily oxidation, along with any plastic storage, not only increases rancidity, but may cause havoc on a dog’s digestion. Best to transfer a small amount to a glass container, and tightly seal bag until more is needed. Do dogs ever sniff food and walk away? Maybe it’s rancid or maybe it’s mold; food from the bottom of the bag may have been served (remember aflatoxins?) Their scents are 1000’s of times greater than humans. It may not be the food, but what has been done to that food.
• Do foods add salt to the ingredients? Small amounts may be needed but on an ingredient list, it is known as the ‘salt divider’ where any ingredient after salt makes up less than 1 % of the meal. So, I guess it really doesn’t matter if the better ingredients are after salt, there is hardly any of those in that food.
• Do foods have to be marketed as Prescription diets? There is no medication or regulated products in these foods. In fact, there seems to be more products of corn, wheat, soy, cellulose and synthetics vitamins and minerals. This has recently been acknowledged in lawsuits. link here
At the Thriving Pet Expo, Veterinarians in the more holistic/integrative arena support Raw diets as most beneficial. Many support freeze-dried raw as well, as long as the food is re-hydrated to add moisture back in, using water, bone broth, goat milk or other liquids.
Many owners may prefer commercially balanced, cooked diets for various reasons including safety around small children. Studies, however, note that salmonella is found in fresh vegetables and fruits as well. Pros and cons for any meal decision, needs to be weighed for safety and preference. link here and here.
Many professional practitioners and owners, advocate raw feeding for the following reasons:
• A raw diet preserves the most nutrients. Raw protein is more easily absorbed and contains naturally occurring vital enzymes, vitamins and minerals that cooking destroys. Living foods are unprocessed, fresh and whole. Any cooking will diminish nutritional value, but far less than most kibble, often cooked at temperatures above 300 degrees F under 600 or more pounds of pressure per square inch. Heat loses moisture, may destroys digestive enzymes, some antioxidants, phytochemicals, flavonoids and Omega-3s. But high heat may alter the bioavailability of some minerals and perhaps even alter the chemical structure of amino acids, the building blocks of protein.
• A raw diet contains the most moisture, with water being one of the most important, main nutrients in the diet.
• A raw diet may improve digestion, as raw food inherently has foods that a dog’s digestive system can recognize and produce digestive enzymes to help break down foods. A dog’s digestive system is a highly acidic environment to kill salmonella and further break down foods. The only contraindication for pets to eat raw is if they are immuno-compromised or undergoing chemotherapy, as their weakened immune system may not handle raw, and so a moisture rich, cooked diet may be best for these pets.
• A raw diet promotes healthier skin and a softer coat, with less shedding and dandruff due to foods rich in vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.
• A raw diet improves oral health if mostly meats, organs, bones, healthy fats - containing less starchy veggies and fruits, and thus less sugars. Daily washing of stainless steel or glass bowls, prevents the buildup of microfilms from bacteria in saliva.
• A raw diet supported by less carbohydrates, where there’s a correlation between too much glucose, insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and oxidative stress – with diabetes and obesity.
• A raw diet may alleviate allergies as there is no processing, no unnatural colorants or flavors and much fewer starches, if any, to perhaps diminish any sensitivities and yeast overgrowth.
• A raw diet produces a lot less waste as processed foods are not in their natural state and may have fillers that pass through the body, resulting in large amounts of stool. By eating raw, there is more to absorb and utilize in food, producing smaller stools with decreased waste passing through.
BUT… “my dog does so well on kibble!”
Of course, many do! There as SO many variables at play. And just like humans, many are sedentary with poor dietary habits, yet have longevity.
A perfect diet does not exist, but achieving balance and nutrient needs, is important.
A daily diet does not have to be the same, but variety assures nutrients are consumed over time.
In my opinion, in an ideal world, an optimal diet for dogs includes fresh, whole food ingredients. Proteins should be high quality, human-grade (humanly-raised), grass-fed, free range, and sustainably sourced wild caught fish. High moisture is essential, as are healthy fats. Including carbs that are organic non-starchy vegetables and low-glycemic fruits, provide antioxidants and a nutritious blend of colors of the rainbow.
Some owners may choose to feed vegetarian or even vegan; some may add more grains or insects as protein.
Whether prepping on your own or buying commercially balanced food, feed the dog in front of you. Look at lab work, behavior and growth. Deficiencies or imbalances can occur over time. Too little protein or omega-3 fats, imbalances in potassium or copper, may cause havoc down the road.
Some may need to enhance the diet due to medical issues with more anti-inflammatory foods, probiotics, digestive enzymes, and even medicinal mushrooms or greens and sprouts and herbs. Some may turn to alternative methods with a more holistic/integrative approach such as Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture and Homeopathy.
Find a professional practitioner that aligns with your philosophy to assure needs are met.
Promote wellness, in order to prevent illness.
Be creative, foster curiosity and have fun with your pet!
• Add fruits and/or veggies to bowls; liquify in blender to digest easily
• Create smoothies from leftovers and freeze into ice cubes as toppers
• Add sardines for extra omega-3-fatty acids
• Add raw goat milk or plain kefir for moisture and probiotics
• Add bone broth for moisture and collagen
• Crock pot meals for yourself and share, NO onions or cooked bones (will fragment)
• Rotate proteins, it may prevent allergies – but increases variety
• Eat on platters, bowls and Lickimats ! Freeze Kongs, Toppls with foods and liquids
•. Move feeders away from walls and corners, to allow movement, as in foraging in the wild
•. Use slow feeders to prevent gulping
• Offer REAL food as treats and save on packaged marketing fillers
BUT WAIT!
Circle back to the other Pillars of Health!
Movement, Sleep Optimization, Stress Mitigation, Community and Purpose.
Dogs need daily movement, to enhance circulation, increase muscle strength, stability, balance and tone. They need sleep in environments of low stress. They need a community to play and sniff - and do all the things they innately are meant to do.
And lastly, Purpose. What is their purpose?
Their unconditional love they provide to us humans.
Give them what they need to not just survive, but to thrive.
Address their Pillars of Health, as an ongoing conscious lifestyle choice.
Be in tuned to their behavior. Meet their emotional, physical and dietary needs.
You are their guardian… and their best friend.
We love you, Hudson!
Ted Metzger, MD is a practicing board certified Radiologist as well as founder and owner of PrimalMed, LLC. PrimalMed educates and advocates on Metabolic Health and Wellness, as seen through the lens of a curious radiologist.
Ellen Metzger MS, RD - the other half of the PrimalMed team, is an Integrative Registered Dietitian, addressing ancestral and primal nutrition principles as drivers of metabolic health and wellness.
The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. Consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on the PrimalMed website.
Great article!! I have been feeding my dog a raw diet for several years now and I saw an immediate change in his overall health and his labs!! My Berner is now 9 and in great health overall! I swear feeding all dogs & cats a raw diet is the best way to ensure their overall health and longevity.
From my doodles (Kallie and Kamie) to Hudson and the Primal RD, thank you for another amazing read!