Nutritional Therapies For Dogs

Nutritional  therapies are the basis of natural dog care but can be difficult to implement because so much still needs to be learned about the dietary management of good health. Nutritional therapies are beneficial not only when there are nutritional deficiencies but also when food itself is the cause of a problem. Eating disorders, on the other hand, are human, not canine problems.

The concept of nutritional therapy evolved out of naturopathy, which is the science of treating disease and promoting good health through nourishing, non-allergenic foods, clean water, fresh air, and an uncontaminated environment, achieving equilibrium and good health in the body's internal environment. The basic concept of naturopathy has been adopted by conventional veterinary medicine and is the basis of preventative medicine today. Nutritional therapies concentrate on overcoming health problems through fasting and clinical nutrition.

Not eating, a central component of "nature cures", appears to be an excellent strategy that all animals developed over the centuries to help overcome illness. When challenged by infection, cytokines in a dog's brain turn off the brain's hunger center. Consequent fasting benefits the ill dog in two ways. By not eating, bacteria that invaded the body are starved of the minerals they need. More important, a fasting dog will not use up precious energy looking for food. The dog rests, reduces heat loss, and fights infection.

Controlled fasting is beneficial for most mammals. Mice that are fasted for two days before an infection are more likely to survive the infection than mice that are not fasted.

A dog's diet may be the actual cause of a medical or behavioral problem. A diet may be deficient in macro - or micronutrients. It may be toxic to a dog, contaminated with hazardous materials, contain antinutrients, or be imbalanced. Diet-induced problems can be caused when we, or manufacturers of dog food, formulate diets incorrectly. Processing problems and post-processing mistakes also lead to diet-induced problems, usually deficiencies. Diet-induced problems are uncommon, a consequence of the dog's superb nutritional adaptability and the quality of most food we feed dogs today.

Each dog is a unique individual with its own idiosyncratic responses to the foods it eats. Some individuals tolerate almost any foods, while other dogs develop a variety of food intolerances. Nutrient-sensitive diseases occur, not when there is a defect in the diet, but rather when there is a defect in the dog.

Nutrient-sensitive diseases include food allergies, heart, liver, and kidney diseases, and some forms of urinary tract disease. Food sensitivities occur more often in some breeds, such as the Shetland Sheepdog and the Golden Retriever, than others. Regardless of breed, the likelihood of a dog developing a food sensitivity increases with age.

Treating a nutrient-sensitivity condition can be risky because any diet change is usually a permanent one. Without careful planning, a nutrient-sensitivity problem can be turned into a nutrient-deficiency condition.

Overfeeding is the most common feeding-related disorder in dogs. A feeding-related problem is a responsibility of the owner, rather than of the dog. And, frustratingly, the only treatment for this nutritional problem is to educate the owner, a far more difficult task than changing a dog's diet. Feeding-related problems include obesity, growth disorders, and reproductive failure.

Historically, veterinarians have understood the link between nutrition and health, but it is only in the last 20 years that nutritional therapy has become a component of clinical veterinary care. Food grown in poor soil may lack nutrients, crops sprayed with pesticides may contain toxic chemicals, or meat that has been passed as unfit for human consumption can end up in dog food. Poor food may alter the balance of bacteria in the gut, which is thought to be a cause of the increased incidence of allergic conditions in dogs.

In reaction to information concerning the way livestock are treated, the drugs they are given to promote their growth, and the risks of disease meat poses to us, increasing numbers of people are giving up meat and eating vegetarian diets. A vegetarian diet is safe for dogs, also, but by no means natural.

Some dog owners feel that raw food diets are most natural. This is true, although dogs have difficulty digesting raw vegetables and grains. Raw meat contains nutrients that are unaltered by cooking but may also contain harmful bacteria such as Salmonella.

Beginning in the 1980s, and accelerating rapidly in the 1990s, pet food manufacturers produced a range of therapeutic diets for dogs. Responding to a more refined demand, dog food manufacturers use ingredients from the "human food" chain in their dog foods, and avoid synthetic preservatives and colorants. The best of the therapeutic diets utilize the nutritionist's knowledge of practices such as modifying gut flora to secure health benefits. Some dog food manufacturers have responded to owner concerns about nutrition faster than human convenience-food makers.

Regardless of what nutritional therapy your dog needs, any strict diet fed over a long period may lead to malnutrition. Always talk to your vet and obtain a canine nutritionist's advice before embarking on any form of nutritional therapy for your dog, especially if it is growing, pregnant, or elderly.

• HERBS FOR BEAUTY
• HERBS FOR KIDS
• HERBS FOR WOMEN
• HERBS FOR MEN
• HERBS FOR DOGS
  • Herbal treatments
  • Micronutrients
  • Biochemic tissue salts
  • Massage
  • Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • Bach Flowers Remedies
  • Aromatherapy
  • Homeopathy
  • Hydrotherapy
• A GARDEN OF HEALING HERBS