Posts Tagged ‘diet’
Sunday, July 31st, 2011
Did you too notice that many pet food companies and food industry giants are suddenly going all natural? Many people appear to have been lured by the promise of top quality ingredients and also by packaging and advertising that likely costs more than the food itself.
“But what if they have really changed?” You may ask.
I wondered about the same so I did a little “market research.” We all know what it costs to purchase “quality ingredients” that these companies claim are in the bag.
Here are some examples:
Science Diet makes 30 lbs of all natural dog food that costs 57 dollars at an online store. This means that it is sold for a believable $1.90/lb. However, if you consider that dried food may be around 60 – 75% lighter than fresh food, you would be paying $0.47/lb. If (more…)
Tags: 25 lbs, 30 lbs, companies, diet, dobias, dog, dr, food, giant, holistic, IAMS, ingredients, natural, natural kibble, naturals, online, pet, peter, raw, royal canin, science, sensitive, store, vet
Posted in 8 How to Save on Vet Bills, News Stories | No Comments »
Monday, July 25th, 2011
I write my articles either on the basis of inspiration or a request. The later is definitely true for diabetes.
I will confess that diabetes is not my favorite topics, because I have seen it to be so challenging and time demanding for my clients to manage. Who wants to give insulin shots, be at home on time to give them and skip all the fun events, parties and trips? Who wants to go to the vet clinic for tests after test?
If you are expecting me to give you the magic bullet on how to treat diabetes without insulin, I may disappoint you. There may have been a few cases of diabetes remissions in cats and I have never seen this in dogs. The most frustrating part is that diabetes in animals and perhaps in people appears to be easily preventable.
In 14 years of feeding and recommending natural raw diet, I haven’t seen one single raw fed dog or cat with diabetes. This definitely suggests that the key in diabetes prevention is to stay away from processed food.
While I don’t have a scientific double blinded, triple blindsided study approved by a quadruple titled big honcho from a top medical institution, I may have humble explanation of how diabetes can be prevented. If you feel a hint of fire and pepper in my writing today, it is because I can’t believe that the conventional diet (more…)
Tags: addiction, amount of insulin, carbohydrated, cats, cause, chances, chocolate, clinic, croissant, diabetes, diet, digestion, dobias, Dogs, dr, drug, food, glucose, injections, insulin, pancreas, pet, peter, petfood, prevention, raw, reduce, regulate, shots, starches, sugar, test, vet
Posted in 8 How to Save on Vet Bills, Health Tips, News Stories | No Comments »
Saturday, May 21st, 2011
Recently I conducted a survey on the incidence of GDV in dogs. What I have learned is that dogs that are fed processed food are about five times as likely to suffer from a bloat than dogs that are fed raw or cooked food.
Most veterinary textbooks state that gastric dilation volvulus is a serious life threatening condition which is caused by general breed predilection, fermentation and gas formation in the stomach and is often caused by (more…)
Tags: after, bloat, block, bones, can, carbo, carbohydrate, carnivores, channel, clinic, cooked, diet, dobias, Dogs, dr, eating, emergency, energy, excessively, exercise, feed, feeding, food, fruit, gastric, gastropexy, GDV, grain, gums, holistic, homeopathy, nux, pale, panting, peter, prevention, preventive, processed, raw, salivating, stomach, torsion, vegetalis, vet, veterinarian, volvulus, vomica
Posted in 1 Most Popular, 8 How to Save on Vet Bills, Health Tips | 1 Comment »
Saturday, March 19th, 2011
You may already know that the commonly followed ration of meat, raw bones and veggie ratio is 50/25/25. While I agree that this ratio works well for most dogs, many of you ask me about what veggies and fruit to feed and which ones to avoid.
What do I recommend? Follow nature’s recipe!
Lets start with fruit
I recommend you giving Fido only small amounts of fruit , less than 5 % as dogs usually eat only small amounts of fruit in nature..
- Feed fruit at least 1 hour before feeding meat or other proteins and a minimum of 3 hours after a protein meal.
- Feed local and pesticide free fruit whenever possible.
Why the time restrictions?
Because protein takes longer to digest and if you feed fruit and protein together, fruit may start to ferment, creating alcohol. The next thing you know, your dog is “under the influence” staggering around the house.
On a more serious note, the most important reason is that fruit simply doesn’t digest as well with protein. On its own, fruit exits the stomach quickly. When you feed fruit with protein, it sits in the stomach much longer which may create undesirable fermentation which can even create a small amount of alcohol.
If you see your dog stumbling and wobbling around the house, you may fed him too much food. Actually I am just joking.
(more…)
Tags: barf, diet, dog, feed, food, home, made, prepare, vegetables, veggies, what
Posted in 1 Most Popular, Health Tips, News Stories | 2 Comments »
Thursday, February 17th, 2011
Lately, I have heard of some people cutting corners by feeding mixes of left over meat from meat packers. Because there are currently no regulations that would prohibit selling meat that is spoiled or not suitable for sale as dog food, I highly recommend not going that route and buy your raw pet food from a reputable manufacturer that is known for its quality and integrity.
If the defrosted package doesn’t smell the same as good quality meat for human consumption, discard it immediately and look for another supplier. (more…)
Tags: barf, can, cat, chicken, diet, dobias, dog, dr, fat, fatty, feed, food, free, healing, how, I, ingredients, meats, much, peter, quality, range, raw, solutions, too
Posted in 8 How to Save on Vet Bills, Health Tips, News Stories | 2 Comments »
Monday, February 14th, 2011
One of our readers, Lisa Snyders, has shared her experience with raw food and I thought it would be nice to share it:
“I started feeding raw to my 2 dogs 10 years ago. One a 7 year old basset had just quit eating. We could find nothing wrong with her other than she would not eat. At the same time our then 8 year old blue heeler/shepard cross had become extremely aggressive and we were thinking we would be putting both dogs down. Thankfully a friend of a friend suggested we try a raw diet.
At that point we were willing to try anything. Our basset immediately started eating again and slowly put weight back on. Our other dog took to the food right away, though her transformation was a little slower. After only 2 months, there were huge differences in both dogs. The basset was eating,energetic and just happy, The heelerX had calmed down considerably and was no longer acting in an aggressive manner, as she was no longer being poisoned by her food. In the end we had another 7 years with both dogs.
At the ages of 14 (basset) and 15 (heelerX) we said goodbye. Never an easy thing to do, but it was easier knowing we had been able to double the years they spent with us, and they were good years. We now have 4 other mixed breed dogs, and we feed all of them a raw, natural diet!
Lisa Snyders
If you have a raw dog food story to share, send it to us at contact@peterdobias.com . We would love to hear from you.
Tags: aggression, anorexia, appetite, barf, diet, dobias, Dogs, dr, feeding, food, natural, no, peter, raw, safe
Posted in 6 Stories and Memories, Health Tips, News Stories | 3 Comments »
Sunday, February 13th, 2011
Many veterinary clinics sell thousands of dollars worth of processed food. These sales have become one of the ways of bringing in the needed income to cover the skyrocketing costs of running a veterinary practice. It may surprise you that an average vet earns less then a plumber or a contractor.
(more…)
Tags: barf, cat, diet, dobias, dog, dr, food, pet, peter, raw, safe, vet
Posted in Health Tips, News Stories | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
I have always loved the cleverness of the “Magic School Bus” – one of the most ingenious educational programs to date. Today, I would like to invite you on a journey through the digestive tract of two very different groups; herbivores and carnivores to see why nature, unlike processed food junk companies, believes that raw food is the way to go. If you yourself unsure about raw food or have a friend who you try to educate. This blog post may be helpful.
Lets look at the cow – a herbivore. It has three fore stomachs and one stomach to digest and ferment plant material, grain and fiber. A horse represents a slight variation of this design. For a horse it would be very hard to run fast with a big fore stomach full of food. Instead, horses have a large colon that also digests and ferments plant material and fiber.
The digestive tract of carnivores is very different. It is shorter, equipped with a smaller but stronger stomach and relatively short intestines. The digestive glands of the stomach and especially pancreas are larger and produce large amounts of protein digestive enzymes. Carnivores do not have the ability to process fiber through fermentation as well as herbivores. (more…)
Tags: arthritis, barf, diarrhea, diet, digestive, diseas, dobias, dog, Dogs, food, for, good, joint, kidney, peter, problems, raw, safe, skin, vet
Posted in 6 Stories and Memories, 8 How to Save on Vet Bills, News Stories | 13 Comments »
Friday, October 29th, 2010
Some types of grapes and raisins have been shown to cause kidney failure in dogs when eaten in quantity.
The basis for kidney failure following consumption of grapes or raisins is unclear, but is currently being studied in the veterinary community.
The amount of grapes or raisins that may cause renal failure is not exactly known, so any amount could potentially be dangerous. As for treatment of recent ingestion, inducing vomiting and administering activated charcoal is recommended.
This should be followed with fluid therapy for 48 hours. During this time the patient should be monitored for increased values of kidney parameters. Recheck kidney values again in 2 – 4 weeks.
Tags: cats, diet, Dogs, dr. pater dobias, fluid therapy, food, grape, holistic medicine, kidney failure, natural medicine, poisoning, raisin, renal failure, toxicity of grapes, toxicity of raisins
Posted in Health Tips, News Stories | No Comments »
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
If you have been living with a pet suffering from kidney disease or hope to prevent it in the future, the following info is definitely for you.
Chronic kidney disease or chronic renal insufficiency is one of the most common conditions of cats and slightly less common in dogs. Symptoms include increased drinking and urination often followed by lack of appetite, vomiting, and muscle loss and general deterioration.
Kidney tissue is composed of very fine and sensitive kidney units that filtrate the blood, eliminate toxins and regulate water balance in the body. These units are highly prone to damage due to toxins or immune system dysfunction. (more…)
Tags: back health, cat, diet, dog, dr peter dobias, homeopathic treatment, homeopathic vet, kidney disease, probiotics, supplements
Posted in Health Tips | 13 Comments »
