And, of course, the reason we may not all be able to access our needed supplies is, the situation with COVID-19. Clients are writing to tell me they can’t get their usual type/cut of meat, or fish, or yogurt – or sweet potatoes, quinoa,the list goes on – any number of ingredients they rely on for their dog’s daily diet. And while some of these foods can be made up for with others, I hardly have time to adjust a few hundred recipes quickly. So, a few general guidelines below and again – if your dog has a serious health issue, and we rely on consistency – epilepsy, diabetes, some cancers, renal failure, liver shunt, allergies, bladder stones – or as is often the case, a few of these – EMAIL ME. The suggestions here are generic and your dog is not, so let’s tackle what we can.
Puppy clients, too – email and I will help with an appropriate commercial food, if you cannot find what you need for your recipe…in some cases, a new recipe may be an option, too, using what you can find.
1) Anyone feeding a proactive recipe, if you cannot find suitable substitutes for an ingredient (referring to the General Dietary Guidelines) then I recommend finding a commercial product to use in place of the home prepared, for the time in which you can’t locate what you need. We will be adding a File on this at the group, Canine Nutrition and Natural Health. I can’t take a lot of emails on this, because I need to prioritize therapeutic clients, but we can help at the group. hopefully shortages will be short term, but I do stress that foods like beef liver and kidney cannot just be omitted, longterm, and changing fat content of ground beef can dramatically affect calories as well as vitamin and mineral content.
Commercial diet help and support here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/756709917722083/
2) For those feeding a therapeutic recipe, ingredients often need to be very specific, and it can be stressful and worrisome if they are suddenly unavailable. In that case – two things: a) please contact me, and if I can adjust the recipe using ingredients you can obtain, or supplements for the time being, I will, and b) consider using a prescription diet for the time being. While we prefer a fresh food diet formulated to your dog’s specific needs, if the ingredients are unavailable,default to an appropriate canned or dry food. It won’t be forever, and since the first consideration for nutritionally-responsive conditions is correct nutrient levels, that’s the compromise you *may* need to make. I will endeavour to adjust recipes as I can, but in the event I am too backed up to get to you quickly, the prescription food is the way to go. Obviously if you have an alternative recipe – most clients have at least two – you can switch to the second one..hopefully without a struggle to find ingredients.
3) For those using one of my herbal protocols – I can attest (after just now spending close to three hours tracking down products that are usually readily available) you may find that some herbs, tinctures, formulas I have your dog on, are out of stock – please don’t panic! in many protocols there are the more essential components and the support players – I may well be able to help you find an alternative to what you cannot find. In this case, email me right away and I will help. Some herbs can and even should be given a break periodically, while others are important to use consistently (cardiovascular cases and cancer come to mind).
What not to do – take advice from Internet Groups that may not know the particulars of your dog’s case, and often promote a one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition.
Also – don’t panic. 🙂 Between me and the wonderful team at CNNH, we will get you sorted,and let’s stay optimistic things will return to normal, soon.
Hi. My dog, Rider, is a 5 yr old basset/bully x. He started having severe seizures at about 3.5 yrs. He is currently on phenobarb. He has, in the last year and a half, developed intermittent scratching & chewing bouts that have left his skin with open wounds and hairless. My vet has had him on antibiotics (3 times), prednisone twice, and now apoquel. I am immensely unhappy about all these meds and have been diligently exploring diet and holistic allergy relief. I feel like my vet thinks it’s a waste of time! My head is swimming! I have found a couple helpful sites, liking this one, that have a ton of info but it’s complicated getting the correct foods together to balance when it’s new to me. I’ve ordered a very high quality dry food thru the internet to get him off his current diet until I can comfortably shop. I think I’ve put more effort into this than I ever did in school! I’ve ordered a couple products, probiotics and enzymes. Paradigm to add to meat and make it complete until I get the hang if this. Hempseed oil. And get mixed reviews on kelp. My concerns at this point are am I getting more than I need? I don’t plan on putting the dog back on any more meds after this course. Do you have any dietary suggestions that I could feed to help should they come back? (they will) I hope this is the correct place to ask these questions! Any info is appreciated! Thank you. Susan Deschenes
Hi Susan, sorry to hear you are having these challenges…are you aware of my services? Putting together a therapeutically balanced, complex protocol like this is very daunting for a layperson – I can help with both recipes and herbal support. My recommendation is to check the services (menu on the main page) and see what would work for you. The full service is ideal and on sale at 245$ for all the time and support entailed. Or you can email me at catlane@thepossiblecanine.com to discuss consultation options. I can most certainly optimize it all for you, but need a full history, and some hours to work with, to start out.
I emailed you outside of the website concerning Ellie Mae.
Have you considered switching from phenobarbital to a generic kepra, my seizure dog did much better on it, and more lucid.
Hello from New Zealand, I’ve just stumbled across your website and have been reading quite a bit about home cooking for dogs including what supplements to add. I’ve always homecooked with the addition of some raw meats. I’ve found that both my dogs did better with minimal to zero carbs and minimal to zero veges. Some veges even seemed to make one develop a limp. Stop the veges and the limp disappears. Add the veges and limp appears. Anyhow, my little Bichon has just been diagnosed as diabetic, so I understand that carbs are important for the correct metabolising of her daily insulin shot and have had to adjust her diet to include carbs and veges so I’ve added pureed vegetables along with a small amount of quinoa and soaked lentils, she has mostly boiled chicken for her morning meal because this is what she will eat with zero appetite in the mornings. In the evenings she gets green tripe, a small amount of minced salmon and some minced veal or venison – no bone, plus a CoQ10 capsule and a fifth of a teaspoon of hemp powder. I also read one of your articles that said Kelp is not necessarily a good thing to give. I’ve been giving a Kelp based probiotic with inulin as one of the ingredients. I now wonder if this is a good thing or not? Most people just feed their diabetic dogs a special kibble, which would be so much easier as the resources are very limited on raw feeding/home cooked food and with differing opinions and recommendations which has left me more than a bit confused. Would you have any sources or advice for me?