Do dogs get cellulite. No, they don’t. How silly of you for asking. ANALYST admits, this headline is a weak attempt at an excuse to write about real dog food (and to shamelessly post pictures of her oh-so-photogenic puppy). Soon after launching the Cellulite Investigation, ANALYST quickly realized that the information she was gleaning through her research has an important application for our four-legged friends, even if they are impervious to the condition (lucky little b*#@%!).
Has anyone else noticed that our canine compadres are coming down with some crazy ailments lately? Why does every other dog seem to have severe allergies? We’re not talking watery eyes and a little sneezing. This is chew-your-butt-off, take-me-to-the-vet-for-steroids kind of allergies. Just off the top of her head, ANALYST can think of some pretty bizarre health conditions her local dog friends are forced to endure. There’s the chronic ear infections and itchy paws. There’s the one whose fingernails randomly fell off (poor girl) and the one with anal leakage (poor owners!). Was man’s best friend always this screwed up?
When ANALYST brought home her first puppy back in the eighties, it was a different dog world. The vet recommended Major Dog Food Brand X that could be purchased at any grocery store, and Puppy #1 lived a long and healthy life to the ripe old age of 19. By the time Puppy #2 came along, Major Dog Food Brand X was a completely different product. The name was the same, but the ingredients were not. The vet recommended Premium Dog Food Brand Y that could only be purchased at the higher end pet supply stores.
Within months, Puppy #2 developed her first of many ear infections. The vet gave her antibiotics and it went away for a few weeks but soon returned with a vengeance. This pattern continued for the next two years! Sometimes the itchy ears were accompanied by a rash on her stomach, excessive genital licking, or IBS (Itchy Butt Syndrome). At age 2, she developed a fierce case of itchy paws. Sometimes she chewed her front paws until they bled; her bright blonde fur turned a sickly pink.
We consulted vet after vet and each one offered a differing diagnosis. Some said Labs are just prone to ear infections and there’s nothing you can do about it. Most thought it was an allergy of sorts, either to grass, or pesticides, or grains, or chicken… the list was endless. One vet even suggested it was an unresolved emotional issue, which she could ameliorate through some kind of mental telepathy (yes, it really hurt reaching for the wallet after that visit).
Sick of throwing money away on pricey trips to the vet, ANALYST decided to do what she does best. She launched her own investigation on the subject. It quickly became clear that all the symptoms were yeast related. This isn’t surprising, since most commercial dog foods (even prescription dog foods or premium brands) are based on cheap carbohydrates like corn starch or corn gluten meal. Dogs can get by on this diet, but they won’t thrive without the healthy bacteria and nutrients that their carnivore pedigree prefers. Dogs are designed to eat meat. Raw meat, to be exact. If feeding your dog raw meat sounds shocking, we need to ask ourselves a simple question. When did it become “normal” to feed Fido a bowl of dry cereal for breakfast?
ANALYST is happy to report that Puppy #2’s paws are back to their pristine condition. Even her Labrador ears are virtually itch free, in spite of all those vets who said the condition was incurable. Her body took about a year to work out its yeast issues after switching to Real Food. It’s easier than ever to feed your dog a raw meat diet thanks to companies who package their raw food products in convenient frozen patties. If the price of this convenience it too steep for your budget, there are cheaper ways to feed your dog Real Food. Don’t you owe it to Fido (or Bella, or Sadie, or Max…) to get out there and find one?
What are your thoughts on real dog food? Would you consider feeding your dog raw meat and bones?
*ANALYST is proud to be a part of Real Food Wednesdays hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop. Check out her blog for fabulous Real Food recipes and other great kitchen tips.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
This is so true. When my husband grew up in rural Georgia, his family didn't even buy dog food…the dogs ate table scraps (including lots of raw meat scraps and bones) and yes, thet were happier and healthier because of it.
Thanks for your comment, Leah! Now that dogs are developing so many health problems, there seems to be a trend back to that way of feeding. Maybe this whole "dog food" phenomenon will be a flash in the pan, relatively speaking?
(The people who came up with the term "dog food" must have been marketing geniuses. "Extruded pet food pellets" just doesn't have the same ring.)
I just found your blog – I can't wait to spend more time reading through all your posts. Thanks so much for taking the time to research this topic and post about it – you are confirming something I have long suspected and have read about … the cellulite/lymph connection. I am definitely bookmarking this!! Have a great day
This is true for cats too! I have tried to switch mine to raw food, and it's difficult to do. They are addicted to the cheap carbs (just like humans). I pretty much gave up, but need to try again. I still have plenty of raw food in the freezer, and one obese cat with a skin condition.
Great post.
Anon, thanks for the positive feedback! I'm glad I'm not the only one who suspects this rampant cellulite epidemic isn't as innocuous as some of the "experts" would have us believe. Please let me know if you find any good evidence to add to the case!
Jen, that's so funny that your cat doesn't like the raw food. We had a similar experience with our dog in the beginning. We took her to a fancy "pet deli" in South Florida. Just like a normal deli, they had all the food behind a glass counter and made the dog food to order. It was pricey, of course, but we ordered her a few servings of chicken hearts and livers as a treat, laughing about what a spoiled puppy she is.
We tried to give her a taste of it when we got home, but surprisingly, she turned her nose up at it. This was the first time she ever refused anything that was remotely edible! She loved eating the chicken hearts and livers I gave her as leftovers after making roast chicken, so I was really surprised when she didn't like the ones from the pet deli. I can only speculate it might have been because those chicken weren't free range. I've learned to trust her sense of food judgment (even though she does still eat poop on occasion) so I'm sure there was a reason for it. Keep trying with your kitty. Maybe a different brand would do the trick? Good luck!
Commercial dog food has advertising success just like human food–throw on the label that it's healthy, or good for the heart, and apparently that's enough to be convincing. Standard dog food/kibble is successful not because it's what a dog needs to stay healthy, but because it's cheap, quick, easy, and makes the dog full.
Thanks for your comment, Cameron. I have to say that I agree with everything up to the very last word. I don't think my dog has ever really been "full."
I read some interesting research by a holistic vet who claims that if you feast your dog regularly (letting her have as much quality food as she wants), she will eventually reach a standard portion size. I can't wait to try this someday when I have some extra money on hand. We did a mini-feasting session on her birthday and she quickly ate through all 5 patties of raw food. She had a huge smile on her face for the rest of the day. It was so funny to watch!
I tried my cats on raw food, for a month, they hated it. They hated me for it. It was so bad that they got into my bread! Those were to some kitties going through withdraw. Me and my felines compromised about the food. I get them grain free organic holistic kibbles, and they will eat it. I will give them cooked liver as a treat, they just turn there noses up at the raw, and we get a long fantastically. In fact they are like my husband with the hole whole foods thing. If I make "regular" food with whole food ingredients he grudgingly eats it. If I make some strait up sprouted wheat bread he turns his nose up at it. brats!
Hey, great news. My dogs have always chewed their paws. BARF site is down. Anywhere else to get the predone Raw diet stuff. Just can't see the Missus using a blender to chop up organ meat.
claudio
Ha ha, Rosy! What a funny comparison! I wonder how many other wives have that kind of experience with their husbands and Real Food.
No need for a blender, Claudio. Dog teeth can handle a lot of exercise! My dog likes eating the whole liver (come to think of it, I don't think she chews it much) and she LOVES a good raw beef mutton bone. But the patties are convenient. Most of the smaller pet stores are starting to sell raw food. I've been buying the Nature's Variety brand at Pet Supplies Plus.You can also have it delivered from various online retailers.
Switching to a raw food diet is something you might want to read up on before jumping right into it. Most dogs with similar yeast problems will go through a "detox" period that might include diarrhea, lethargy, and vomiting. It lasted for a couple weeks with my dog. Like I said, it took a year for all her symptoms to clear up. Let me know if I can help out with any more info. Good luck!
Great post! I started my dogs on a raw diet 2 years ago, do you give your dogs veggies at all? For the people who commented about trying to switch their cats. It has taken about a year for my mom to get her cat to eat raw. The first thing I had her do though was quit feeding her kibble and just feed her canned grain-free food. After offering her raw meat time and time again, she started eating raw, she probably eats 50% raw. She is very finicky and gets tired of the same meat. Some things she has tried and like are: Emu, Beef, Chicken and turkey. For those who are new to rawfeeding I highly recommend: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/
Thanks for the link, Alison. I do give her some veggies. The Nature's Variety brand that she's been eating is 95% meat and bone and 5% other stuff, including broccoli, carrots, apples, etc. But she also gets a healthy dose of sprouts at every meal.
We saw instant results when she switched to raw food, but she still had itchy ears for several months. All the vets kept saying it was allergies and that she just couldn't digest certain foods. That made me think that maybe she had a problem with digestive enzymes, perhaps because the raw food is frozen and not fresh? You can buy digestive enzymes for pets, but it seems they are all made from sprouts so I've just been growing them at home. They're so cheap and easy to make (kindof a fun project for kids, I would imagine). And its crazy how much she likes them. She starts drooling every time I open the jar!
What kind of Sprouts do you give her? One of my dogs has been on digestive enzymes for several months now, and no improvement, and my other dogs still have some major allergy problems even though I make sure that the dog treats I give them are 100% meat, so there's no grain in their diet. There's a stand at my local farmers market that sells a lot of sprouted things, I'll have to pick some up and try that.
I've been giving her mung bean sprouts because they are so easy to make, but I've seen the commercial digestive enzymes made with other kinds of sprouts, too. I've read some warnings about sprouted soy and alfalfa so those are the only ones I wouldn't think to try with her at this point.
In case anyone wants to make their own sprouts, I buy the beans in the bulk food section of Whole Foods. A little goes a long way, so they're usually under 20 cents. (I can't think of anything else I buy for under 20 cents!) Put a couple teaspoons worth in a jar, cover them with water, and then cover the jar with something breathable (I used a cloth and a rubberband). After 8 hours or so, you strain the beans and put them back in the covered jar to sprout. All you have to do after that is rinse them 3 times a day for a few days, and voila!, you'll have fresh sprouts coming out the wazoo.
For people, they recommend cleaning the sprouts first because they can pick up some nasty germs, but I skip this step for my dog. She's a tank.
I also found a fabulous product for topical use, called Liquid Health K-9 Ear Solutions. It worked so fast on the infections in her paws, too, and they never came back. The best price I found was at Vitacost:
http://www.vitacost.com/Liquid-Health-K-9-Ear-Solutions
Good luck, Alison! Let us know how it works out with the sprouts!
Nice pictures! I sent this link to Mike. Maybe we could learn something to get Jake off his prednisone.
Poor, Jake! What's he got? Itchy paws, stomach, ears, butt??? So many dogs are on steroids now. Let me know if I can help out with any further info!
Thanks Analyst! Jake LOVES Natures Variety. I love the fact that I can feed the same food to my cat.
Jake is 7 and has always been a picky eater. He used to leave his food in the bowl for days. He was always hoping to get table food or dog biscuits. Now, he eats everything within minutes.
He takes prednisone for his itchy skin. Without prednisone, the poor guy can't take a walk without stopping to itch two or three times each block. But the prednisone is bad for his liver.
We haven't seen any changes with his itching yet, but we love to see him eat his food. I am hoping his skin will be better with more time eating Natures Variety.
Thanks
Wonderful! I'm so glad he likes the new food. Dogs enjoy good food so much. It's such a pleasure watching them eat sometimes.
It took over a year for my dog's itchies to go away after we switched her to the raw diet. Did you notice any kind of side effects when you switched his diet? lethargy, vomiting, anything like that? Is he eating the frozen patties or the dry raw food? We also used the Liquid Health ear solution (I linked to it above) on her paws and ears. It cleared up completely when we added the digestive enzymes (i.e. the sprouts). Hopefully you'll be able to get him off that prednisone eventually. Keep at it!
Thanks Analyst, it helps to know how long it took for your dog to stop having trouble with itching. We've not seen a single side effect from the raw diet. He's eating the dry raw food, but we plan on trying the frozen patties too.
I told Mike about the Liquid Health ear solution and he is interested in trying that too.
I've never tried the dry stuff. I wonder how they can keep it raw but still have such a long shelf life. I guess they freeze dry it or something like that. I'm curious to see if he has any reactions with the frozen raw food.
Another thing to look into is probiotics. We gave her a human grade probiotic supplement for a few weeks after she switched to the raw food. It's hard to say how much of an effect it had, but it might have helped her get over that initial yeast overgrowth. This website is a good source of info (I didn't buy any of their supplements, though. Kinda pricey.)
http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/systemic_yeast_mini_course.htm
Nice post – pictures of cellulite ..Keep Posting
Ron
pictures of cellulite
Thanks for the encouragement, Ron. I usually stick to sxc.hu or my own camera for my pics because I don't want to infringe on any copyrights. But I'll check out the link you sent. Thanks!
My dog is as a large, 11 y/o mutt. Since puppyhood, she had digestive issues. Lamb and rice kibble (yeah, expensive pet store kind) gave her diarrhea. Everything gave her gas. A couple years ago, during that adulterated dog food scare, my dog became extremely ill w/in days of a new bag of food. Vet couldn't explain it. Dog food later recalled. So, started making her cooked food- chicken and rice, potatoes, eggs, etc. She recovered from the illness, and I haven't fed her kibble since. While I feel certain the food she ate did contain the adulterated rice (the dog food company reimbursed me for her vet costs),making her food led me to realize that she cannot handle grains. Period. Rice came out same as it went in. As mentioned above, the primary ingredient of most dog food is some kind of grain, usually corn. I read more on raw, and though it seemed crazy, I tried giving her raw chicken, with the bones. She is now on a raw diet, supplemented with glucosamine/choindroitin, salmon oil and turmeric. I literally put down a whole, raw chicken, and let her eat. Sometimes pork ribs or other animal parts. Gross, BUT last time I took her to the vet, he could not get over what great shape she was/is in. When I told her about the diet, he initially told me that couldn't be good, then checked her out and ended the appointment by saying to keep doing what we were doing. Seriously, a couple years ago, she was exhausted with a few mile walk. She walked 8.5 miles yesterday, and 10 miles a few days earlier. It's truly amazing, and it's encouraging me to try and clean up my own diet and eat all whole foods.
Sorry for the long post, but I am a strong advocate of a whole food diet for dogs (and people, though I don't follow my own advice for myself!). The results I've seen have been really amazing.
Sorry, forgot to mention- i also have a cat, who I feed crappy grocery story cat food. He LOVES raw, and will take it from Hera's bowl if he gets the chance. But he also vomits everything that isn't kibble. I can't deal with cat vomit on my bed everyday. And it's alot harder to maintain a balanced raw diet for cats. But unlike many, my cat not liking raw is not a problem. Perhaps his earlier years outside catching and eating animals was a good thing.
Thanks for sharing your experience with raw food, Herama. What a story! Your pup is so lucky you were able to figure out his digestive problems! A lot of vets are hesitant to endorse a raw food diet, but once you've seen the changes in your pet, it's hard to feed your dog anything else, isn't it? Once I understood how essential nutrition is to health and healing, I scoured the Internet for a local vet who recommends raw food. We just had our first appointment last week and it's really comforting to finally have a vet who "gets it."
How strange about your cat! I wonder if that's some sort of "detox" reaction to the raw food. My dog threw up a few times in the first few days she was eating raw food, but I had read that would happen so I just stuck with it. Not sure how it works with cats, though. It would be nice if you could find a vet to help you figure it out. If he's craving raw food, there must be a reason for that. Right?
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