A friend of mine recently wrote me about her dog. Below is an edited account of a recent meeting that she had with her dog’s vet:
“You might be interested in this- yesterday I had a 2 hr consult with a vet who practices alternative medicine on animals- some traditional medicine too, of course, but is really into the whole food/nutrition thing as a means of preventing/treating illness.
My sweet dog is not sick (but has had tremendous medical issues in her past- being an abandoned dog left to die after a miserable life of abuse and neglect) but I am worried about her in her old age. She is 6 now, I ‘ve had her for 4 years- she has recovered fully. Anyway, this vet was wonderful. She is really into the whole Paleo thing for dogs- believes we are killing our pets with a high carb high grain content diet that is completely unnatural for them.
She wants me to start feeding my dog raw rabbits- once a week for one meal- as a means of naturally cleaning her teeth so she won’t have to be anesthetized to have dental done. Her teeth(well, gums) are really in bad shape and this will lead to heart and kidney disease eventually, which will kill her. We know this to be true and even ‘regular’ vets agree that cleaning teeth is necessary. They just want to do it with modern technology and drugs- and I have a big fear of anesthesia. Especially since this dog had stage 4 heartworm disease (should have died from that) and somehow survived with a special ($$$$$$$) treatment for it. Anyway, suffice to say she has a damaged heart and therefore I am afraid to anesthetize her especially just to clean her teeth.
So the answer is to eat bones and muscle which will naturally clean her teeth and gums. I am going to do it- although the thought of it repulses me. But the vet assures me that they come all cut up and skinned (no head or tails) just like grocery store chicken. She also encourages a very Paleo like diet for animals- so I told her about your experience and your health benefits etc from following the low carb and no grain plan. She agreed completely.
Dog food is full of crap- just like packaged human food. Lots of cheap grain fillers, especially gluten (which she told me to NEVER feed to an animal) so I am going to take her advice. Ever since the Chinese gluten in pet food scare of several years ago I have only purchased pet food made in the USA and without gluten or corn in it, mostly buying only organic products. But I am going to gradually wean her off of all the cereal based stuff except for the ones that have millet barley in them, apparently that is good for dogs.
Anyway, it was a very interesting conversation with her and I just thought you’d be interested to know that (some) vets are on the side of the Paleo diet. She agreed the whole pet food thing was about cheap product that made max profit, just like human junk food.
BTW- I don’t know if you have a dog or not, but she told me that you should NEVER give a dog a bone that has been cooked.”
What great advice, and a great story. Wouldn’t it be great if there were more nutritionists and dietitians out there for us humans with the perspective that this vet had on how to care for a dog’s health!? Of course there is a long story regarding where dogs and wolves came from, but it’s helpful to remember a wolf’s diet probably isn’t too far off from what we should expect our domesticated dogs to thrive on.
It’s very much in the same way that we use the hunter-gatherer diet/lifestyle not as being written on a tablet taken down from the mountain, but as a template to think about how we have eaten, moved, and slept for millions of years. Perhaps, this is key to understanding why we may get sick if we deviate too far from that “energy in/energy out” human development story. Here’s an update from my friend:
“I am already seeing a change in my dog after 4 days of just reducing the dry grains. I’ve got her on about 1/2 dry 1/2 canned (all meat no grain) food. Her eyes are brighter, she pants less (as she is not as dehydrated- which dry food causes in dogs) and her paws are not as scaly and cracked (also a sign of dehydration). I haven’t found a place that sells rabbit meat yet, but am looking. I will give her that twice a month for her teeth.
BTW- you might also want to add a warning to your dog owner friends about MilkBones. My dog loves them (most dogs do) but was told that they are all sugar and wheat flour- very little “bones” in them, and have the calorie equivalent of a Snickers bar.”
Sometimes it takes a bit of reflection to not instinctively fall back on your conditioned knee-jerk response that echoes:
-you need to COUNT calories,
-you need to CONTROL yourself,
you need to eat 6-11 SERVINGS OF GRAIN.
But living and eating our natural way doesn’t force you to count and control and eat 11 servings of grain, corn, beans, and rice at the expense of restricting vegetables, fruits and meat.
However, conditioned “COUNT, CONTROL & 6-11 SERVINGS OF GRAIN thinking” forms a wall around people’s brains about a foot thick. So, when we try to pass on the good news about our rediscovered paleo health and don’t get a trumpet of praise as a result, don’t be surprised. After all, most of the industrialized world is feeding their dogs the equivalent of a snickers bar to clean their teeth and can’t figure out what’s the problem with them when their mouths start rotting!. It will take some time for people to understand n=1 regarding their own health. If eating “non-paleo” is making you sick, there’s something wrong. It doesn’t mean that you’re at fault that the granary approved food pyramid isn’t working for you. You’re not lazy, or feeble, or weak willed. It’s not your fault that this low-fat/high sugar/high carb/non-human diet isn’t working for you. It’s not your fault!
A specialist on CNN, or Oprah or Rachel Ray may tell you all of these new fangled ways to count the number of calories you’re gorging on in the process of eating your 6-11 servings of grain per day… if you’re one of those people who have high insulin and are gaining weight on this “lowfat/high carb” diet, counting calories and buying your meals in boxes isn’t the answer. Well, I’ll just say, it wasn’t the answer for me.
Perhaps, though… you could try eating just vegetables, fruit and meat for 4 days? Change your diet by avoiding grains and sugar for just a week like this dog has done and see what happens? Or is the wall built with the bricks of COUNT/CONTROL/6-11 SERVINGS OF GRAIN too thick still? Don’t worry, that’s alright. Just think about it some more. We’ll be on this side of the wall waiting for you if you want to climb over and give it a try.
Do any of you have any stories about how your paleo lifestyle influenced one of our canine friends? Or, perhaps, how one of our canine friends influenced you to find your kairos moment? 