Holistic Hound

30/04/2024

28/03/2024

Great alternative to the toxic pill pockets!

26/03/2024

21/03/2024

Its a windy one today but Charlie wants you to check out his adorable Easter bow tie!

07/03/2024

Happy Friday Eve!

The best part of my job is being such an exciting part of these babies day. The excitement they have to get out and explore 🥰

06/03/2024

Louder 👏 for 👏 the 👏 people 👏 in 👏 the 👏 back 👏

Thanks for the reminder .instincts 😘

And a reminder from us at : balanced raw promotes longevity, unbalanced raw causes disease - do your research and know what your dog needs 🙏🙏🙏

Ps. What’s wrong with kibble you ask? Have a listen to our recent podcast with Chelsea Kent from ParsleyPet and Solutions Pet Products, LLC about what REALLY goes into pet food in the US. It’ll blow your mind 🤯👇

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6EZvFRvU94nR7AuoBJJtns?si=StgmpM2ERXO2L0P_XSJcXg

04/03/2024

All we use for doggie dental hygiene!

Recent studies found 90% of dogs will develop periodontal disease 😱 This is bad news, because disease in the mouth often leads to disease in the heart 🫀, kidneys, and liver.

But here’s the good news: chewing certain types of bones 🦴can remove up to 90% of dental tartar!

Researchers found that specific bones removed tartar without causing injury to teeth, and they concluded that certain bones should be part of the home oral health care plan for dogs, along with tooth-brushing. And since many dogs consider this form of oral hygiene a treat (in fact, they’re called “recreational bones” because they are meant to be gnawed on, but not chewed and swallowed) it’s easy to get your dog on board for this healthy habit 🙌

In our new book, The Forever Dog LIFE, we give you more science-backed tips, recipes, and doable how-tos for taking care of your dog’s 🐶(and cat’s!🐱) body, inside and out, like a DIY toothpaste 🪥to help keep those pearly whites tip top!

More information here -
https://www.facebook.com/ForeverDogLife

04/03/2024

A class action suit was just settled against the Seresto collar for $15 million! Owners are eligible for payment for collars they purchased, as well as some medical costs. See https://shorturl.at/jrsR7

03/03/2024

🫐🫐🫐🫐🫐🫐

01/03/2024

So much cuteness this week ♥️

01/03/2024

We’re screaming “Happy Friday!”

Enjoy the weekend 🥰

27/02/2024

🍚 🥯 🍕 Do Dogs NEED Carbs? 🍕🥯🍚

The short answer is, no.

The NRC guidelines state that there is no essential nutritional requirement for carbohydrates in the canine diet at any life stage.

However. The long answer is, not really….but…

➡️ Let’s discuss 😉

If we look at the biochemistry of a dog, they lack salivary amylase as an essential initial stage of carbohydrate digestion. I would like to argue whether salivary amylase would be overly beneficial as dogs don’t chew to grind their food, so regardless the pancreatic enzymes would be more heavily relied upon anyway. Dogs do have pancreatic enzymes, and since domestication they have more genes coding for this adaptation than their wild counterparts, the wolf. But. The fact that dogs don’t participate in much mechanical oral digestion of food which is really required for efficient raw plant matter digestion does also suggest that carbohydrate possibly aren’t a major essential nutrient within their diet.

Carbohydrates in general, specifically those with a high glycemic index, “simple carbs”, induce a spike in glucose levels in the blood. Insulin is released to bring levels back into balance, but in turn insulin has other impacts on the body, including promoting fat and energy storage rather than fat burning. This means that, even if you are calorie restricting your overweight or obese dog, they will struggle to move those extra kilos on a high carb diet.

Elevated glucose causes inflammation. Immune cells and inflammatory molecules in the blood, such as white blood cells and cytokines, work to instigate glucose breakdowns. Systemic, chronic inflammation in a holistic sense is the root cause of all disease, leading to tissue and organ degradation. Inflammatory conditions include but are not limited to skin issues, joint issues and gut issues.

Of the grains commonly used in commercial processed pet food (rice, corn, wheat, barley, sorghum), rice has the highest glycemic response. Glucose spikes = weight gain and inflammation. Due to the fibre and starch combination, brown rice will have a lessened blood glucose response than white rice. However. Brown rice contains more arsenic than white rice along with anti-nutrients phytic acid and lectins found in the bran. (Note: if you are choosing to feed rice of any sort, opt for white batsami or long grain rice (lower GI than sushi rice or medium grain rice) and soak overnight or wash with vinegar and water. This will reduce the arsenic by up to 80%).

A 2017 gut microbiome study on adult labradors and beagles, measured the impact of high carbohydrate / low protein diets compared to high protein / low carbohydrate diets. The impact of a high carbohydrate diet on the gut microbiome showed an increase in mainly Bacteroides uniformis and Clostridium butyricum species. Where as, a high protein diet instead favoured the colonisation and population of Clostridium hiranonis, Clostridium perfringens, and Ruminococcus gnavus and enriched microbial gene networks associated with weight maintenance. The high carbohydrate diet demonstrated a decreased diversity in microbiota, with the species present being generalised for carbohydrate fermentation rather than a variety of specialised microbes. Other than the impact on weight, which this study was measuring, a decrease in microbial diversity could also impact nutrient digestion and the gut’s ability to defend itself against pathogenic or opportunistic bacteria.

➡️ What role could carbohydrates possibly play in the diet of a facultative carnivore?

Carbohydrates ideally shouldn’t form the majority of the diet unless there is a specific disease, illness or need requiring this.

However there are nutritional benefits of foods that contain carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are not just sourced from grains, legumes and white potatoes. Brightly coloured and leafy green vegetables also have carbohydrate content, in varying degrees, in the form of cellulose and starch. Blueberries, bananas and apples contain carbohydrates in the form of cellulose, starch, disaccharides such as sucrose and monosaccharides like fructose. If we are eliminating these from our dogs’s diet, what health and nutritional benefits are we also eliminating?

Feeding brightly coloured vegetables and berries with a low carbohydrate content provide an array of both essential nutrients as well as antioxidants.

🥬 Leafy greens - Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Manganese, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, flavonoid Kaempferol, antioxidant Lutein.

🥦 Broccoli - Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, phytonutrient Sulforaphane.

🌶️ Bell peppers - Vitamin C, Antioxidant Beta-cryptoxanthin, flavonoid Anthocyanin.

🫐 Blueberries - Potassium, Manganese, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, flavonoid Anthocyanin.

🍇 Blackberries - Copper, Manganese, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, polyphenols Quercetin, Anthocyanin, and Cyanidin.

We should also be considering the place of more high carbohydrate, starchy vegetables in our dog’s diet. Pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, beets and other root vegetables. Cooked and cooled white rice and white potatoes. Even garlic is almost 20% carbohydrate. These “high carb” ingredients have prebiotic benefits which when fed in appropriate quantities help boost the microbial diversity of the gut. The inclusion of prebiotic vegetables promotes the population of specific beneficial bacteria within the intestine.

🦠 Prevotella is a member of the Bacteroidetes phylum, which is found in greater numbers in the microbiota of animals who consume plants. This microbe breaks down complex carbohydrates within the gut, including tough plant fibers like xylan (found in grass) but also simple sugars like glucose. Promoting the population of Prevotella within the gut will not just assist with the digestion of plant material, but lack of this bacteria has a correlation with gastro intestinal disease in dogs.

🦠 Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Faecalibacterium are also fed using plant prebiotics. Their benefit is due to their role in carbohydrate fermentation, which produces butyrate. This short chain fatty acid improves the gut barrier, supports gut healing and reduces inflammation through providing an energy source for the colonocytes.

You can read more about high and low carb probiotics here 👇
https://www.facebook.com/share/fN4f8pdcV42mMwc4/?mibextid=WaXdOe

The NRC guidelines state that there is no essential nutritional requirement for carbohydrates in the canine diet at any life stage. Instead, the requirements for energy, protein, fat and nutrients change based on life stage. We can consider carbohydrates as an energy source, and there may be specific disease, condition or need in which a higher than “species appropriate” quantity of carbohydrates are provided.

During a transition period from a highly processed diet to a whole foods diet, higher quantities of appropriate carbohydrates may be beneficial. Diets that are low phosphorus for dogs with kidney disease or low purine also require a different balance of carbohydrates to protein compared to that of the average dog. Some dogs with GI issues benefit from more carbohydrates in their diet. A dog on a low fat, high protein diet should be provided with an alternate source of energy like beneficial carbohydrates to reduce the quantity of nitrogenous substances produced, like ammonia and urea, from protein metabolism.

Please note that the above relates to whole food carbohydrates. Highly processed carbohydrates in commercial dog food that has undergone extrusion may be marketed as being “highly digestible” and having “prebiotic potential”. However the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) which occurs during the processing of these low quality carbs in dog food far out weights any marketed “benefits”. There is little to no nutritional properties of these carbohydrates and their only real purpose is to hold the little pellet of kibble together and contribute to the overall caloric content of the food.

Dogs do not have an essential requirement for carbohydrates. But I would like to argue that carbohydrates from appropriate sources have beneficial biological and nutritional impacts, and certainly have their place in the diet of today’s canines.

14/02/2024

April & Lulu enjoying a Valentines day visit ❤️♥️🌹

13/02/2024

Little miss April would be covered in snow if i let her down! ❄️☃️

12/02/2024

Mondays with Buckley 🧡

05/02/2024

Welcome Buckley to the Holistic Hound pack! 🤎

01/02/2024

31/01/2024

Tori’s favorite treat! What’s your dog’s favorite fruit?

Green bananas🍌 can prevent and reduce cancers by over 60%, according to the American Association of Cancer Research, so maybe stop hunting for those yellow bananas in the supermarket!

You can boost your dog’s immune and gut health with unripe, green bananas, which have less sugar and more fiber than in their ripened state. Research shows that green bananas offer:

🍌Pectin and prebiotics to build the microbiome and increase the production of butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids

🍌Leucocyanidin, a flavonoid that may help to prevent GI ulcers by inhibiting the release of histamine in the gut

🍌Resistant starch (non-digestible) fiber that helps to prevent intestinal disease, increase mineral absorption and B vitamin synthesis, control blood sugar, improve immune response, and may even prevent intestinal cancer

Need a treat for a dog with a sensitive stomach?

Quartered slices of green banana are a perfect training treat, whether your dog is prone to diarrhea or not. Suggested amounts, chopped into bite sized pieces:

Giant breeds: 1 green banana a day
Medium to large breeds: ½ green banana a day
Small breeds: ¼ green banana a day

In Chapter 3 titled TREATS and TOPPERS of The Forever Dog LIFE, we’ll give you a rainbow 🌈 of options to treat your dog to better health including recipes that use bananas in a creative way and baking options like green banana flour that is a low glycemic healthier alternative to plain white flour! To learn more visit www.foreverdoglife.com

13/01/2024

Dear Pet Parents,

If you haven’t already seen the news regarding Purina products - there have been reports of 155 dogs, and 58 cats getting sick from eating Purina, 57 of which have died. (numbers are a few days old)

If you aren’t already aware of the pet food industry and the ingredients they are legally allowed to use, i highly recommend the documentary “Pet Fooled”.

Follow our friend Susan Thixton at the Truth About Pet Food who attends all the AAFCO meetings, dives deep into the horrors of pet food and fights every day for ALL of our pets. I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Susan speak a few times regarding the emotional and infuriating truth about pet food and her own story on how it took her own dog.

It is recommended that if you suspect your pet is getting sick from their food to stop feeding it immediately, store and freeze (so it can be tested later on if needed). Please do not donate these foods to shelter pets.

08/01/2024

Happy Monday! Does your dog love the snow?

28/12/2023

Gracie & Crystal ❣️

27/12/2023

Covering for a friend so they can enjoy some much needed vacation with their family! Got to meet and spend time with these sweet girls today.

Love when small businesses help each other out! ❤️

27/12/2023

Cody 🤍 the best old man pupper there is!

24/12/2023

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Feeling extra thankful to be doing what i love and caring for the best pets around! 🐶🎄✨❄️🐱

19/12/2023

Can’t wait to spoil my clients this week! Love all my pups ❤️🎄❄️