Food for Fen

19/11/2024

We had a bounty of butternut squash from the garden this year! It works in our recipes as a replacement for sweet potato as they have very similar nutrient profiles. Rich in potassium, vitamin C and beta carotene and providing good amounts of beneficial fiber, but lower in calories than sweet potato (almost half), butternut squash is an ideal choice in recipes for "Easy Keepers" and weight management. I do mine in the Instant Pot, and I overcook until soft and mashable.

07/11/2024

NEW for Fall: Book a live consultation and receive credit towards your follow-on service (diet analysis or formulation).

Do you have questions about your dog's current diet, a newly diagnosed health condition or are you looking to change something but don't know where to start? Or perhaps you have general questions about canine nutrition? A 30 minute live consultation is a good place to start. I can answer your questions, discuss options and we can then decide how to proceed. If you book a follow-on service for the same dog/condition within 1 week, you will receive a credit for the full amount of the live consult with the amount deducted from the follow-on service fees. Book soon! Prices increasing on January 1st.

🥳🥳🥳

Party photo credit: France Poulin

22/10/2024

Fall is here and as many competition seasons are winding down and folks have more time to pursue optimization of their dog's diet, inquiries are on the rise. If you have contacted me via the form on the website, please check your spam folder for the reply. If you have contacted me and have not received a reply, please let me know. They are routed through Wix so may be getting blocked. You can also send inquiries to [email protected].

01/10/2024

We are on the road for a few weeks, living in the van (RV), which means doing our normal "from scratch" diet is not practical. Instead, we do a 50/50 diet of commercial raw (correctly labeled as complete and balanced) and kibble (also with proper AAFCO statement). I find this approach gives a macronutrient profile similar to their homemade food, which probably helps prevent digestive problems. But I always carry a (clinically proven and third party tested) canine probiotic rescue kit just in case. And being around lots of strange dogs, in all this rain and mud, gastrointestinal issues sometimes surface, so best be prepared!

2024 National Sheepdog Finals at Belle Grove Plantation, Middletown, Virginia USA. 🌧🌧🌧

12/09/2024

The new puppy diet package is currently in beta testing! It was easy to design Kale's diet for myself. But for clients, especially those that may be new to home made diets, it was overwhelming and disorganized🙃. Excited to be a part of this sweet girl's life. She likes my hair, at least! And thanks to my good friend for being the guinea pig!

07/09/2024

An important topic for everyone with a senior or near-senior dog. Deeper dive plus access to the paper I wrote for my ACN certificate in the clients-only site. Not a client? Book any service for unlimited access that never expires.

The dreaded kidney disease. It seems that every dog owner has experienced this at some point. Is this an inevitable disease of aging in dogs? Is there nothing we can do about it?What is CKD and what causes it?Canine Kidney Disease or “CKD” is also known as Chronic Canine Kidney Disease, Canine R...

02/09/2024

Grinding whole spent hen with a Weston 32 # grinder. 10 chickens in 10 minutes! This gets well mixed to ensure even distribution of the various parts. Vitamin E powder is added to prevent oxidation of the highly unstable polyunsaturated fatty acids. To be used as a Raw Meaty Bone topper in the adult dog recipes. Great source of Arachidonic Acid (a long chain Omega 6 fatty acid), and provides a boost for my lean and/or non-poulty base mixes.

28/08/2024

UPDATED 8-24-2024.

2 more UK brands added, plus an explanation of why the other UK brands that claim to be complete were not added; read this if your brand contains a large list of nuts, seeds and herbal ingredients.

Commercial Raw Premades for Dogs *UPDATED Aug 28-2024*

UPDATES:
1. Added balanced brands for UK residents
2. A rearrangement of paragraphs
3. An additional note in the "Beware!" section

The raw dog food industry has come a long way! (Thank Dog!)

While there are still many commercially available premades that are not balanced according to nutrient requirements (and still have labels that read something like "Turkey, Turkey Organs, Turkey Bones, Kelp" 🙄), many companies are beginning to offer at least one line of correctly labeled, complete and balanced food for dogs.👏👏

Below is a list of balanced commercial premade raw dog foods that follow nutrient guidelines (AAFCO and or NRC for North America; FEDIAF for Europe). If I've not included your favorite, there is probably a reason, such as using seeds and herbs to meet mineral requirements, for example. There are several brands that do this. Bioavailability of minerals from seeds and herbs is questionable. While the recipe may look fine on paper, it may not be providing all the nutrients as labeled (see notes under Beware! for an explanation)

But I digress...If your favorite brand is not listed, let me know in the comments!

"How do I know if a particular raw food is right for my dog?"

If your dog can eat within the package guidelines for his/her weight and maintain an ideal bodyweight, this indicates that the food has the correct caloric density for your dog. Of course, other things must be considered too, especially for canine athletes or dogs with health conditions.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Most commercial raw dog foods will NOT work for (drastic) weight loss or "easy keepers". Fat is a cheap ingredient and most commercial raw diets are higher in fat than would be indicated for weight loss. Many dogs needing to lose weight, or those dogs that are easy keepers or low activity, will probably NOT be able to eat within the package guidelines for their size without gaining weight. Many brands formulate assuming a very high energy multiplier and work well for high calorie burners only.

BEWARE! Websites are often misleading (some brands labeled "Complete and Balanced" are actually "ratio", "BARF" or "PMR" style of raw feeding, which do not follow nutrient guidelines and are not based in science; they are often deficient and/or excessive in several important nutrients.

In the UK especially, there are several brands/lines that claim "FEDIAF" but contain a long list of nuts, seeds and herbs and no vitamin/mineral additives ("Nutritional Additives" on the label).

Anyone who has studied nutritional science in dogs understands that these ingredients may not provide their "on paper" amounts of any given nutrient due to reduced bioavailability in the canine. Due to the way the mineral is structured (bound) within the plant matter, some (or all) of certain minerals may not be absorbed and thus the nutrient is unavailable to the dog. In reality, such vast amounts of these types of ingredients would need to be used to account for their reduced bioavailability, which makes them poor choices to use in canine diets as sources of minerals.

This is why "nutritional additives" appear on (UK) pet food labels - only small quantities of a supplement are generally needed to meet requirements, vs. huge quantities of plant ingredients. While plant matter does offer many other benefits in the canine diet (antioxidants, water-soluble vitamins, beneficial fiber and other non-essential but important nutrients) they are generally not good sources of minerals. This is especially true of iron. "Non-heme" iron (iron from plant sources) likely has zero bioavailability in dogs. So think twice about feeding an all-chicken diet with thyme, parsley and spinach listed as "good sources of iron"; for a dog - they are not!

And finally, The List!

Complete and Balanced Commercial Premade Raw food List (will be updated frequently-ish)

Guide/Legend:

ALS = All Life Stages. This means the food is complete and balanced for growth and reproduction as well as adult dogs at any stage of life.
Adult = the brand offers complete and balanced formulas for adult dogs
Adult and Puppy = the brand offers separate complete and balanced formulas for adult dogs and puppies.

Canada only:

Purevolution (Quebec only, adult and puppy)
Faim Museau (Quebec and Ontario only, ALS)
Iron Will Raw (Canine Complete only, adult and puppy)
Aliments Crus Grenier (Quebec only, Premium Recipes only - ALS)
Alpha Dog Distribution (Quebec only, AAFCO recipes only - adult)
CaniPro (Quebec only, Completes and Supreme Completes only - adult and puppy)
Karbur (Quebec only - Ontario coming soon, Complete Meat Blends only - ALS)
Karnivor (Quebec and Ontario only, ALS* (they recommend the Beef and Chicken recipes for puppies).

USA only:

Carnos - formerly Top Quality Dog Food (Completes only - ALS)
Oma's Pride (Completes only - ALS)
Titan (ALS*) *Not suitable for easy keepers - very high fat. Excessive retinol (Vitamin A), although not exceeding safe upper limits)
Rebel Raw (ALS)
Bravo (Balance formulas only - ALS)
Answers (Detailed formulas only - ALS*) *Not suitable for dogs requiring a low histamine diet, such as mast cell cancers, allergies and possible food sensitivities)
K9 Craving (ALS)
Just Food for Dogs (Gently Cooked - ALS* (they recommend Chicken & White Rice and Fish & Sweet Potato recipes for puppies)

Internationally available:

Instinct Raw (adult and puppy)
Instinct Raw Longevity (adult and puppy)
Stella and Chewy's (Raw Dinners only - ALS)
Primal (USA and Canada only - adult and puppy)
K9 Natural (Australia and New Zealand only - ALS)

UK only (FEDIAF):

Nature's Menu (Complete and Balanced line only - adult and puppy)
Poppy's Picnic (adult and puppy)
*NEW* Kiezebrink (KB Complete and Alaska Dog lines only - adult and puppy)
*NEW* Wilson’s Pet Food (Premium 70|10|10|10 lines only - adult and puppy)

**Food for Fen has no affiliation with any manufacturer and by listing the food does not constitute and endorsement**

18/08/2024

We were not able to make it to the sheepdog trial this weekend, so am trying to be productive making the meat base for the next several weeks of recipes.There are 3 of these tubs, each with 10.7 kg of meat (20% fat ground mutton, 5% fat ground chicken, beef heart, trimmed and ground). This is the most time consuming part of my prep - cutting, grinding and weighing large amounts of meat.

Each dog has an individualized topper recipe including varying amounts of beef liver, pork kidney, 12% fat tripe for those that need a boost of iron and manganese), RMBs, carbs (this week will be oatmeal and sweet potato, along with a seasonal veggie mix) and their individual supplements to balance the diet to each dog's nutrient requirements.

Because this base will be frozen for an extended period, I add vitamin E powder for food preservation (70-300 IU per lb. of food, depending on how long it will be frozen for). Yes, I have a whiteboard, which needs a good cleaning (and which I alone understand)! 😆

While this method works for me, it may not for others. What are some of your diet prep hacks? Are you a "mix everything together" type, or do you countertop prep at mealtime? Do you "eyeball" amounts or do you weigh and measure? 🧐🤔

20/07/2024

Commercial Raw Premades for Dogs *UPDATED Aug 28-2024*

UPDATES:
1. Added balanced brands for UK residents
2. A rearrangement of paragraphs
3. An additional note in the "Beware!" section

The raw dog food industry has come a long way! (Thank Dog!)

While there are still many commercially available premades that are not balanced according to nutrient requirements (and still have labels that read something like "Turkey, Turkey Organs, Turkey Bones, Kelp" 🙄), many companies are beginning to offer at least one line of correctly labeled, complete and balanced food for dogs.👏👏

Below is a list of balanced commercial premade raw dog foods that follow nutrient guidelines (AAFCO and or NRC for North America; FEDIAF for Europe). If I've not included your favorite, there is probably a reason, such as using seeds and herbs to meet mineral requirements, for example. There are several brands that do this. Bioavailability of minerals from seeds and herbs is questionable. While the recipe may look fine on paper, it may not be providing all the nutrients as labeled (see notes under Beware! for an explanation)

But I digress...If your favorite brand is not listed, let me know in the comments!

"How do I know if a particular raw food is right for my dog?"

If your dog can eat within the package guidelines for his/her weight and maintain an ideal bodyweight, this indicates that the food has the correct caloric density for your dog. Of course, other things must be considered too, especially for canine athletes or dogs with health conditions.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Most commercial raw dog foods will NOT work for (drastic) weight loss or "easy keepers". Fat is a cheap ingredient and most commercial raw diets are higher in fat than would be indicated for weight loss. Many dogs needing to lose weight, or those dogs that are easy keepers or low activity, will probably NOT be able to eat within the package guidelines for their size without gaining weight. Many brands formulate assuming a very high energy multiplier and work well for high calorie burners only.

BEWARE! Websites are often misleading (some brands labeled "Complete and Balanced" are actually "ratio", "BARF" or "PMR" style of raw feeding, which do not follow nutrient guidelines and are not based in science; they are often deficient and/or excessive in several important nutrients.

In the UK especially, there are several brands/lines that claim "FEDIAF" but contain a long list of nuts, seeds and herbs and no vitamin/mineral additives ("Nutritional Additives" on the label).

Anyone who has studied nutritional science in dogs understands that these ingredients may not provide their "on paper" amounts of any given nutrient due to reduced bioavailability in the canine. Due to the way the mineral is structured (bound) within the plant matter, some (or all) of certain minerals may not be absorbed and thus the nutrient is unavailable to the dog. In reality, such vast amounts of these types of ingredients would need to be used to account for their reduced bioavailability, which makes them poor choices to use in canine diets as sources of minerals.

This is why "nutritional additives" appear on (UK) pet food labels - only small quantities of a supplement are generally needed to meet requirements, vs. huge quantities of plant ingredients. While plant matter does offer many other benefits in the canine diet (antioxidants, water-soluble vitamins, beneficial fiber and other non-essential but important nutrients) they are generally not good sources of minerals. This is especially true of iron. "Non-heme" iron (iron from plant sources) likely has zero bioavailability in dogs. So think twice about feeding an all-chicken diet with thyme, parsley and spinach listed as "good sources of iron"; for a dog - they are not!

And finally, The List!

Complete and Balanced Commercial Premade Raw food List (will be updated frequently-ish)

Guide/Legend:

ALS = All Life Stages. This means the food is complete and balanced for growth and reproduction as well as adult dogs at any stage of life.
Adult = the brand offers complete and balanced formulas for adult dogs
Adult and Puppy = the brand offers separate complete and balanced formulas for adult dogs and puppies.

Canada only:

Purevolution (Quebec only, adult and puppy)
Faim Museau (Quebec and Ontario only, ALS)
Iron Will Raw (Canine Complete only, adult and puppy)
Aliments Crus Grenier (Quebec only, Premium Recipes only - ALS)
Alpha Dog Distribution (Quebec only, AAFCO recipes only - adult)
CaniPro (Quebec only, Completes and Supreme Completes only - adult and puppy)
Karbur (Quebec only - Ontario coming soon, Complete Meat Blends only - ALS)
Karnivor (Quebec and Ontario only, ALS* (they recommend the Beef and Chicken recipes for puppies).

USA only:

Carnos - formerly Top Quality Dog Food (Completes only - ALS)
Oma's Pride (Completes only - ALS)
Titan (ALS*) *Not suitable for easy keepers - very high fat. Excessive retinol (Vitamin A), although not exceeding safe upper limits)
Rebel Raw (ALS)
Bravo (Balance formulas only - ALS)
Answers (Detailed formulas only - ALS*) *Not suitable for dogs requiring a low histamine diet, such as mast cell cancers, allergies and possible food sensitivities)
K9 Craving (ALS)
Just Food for Dogs (Gently Cooked - ALS* (they recommend Chicken & White Rice and Fish & Sweet Potato recipes for puppies)

Internationally available:

Instinct Raw (adult and puppy)
Instinct Raw Longevity (adult and puppy)
Stella and Chewy's (Raw Dinners only - ALS)
Primal (USA and Canada only - adult and puppy)
K9 Natural (Australia and New Zealand only - ALS)

UK only (FEDIAF):

Nature's Menu (Complete and Balanced line only - adult and puppy)
Poppy's Picnic (adult and puppy)
*NEW* Kiezebrink (KB Complete and Alaska Dog lines only - adult and puppy)
*NEW* Wilson’s Pet Food (Premium 70|10|10|10 lines only - adult and puppy)

**Food for Fen has no affiliation with any manufacturer and by listing the food does not constitute and endorsement**

07/07/2024

Garden clean out - the first of the season! The surplus kale, chard, parsley and bok choy 🥬 are harvested for the dog veggie blend, before the bugs can eat it all! This will be cooked and then pulped in the food processor with some overripe watermelon 🍉 and bananas 🍌 the humans couldn't get to in time, and leftover blueberries🫐 and apples🍎. Homemade bone broth🍗 is added instead of water for processing; both for taste and a little boost of glycine. The finished mixture will provide vitamin C, B vitamins and various phytonutrients, as well as soluble and insoluble fiber 🥗. It will be fed as part of a balanced diet but could be a good, low calorie kibble topper as well, in small amounts, watching for loose 💩.

14/06/2024

InstantPot for the win! Bland diet for a senior dog after a session of indiscriminate ingestion of dead animal in the woods. Soaked and rinsed short grain white rice (aka sticky rice), and ultra lean chicken breast, cooked with the rice on a trivet for easy portioning. No boiling over, no watching the stove, less to clean up.

The dog in question will begin this tonight. First step is to give her inflamed bowels 12-24 hours to calm down with fasting (water only). She is a healthy senior and feels fine other than the 💩. Of course, only fast a dog with known health conditions under your veterinarian's guidance!

The bland diet will be fed in small amounts throughout the day and hopefully we'll have a return to regular meals in a couple of days! 🤞

If 💩 has not resolved by then, off to the vet she will go.

10/06/2024

New installment of Feeding Baby Kale up on the Clients Only Site. If you have forgotten the password, send me a message! https://foodforfen.wixsite.com/members

05/06/2024

This week, I learned about insect based proteins in pet foods. I've shared a summary and my own personal views.

This week, I attended a live online Q&A session regarding insect-based protein in pet foods. The industry experts answered questions regarding the latest innovations and industry trends.BUGS IN MY DOG'S FOOD!? Insect-based protein is AAFCO approved for use in dog foods formulated for adult maintenan...

21/05/2024

Big day today! Food for Fen is presenting a webinar for the ASSOCIATION OF CHARTERED PHYSIOTHERAPISTS IN ANIMAL THERAPY (ACPAT): "Nutritional Considerations for Injury prevention and recovery in canine athletes." Thanks to everyone who provided photos and videos to use in my presentation!

Benefits of ACPAT Membership We have three membership types available to you. These are designed to provide you with the level of support you need. Below are the membership options at a glance. Are you a Physio? For practicing chartered physiotherapists who have completed the Msc/PGDIP veterinary ph...

07/05/2024

Give your k9 athlete a head start! Maximize future performance through nutrition AND physical and mental conditioning.

Our good friends at Prehabvet are offering a foundation course focusing on performance by breaking down movement, muscle, and brain function. This will not be your average "fitness training" class, performing difficult maneuvers on expensive equipment! It will be highly individualized and give you the tools to identify issues early, thus helping to avoid injuries and increase your dog's success in his sport or activity. I just signed up with baby Kale. Since she will be my sole competitor at some point, keeping her sound and fit throughout her career will be of utmost importance!

For the nutrition side of your k9 athlete's performance, Food for Fen has consultations opening in June. Don't delay, spots fill quickly!

05/05/2024

Back from 3 weeks down south visiting friends, and sheepdogging. To those waiting for email responses and intake forms, thank you for your patience while I dig out this week! 🥴

27/03/2024

An important reminder for our canine athletes. Awareness, Conditioning and DIET, all play important roles to improve physical and mental stamina and in preventing injuries. Those of you who participated in the webinar hosted with Dore River Border Collies know 😉.

Fatigue starts long before your dog is laying down panting heavily, squinting and with their tongue on the ground …
Understanding and recognizing early signs of fatigue is key to keeping our dogs successful in training, and their bodies safe.
The longer you train, the higher the chance that your dog will experience:
🏋️ physical fatigue (tired body)
🤯 mental fatigue (tired mind - too much information)
❤️‍🩹 emotional fatigue (tired mind - too much stress/excitement)
Or often a combination of these!
The subtle signs can be easy to miss. And if we don’t stop training when our dog first tells us they had enough, things usually go downhill fast …
Be observant and look out for the following:

1️⃣ Disengagement
If your dog has been happy and enthusiastic during your session and suddenly disengages, sniffs the ground or wanders off, chances are they had enough. Do not keep pushing them to train … it will likely not be successful.
2️⃣ Overarousal
Your dog was in a focused state of mind, but suddenly “spins out of control”? Even though over-excitement may look like excess energy to us, it can actually be a sign that the dog needs a break! Some dogs “stress up” (become MORE crazy as they get tired).
3️⃣ Fidgeting
Your dog was doing well (for example by staying in a Sit Stay), but suddenly starts adding “random” behaviors? Stepping in place, scratching, sniffing themselves etc. are all signs that your dog is getting tired.
4️⃣ Regression
Your dog was doing well at the beginning of the training session, but seems to actually get *worse* as time goes on? This is a very common and often overlooked sign of fatigue.
We see it especially in reactive dog training, where dogs are fine at the beginning of a session, but exposure near their threshold and trigger stacking makes them more and more stressed throughout.
Don’t ignore these first signs. If you try to push through it, your dog will not magically recover (mentally, physically or emotionally) … but is much more likely to keep making mistakes, rehearse unwanted behaviors or even get injured!
Which of the above signs of fatigue do you see most often in your dog?