From Curiosity to Passion: My Journey into Canine Nutrition

Hello and welcome! I’m Jen, and I’m so excited to start this journey with you all. Here at For the Love of Dogs, I believe that proper nutrition is the key to a long, healthy, and happy life for our beloved furry companions.

My love of canine nutrition began when I was what we call in the veterinary field “just a baby tech” working in general practice. I developed a fascination with canine nutrition when I started doing some research on getting my first dog, Bentley. There was SO MUCH information on what was the “best” dog food and I must admit it was overwhelming. I slowly started doing more research here and there as time went on, and I delved deeper into my veterinary technician career as my best friend got older.

At the young age of 8 years old, I suddenly noticed Bentley moving slower, and his once lean and athletic build starting to atrophy and his abdomen growing slightly larger. I had just acquired another golden retriever puppy at the time, so I just shrugged it off as Bentley being older and possibly eating the puppy food somehow, which was making him gain weight and being more irritable because a young spry puppy was disturbing his space. Not long after, I took him in and knew something wasn’t quite right with him. After having several doctors look at him and requesting an X-ray, my worst fears had been discovered. Bentley had a mass on his spleen and he was bleeding internally. He was immediately taken to emergency surgery and the mass was sent out to confirm my worst fears: CANCER. I was absolutely devastated. I quickly began to do whatever I could to make sure the rest of his life was as comfortable as possible, and this is where my true love of canine nutrition went into high gear.

I found so much different and contradictory information on canine nutrition and became so overwhelmed. I began to feel so overwhelmed and not really having the confidence to know that I was truly doing the absolute best that I could for my dogs. I began to find the most trustworthy sources and professionals that used logic over fear-mongering. I found a trustworthy source that used scientific sources, but also encouraged fresh food logic. I began to spend all of my free time learning as much as I could about the basics of nutrients and eventually more advanced formulations and spent hours trying to perfect a complete and balanced fresh food diet for my own dogs.

Unfortunately, after all my efforts, Bentley passed away one month after his emergency surgery. It was time for him to go and he let me know. As devastated as I was, I knew that I couldn’t be the only person in the world feeling this way and desperate for answers on what I could have done better. I decided to delve deeper and to continue my educational journey so that I could help others and help to guide them on their own nutrition journeys. I meet so many people at my job that tell me they are feeding fresh foods, but how do they know they are doing it right? Is it complete and balanced? Are they really doing the right thing for their dogs?

Believe me, I’ve been exactly where you’re at right now, which is why my goal is to help you walk through this confusing journey and to help you find what is right for your individual dog. What is right for one dog may not be the best for another. I am here to guide you through this confusing journey, get you on the right path, and help you feel confident in the nutritional choices you can make for your best friend. Food is not a one size fits all, and if we can come to terms with this statement, then we can confidently move forward with what is the best answer for YOUR dog. Are you ready to start this journey with me? Book a consult with me today and let’s get your pup on the right track to a complete and balanced diet that’s right for them!

The Importance of Formulating a Complete and Balanced Recipe

Nutrients are an essential part of life. They are what is needed in the body to maintain perfect homeostasis in the way the body functions. Nutrients are needed in all aspects of life, birth, growth, and adulthood. They help support and sustain life in every way. If the body does not have the proper amount of nutrients (macro and micro) that is needed, the body will become deficient and this will cause a multitude of problems for your canine companion.

Ingredients may seem like the obvious choice when figuring out a homemade diet, but ingredients do not cover the entire picture. Of course, these ingredients need to be of great quality, but how do we figure out the quality of the ingredients that we are using in these diets? What is the bioavailability of these ingredients that we are using in our homemade diet? This is where nutrients come in to play. If the ingredients that you choose lack in major nutrients that the body need to sustain and thrive in life, then there is no point in using those ingredients no matter how good they look on paper. Good ingredients are important, but nutrients are what are going to be ESSENTIAL in a homemade diet. You must make sure that the proper amount of macro and micro nutrients are present in the diet, because that is what will prevent deficiencies in the long run in your canine companion.

Some of the problems that can go wrong with a cooked, homemade or raw formulated diet are the lack of nutrients that the individual dog needs. Every dog will have different needs depending on their activity level, their age, whether they are intact or not, or based on their medical issues (if any). Any of these characteristics will have a huge impact on whether or not a specific diet with specific ingredients will work for them or not. Some of my patients will need way more protein, fat, and carbohydrates than others in order to maintain healthy energy. Others need less and may start to gain extra weight that is not good for them if fed more than what is needed. The problem with the majority of homemade diets is if they are not researched or prepared appropriately than you will cause some major deficiencies in your dog or you may be exceeding nutrients and causing toxicity overload and inflammation in your dog’s body as a result.

There is a ton of misinformation on the internet on what makes a complete and balanced homecooked recipe and a lot of people are misled and that only makes your pet suffer. Some people throw a steak in their dog’s bowl without any calcium or organs for natural vitamins, others only base their recipe on the ratio diet (80/10/10) of meat, bones, and organs and say that it is balanced without considering the individual dog. These kinds of diets could be detrimental to our pets because it simply isn’t balanced. It isn’t even balanced over time. There are so many deficiencies that our pets are suffering from just by the simple imbalance of nutrients. There are many recipes that are made available to our pets on the internet, but even these recipes are lacking in major nutrients. Our pets may be surviving on these recipes, but are they thriving? This is why learning and understanding the basics of formulation is so important. If we are going to do a homemade diet we need to know the basics of balancing the nutrients in our individual dog’s diet.

 Vegetables and grains are such a great addition to your pet’s diet, but it does not make a big difference on the nutrients that your dog need to obtain in its diet. The bioavailability of vegetables and carbohydrates run from anywhere to 20-50 %. This means that your pet will not be able to absorb all the nutrients that vegetables and grains can provide. In some cases veggies and grains can actually cause malabsorption and be considered an anti-nutrient if not prepared correctly in your dog’s diet. Veggies must be pureed or blended in order for your pet to properly digest the nutrients that they can absorb. Grains must be soaked for at least 24 to 48 hours in water before cooking in order to decrease the amount of phytates that are present in the grains. Phytates can be beneficial to a certain point, but if there are too many phytates present in the diet they can become an anti-nutrient and prevent absorption of important nutrients in the diet. Veggies can provide many benefits such as anti-cancer fighting properties, probiotics, and prebiotics. Grains can provide good carbohydrates in the diet that can be in turn used for energy so that the body can save the fats and proteins for more important tasks in the body.

There is the common concept and thought process that since people and wild animals can survive without balancing their meals every single time then why do our pets need to have a complete and balanced meal every single time. This thought process can seem to be a valid argument, but if you look at the example of how long people live and how long our beloved companions live then this argument does not seem to hold any weight to it. We have a good 80 years on our pets 10 to 15 years. It takes a child up to 18 years to grow to its full capacity weight, whereas our canine companions only take up to a year. This is a big difference.  Also adding to the fact that American nutrition is not up to par with the way appropriate nutritional needs for humans should be. This point alone tells us how detrimental it is to make sure our pets are getting all of the essential nutrients that they need in their diets every single day as compared to humans. The other argument says that wild animals survive without a balanced diet every day, but it has been proven that our domesticated pets do live a longer life compared to their wildlife counterparts due to medical care and better nutrition (in some circumstances). In addition, when their wildlife counterparts do finally hunt and catch their prey they are eating whole prey, which is not always easy for the owner to find or even feed comfortably to their pet. This very reasoning is also why adding supplementation to the diet is so very important. It is ideal to use whole foods to provide the majority of nutrients that are needed in the diet, but sometimes this is just not possible when other factors are involved.

If you are interested in the dynamics of nutrition and why formulating is so essential to excellent nutritional health, follow my Facebook page and subscribe to my e-mail list for weekly tips and info!