Feeding for optimum health Anna Webb –Podcaster, Nutrition & Behaviour expert studied natural nutrition and therapies with the College of Integrated Veterinary Therapies (CIVT)
It’s a misnomer that feeing a kibble diet helps keep dog’s teeth clean, rather it promotes periodontal disease.
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’ve always been passionate about: ‘You are what you eat’ not just for dogs, but for people too! We all want the best for our dogs, and it’s not a dress rehearsal! For me feeding for optimum health and behaviour will impact positively on the lives of pet parents, their dogs and even impact on the grooming experience. Dogs fed a raw unadulterated diet boast a healthy skin and coat that’s a joy to work with, and can be calmer without eating vast quantities of refined sugars and hidden nasties as found in many sterile ultra- processed dog foods. In my study with the College of Integrated Veterinary Studies, I learnt so much about the fields of 38 | Total Grooming Magazine
nutrigenomics and epigenetics. About how food really can as Hippocrates summed up in 600 BC: “let medicine by thy food, and food be thy medicine’. I love the field of nutrition as it’s constantly evolving. Just in the past decade or so, scientists have, and continue to reveal the impact of food on our health, at a cellular level: biologically, physiologically, emotionally and behaviourally. As an expert in nutrition and behaviour, I’ve contributed to a host of TV and radio. I’ve discussed the benefits of feeding an ‘unadulterated’ raw and biologically appropriate diet on Channel 5’s documentary: The Truth About What You Feed Your Dog, on ITV1’s The Titchmarsh Show, not least
on BBC Radio London’s hugely popular dog slot, Barking at the Moon, and on my award nominated Podcast A DOG’S LIFE! Back in 2002 when I brought my first Miniature Bull Terrier, Molly, home feeding a fresh, unprocessed diet achieved ‘cult status’ as a raw food feeder! There remains much confusion over feeding raw, about it being complicated, inconvenient, even dangerous! Plus, to add to the raw / processed debate there’s confusion as to whether dogs are carnivores or omnivores. Science concurs that dogs produce a very small amount of the starch digestive enzyme Amylase compared to the amount humans produce.
