RAWPETDIGEST
June/ July2017
I N THI S I SSUE: -Z i nc def i ci ency i n dogs -A n i nterv i ew w i th K oh l Harri ngton, di rector of Pet Fool ed -Wood pul p i n dog f ood -DI Y raw dog f ood di et ch eat sh eets Enzo, an Al askan Mal amut e. Phot o credit : Brit t any Garibal di -A nd much more!
Raw Pet Digest Editor-in-chief: Kristin Clark
To get an annual subscription (6 issues): -Go to the Store at Canine Health Promotion: www.caninehealthpromotion.com -Using PayPal: send $15.00 USD (limited time offer!) to kristin@rawpetdigest.com -Using Square: go to mkt.com/ rawpetdigest -Email kristin@rawpetdigest.com for alternate forms of payment
All emails and letters become the property of Raw Pet Digest and may be reprinted in future issues.
Our mission at Raw Pet Digest is to share information that supports natural health with a broad audience to help improve the lives of our carnivore pets. We believe that only the body is capable of achieving and maintaining true health, but we also believe that there are many things that we can do to help support the body in its quest to maintain balance (health). Raw Pet Digest aims to help educate and inform you about those things so that you can help your pet live a long life and thrive naturally.
DISCLAIMER: All information contained in Raw Pet Digest is intended for educational purposes only. It is not provided in order to diagnose, prevent, or treat any disease, illness, or injured condition of the body or pets, and the author(s), publisher, and contributors accept no responsibility for such use. Anyone or their pets suffering from any disease, illness, or injury should consult with their physician or veterinarian. The statements herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Additionally, all views expressed herein by those being interviewed or featured are their own views and do not necessarily represent the views of Raw Pet Digest. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the author(s) and Editor-in-Chief. The articles herein are for educational purposes only. The decision to use, or not to use, any information is the sole responsibility of the reader.
Lycan, Merlin, Midge, and Pansy. Photo credit: Bre Altherr
FEATURES ANDCOLUMNS Letter from the Editor - 4 The $64 Million Question - 5 "Cheat Sheets" for DIY Raw Dog Diets - 9 Spotlight on Health: Pet Fooled - 12 The Beginner's Corner - 18 The Joy of Life - 25 Quick & Easy Ways to Check Your Pet's Health - 27
Lexi, a 3-year-old Beagle. Photo credit: Therese Rupe
Wood Pulp: "Healthy" Dog Food? - 33 Zinc Deficiency: The Silent Killer - 37 Best of Both Worlds? Um...Maybe Not - 45 Saying Goodbye - 49 I Walk With You - 53
Claire (domestic short-haired kitten) and Chloe (Siamese). Photo credit: Jenny Newland
Letter fromtheEditor As I was sitting down to write this, I paused a moment to look outside. It?s a gorgeous day? a gentle breeze is blowing, the sun is shining down, it?s 75 degrees. The smell of blooming flowers is wafting through the open windows, and I can hear birds singing while they go about their day. Here in Southern California, we?re in that transitory period between spring and summer. Some days are brutally hot (harbingers of the summer to come, I?m sure), but others, like today, still hold firmly to the promise of spring. These sorts of days make my heart happy, and when I look at my dogs, I realize that they, too, are happy to be alive on such a beautiful day. All day, they've been going outside to snooze in the sun and soak up the springtime air, and they all seem to be at peace. The last few weeks have been particularly challenging for all of us. Cleo? our 19-year-old Canaan dog? passed away on April 26, just a few weeks after her 19th birthday. Adam and I, and the dogs, have all been dealing with the grief of losing such a beloved member of our family. But in the past few days, it seems like we?ve all gotten much closer to that peaceful, joyful place that we aim to maintain. It hasn?t been easy, but remembering her and all of her beautiful qualities helps, and taking the time to truly appreciate all the people and animals in our lives has helped both Adam and me navigate through the pain of her loss and emerge whole on the other side. I am dedicating this issue to Cleo. In her honor, I have included a tribute to her later in the issue.
Kristin with Cleo, Motley, Elle, and Barkley. Photo credit: Adam Gilbert
This issue has lots of other great articles in it, many of them inspired by common questions I get from clients or conversations I?ve had with other people in the industry. One good example is the article about zinc deficiency in dogs: this is an issue that many people aren?t aware of, and yet (particularly for Huskies and Malamutes, but other breeds are affected as well) it can have a huge impact on health and vitality. We also have an interview with Kohl Harrington, whose amazing documentary Pet Fooled is empowering pet parents everywhere with vital information. As always, we cover lots of topics in this issue, all with the same goal: to help empower you to care for your carnivore pet in the best way possible. And, if you?re looking for tips and information in between each issue, ?Like? our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ rawpetdigest). It has great information, and I am in there regularly, so feel free to drop me a comment. I?d love to hear from you! You can also reach me at kristin@rawpetdigest.com. Until next time, friends, enjoy the issue, and enjoy the summer! Kristin 4
THE$64MILLIONQUESTION
Golden Ret r iever w it h r aw ch ick en an d k ibble. Copyr igh t : Savan son y
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One of the things that some of my clients (particularly those new to the idea of raw feeding) ask me is whether it?s OK to mix kibble and raw together. I have done a lot of research into this topic, and what I?ve found is a lot of conflicting information. Of course, in my ideal world, people wouldn?t ever feed their pets kibble, but still, when multiple people ask me about it, I do get curious. (Side note: in general, my clients don?t feed kibble after working with me, because we find a way to transition to a species-appropriate raw food diet that works for them. But it still often comes up as we?re discussing all the questions about raw feeding they?ve ever had.) Multiple vets and other researchers believe that dogs and cats process raw foods and kibble very differently. Raw food is processed as a protein and held in the stomach to be dealt with by the stomach acids. Kibble, on the other hand, is processed as a starch. This makes sense to me: our dogs and cats have evolved to eat raw meats, bones, organs, and glands, and their bodies don?t recognize kibble as food, particularly because of the way that it?s processed and the ingredients it has. Other research that I?ve read also mentions that kibble can affect the gut and metabolism negatively, slowing the metabolic rate down and making it more difficult to digest the food. In both situations, mixing kibble and raw food together can result, for some dogs, in digestive upset, including gassiness, burping, and digestive discomfort.
Then there is the anecdotal evidence. When I reviewed forums and other sources of anecdotal evidence as to whether there was a problem with mixing raw and kibble, I found an almost 50/ 50 split of people who said that their pet had no issue when they did that, and people who said that it caused diarrhea, gas, vomiting, and other digestive issues. While the research isn?t definitive, I tend to think it?s not worth the risk. I wouldn?t want to run the risk of subjecting my dogs or cat to any digestive discomfort, and I think most pet parents feel the same. If you are feeding a mix of kibble or raw, it?s worth examining your reasons for doing so: are you doing it because raw is too expensive? Are you doing it because you?re worried that the raw diet isn?t ?complete and balanced,? and you want to feed some kibble as a back-up? If it?s the first situation and you find raw feeding to be too expensive, it?s worth taking a closer look. Are you feeding a commercial raw diet? Many of them can be incredibly expensive, but you can achieve the same result by feeding a prey model or whole prey diet. Do a Google search and see if there are any raw feeding co-ops close to you. One of our local raw food co-ops sells high-quality meats for less than $2/ pound on average (even for the pricier meats, such as rabbit and sheep). If you have a local butcher shop in your area, check with them to see if you can get the parts of the animals that they can?t sell. If you know anyone that hunts, ask them to give you the parts they don?t want. You can put ads in Craigslist to see if anyone has meat in their freezer they 6
If youarefeedingamixof kibbleor raw, askyourself why.
Copyright: Willeecole
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no longer want. You can check with local hunting clubs to see if they would be willing to let you have birds and other game after their training sessions. The possibilities go on and on; there are many ways to make raw feeding affordable. And remember, when you feed raw, you generally don?t have to spend nearly as much in vet bills, which is another great savings. If you want tips on how to get raw affordably, talk to a certified animal naturopath. If you aren?t feeding 100% raw because you?re worried that the diet isn?t complete, it?s important to understand that our dogs and cats are carnivores. They are designed to have their nutritional needs met through their natural diet of raw meat, bones, organs, and glands. Like we?ve discussed in the magazine before, it can be hard to wrap our minds around this, because we think of our dogs and cats as members of our family (which they most assuredly are). However, we should bear in mind that they are not humans. We are omnivores. They are not. They don?t have
the same ability to break down and use all the foods we can, and in fact, they get all that they need through species-appropriate raw food diets. It?s similar to herbivores, which don?t need to eat meat to have a well-rounded, complete, balanced diet. Our carnivore pets don?t need fruits and vegetables and carbohydrates for a complete meal, and they don?t need their meals cooked (in fact, cooking renders the proteins unusable and eventually leads to problems). So, feeding them kibble as a sort of ?insurance policy? is counter-productive. If you are just dipping your toes into raw feeding and want to continue feeding kibble a bit longer, ask yourself why. If you?re moving to raw, you?ve obviously educated yourself and are taking a huge step towards helping your dog or cat live their most balanced, thriving life. Remember, when done properly, a species-appropriate raw food diet is all they need (and can be affordable!); when you trust in that, it is very easy to give up kibble for good. And on the plus side, if you do that, you?ll never have to worry about whether it?s safe to feed kibble or raw together. You can rest assured that you?re feeding your pet exactly what they need to thrive. -By Kristin Clark
River, a 6-week-old Plott Hound/Lab mix. Photo credit: Charity Berry 8
"CHEATSHEETS"FORDIYRAWDOGDIETS Most of us, when we start our dogs on a DIY raw diet, have a lot of questions. What percentages of bone, meat, and organ should we feed? What makes up these percentages? Where do these percentages even come from? How much bone is in various animals? Because these questions are so common, I put together some cheat sheets you can use to help make sure you are on track. Remember, these are for dogs: cats have
Roxy, a 6-month-old Doberman. Photo credit: Jenny Newland
different needs. If you are curious about cats, please see the April/ May 2017 issue of Raw Pet Digest. Tracy Dion, founder of Catcentric, provides some excellent cheat sheets for prey model and whole prey diets there. In the meantime, I hope you find these helpful! Enjoy! -By Kristin Clark
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SPOTLIGHTONHEALTH:PETFOOLED It's not often that you meet someone who is passionate about doing what's right no matter whose feathers they ruffle or whose toes they step on. Kohl Harrington, who just released the remarkable documentary Pet Fooled, is one such person. He is passionate, he is informed, he is intelligent, and he is committed to sharing the truth. With Pet Fooled, he shares with us what the pet food industry is really doing. (If you haven?t already seen Pet Fooled, or if you want to watch it again, you can stream it on Netflix.) We were fortunate enough to be able to chat with Kohl about the documentary and some of his biggest insights. As you'll see, his complete commitment to sharing the real story with pet parents everywhere is crystal clear. Enjoy!
Allen the cat. Photo credit: Tracy Dion
1. What made you decide t o make Pet Fooled? A friend of mine (and the co-producer for Pet Fooled) had a dog who was always itching. He started researching diets, and realized pretty fast that there was a lot of conflicting and confusing information available. Some 12
people claimed one particular diet was the best and healthiest thing, and other people claimed that the exact opposite diet was best. At first, I was skeptical? I couldn?t wrap my head around making a documentary about pet food. Honestly, I thought it was a non-issue, and it almost seemed like people were overreacting and making things up. We started meeting with everyone who would talk with us? pet owners whose pets died from toxic food and treats in 2007, rendering plant employees, veterinarians, and so on. And then we met someone in Newport Beach, CA, who told me about the AAFCO standards. He pulled out the AAFCO book (which you see in the film), and that?s when I realized, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was the potential for manipulation, and that this was a worthwhile topic. I use the word ?potential? deliberately. Look, there are companies with integrity, but there are also a lot of companies who produce products that are crap. And yet, because of the AAFCO standards, they can say it isn?t crap because they?re following rules. There?s a wide range of food available, and it?s all marketed as being perfect. There?s a wide gap of quality in the industry, and because of the marketing and the standards and the lack of regulation, it?s up to the consumer to figure out what?s good and what isn?t. 2. What was t he biggest surprise you had when f il ming? Oh man, that?s a tough question. There were so many! I guess if I had to narrow it
down, I?d have to say that the biggest surprise was trying to figure out what is species-appropriate and what isn?t. Because if corn and wheat are issues, and dogs and cats shouldn?t be eating them, then what should they be eating? I had to put everything I thought I knew aside and look at every angle to figure out what they should eat. I interviewed Dr. Becker and Dr. Royal? they both have backgrounds with wildlife, and they know in zoos and wildlife rehab centers that if you don?t feed them what they need, the animals will die. But as Dr. Becker says in the film, we can nutritionally abuse (abuse for lack of a better word) our dogs and cats. They won?t die right away. So, we can do a lot of things wrong and because the results aren?t as immediate, people don?t always put the pieces together. Look, just because you have the ability as a pet food company to market a product, that doesn?t give you the right to market a product that?s unnecessary or harmful for the animal. As Dr. Royal said, ?Humans have created an industry that will hurt the animals.? Honestly, anyone can do this research. And in fact, there?s a whole submarket of people? the raw food industry, certain vets, and so on? that has done this research. I?m just one of thousands of people who have looked into this issue and found that something is seriously wrong. But I think the reason that more people aren?t aware of it is because of distribution. The fact that Purina can put their products in every Petco, every 13