Raw Diet and thyroid: a pain in the neck?

We've had some ups and downs in Luna's Adventures in Hypothyroid... Some potentially related to her raw diet... A bit of a long lead up, but I'll get to the connection, I promise.

AS I think I've discussed here, Luna had developed some crazy behavior that we believed was linked to her low thyroid. It showed up mostly as fear of all sorts of things she was previously unafraid of-- the kitchen, the car, her harness, loud noises, the agility tunnels... You name it.

Once we got her on Soloxine (.4mg BID), those issues sort of melted away. Kitchen was no longer an issue, she harnessed up and rode in the car with no problems, and she became an agility superstar...

Protocol is generally to monitor the thyroid levels periodically, since they change as the dog gets older. We didn't do the full panel this time-- just an in-house SNAP test. And she tested just above normal. Not a LOT above normal, but enough that her vet wanted to see how she would do on the next dosage down (.3mg).

Within a couple of days, she seemed a little more skittish. Over the next few weeks, she didn't seem quite right, but I thought I was probably imagining it.

In the heat of this August, we bought a couple of sprinklers for the pups to play in out in the yard. Andre took to it right away. He loved it.

Luna stayed in the background barking. Finally, she decided to attack the sprinkler. It was pretty funny to watch. But her focus on the contraption was way too much. WAY too much. Too intense. Too obsessive. TOO. MUCH.

To make a long story less long, the intensity over the sprinkler was the last straw in a list of Very Exciting Things in Luna's day and it seems that she snapped. She and Robin got into quite a fight. Puncture wounds, a broken tooth, and hurt feelings. And keeping the two of them separated while we work on lots of classical conditioning and desensitization and allow everyone's hormones to reset.

And while we allow her thyroid medicine to kick back in. As many of you may know, a low threshold for aggressive behavior is one of the behavioral signs of low thyroid. The vet agreed to put her back on the higher dose, and as long as her behavior is ok and she's not losing weight, we're going to be happy with it, "Tests be damned," as he said.

And she is better. Much less fearful. Calmer. Happier.

So what does this have to do with her raw diet?

Well!

I started trying to figure out why her numbers were higher than they were the last time we tested over the winter.

One thing that might be contributing is the spirulina supplement. That has some iodine in it.
The other thing I came across was this study from the Journal of Small Animal Practice. Basically, this study looks at a number of cases of dogs who exhibited symptoms of HYPERthyroid and were fed a raw diet. Turns out, they received higher quantities of neck material-- beef gullets, etc.-- in their diet, which contained, in some cases, the thyroid itself, and almost unavoidably thyroid hormone and other material.

This winter, we pulled Luna off of chicken and began using turkey as her primary bone source. Necks are the cheapest and boniest cut for us. And they frequently get a mix of gullet and tripe. So she's received a lot of neck material lately.

So what does that mean???

Don't worry. It doesn't mean that we will be stopping the raw diet. And no it doesn't mean we're getting rid of necks altogether. And it also doesn't mean that this necessarily had anything to do with her higher numbers. She's a young dog. Frankly, she probably should run a little high.

But it is an EXCELLENT reminder to diversify the diet. We're adding in more turkey legs. I'm also researching sources for duck frames and rabbit backs. And we may revisit chicken for her. It was kind of a random stab at seeing if she's sensitive to chicken as one of her allergies. And I've increased the amount of plain tripe that I buy and less of the mix with gullet.

It's also a good reminder that adding supplements to a diet willy nilly has the potential to cause some unintended consequences. While iodine is really important, when you're trying to balance the thyroid medically, pharmacologically, adding things like additional iodine can skew all of that and put it higher than it needs to be. Alone, adding iodine wouldn't be enough for her. So she needs the soloxine. So it's possible that me adding the spirulina put her over the top. I am still giving it to her. I think its benefits are good ones. But if we still have trouble after diversifying the diet, I might rethink the spirulina at that time.

An unexpected twist...

Yes, Luna Bird-- we're talking about you...

I'm learning a lot of lessons these days.

With Luna's persistent yeast issues, we started adding Animal Essentials Green Alternative. It has spirulina, nettle, garlic, and some other stuff that helps keep yeast in check. I think it has made her very soft, so I've started incorporating it in with the other dogs' food in place of some of the other supplements they get.

If you recall, Luna is also low thyroid. She takes .4mg of Soloxine twice a day. It has turned her around completely. She is muscly again, and all the inexplicable weird fears she had developed have melted away.

She went in this week to have a routine test of her thyroid levels. We opted to just do the in-house test since things have been going just fine, for the most part, and we'll do a full panel at Michigan State or at Hemopet if there are problems.

So I did what I'm supposed to do. I gave her a pill first thing this morning, fasted her, and took her in 5-6 hours after the dose for the blood draw.

And it was high. Her levels were high. Not just high-normal (which is what we want in a dog her age), but high.

So we've taken her dose down to .3 twice a day. The only thing I can think is that there's enough iodine in the spirulina to aid in thyroid function. We'll see. I really, really, really hope we don't backslide.

The supplement is literally the only difference I can think of. I pulled her off of kelp when we started using the Soloxine, even though Dr. Dodds (a canine thyroid expert) says it's ok if the dog is being fed a homemade diet.

In addition to all of this, I'm supposed to be getting a small bottle of Herbsmith's Clear AllerQi in the mail today to try for Luna's still itchy paws. I do believe I'll be double-checking all the herbs and how much they might contribute to thyroid function before I dive on in...

And last but not least, I think I've found a supplier for duck necks (and perhaps rabbit), so I'm hoping to add those to the mix, and maybe even try those for Luna instead of turkey.

Just need to choose one thing at a time so I'm not changing everything at once...

Supplement updates, etc.

Not much to report on Dre these days (thankfully...). Appetite is as, erm... voracious as ever.

Biggest problem we have right now is that he's discovered the plum trees and wants to eat them all. Thankfully he doesn't crunch the pits (inside is where the toxins are), but unsurprisingly they agitate his system, so he's being closely monitored.

As for River's hip, we have been continuing Adequan and she has been on the Herbsmith for several weeks now. And I do think it's helping her. I'm ready to dive into a big bulk canister of the stuff now. And once she runs out of Glycoflex, we may try Herbsmith's glucosamine supplement.

She is springy and spry and spending much more time upstairs with us.

Luna's yeasty paws seem to be continuing to do well with the spirulina and no chicken; I've faded out the Zyrtec for her and for Robin, so we will see how that goes.

Onward and upward.

New Ailments and Updates

That's perhaps a bit misleading. These aren't new ailments. More like a new perspective on existing ailments.

But first, the good news. Andre has been successfully moved to a homemade diet of ground turkey necks and legs, beef heart, beef tripe, beef trim, pork heart, and a variety of pork and beef organs. It takes the cost down from $3/lb for premade to more like $1.65/lb. I can live with that. Huzzah!

The only thing I've seen is a few lbs lost, but I think that's due more to the summer burn. We've upped his rations by a couple of ounces.

But this little nugget. This is my itchy girl.

Such a big day. Scratching is exhausting.

Her itchiness is miles better than it was when we found her a few years ago. We've had her on benadryl, then claritin, and now zyrtec. We've removed chicken from her diet, and the itchiness seemed to improve a tiny bit. She stays pretty well grain free (save the odd treat from the people in the drive thru).

About 6 months ago, she was diagnosed with a low thyroid. Twice daily Soloxine has done a lot for her. Her whole attitude and demeanor have improved. Her fur feels better. Her muscle tone has returned after she had become fairly suddenly flabby.

But she still licks her feet. Because of the thyroid, I give very little kelp, which I think was previously helping her allergies. And recently, her left rear paw has had a lot of cracked and split nails. Like all of them. She tore a paw pad on her front right foot. And was stung by something on her front left foot. And we just got back to agility, so the timing COULDN'T BE BETTER.

And she's had some itchy ears lately, as well.

We discussed all this with her vet. He felt like her rear paw definitely had a major overgrowth of yeast, and possibly a bacterial infection, and that this was likely making her nails brittle. Makes perfect sense. We are currently treating the infections.

Now, I had always assumed these were allergies. But something in the back of my mind popped up and I recalled reading that hypothyroid dogs frequently have chronic and/or systemic yeast infections as a symptom.

Maybe... just maybe this is what we've had all along. Not allergies per se, but overgrowth of yeast due to low thyroid. It's improved, not because we removed chicken, but because her hormones are leveling out finally. But it's systemic and I've pared her diet down so much that her body's flora just isn't balancing.

So we are on a major gut flora refresh. She'll complete the antibiotic treatment and antifungal treatment. Meanwhile, I'll continue her on probiotics, increase the amount and frequency of kefir, and add in some other things that are known combatants of yeast or are immune supporters: coconut oil (we started slacking on this one), spirulina (since we do very little kelp), nettle, MSM. I'll be trying out Animal Essentials Green Alternative, which contains several of those herbs. And we are tapering off the zyrtec.

Then maybe I'll begin reintroducing chicken.

Anyway, fingers crossed. Puts a whole new spin on her itchies.

Kefir Success!

Of course, I walk into my local Walmart Neighborhood Market the other day and what do I see? Plain kefir. Same brand I bought at the natural foods co-op. And after my struggles getting it started, the premade bottle looked tempting. However, a small bottle (a quart maybe?) cost almost five dollars, while a half gallon of organic, non-ultra pasteurized milk cost about $3.50. It's worth keeping on...

And then... Finally!!

Two days in a row. Perfect, beautiful, creamy NOT FIZZY kefir.

So what did I change? I used the very minimum amount of milk. Put it in the cabinet at night; and in the morning, I give it a swish and put it in the water heater closet. I take it out in the evening and look. LOOK!

It's gorgeous. And it's pretty firm:

But a little swish loosens it up. It's thick, but not separated.

And it strained very, very easily. 

Whew! Two days in a row. Hopefully this keeps up. I'd imagine that as the grains grow and mature and as the weather warms up, I won't have to move it to the closet. But until then, this is perfect. 

I have totally replaced Andre's store-bought probiotics with this, and we'll see how he does. It's cheap and easy if it continues to be successful.

I'm sold. 

Milk soda

Sodastream missed the boat on this one.

I think I've reached the point with the kefir where it's working and it's safe to eat. And it doesn't taste bad...

But it's really fizzy. It's weird. I know that some people like this and aim for fizzy by using a tight lid. 

I am not aiming for fizzy.

So I guess the long and short here is that the struggle to negotiate proper temperature, time, and quantity continues.

And I wish I'd put the grains in a muslin bag to start with instead of straining them from the kefir. But I digress...

The Kefir Kraze

Keh-fur, kee-fur, kuh-fear... I've yet to figure out exactly how it's pronounced (I'm pretty sure it's the last one...? ). Regardless, it's awesome stuff.

It is also a total mystery to me. And I have been making my own yogurt for years, not counting all the years we made it while I was growing up. I am not new to fermenting milk. This is just a different beast...

I bought some dried milk kefir grains. They were packed in powdered milk. So my first task has been to rehydrate and prepare the grains for use. This is supposed to take a week or so.

I added a cup of cold whole milk, per instructions, covered it with a coffee filter, and set it in the water heater closet. It's cold in our kitchen.

Twenty-four hours later, I strained it (in a non-reactive strainer), put the grains in a fresh jar and added more milk. All was going according to plan.

Well... Next day I pulled out the jar, and it had completely separated into curds and whey. Smelled sour and yeasty (which it's supposed to at this stage), but it's not supposed to be like this. I had to stir it all together and strain it about a hundred times, adding a little fresh milk, before I could separate out the grains.

Thought maybe it was too warm. Put it in the cabinet with the dishes, but it still separated quite a bit. So I thought maybe the grains are growing faster than expected and need more milk. That seems to have helped. The last time I changed it out, it had a layer of yeasty foam and was smelling cleaner. Less separation. Hopefully, we're almost there...

Will continue to update as we go...

Senior Day at the homestead

Today, since I am off work, I finally had time to take Chester in for some blood work. Before I make such a radical diet change, I wanted to be sure that he didn't have any chronic illness that might need to be dealt with delicately in terms of his diet-- things like kidney or liver disease, or diabetes. He is 10 or 11 years old, which isn't exactly geriatric for a cat, but it's certainly a point where it's a good idea to be aware of common chronic illness and to have a baseline against which to compare future tests. 

The vet did agree that he had some muscle loss in the back end, and he has lost weight, despite still looking huge. And as I mentioned a few days ago, his coat is greasy, coarse and thin. 

He was less than happy about the blood draw, but he hung in there. 

And everything looked perfect. We decided to hold off on a thyroid panel for now, and instead we will try increasing his protein--moisture rich protein, meaning an all canned, low-carb or carb-free, diet, or raw. This vet is newer at the clinic, but she didn't give me any grief about the diet change. 

I will still be monitoring his urine pH using the color-change litter as we move forward.

Now on the canine side of the family, River has been mopey lately. She's seemed uncomfortable, reluctant to come up the stairs or to jump on the bed; she's been clingy and needy. Her coat is a bit dry and dandruffy. She has some arthritis in a front leg, and she has some scar tissue from a puncture wound on her hip, so she already gets high dose glucosamine  and chondroitin, MSM, and salmon oil. 

For River, we discussed potential thyroid problems (she also has a hard time losing weight), and possible increased pain from the arthritis. We have decided to hold off on the thyroid panel for her, as well, and will opt to ramp up arthritis treatment with Adequan injections. Adequan is similar to glucosamine, as I understand it; it is another building block for joint health. You do a 2week, 4 injection loading dose, and follow with, usually, once monthly injections thereafter. 

When our old man, a lab mix Simon, took these treatments, it was miraculous. He would begin the day unable to stand in one place long enough to eat breakfast, and end it running to greet me at the door. He began by getting the shots every 6-8 weeks, but eventually took them every 2 weeks. I feel that they were the single most important piece of his treatment puzzle and helped him live happily to 16 years old. Tramadol (Ultram) was the second most important. Neither of those treatments have many side effects. Simon had some nausea with the Adequan and some constipation with the Tramadol, but those were short-lived and worth the benefits. Since Tramadol is, despite it's safety, still a synthetic narcotic, I'm starting with the nutraceutical before the pharmaceutical. 

So far, it looks like River is having some nausea, maybe, but she still enjoyed her outing with me this morning. So she gets to rest all afternoon. She's earned it. It's sort of strange for me, though. I still think of her as our young, Emo, drama queen pup. She's also 9 or 10, and her body is telling me that she's older than I want to believe she is. So here's hoping we're starting these interventions early enough. It's one regret I had with Simon-- that I waited too long to give him the quality of life he could have enjoyed sooner. You live and learn, though. And that's what we're doing.

New year, new foods

In looking back on 2013 and forward to 2014, one thing is clear. Andre has been very adventurous.

No, he didn't get any New Year's Day mimosas. Or cinnamon rolls. Or coffee.

But he did try a lot of new foods, some were good, some were bad. We've detailed most of the bad here. But we've had some successes lately.

He got to have a bite of duck on Christmas day.

The big guy handled turkey necks with drumstick meat very well. So we tried Texas Tripe's turkey/pork blend (ground drumsticks with pork hearts and liver), and after an initial disappointment, we tried transitioning very slowly, and adding veggies (but not too many) to better mimic what Bravo does.

And since that was a success, we tried a beef organ blend from Texas Tripe. Beef liver, spleen, kidney... maybe some other stuff? He has had an ounce of that with each meal for 4 days. All good.

This morning, we started plain ground beef. Grain-fed, but local and otherwise antibiotic/hormone free. So we are starting with 1-1.5 ounces per meal and we'll go for 3-4 days before increasing the amount. Here's hoping!

Apparently, at some point, he ate a plastic bag. It was my super surprise on New Year's Eve. Happy new year to me.

We also added better probiotics-- Jarrow's Pet Dopholus.

All in all, Andre has been with us a little over a year now. He's had 3 surgeries, been through countless foods and supplements. But we ultimately found things that work and he has gained a whopping 20 lbs. FINALLY. He's huge.

So let's do this, 2014. I have high hopes for variety in Andre's future.

Andre update: Little critters

I'm amazed at the power of probiotics over and over again.

Somebody seems to be feeling better. 

No more cottage cheese. Added probiotics. He has regulated and isn't constantly trying to eat poop and leaves. 

I can't believe I haven't gone back to probiotics while changing up his food. I used to do that always. Too many irons in the fire these days...

Guess I'll go back to testing new foods!

Obey the probiotics: how to make your own yogurt

Well, folks. We may have a couple of setbacks.

On the one hand, Andre seemed to handle turkey necks and drumstick meat quite well. Then we took a few days' break and tried a blend of ground drumsticks, pork hearts and pork liver. He did ok with this, too, if slightly gassy. We only did this for a few days.

First issue is that unenhanced turkey is hard to get, so DIY will be tougher, but the blend is cheaper than Bravo.

Now, he's been slightly off, has lost a couple of pounds, I think, and has started trying to eat the other dogs' poop again. It's been many months since that was a problem. One change that might be to blame is that I've been out of yogurt quite a bit the last month, so he's had a lot of cottage cheese in his kongs. The only probiotic that he currently gets is the small amount in Missing Link. I'm hoping that the cottage cheese and/or the lack of probiotic is the problem. Until I can get some keffir, he will get more yogurt in his kongs and a powder probiotic-- we're giving 21st Century a shot (from Petsmart).

In the meantime, I thought now would be a good time for yogurt making instructions. With 4 dogs who get frozen kongs several days a week, and humans who like to cook Indian food, making your own yogurt is super economical. It also gives you lots of control over the texture, consistency, and sourcing of your milk. 

1. Equipment

We use a yogurt maker. It's not required, but it's not expensive and makes life a little easier. It pays for itself pretty quickly. This is a Eurocuisine model with a timer. It was maybe $30 or less and simplifies the final step of the process. It came with 7 little 6oz cups, but one big bowl of plain makes more sense for us. This model is one big open space, so you're only limited to the size that will fit under the lid. We use a 7 cup glass Pyrex container.

2. Cleaning

First things first: sterilize your container. Yes, that poor kettle was left on the stove a little too long one afternoon... And this is in our old house, so those of you who know me will know these are old pics. Anyway, I boil a kettle full of water...

...and pour it into the container. It can sit there sterilizing while I get the rest of it going.

3. Ingredients

For this batch, I have 42 ounces of organic 2%. It's ultrapasteurized, and I hear that makes for lesser yogurt. I haven't noticed, but I hope to try with local milk at some point. Also, full fat is going to be automatically creamier, but since this batch will be used for all of us in the house, I don't want the full fat. You will also need some plain yogurt as a starter culture. If I have some of my yogurt, I use that, but I just buy a single small container of plain at the store to get started.

4. The heat

I bring the water to 185 degrees-- this sterilizes the milk one more time and apparently does something to break down the whey. It's unnecessary (we never did this when I was a kid and made yogurt), but I think it probably speeds up the process and supposedly makes for creamier yogurt.

I like to keep it at 185 for 10 minutes. I didn't always do this, so obviously it's unnecessary. I keep it on medium high until I hit 180 and then turned it to low for the next 10 minutes. Some folks use a double boiler, some keep it at 180-185 for 30 minutes. I just do 10 minutes and I definitely noticed an improvement in the results- firmer yogurt with less whey.

5. The cool down

You can next turn off the heat and wait for it to go down to below 120 degrees... Or you can put it in a nice bath to speed up the process. I've always done the ice bath. I'm impatient that way.

6. The culture

While the milk was heating, I put 5-6 ounces of plain yogurt into my measuring container. Use any plain yogurt or you can buy starters at most health food stores.

Now that the milk is cool, pour some of that milk into the measuring cup with your starter and whisk lightly. 

Then pour it back into the warm milk and stir it lightly. 

7. The wait

Empty the sterilizing bowl, place it in the machine, and pour up the milk.

For full fat milk, I usually set it for 8-10 hours. This is 2%, so I'm giving it 11-12 hours. After it's done, chill it. If it's still not thick enough, it can be strained in a cheese cloth or in a colander lined with coffee filters. Save the whey, though-- it makes a great substitute for buttermilk in baking and can be used to add extra protein to smoothies, especially those that you'd rather not use yogurt in. 

You can also reserve a cup of this yogurt for your next batch. :)

If you don't want to spring for a machine, just know that the important thing is to keep it around 110degrees while it's culturing. Some folks use water baths in crock pots or keeping it in thermal containers, in warm ovens. Whatever works for you. For the $20-$30 the machine costs, it was worth not having to deal with that stuff. 

A dog, a grinder, a plan

Apologies for abandoning the blog. Life's been a little nutty. Vacation, hypothyroid, moving... Just... a lot.

When we all try very hard, these three can be such
patient little customers. They want to know, though,
why I'm taking pictures and not finishing dinner. 

My next post was going to be about equipment, and I'm actually glad I've held off. We are probably going back to grinding at least some of the meals. I'd love to get out of debt, and while recently time had been more valuable than money, that's changing. :) I got a great deal on buying 100lbs of a pre-made grind (beef trim, liver and tripe with chicken frames, hearts and liver) for $1.65/lb. I can use this for morning meals when I'm in a hurry. Our evening meals can be chicken thighs and other organs, hearts and gizzards. This should get us to around $1.30/lb. If I go back to chicken leg quarters, I can get it closer to ~$1.10/lb if I need to cut costs even further.

And Andre's Bravo is now $3/lb, even when I buy with a case discount, so I'm revisiting the prospect of making his food. Even a mid-range home grinder will not handle turkey, so we'll have to purchase a commercial grinder to do that, and I'll go through our decision process on that. I may get one anyway to up the speed on processing day-- if I can make Andre's food by buying lots of Thanksgiving turkeys and grinding them myself, it will pay for itself quickly. If I use it to do a lot of grinding with the chicken thighs/legs, it will pay for itself, too, just less quickly. I love the grinder we have and it was perfectly reasonable when I was grinding for 2 dogs. Three or even four dogs, and using a grinder that small and slow, means I never want to do it and it's easier for me to be lazy.

We've also discovered that Luna has some thyroid issues, and I am still working out what I need to be doing for her dietarily-- will post on that sometime soon, too.

Let me begin by saying that Andre is 60+lbs-- up from a low of 41 or 42. He's energetic, happy, and he's had only mild flare-ups in recent months. Nothing major at all. And he starts intermediate obedience classes in January. We've done his basics at home, but it's time for him to work around new people and dogs. And learn not to obsess over toys.

Park is Hell. All those tennis balls
behind the fence...

He couldn't handle the salmon oil for his omegas, so he gets Missing Link vegetarian formula, which is primarily flaxseed plus a little kelp. He's tolerating that very, very well.

He also can tolerate coconut oil well.

My first step here is to see if Andre can handle grocery store turkey, including dark meat. I bought some ground turkey necks from our supplier and a tray of turkey drumsticks. Both meals on Sunday and Monday morning, he had 2 ounces of his 10 replaced with 25% necks and 75% drumstick meat cut up with poultry shears. Tonight he got 4 ounces replaced; tomorrow morning I'll give him a break and do all Bravo. If we can get to 50-75% of his meals homemade, we'll be in great shape. I'll need to add in some veggies.

Next step will be to try some different (not chicken) proteins. Turkey livers/hearts/gizzards are hard to find in bulk. So I'll try beef and pork hearts and livers, kidneys, sweetbreads and see if he can handle the organ meats from them. Our supplier also makes a turkey drumstick/pork liver blend at $2/lb that we could perhaps try for his morning meals.

We can't sustainably pay these prices for Andre's food if it's going to stay more than twice as much as the others'. That said, it's still cheaper and easier than having him constantly having problems, having surgical procedures, constantly trying new foods... We'll keep going til we find something more workable. Hopefully that will be soon...

Andre update: Changing it up

Now, while I think that I will eventually need to address the B12 issue, the fact remains that Dre is gaining weight. That's right. Big Guy is up to 54lbs. That's from an all-time low of 41 after surgery. I think he's looking pretty good.

Seeing ribs on my bullies with their short coats, super muscle tone, and athletic builds is one thing; seeing them on a longer short-coat like Dre is another. We could also see his hip bones at one point. He wasn't even fun to snuggle with. Now you can see some tuck, but it's not overly tight. I'm pretty happy with his body condition right now.

That said, I wanted to document what we've done this week that's different.

On Wednesday, he threw up twice. I decided that we might need stronger probiotics than the yogurt and whatever is in the Missing Link. So we're adding kefir to his diet. Kefir is like a cousin to yogurt, but it's much more potent in terms of its probiotic qualities. If this continues to seem useful, I'll take up an offer from a friend to get some of her kefir grains to culture my own. We usually make our own yogurt, but this is a much simpler process.

We have also been substituting a few ounces of turkey with a packet of ground lamb that I picked up last week at the abattoir. So far so good. The turkey Bravo that he's been eating has gone up in price (as of today) to about $2.75/lb. when it costs more to feed one of the dogs than one of the humans, it's time to reevaluate. If it's what we need to do, we will. But I think it's time to start trying out some other things. I'd like to try slowly adding some heart, both beef and chicken, maybe gizzards, and chicken frames, particularly the chicken blend I buy at the farmers market, as it looks to be very low fat. 

His problems seemed to arise when given salmon oil or chicken legs-- fatty cuts of chicken. He did great on chicken breast only. So while hearts can be very rich for some dogs, they are also lean, packed with vitamins, and frankly... cheap. I'd love to reach a point where I can substitute maybe half his turkey with other things, both for the variety and the cost savings.

The Nitty Gritty: Supplements

Don't get scared. I don't use all of those all the time.

Ideally, if you can offer lots and lots of variety, you probably won't have to worry too much about supplementation. But I'm always a little worried that I'm not giving them everything, and sometimes they need a little boost here and there for various reasons. Here is Mary Strauss's DogAware page on supplements for dogs.

**One quick note-- when buying supplements designed for humans, read the ingredients carefully. Many tablets or caplets will contain things like xylitol and other artificial sweeteners that may be toxic for your dog. Always be aware of what you're giving them, especially when they are not specifically designed for dogs.**

Fish Oil
Minimally, when feeding a raw diet, you'll want to make sure that they're getting the right Omega 3s and 6s. These fatty acids support skin and coat, eye health and brain development in young puppies, immune system health, decreased inflammation, and lots of other things. Fish body oils have these omegas in the right ratios and are a very bioavailable way for dogs to receive these nutrients. We give capsules of human grade Alaskan salmon oil a few times a week in addition to one meal a week where I take the lowest sodium cans of salmon and mackerel and split a single can of each between the 3 girls. I make up the rest of the meal with cottage cheese, eggs, and sometimes yogurt, keffir, or vegetables.

If you're wanting to feed raw fish, there are some that can be fed, but salmon and trout carry the potential for a fatal disease, so we just stick with cooked.

Vitamin E-- this is also important to supplement with when feeding fish oils. The body needs vitamin E to absorb these oils, and so the body's store of E can be depleted. We do roughly 1-2iu of E per pound, and I add that by giving 200iu every 2-3 days (my dogs range in weight from 45lbs-60lbs).

If fish oils aren't a possibility, there are plants that contain these same fatty acids. They are not as bioavailable or as conveniently packaged together as they are in fish oils. The correct ratio depends on who you talk to, and ranges from 5:1 to 20:1 (omega3:omega6). This is not something I've had to really confront, but now will need to because of Andre. It's clear that he is not tolerating the salmon oil, and so I will be trying flax, perhaps with some other oils or meals. Which brings me to my next supplements...

Multipurpose Supplements
When I began feeding raw, I rotated between 2 different blends: Missing Link (we will try the vegetarian blend with Dre) and Solid Gold Seameal.

Missing Link is mostly good for getting those omega 3/6/9s and some other vitamins and minerals, and it uses a more "whole food" approach-- in other words, giving them what they need without adding lots of synthetic vitamins.

The Seameal is great for probiotic help and for trace minerals-- lots of little things they might not be getting elsewhere.

I would rotate between these 2 brands. And if I wasn't able to add a lot of variety immediately, I'd probably also add in a multivitamin. This may become necessary for Andre, as well, so I'll touch on that if we have to make some decisions that direction.

Once I got more variety going, and was adding in more fish for the omegas, I switched to adding...

Kelp
Kelp is great for so many things. It has all those great trace minerals. We have found that it helps with allergies and digestion. It's also good for glandular health. That said, you should be careful with dosing. Because kelp can be high in iodine (and that iodine level is certainly not uniform for all brands of kelp), adding it to a commercial diet can be problematic in regards to the thyroid. Dr. Jean Dodds has written a great book about canine hypothyroidism and is worth a read on this topic. Since we aren't feeding a primarily commercial diet, we add it to the food, approximately 1/2tsp a day. I buy it in bulk at the co-op. Because it is such a fine powder, it lasts a long time, and even at $15/lb, it's not very expensive on a daily basis.

We have also been taking some of the Pet Kelp line of blends for a spin. River has been taking the Joint and Bone blend, and Andre has been getting the Wellness with blueberries. I can't say for sure whether they are helping or not, but the price point is good and so it's been worth a try. I'll report after we use them for a while longer.


**Those are the ones that I personally see as truly essential. They are the ones that I provide to really make up for what the diet is missing. But there are several things that I add on a case-by-case basis or as "bonus."**


Coconut Oil
We love coconut oil. It's such a great addition to their diet. It has helped with allergies tremendously and has improved their skin and coat qualities immeasurably. As I discussed before, Luna used to have a terrible flea allergy, and really is allergic to everything. She now has only very mild reactions to bites and her allergic reactions clear up very quickly, and usually without the use of antibiotics, etc.

And the better their coat and skin quality, the less frequently we treat for fleas. Fleas don't really like healthy skin; broken skin is easier to infiltrate, so the reduction in fleas was a nice surprising bonus for us.

It's good for digestion, immunity, skin; it can be used topically. It's a medium chain fat and so it's processed differently by the body and has no cholesterol. It's just amazing stuff.

We buy it on a subscription from Amazon. It's solid below 76ºF, a bit like the consistency of candle wax. I just start a dog off with a very small amount, maybe 1/4tsp, and slowly increase that until they are getting a small spoon of it once a day. We increase and decrease this as necessary.

Probiotics/Digestive Enzymes
We stuff Kongs with yogurt (when I have time, I prefer to make my own) and we use keffir when I need to get a dog's gut back to good (after a round of antibiotics, etc.). I have also used a variety of doggie probiotics, and I can't really endorse one over another. They seem to work about the same.

I have found that often the dog needs digestive enzymes, rather than probiotics-- In Clover Fresh Digest is the one that we've found and like. I like the company, and while the product may look pricey, we buy it cheaper on Amazon and you use very little of it per meal. It's also a very fine powder and somewhat sweet, so it tends to be pretty easy to administer. It tends to make a big difference in stool quality and flatulence. Andre gets this at every meal; the rest get it when needed, after antibiotics or when adding in a brand new protein or changing foods or they received an abundance of treats, etc...

Cranberry
My girls who are prone to UTIs get cranberry capsules. Cranberry doesn't so much cure UTIs as make it more difficult for bacteria to take hold in the bladder. Same as for people. I just use CranActin capsules, just one day. I also occasionally give d-mannose specifically.

Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM
River and Robin are the two oldest, and they get joint supplements. River gets the Pet Kelp, as well as Dasuquin with MSM; Robin gets Dasuquin, though she'd probably be fine with something a little less robust. When River's having a hard time, we increase her fish oil and MSM, as these two help with joint inflammation, as well. Nutramax, who makes Dasuquin, is also the same company that has made Cosequin for many years. Their process is supposedly better than others. The Dasuquin is much like the Cosequin, but it contains avocado soybean unsaponifiables (ASUs), which are extracts that are supposed to help with the inflammation. We've felt like it's helped better than almost any brand we've tried. But there are many other brands-- Glycoflex is another good one, and we've like the Green Dog Naturals Healthy Motion.

L-Theanine
This is one that I take, and that my girls with anxiety take. It's an amino acid that just helps to level things out. It's marketed for dogs under the name Anxitane. I buy Enzymatic Therapies for people and we all share. This is one, though, that you should talk to your vet about if you want to add it.

Bonemeal
And when we have to go a while (like more than several days) without bone-in meals, I add bonemeal to the diet to make sure they are getting all their calcium. Here's some more information on how much bonemeal to add...


So that's a long post-- and I have used other supplements at various times for various things, from incontinence to anal gland issues. I'll touch on those as I have time. But these are what we regularly feed. Again, I'd say the fish oil and kelp are the only things that we add across the board and that I feel are quite necessary; I have long considered the addition of spirulina and alfalfa and will make note of that if I do make that change. But the others serve a great purpose for us and we tailor these to each dog. One of the great things about a home-prepped diet is the ability to tailor it as we see fit. And again, just like supplements for people, you should let your vet know about these things when they are prescribing medications or diagnosing problems.

The Nitty Gritty: Basic decisions

So I read, and read, and read, and read...

I asked questions on every forum I belonged to...

I read every sticky that related to dog food on every other dog forum I came across...

I visited every grocery and club store, called every chicken-only store (we have a lot of those in Arkansas), called every butcher and abattoir...

I culled all this new information, waded through the various options, and decided on a plan forward.

It's changed quite a bit, but here's what we landed on to begin with...

The Schedule
At the time, I was still afraid of not giving them the right balance. I was also concerned that any place we boarded them for vacation wouldn't be willing to feed raw. So we decided to split the difference, and do half raw, half kibble. They got kibble in the morning and raw in the evening. Many people will tell you it's bad to mix kibble and raw in the same meal because of the different digestion rates, increasing risk for bloat. I don't know if this is true or not, but why risk it?

I started for a week or more giving only boneless chicken thighs with no supplements to try and acclimate their tummies to it. The important thing is to move slowly, adding in new proteins, new supplements, and new organs, a bit at a time so as not to cause tummy upset. Some dogs take to it right away and some take a number of weeks to transition.

We also made the switch cold turkey with the three girls; just, one day, gave them a raw meal. That was that. No one had problems, and in fact, almost all the dogs' stools firmed up immediately. It was like their intestines were saying, "What took you so long!?!" When switching Andre, because he has such a sensitive system, I switched him slowly from kibble to cooked meat, and then slowly from cooked to raw. That's another way of going about it if you have a sensitive soul and don't want to mix kibble and raw.

The vast majority of sources suggested roughly 50-65% of the meal be raw meaty bones, RMBs-- meaning bones with a lot of meat on them-- and the rest boneless meat and organs. So we chose to do 4 meals per week of RMBs and 3 meals of organ and boneless. When we switched to all raw, we chose to feed an RMB meal in the mornings and a boneless/organ meal in the evenings. We now do what they call a "Frankenprey" model, where we have a mix of many things, from many protein sources, in each meal. 

**One important thing that nearly every source stressed is that this is a diet emphasizing balance over time. No need to cram everything in every meal; it's not how we eat, it's not how any animal eats, it's just not necessary. Try to be as balanced as possible over small spans of time (days/weeks-- not months).**

The Mix

The diet we chose is based on a 10/10/80% ratio-- 10%bone/10%organ/80%meat, give or take (again, balance over time). I sometimes give them more bone than that. 

For a long time, they got a ground chicken leg quarter/liver meal in the morning and a boneless/other organ meal in the evening. 

One meal every week to 10 days, they also got a mix of canned salmon or mackerel, cottage cheese and eggs. Eggs are best served soft-boiled, but raw is fine if it's not all the time, in large quantities. 

Especially in the beginning, when I didn't have the variety of organ meats that I do now, I liked for them to get some veggies for fiber and filler and for the nutrients they weren't otherwise getting. I would either mix one green and one root/squash, or alternate weekly. I lightly cooked them, ran them through the food processor and put them in muffin tins and froze for easy use later. 

Now that we do the Frankenprey, I usually use a mix of very bony grind, boneless meat and organs in each meal.

To Grind or Not To Grind
Many people will tell you that NOT grinding is the only way to REALLY do raw right. And some dogs handle whole RMBs very well. River does. I give River a chicken neck-- a little ol' chicken neck for my 60lb lab-- and she delicately crunches and chews, never guarding it from anyone or hiding it under the couches. Allowing them to really chew, rip, and shred their meals has the bonus of mechanically cleaning their teeth and giving them a mental workout, as well.

However, I'm terrified of them choking. Little miss 45lb Luna swallows chicken backs WHOLE. Silently. In one gulp. I'm pretty sure Andre would, too. No idea how she'd handle larger pieces, but I don't entirely trust her judgement. I do know people who have had to pull a stuck piece out of a choking dog.

I am also a germophobe, to a small degree. I could feed them in their crates, but then I have to remove the bedding and spray everything down. I tried giving Robin a bone-in thigh, and she picked it up out of the bowl, set it next to the bowl very suspiciously, ate everything else, then looked at me sideways while she ran out of the room with it to the couch...

Which brings me to the other problem I, personally, have with whole prey feeding. It wasn't easy getting that back from Robin while she dragged chicken juices all over the place. She resource guards on a occasion. Not terribly, but enough that I'm not thrilled with the idea. And Luna resource guards from the other dogs. She already doesn't want them near her crate; I didn't want to add one more high value thing to the mix. Our house at the time was tiny.

So if you've got a chewer, live in a temperate climate where they can eat outside all the time (I didn't have time to police that situation), or are cool with cleaning the crate all the time, or can teach them to eat on a mat, etc., be my guest. I'm too much of a worrier/germophobe/crunched-for-time-with-an-hour-long-commute-in-the-morning to do any of that. So we grind. I'll do a post on all our equipment later...

To Supplement or Not to Supplement
Again, you'll find people who sit on both sides of that fence.

**One other thing that most everyone will point out is that variety is key. Variety, variety, variety. Variety in proteins, in cuts, in organs, in sourcing, in everything. Every cut from every animal offers something different, and so the more variety you can lend, the less (theoretically) you should need to supplement.**

As I began, liver was about the only organ I could reliably get, and cost dictated that chicken made up the bulk of their meals. So I added in the veggies and supplemented, alternating between a couple of different blends. One was a seaweed based blend, offering trace minerals: Solid Gold Seameal. Another was a general flax based blend: Missing Link. Nearly every source will also suggest, even if they are opposed to supplementing for the most part, that you add a source for omegas, usually fish oil. This can be in the form of salmon oil or in whole body fish fed regularly, or flax if they can't tolerate fish oils. We've altered this some, but this was the basic starting point.
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So those were our primary decisions. A basic formulary, a basic RMB, a schedule, a consistency, and supplements. Again, remember, these aren't the only way to go. Its what we decided was going to work best for us at the time, and as I've hinted at here, as our living situations, finances and sourcing have all changed, our methods have changed. But I wouldn't hesitate to go back to the way we began if that is what would suit us best for whatever is going on.