
Does Your Dog Know It's Christmas?
Guest Blog: Anna Webb
Anna explains how the festive period can be overwhelming for your dog and top tips on how to reduce anxiety and have a calm and happy holiday season.
Guest Blog: Lynne Boeng
' I started reading up on raw feeding, it was a minefield out there. I wasn't ready to go full on raw but wanted to stop feeding kibble.'
Our raw feeding journey...it's been 2 years.
Call me an accidental raw feeder. It never occurred to me to feed raw although growing up, my dogs were fed cooked or leftover scraps. Yoshi came into our lives in March 2018. I was in charge of behaviour & training, not nutrition. After 1 ½ years, the morning pukes started and became more frequent, sometimes 6-8 times a month. It was always bile, sometimes with grass.
Vet: “He could have picked up something" (possible, he's a Labrador after all). "Hunger pukes" (okay, give him a snack before bedtime). But with bedtime snacks and no scavenging, the bile pukes did not stop or lessen (despite swapping a few times to various "high quality" kibble). He was perfectly fine but I didn't like the idea of him not sleeping through the night, waking up to patches of vomit (looking back, I had no idea about gut health, microbiome, etc).
I started reading up on raw feeding, it was a minefield out there. I wasn't ready to go full on raw but wanted to stop feeding kibble. So I switched to freshly cooked while I poured over raw feeding groups/forums, websites, books. (I wished Dr Conor Brady's Feeding Dogs: Dry or Raw? The Science Behind the Debate, had been published then). I still wasn't 100% sure when I started raw feeding. I was feeding completes or 80/10/10 only while I continued to learn. Lockdown was a blessing in disguise. People had more time to answer my silly questions. I also watched online videos posted by canine nutritionists and holistic vets. Everyday was and still is a school day!
Within months, the bile pukes stopped. There were a few instances of vomit (not bile) I could tell it was something that didn't agree with him, eg too much bone. However, I still had minimal knowledge of the various raw food brands out there and whatever I bought was very much price driven.
All was going well until Yoshi experienced
pancreatitis attack. I had no idea it was pancreatitis! The vet could not tell
as the attack was over but an experienced raw feeder with pancreatic dogs
recognised the symptoms after I listed out everything and patiently explained
to me that I had unknowingly fed him too much high fat content (dog mum
guilt!!). Another learning curve...I went back to basics, starting with lamb
tripe, then low fat proteins as well as understanding more of the different brands
out there, especially source of protein. Here's where our relationship with
Paleo Ridge started, it came highly recommended.
I fed mostly Paleo Ridge after the pancreatitis episode for a few months, with low fat proteins and slowly building up fat content. I kept a food diary so I could always refer back if fat % didn't agree with him. Till today, breakfast is always high fat mixed with low fat protein, and dinner is usually low fat. There have been no more acute attacks (fingers/paws crossed). Paleo Ridge products are always in our shopping basket to help balance out fat content.
2 years on…
His food bowls are what I call ugly bowls (not Instagram worthy) but at least I know I'm getting it right!
Guest Blog: Anna Webb
Anna explains how the festive period can be overwhelming for your dog and top tips on how to reduce anxiety and have a calm and happy holiday season.
Black Friday has come early online at Paleo Ridge. Six limited-edition hampers with 30% off and free shipping are now available to order, while stocks last.
Service Dogs UK is a leading charity that provides assistance dogs to Veterans with PTSD. Read on to find out more about the amazing work they do and how you can become a foster carer for these beautiful dogs.