Alternative dog foods Flashcards
What are some examples of alternative diets?
Homemade wellness diets
Vegan and vegetarian diets
Homemade therapeutic diets
Raw food diets
What are some potential problems with homemade diets?
Source of the recipe - not being balanced or formulation errors Preparation errors Time consuming Diet Drift Lack of feeding trials
What is diet drift?
The gradual change of a homemade diets nutrient content over time
Ex: the nutrient profile of a homemade food the first time a recipe is performed vs the profile of the diet six months later following the same recipe
What are common nutritional errors seen when feeding homemade diets?
Calcium or trace mineral deficiency Vitamin deficiency Excessive protein and or fat Essential fatty acid(s) deficiency *feline nutritional requirements
What is more important in a pet food diet, the ingredients or nutrients?
nutrients
What variations of raw diets might you see?
Commercially prepared
home prepared complete raw diets
Combination diets
Commercially available raw food diets come in what forms?
Refrigerated
Freeze dried
Frozen
Does refrigeration, freezing, or freeze drying raw diets guarantee killing off of possible pathogens?
NO
What does the BARF diet stand for?
Biologically appropriate raw food/Billinghurst’s appropriate raw food
Diet consisting of 60% raw, meaty bones
What is the goal of the BARF diet?
It is based on the type and quantity of foods a wild dog would eat… attempts to balance diet overall, rather than at each meal
What do combination raw diets consist of?
Commercial grain and or supplement mix meant to be fed in combination with raw meat
What are the purported benefits of a raw diet?
Improved skin and coat Elimination of breath, body, and fecal odors Improved health and immune function Improved behavior and activity level Reduces disease incidence
**NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE*
What is the enzyme food concept?
“The GI system has a limited quantity of digestive enzymes for a life time, so it is believed that raw foods have their own biological and chemical enzymes that assist in digesting, thus sparing the pancreas from using its digestive enzymes and prolonging life/preventing dz”
This is BS
What medical issues may be seen associated with raw food diets in dogs?
GI foreign bodies and perforations Dental issues Obstipation nutritional imbalances **food safety concerns for owners
What concerns may you have when an owner is feeding raw, human grade meats to their dog?
Pathogens - human grade meat can have up to 50% pathogens bc the meat is labeled to be cooked.
**salmonella and Campylobacter
