Nutrient Deficiencies

We’ve all heard it and probably even believed it ourselves: “My dog’s blood work was flawless, They’re in perfect health!”

Now, this is not to say that routine blood work like CBC’s (Complete Blood Count) are not important, because they most certainly are and especially for seniors, immunocompromised or ill individuals. The purpose of this post is to shed some light on an all too common misconception that if your pets lab results come back “normal” that everything is as it should be… Wrong. Terribly wrong. This way of thinking can be extremely detrimental to your pets balance and vitality.

For example, let’s say you’ve been feeding a raw “beef dinner” blend that contains meat, bones and organs for years of your dogs life and everything is splendid! Stools are perfect, no digestive issues, no allergies or health concerns. Suddenly, you get the horrible news that your beloved pet has kidney disease. This whole time you were trusting this brand thinking you were giving them the best there was! Worse yet, you were sold a “complete” meal that may or may not contain fruits, vegetables or supplements thinking that this was meeting all your pets nutritional requirements. There are now HUNDREDS of new raw food companies selling similar products that claim to be “complete” or that you don’t need to add anything else to them… With the exception of “AAFCO approved” or NRC formulated products, this simply isn’t true and even when you DO feed these “thaw and serve” options, you should ABSOLUTELY still be rotating through different protein sources (see below why this still isn’t an ideal choice).

Unfortunately, not all raw foods are made the same. Some brands only include one organ and don’t educate their customers about the need for other secreting organs as well. What’s worse is that most companies only use beef or chicken organs in ALL their blends (even if they don’t label it as such) because they are cost efficient and easily sourced… Many pets are not only sensitive (allergic) to beef and/or chicken but that simply is not enough; especially if they (the customers) are not rotating through different animal protein sources. Different animals and their respective organs contain varying levels of minerals, vitamins and nutrients which is why it’s incredibly important to offer as many as possible to achieve “balance over time”. This is extremely important for people who are sourcing “dog food” grinds from their local butcher who is usually using scraps leftover from their profitable cuts and have no idea how to properly create a balanced ground meal. Are you confused yet? It’s okay…. It’s a lot to take in!

For reference, you can see the differences shown in the following image. Another important thing to mention is that grass fed, ethically raised animals are significantly more nutritional overall compared to factory farmed meats. A huge spike in cortisol (the stress hormone) before slaughter results in tougher meat with fewer nutrients and ultimately a more inflammatory addition to your own and your pets meals. With today’s current financial struggles (for most families) it’s understandable that not everyone can afford these options 100% of the time, but any amount in rotation with your usual sources is better than none at all!

The idea that each and every bowl should be calculated down to the microgram is ridiculous and unnecessary. HOWEVER, if the individual is ONLY feeding ONE source of organs for the entirety of their pets lives and also not supplying an adequate source of omegas or different sources of animal protein, they will most definitely be deficient in several areas that can and will lead to stress on the organs in their body and problems with the digestive process due to lack of sufficient nutrients. Eventually, this constant struggle for the body to create building blocks from missing pieces will take its toll and that’s when you’ll see elevated liver enzymes, kidney disfunction, urinary tract infections, vomiting, lethargy, weight loss and muscle wasting… These are all just some of the detrimental side effects of a subpar diet. It is crucial to understand how to feed raw if you’re going to feed it. Chicken all day, every day is not going to cut it! Sure, it’s cheap and easy to source, but long term consequences will result from doing this.

Raw feeding IS easy. There is a learning curve of course but, feeding a ratio diet of meat, bones and organs (80-10-10) that only includes one source of animal protein and/or organs is NOT recommended for long term feeding. If you are currently carrying out a true elimination diet for a short period of time to identify triggers, that’s different and is a short-term solution for deep rooted medical concerns. You should seek guidance before attempting to do this on your own.

Feed Real Institute has an incredible calculator tool on their website that gives you all the information and portions necessary to “formulate” an adequate whole fresh food meal without using synthetic vitamins, minerals or supplements. It will also email you a shopping list! They give you the option to choose from prey model raw, Biologically Appropriate Raw Food and the Ancestral (6x) Diet which includes meat, bones, organs, seafood and fur/feathers which would be the most accurate representation of your pets natural diet if they were to be surviving “in the wild”. If you’d like to learn why these methods of feeding should be followed, you can review our complete BULLSHIT blog.

We won’t be discussing processed/dry kibble foods in this post. That’s a whole other can of worms to open in regards to missing nutrients and potentially harmful excesses. Just because your bag, can, package or box says it’s the healthiest choice, doesn’t mean it’s true. You should be rotating through as many different proteins as possible with these types of diets as well. It’s a massive misconception in the pet food industry that you should stick to one brand, one flavour or formula for the entirety of the pets life when that couldn’t be more wrong! Variety is the spice of life.

There are hardly any regulations in the pet food industry (this includes raw food manufacturers) to prevent them from plastering fabricated lies all over their products to market them to unknowing consumers. The same goes for children’s cereal boxes which are filled with artificial ingredients, sugar and preservatives! It’s worth noting here that there’s been tons of studies done to prove that junk food and inadequate nutrition is directly linked to behavioural disorders and other health concerns in human children. If you’d like to learn more about this in regards to your beloved pet, check out the equally handsome as he is intelligent Dr.Conor Brady of Dogs First Ireland – Role of Nutrition on the Behaviour of Dogs.

He also wrote an amazing book Feeding Dogs. This book goes in depth discussing the essentials of a raw diet, why fresh is best, revealing problems in the veterinary industry and so much more! He also releases incredible rants about important topics such as DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy) and why adding grains is NOT the answer.

Please, if you’re unsure about your pets meals or what you should or shouldn’t be adding to them; reach out to a certified professional who can assess your situation individually. Facebook groups are a great place to connect, but they are also unfortunately a sea of unregulated and sometimes dangerous recommendations from well-meaning people.

The final note here is to check out Parsley Pet for their Nutritional Blueprint Testing Kit! Although this is not foolproof, it is a much better baseline to follow for tweaking your pets meals if you believe there is something wrong or you’re just not sure what to do.