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Parasites, Obesity and Paw
Chewing
By Dr. Kim Bloomer
To clarify before I share my own approach to handling three of the most
common ailments I hear about –parasites, obesity and paw chewing – I am a
veterinary naturopath. I help my clients learn how to care for their dogs
through nutrition and species specific feeding. Typically I can give them
a “what I’d do if it were my dog” answer but I always suggest they get a
diagnosis from their holistic veterinarian before embarking upon any
natural remedy or treatment.
I’m lumping the three
ailments or symptoms of parasites, obesity and paw chewing together for a
reason. They all come together under poor nutrition and a
weakened immune system which can often be addressed through a
proper diet along with some natural modalities to control the parasites.
Before I elaborate on just exactly what a proper diet is for a dog, let’s
ask a couple of questions first so I don’t get any arguments regarding the
diet. I’m just eliminating some of the typical responses beforehand!
1. What does a wolf eat?
2. What does a coyote eat?
3. What does a wild dog eat?
I’m betting most of you answered
they eat what they catch in the wild – prey animals.
You’d be right of course and we all know that because we watch the
Discovery Channel. All three of the species I just mentioned have
a few things in common:
1. They are all scavenger carnivores
2. They all have sharp pointy teeth designed for ripping, shredding and
tearing – I know it’s gross but it’s how they’re made and what they’re
made to do.
3. NONE of them have teeth made for chewing grains or cud
and they all have shorter intestines to more quickly digest the animal
flesh they eat.
I’m sure all of you already know all
this and are wondering why this lesson in anatomy, right? Well, because
our dogs are in the exact same family of species as the wolf, coyote and
wild dog and yes they are also scavenger carnivores. Contrary to popular
belief they also have not evolved into omnivores. Unless you are
an extreme expert in wolf DNA, you would not be able to discern the
difference in a wolf’s DNA and your dog’s DNA.
So what does all this have
to do with obesity, parasites and paw chewing? Everything! We
keep trying to feed our dogs things herbivores were designed to eat so
it’s no wonder they are having major problems with their health. As I
stated earlier obesity, parasites and paw chewing are a result of a
weakened immune system that has been taxed beyond what it can handle. By
not feeding our dogs properly we’re just setting them up for all these
problems and yes that does include obesity.
The next problem are
parasites.
Parasites  are
only attracted to a weakened host
–i.e. your dog – because they want to consume their host and grow up into
big bugs. If your dog has a strong, healthy immune system,
parasites will move on to the
next weakened specimen and leave your dog alone. How do I know? Well it’s
worked very well for me to switch my own dog to a natural,
raw meat and bone diet.
Yes a RAW meat and RAW bone diet. This
natural, species appropriate diet will also help the obesity problem
because raw fed dogs don’t typically have a problem with weight gain. The
grains in commercially packaged foods are the problem with the obesity in
most dogs because they just can’t properly digest the grains in the food
because as carnivores they were not designed to eat grains. They don’t
have the proper enzymes to digest foods made for herbivores and omnivores.
The myth of dogs evolving into omnivores is partly due to blame for the
adding of grains into their diet. Scavenger carnivores will eat what they
need to survive but that does not mean they will thrive.
Grains are carbohydrates
that will convert to sugars and we all know excess sugars lead to
obesity and also other health problems eventually such as diabetes. So
we’ve solved TWO of the problems by just changing your dog’s diet to a
natural raw meat and bone diet. And it bears reminding one more time that
dogs just cannot digest the grains properly which will puts extra burden
on their digestive system as well.
The last problem is paw
chewing: that annoying, licking, biting chewing problem that will
leave your poor dog’s feet soggy, sore, red, raw and even bleeding.
Typically this can be either a food allergy, contact allergy or a
behavioral problem.
Allergies are a SYMPTOM
alerting us to an imbalance wrong in the body. Whenever I’m approached
about this problem my first question is always: what are you feeding your
dog? More than likely the problem is a food allergy which is the most
common problem with paw chewing. As I stated above, it can also be a
contact allergy meaning that it is something the dog is in contact with in
his or her immediate environment on a regular basis.
I’ve experienced the above problems
with my own dogs and my own dogs are always my gauge for discovering
better, more effective ways to care for dogs in general. Once I switched
my current dog, Shadrach, to an entirely raw meat and bone diet,
feeding him 2-3% of his total body weight per day in meat and bones in a
1:2 bone to meat ratio ALL of the above problems were resolved.
His veterinarian couldn’t believe how shiny his coat was
and how clean his teeth were with no fat on him
because apparently she is used to seeing dogs of his breed, Neo
Mastiff, at his age, 7 years old (now nearly 9 years old at the
date of release of this article), being obese with dirty teeth. When I
removed any grain-based kibble (commercially packaged dry
pet food from his diet) years ago, that eliminated his paw chewing and any
weight problems typical to his breed. Some more great “side
effects” of raw feeding are:
1. No doggie body odor
2. Small poop that is not half as smelly as a kibble-fed dog
3. No bad breath
4. Shiny, healthy coats that shed little
As for parasites and raw
meat, well they are much more of a problem with kibble fed dogs.
Kibble-fed dogs don’t have the nutritional support to their immune systems
they need to fend off parasites. Many people think it would be the
opposite with raw fed dogs regarding parasites but it is exactly to the
contrary since a raw meat and bone fed dog has the food his body
needs and was designed to eat in order to thrive.
I think it is therefore a
simple solution to the above, aforementioned problems to just
change your dog’s diet to a more natural method of feeding. Also,
as regards allergies or paw chewing, seek to eliminate any possible
environmental problems in your home and in your yard that could be
contributing to allergy problems - which could be a part of the problem
with paw chewing and pulling out fur. This means getting rid of regular
toxic household cleaners
and switching to more
natural, environmentally friendly products
along with switching your yard products to organic fertilizers using
natural pest control. There are natural parasite removers you can also
use, such as
food-grade diatomaceous earth,
along with doing
a natural detox on your dog
that will help to jump start your dog’s immune system back into full gear
–like a tune up – and the parasites, paw chewing and even obesity should
become a thing of the past.
About the Author:
©Copyright 2008 - written September 5, 2006. All rights reserved. No part
of this article may be reproduced in any form without the written consent
of the Author. This article is for educational purposes only. The decision
to use, or not to use, any information is the sole responsibility of the
reader
Dr. Kim
Bloomer is a veterinary naturopath (Kingdom
College of Natural Health),
host of the online radio show
Animal Talk Naturally,
and a proficient blogger and writer on natural pet health. Dr. Kim is also
co-author of the book
Whole Health for Happy Dogs.
Dr. Kim is currently
enrolled in the
Clayton College of Natural Health
studying for her human Doctor of Naturopathy degree. She lives with her
husband of 20 years and they are owned by a rescued Neopolitan Mastiff
named Shadrach.
Blogs:
www.Bark-N-Blog.com
&
www.ADogsView.com
Website:
www.AspenbloomPetCare.com
Podcast:
www.AnimalTalkNaturally.com
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