Best Treats For Cavalier King Charles Spaniel? All Answers

Can dogs eat bananas? The short answer is yes, dogs can eat bananas, but before you let your pup munch on this sweet, yellow fruit, there are a few things you should know.

Like many other good things, bananas are best enjoyed by dogs in moderation. They’re full of beneficial vitamins and minerals that are good for dogs, but they’re also high in sugar and not meant to be a regular part of a dog’s diet.

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By the way, April 21st is National Banana Day, so it might be a good time for your dog to try a banana; although every day is a good day to eat a banana!

As always, you must consult your veterinarian before sharing human food with your pet. Here’s what you should know about safely feeding bananas to your dog.

How Are Bananas Good For Dogs?

Bananas are a natural source of vitamin B6 and vitamin C. Vets sometimes recommend them as a treat because they’re high in potassium and low in sodium and cholesterol, making them a healthier choice than fatty or salty foods.

They’re also high in fiber, which is good for digestion and can fix gastrointestinal issues. Bananas also contain magnesium, which promotes bone growth and helps the body absorb proteins and vitamins.

Overall, it’s a good choice for the occasional treat.

When are bananas bad for dogs?

Like most fruits, bananas contain sugars, which in high amounts can be problematic for dogs and lead to gastrointestinal problems, obesity and diabetes. Your dog would need to eat a large amount of these fruits fairly often to develop these conditions, but it’s best to make sure your dog doesn’t overdo it.

Additionally, the high fiber content can lead to constipation if dogs eat too many at once, and some dogs just have trouble digesting bananas.

Of course, you shouldn’t feed your dog the peel of the banana. The shells are not poisonous but are difficult to digest.

As with almost any food, there is a risk that your dog will become allergic. If you notice the signs of an allergic reaction, including swelling, hives, difficulty breathing, sneezing, coughing, or other symptoms, you should stop feeding your dog bananas and contact your veterinarian immediately.

How should you feed your dog bananas?

Before feeding your dog bananas, consult your veterinarian. They can tell you the right amount for your specific dog based on their dietary needs and weight.

If your vet gives you the okay, there are several ways you can feed your dog bananas. Here are a few favourites:

Freeze them, peel them, slice them and give your dog a refreshing frozen treat. These taste particularly good on hot summer days and are super easy to prepare.

Mash them up and stir them into your dog’s food. Your dog might love the sweet taste and enjoy a change from their regular meal.

Smash them and stuff them into a toy, kong, or puzzle feeder. This gives your dog some mental and physical stimulation and helps reduce boredom.

Mix them up in a treat recipe. You can find many banana dog treat recipes by searching online. Some of the most popular things to mix bananas with include peanut butter (make sure it doesn’t contain xylitol) or yogurt, but you should also check with your vet before feeding these foods to your dog.

Will you feed your dog bananas for National Banana Day? Do you have any favorite banana dog treat recipes? Let us know in the comments below!

Yes, dogs can eat blueberries. Blueberries are a great source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and more. This fruit is a healthy snack for dogs large and small, and most puppies love it.

Are Blueberries Good for Dogs?

Blueberries are low in calories and high in vitamin C, fiber and phytochemicals (naturally occurring chemical compounds found in plants). Vitamin C and fiber are important components of the right dog nutrition. Phytochemicals are linked to several aspects of health, including the ability to fight cancer in humans.

Blueberries are also packed with antioxidants and have been shown to improve animal and human health.

Antioxidants, like those in blueberries, help fight free radicals, which are responsible for cellular and molecular damage in dogs and humans. As an added bonus, studies show that adding antioxidants to a dog’s diet reduces the effects of brain aging, which is great if you have an older dog.

Feed your dog blueberries

You can feed your dog both fresh and frozen blueberries. As with all treats, feed your dog this fruit in moderation. Blueberries are small, which means you don’t have to cut them. But there are potential risks, such as B. Choking, especially for smaller dogs.

All treats should make up no more than 10 percent of your dog’s daily diet. As with any other fruit or vegetable, be sure to wash the blueberries thoroughly to remove any pesticides or dirt before giving them to your dog.

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Check with your veterinarian if you have any questions or concerns about feeding your dog blueberries, and monitor your dog closely after you first introduce them to blueberries as a treat.

Check out more fruits that are great dog treats by watching the video below.

Here at the AKC, we answer many questions from concerned dog owners about what is and isn’t safe for their canine companions. Questions range from the obvious (“can dogs eat steak bones?”) to the trendy (“can dogs eat quinoa?”). Read more “Can Dogs Eat…” articles on AKC.org to see what foods might be harmful to your dog, including cherries, avocados, and onions.

Diets for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

This article focuses on providing Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with the nutrition they need to best prepare them to fight off the genetic disorders they may develop.

The quality and type of food Cavaliers are fed can be very important to their genetic health. As CKCS are predisposed to some very serious progressive health conditions – mitral valve disease being the primary one – we believe it is prudent to feed our cavaliers the best diet designed to address their hereditary weaknesses such as the heart, kidneys, liver and circulatory system .

For these reasons, you will find in this article that we recommend feeding Cavaliers home-cooked diets, including raw meat and vegetables when possible, under the guidance of veterinarians who are knowledgeable about dog nutrition and, most importantly, not are biased against pets -Prepared meals. By preparing your Cavaliers’ meals yourself, with proper heart health supplements, you can ensure they are getting the best nutrition possible.

If you can’t manage to prepare your Cavaliers’ meals from scratch, we at least strongly advise you to never feed them dry food such as extruded pellets, known as kibble, as part of their daily diet. Dry food is particularly unsuitable for our cavaliers and all dogs, as dry food requires a high proportion of carbohydrates just to bind the other ingredients. The 2010 Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Pet Food Nutrient Profiles show that dogs do not require carbohydrates in their diet, and according to the 2006 National Research Council’s Committee on Animal Nutrition report, “There appears to be no need for carbohydrates provided , adequate protein is provided.” So, dry food is designed for the convenience of the manufacturer, as opposed to the dog’s best health interest.

Additionally, commercially available dry foods can contain many forms of toxins, including aflatoxins, heterocyclic amines, acrylamides, and PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), a chemical used as a flame retardant.

Feed biologically appropriate, commercially prepared frozen or canned dog food

So if you can’t prepare your dog’s food at home, we recommend feeding them organically-appropriate, commercially-produced frozen or freeze-dried canned dog food or freeze-dried foods with ingredients that are primarily real human-grade meat*, followed by fresh Vegetables. Biologically appropriate dog food is often high in protein, or meat first, and low in carbohydrates, or preferably grain-free, in the ingredients list. Then add heart supplements designed to keep dogs’ hearts strong to those meals.

In an introductory video on how to tell if a particular dog food is unsuitable for the species, Dr. Karen Becker here how to interpret the ingredients list on a bag of dog food.

Obesity is the most common nutritional disease in dogs and can lead to a number of illnesses and diseases. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are predisposed to obesity, according to a 1986 veterinary research study in the United Kingdom, more recently confirmed in a 2007 report, a 2010 report, a 2013 presentation and a 2021 report and some others.

Joseph Demers, DVM, CVA, CVH, a renowned holistic vet explains:

“Another reason for overweight pets is what we feed our animal friends. Commercial pet food contains between 45 and 65 percent carbohydrates (grains). Grains are the cheapest part of animal feed and can quickly fill up the animal. Dogs and cats are more carnivores than humans, and we feed them nearly as much grain (or more) than humans eat. I think this high carb commercial pet food is the worst food we can feed our pet friends. Our pet friends need fresh meat, not dehydrated meat by-products. I also agree that vegetables are an excellent source of fiber and moisture, as well as sources of natural vitamins and minerals for our pet friends.

“I have a feeling that most commercial foods use poor quality proteins and even destroy those with high temperature cooking.”

Canine obesity is commonly measured by a scaling system called Body Condition Scoring (BCS). BCS is used to assess the relative proportions of animal fat, called obesity, in specific body locations and compares this to a lean musculoskeletal system. The 5-point BCS scale ranges from 1 point (emaciated) to 5 points (obese) as follows:

1 = emaciated. Ribs, lumbar vertebrae, pelvic bones and all body prominences visible from afar. No discernible body fat. Obvious lack of muscle mass.

2 = thin. Ribs are easily palpable and may be visible without palpable fat. Tips of the lumbar vertebrae visible. Pelvic bones less pronounced. Obvious waist and tummy tuck.

3 = Moderate. Ribs palpable without excessive fat coverage. Belly tucked up when viewed from the side. This is usually the ideal BCS value.

4 = Strong. General fleshy appearance. Ribs difficult to feel. Noticeable fat deposits over the lumbar spine and base of the tail. A tummy tuck may be absent.

5 = obese. Large deposits of fat over the chest, spine and base of the tail. Waist and tummy tucks are absent. Fat deposits on the neck and limbs. belly distended.

Here are three charts to help you determine if your Cavalier is overweight, underweight, or just the right weight: First, the 5-point chart:

There is also a more complex 9-point BCS scale that animal nutritionists are more likely to use.

And here’s a third that takes an alternative approach for the sensitive types.

Body Weight – Height – BCS

There are pros and cons to feeding Cavaliers home-cooked meals. Benefits include being able to feed the best feeds and supplements for the dogs’ unique health needs. For example, almost all CKCS can be expected to develop mitral valve disease (MVD). Homemade meals can be tailored to include ingredients that strengthen the heart, kidneys, and liver so the dog can better compensate for the damage MVD can cause. The less processed a dog food is, the easier it is for the dog to digest it, and the more dehydrated a food—like kibble—is, the harder it is for the dog’s kidneys and liver to absorb it. Plus, by choosing ingredients—particularly organic—in your dog’s diet, you can avoid the genetically modified (GMO) foods that make up essentially all commercial dog foods. By feeding kibble, we allow our dogs to be “lab rats” to these little-tested grains that are known to cause cancer in real lab rats.

Disadvantages of home-cooked food include the risk of not providing balanced meals with appropriate supplements. For this reason, it is important that all homemade diets are reviewed by nutritionists such as well-qualified holistic veterinarians. A serious example of the consequences of an unbalanced diet is this case study from March 2021: Two vets from the University of Liverpool report treating a 5 month old Bernese Mountain Dog for severe bone pain and an inability to stand. The pup was fed only raw chicken and beef. They diagnosed dietary secondary hyperparathyroidism due to dietary calcium insufficiency. After five days of hospitalization, the puppy could walk stiffly. A reassessment appointment was scheduled four weeks later, but the owner failed to feed the dog the prescribed diet and the patient was euthanized three weeks later.

Home-prepared foods can also be time-consuming to prepare, and ingredients can be more expensive than store-prepared foods. If you’re a Cavalier owner who might be interested in feeding your dog home-cooked meals, whether cooked or raw, we strongly encourage you to start researching recipes in books on the subject, such as:

dr Becker’s real food for healthy dogs and cats, from Dr. Karen Becker. You can order it online by right clicking on the book cover or by clicking here.

Natural Dog Care: A Complete Guide to Holistic Canine Health Care, by Celeste Yarnall. You can order it online by clicking on the book cover on the left or by clicking here.

dr Pitcairn’s New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, by Richard H. Pitcairn D.V.M. and Susan Hubble Pitcairn. You can order it online by right clicking on the book cover or by clicking here.

Canine Nutrigenomics: The New Science of Feeding Your Dog for Optimum Health, by W. Jean Dodds and Diana R. Laverdure. Use functional foods to achieve ideal weight, beat disease and create radiant health from within. You cannot change your dog’s genes, but you can change how those genes behave by reading this book. You can order it online by clicking on the book cover on the left or by clicking here.

If after doing your research you are determined to give your Cavalier a homemade diet then be sure to consult with a well qualified, licensed veterinarian who practices holistic care or a veterinary nutritionist* before preparing that first meal. To develop formulas that are both balanced and tailored to the health needs of your cavalier. A list of holistic veterinarians can be found here. A list of state-certified animal nutritionists can be found here.

Another option is to reach out to Monica Segal (above right), a certified animal health nutritionist and author who happens to own Cavaliers herself. She moderates the Yahoo! K9Kitchen Group and has an interactive website for providing nutritional advice on home-cooked diets for your dogs and other pets.

dr Karen Becker (right), author of Dr. Beckers Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats, has written an excellent summary of how to ensure you are feeding your dog a balanced diet. She writes:

“A nutritional program for your dog or cat should have four main components, including: • Meat, including offal

•Vegetable and fruit puree

• Homemade vitamin and mineral blend

• Beneficial supplements such as probiotics, digestive enzymes and super green foods (these are not required to balance the diet but may be beneficial for vitality) “A healthy dog’s diet should be approximately 75 percent meat/gut/bone and 25 percent vegetables /Fruit (this mimics the GI content of prey and also provides fiber and antioxidants). For healthy kittens, the mix should be about 88 percent meat/guts/bones and 12 percent vegetables. “Fresh, wholesome food provides most of the nutrients pets need, and a micronutrient-vitamin/mineral mix supplements existing deficiencies, namely iron, copper, manganese, zinc, iodine, vitamin D, folic acid, taurine, and biotin (for cats ). “Remember, just because nutrient deficiencies aren’t obvious in your pet doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Much research has been done to determine what nutrients dogs and cats need to survive. At least you do. You are doing your pet a disservice by casually making sure they are getting all the nutrients they need for good health. The animal was harmed, but the kitten became acutely ill from the raw chicken diet.” “If If you are preparing homemade food for your pet I cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring the diet you are feeding is nutritionally balanced. It doesn’t matter whose recipe you’re following, but it’s important that it’s balanced.”

dr Sean Delaney (left), a registered veterinary nutritionist, provides a list of his pros and cons regarding feeding homemade diets:

“Homemade recipes have several advantages over commercial feed, but they also have some disadvantages. (In general, this author recommends commercial chow as the first method of feeding pets.) “Advantages of home-cooked diets: • Easily digestible

• Create a recipe suitable for multiple diseases…

• Meet the needs of specific customers

• More knowledge about sourcing ingredients “Disadvantages of home-cooked diets: • Generally more expensive

• Manufacturing can be time consuming

• Food data may not match the food used

• Experimental, no feeding trials

• “Nutritional Deviation” – Client Changes Recipe “Homemade recipes can be used successfully for pets, but there are many nutritional issues that the client and veterinarian must be aware of, as well as frequent health checks to ensure proper dietary implementation and compliance with specific recommendations ensure the prescription(s) by the customer.”

Adding calcium to any recipe is vital to any dog’s health

Avoid recipes that don’t tell you how much and what types of calcium to include to offset the excess phosphorus content in each type of meat included in the recipe. Dietary calcium deficiency is a common and dangerous consequence of not adding adequate amounts of digestible calcium to each meal.

As mentioned above, in this March 2021 case study: Two University of Liverpool veterinarians report treating a 5 month old Bernese Mountain Dog for severe bone pain and an inability to stand. The pup was fed only raw chicken and beef. They diagnosed dietary secondary hyperparathyroidism due to dietary calcium insufficiency. After five days of hospitalization, the puppy could walk stiffly. A reassessment appointment was scheduled four weeks later, but the owner failed to feed the dog the prescribed diet and the patient was euthanized three weeks later.

For example, a popular book of homemade dog food recipes, Ying & Yang Nutrition for Dogs (2017 Edition), has dozens of homemade dog food recipes, but only one of them has calcium in the ingredients list.

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) gives this advice for handling raw food:

“To protect you and your pet, the FDA recommends the following when handling or using raw meat, poultry, or seafood for use in a pet’s diet:

• Keep raw meat and poultry products frozen until ready to use.

• Thaw in refrigerator or microwave.

• Keep raw foods separate from other foods. Wash work surfaces, utensils (including cutting boards, prep and food bowls), hands, and any other items that touch or touch raw meat, poultry, or seafood with hot, soapy water.

• Cover leftovers immediately and refrigerate or dispose of safely. “Additionally: • For added protection, kitchen sanitizers should be used regularly on cutting boards and countertops. A sanitizing solution can be made by mixing one teaspoon of chlorine bleach with one quart of water.

• If you use plastic or other non-porous cutting boards, clean them in the dishwasher after each use.”

There are many well qualified holistic veterinarians who specialize in canine nutrition. See their search page here. But there are very few board-certified animal nutritionists in the United States and Canada — only about 77 by our last count (see list here) — and few, if any, support potentially homemade meals made with human-friendly ingredients. For most of these nutritionists, providing objective advice on non-commercial diets is not their forte. Many of these are willing tools of commercial dog food manufacturers. Just read the Frequently Asked Questions section on their website and see for yourself.*

The key to selecting an objective, unbiased pet nutritionist is finding someone whose nutrition education has not been funded by commercial dog food companies, whose research has not been funded by commercial dog food companies, and most importantly, who’s waiting room isn’t a sales office for bags of dry dog ​​food. Good luck with it!

We are not advocating that all home cooked dog food meals should be served uncooked. That depends on the general health of the dog. Most healthy dogs will thrive on a raw diet. But for some dogs, particularly those with compromised immune systems, raw meat may not be a safe option. For this reason, we advise owners to seek the advice of a well qualified holistic veterinarian who specializes in canine dietary nutrition before raw feeding a dog. A major problem with the advice of most veterinary nutritionists is that they refuse to feed dogs raw food at all times and almost always recommend commercial dry food – kibble – with grain and by-products as the main ingredients. Your biases and conflicts of interest outweigh good, solid nutritional advice for dogs.

A case in point of animal nutritionist bias is the recently published Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, Second Edition by Dr. Patricia A Schenck. In this book, Dr. Schenck in the first chapter with the words:

“Some recipes call for the use of raw ingredients. Raw ingredients often contain bacteria that would normally be destroyed by cooking (see Chapter 2, Food Safety). Uncooked food should be discouraged.”

With that, for Dr. Schenck closed the raw food case. Their logic is that (a) raw food can contain bacteria; Therefore, (b) owners should not feed raw foods to their pets. So for those interested in raw food, her book would be a waste of money. It is very unfortunate that animal nutritionists like Dr. Schenck are still so ignorant and narrow-minded about raw food in 2010.

A predictable argument made by these anti-raw food nutritionists, like Dr. Schenck argues above is that uncooked food poses a health risk. It’s as if these “experts” didn’t know that pet owners would actually handle uncooked food on a daily basis, even if they didn’t have any pets at all. In addition, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in 2012 found that human outbreaks of Salmonella infection were associated with commercial dry dog ​​food.* In the four months from April to July 2012, over sixty commercial brands of dog and cat food were recalled, nearly all for “salmonella contamination”.

An extreme example of the bias against homemade raw food is animal nutritionist Dr. Sherry Lynn Sanderson (right) of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. In her unreferenced 2009 work “Raw Diets: Do They Make You Want To BARF?” — a halfway clever title that sophomorically expresses her bias — she casts aside objectivity and, as misguided simpletons, taunts dog owners who feed their pets raw food. This paper is such an unscientific attack that you might be wondering if grants from dog food companies might be her department’s only source of research funding.*

For example, in her paper, she disputes that the high-pressure process (HPP), in which raw food is converted into dry food, can destroy the nutritional value of the food. She dodges the ample evidence* and defends the commercial dog food companies, stating, “It is well known that antioxidants are more readily available in cooked foods, such as tomatoes or carrots, than in the same foods that are uncooked. When was the last time you saw tomatoes or carrots as one of the top ingredients in a typical dog food?

dr Sanderson’s passionate defense of the overuse of corn as a key ingredient in many commercial foods shows how little scientific evidence she has to work with. She writes:

“Considering that corn was a staple in the Native American diet for many years*, it’s hard to see how critics can claim corn is a bulking agent used in animal feed.”

your point? She offers no clues. Chickens eat more corn than Native Americans ever did, but neither humans nor chickens are dogs. Corn is not a natural food source for dogs, is very difficult for them to digest and assimilate, and has little nutritional value for them. In the short digestive systems of dogs (and cats), plant proteins are far less digestible than meat proteins. dr Sanderson ignores the well-established scientific fact that dogs require far fewer grains and far more meat protein than humans. Most importantly for dogs with heart problems, a grain-based, meatless diet has led to L-carnitine deficiency.

dr Sanderson concludes her attack by confidently stating, “There is no scientific evidence that raw food is superior to commercial canned or dry food. In contrast, the literature is replete with decades of research supporting the health benefits of commercial pet foods. ” This simply proves the point that almost all dog food research is funded by commercial pet food companies and that objectivity in this area of ​​veterinary research loses to those making the grants.

and dr Sanderson is not unique. Another board-certified veterinary nutritionist, Dr. Lisa M. Freeman (right) of Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine also praises commercial dry dog ​​foods in which corn and soybeans are the main protein sources instead of real meat. She writes this incredible statement in “Answering Owners’ Questions About Pet Foods” (as if she were actually trying to help those owners):

“Some owners are concerned about using diets that contain plant proteins​​like soybeans or corn. These are NOT added as fillers and contain important nutrients. There’s no reason why “grain-free” foods are better for dogs or cats.”

dr Freeman is so in the tank* with commercial snack brands and against homemade and raw diets that she’s convinced her veterinary school, Tufts University’s Cummings School, to ban raw food from her small animal clinic, using scare tactics “for safety reasons.” “. When Dr. Freeman participates in published, peer-reviewed work, she is compelled to disclose conflicts of interest such as these:

“Dr. Freeman reports … Nestlé Purina Pet-Care grants and personal dues, The Nutro Company personal dues, P&G Petcare personal dues, and Royal Canin grants and personal dues outside of submitted work.”

Another example of the alternate universe of animal nutritionists is Dr. Joseph J. Wakshlag (left) of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, who absurdly said in an interview about dog food: “…maybe even a better source of general nutrition…it’s better to eat by-products than chicken breast.”

Elsewhere, he also wrote, “My preferred method of feeding is currently kibble.” The ignorance of dog nutrition in that one sentence is stunning, but it sums up the mindset of most veterinary nutritionists.

Contrary to this pro-kibble hype from these so-called “nutrition experts,” research studies not funded by commercial pet fund manufacturers have come to the opposite — and more obvious — conclusion that balanced, home-cooked meals are far healthier for our dogs than commercial diets made by pet food companies. For example, in a 2003 Belgian study of 522 dogs, researchers found that dogs fed species-appropriate home-made diets lived an average of 32 months longer than dogs fed commercial dog food.

In 2006, another rare insightful research article on the subject focused on what motivates cat owners to adopt a vegetarian diet for their cats. The conclusion was, “Cats are being vegetarian primarily for ethical reasons.” In other words, cat owners don’t feed their cats meat because those owners (or more likely their veterinarians) have an emotional reluctance to either kill livestock or feed meat themselves meal. Perhaps this kind of personal psychological analysis would explain the absurdly irrational advice of veterinary nutritionists that corn, grain and dry food by-products are better for our carnivorous dogs than real meat.*

On August 3, 2012*, the American Veterinary Medical Assn. (AVMA) voted overwhelmingly to condemn the feeding of raw human food to dogs and cats. Not surprisingly, the AVMA meeting was heavily funded by Hill’s and Purina, two junk dog food manufacturers. So if you are serious about developing a home-cooked diet and are seeking the advice of a nutritionist, be very careful when you decide to ask a veterinary nutritionist for that advice. Most holistic vets will be much more receptive to your request.

But even a registered pet nutritionist occasionally leaks a grain of “raw” truth. dr Jennifer Larsen (right) of the University of California, Davis, Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital explained in August 2012:

“Raw food is very popular and has its pros and cons. It is tasty, highly digestible, the owner can control the ingredients and the high fat content supports a beautiful skin and coat. Disadvantages are questionable nutrient supply and food safety.”

We’re not denying that raw food, or all home-cooked meals, should be properly balanced. And as with all home-prepared food, hygiene rules should be followed for both humans and pets. Speaking of balanced diets, in a June 2013 report examining 129 dog food recipes prepared by veterinarians(!), only 8 of them – just 6.2% – met at least one of the three essential nutrient guidelines. The results confirm that most veterinarians are poorly trained in pet nutrition.

One study that most of these so-called nutritionists will likely try to rip apart is a February 2017 article in which a team of Italian investigators tested eight boxer dogs, four of which were fed a diet that contained 70% raw human beef, with four lined dry food. After 14 days they switched groups. Sie führten die üblichen Stuhluntersuchungen über einen Zeitraum von 28 Tagen durch und kamen dann zu dem Schluss, dass:

“Die Verabreichung von MD [rohbasierter] Ernährung förderte ein ausgewogeneres Wachstum von Bakteriengemeinschaften und eine positive Veränderung der Anzeige gesunder Darmfunktionen im Vergleich zu RD [kommerziell extrudierter] Ernährung.”

In einem Artikel vom Oktober 2017 macht Dr. Dottie LaFlamme, eine weitere „vom Vorstand zertifizierte tierärztliche Ernährungsberaterin“, diese ausgefallenen Behauptungen in einer Zeitschrift, die an Tierärzte in der Primärversorgung verteilt wird:

• „Während eine glutenfreie Tiernahrung gut sein kann, ist es für Katzen und Hunde nicht notwendig, Weizengluten zu vermeiden“. (Ihr subtiler Punkt ist hier, die Bedenken zu bestreiten, dass Trockenfutterhersteller Weizen und andere Körner als Hauptproteinquellen anstelle von echtem, frischem, essbarem Fleisch ersetzen.)

•”Fleisch, Geflügel und Fisch müssen nicht ganz sein, um nahrhaft zu sein.” (Hier bezieht sie sich auf gemahlenes „Essen“ mit wer-weiß-was wirklich drin ist.)

•”Fleischnebenprodukte sind sehr nahrhaft.” (Dies ist eine weitere Entschuldigung dafür, echtes, frisches, essbares Fleisch als Hauptproteinquelle zu vermeiden. Fleisch-“Nebenprodukte” beinhalten Dinge, die Sie wegwerfen würden, wenn Sie frisches Wild ausnehmen oder ein Huhn rupfen. Wir beziehen uns auf Dinge wie Federn , Verdauungsorgane, alles, was der Metzger wegwerfen würde.)

Es scheint, dass sie beabsichtigt, diese als Gesprächsstoff zu verwenden, um mit sachkundigen Tierbesitzern zu argumentieren, die die Nährwerte von weizenbasiertem Protein klug in Frage stellen; Fleisch-, Geflügel- und Fischmehl; und Fleischnebenprodukte. Fallen Sie nicht auf diese Last. Es ist ein Versuch, die schlechtesten Zutaten in typischem Trockenfutter für Hunde zu rechtfertigen – Trockenfutter.

Zu den herzgesunden Nahrungsergänzungsmitteln, die Sie Kavalieren geben sollten, gehören:

Vitamine & Öle für alle Kavaliere – mit oder ohne MVD:

• Ein gutes Multivitamin wie VetriScience Canine Plus MultiVitamin, das die Vitamine C, D und E liefert.

• Fischöle für Omega 3.

• Vetri-Science Cell Advance 880 Unterstützung der Immungesundheit durch Antioxidantien.

Alternative Herzunterstützungsergänzungen im frühen bis späten Stadium:

• Eine herzspezifische Kombinationsergänzung wie Canine Cardiac Support von Standard Process. Alternativen wären Bio-Cardio von Thorne Veterinary Products oder Vetri-Cardio Canine Chews.

Nahrungsergänzungsmittel zur Herzunterstützung im Spätstadium:

• Flavonex, ein pflanzliches Nahrungsergänzungsmittel aus Salbei und Gingko-Extrakt, hergestellt von Health Concern.

• Renal K+ (Kaliumgluconat) von Vetoquinol USA ist ein Kaliumpräparat zum Einnehmen in Pulverform zur Unterstützung der Nieren.

• D-Ribose: Zu den natürlichen Nahrungsergänzungsmitteln, die helfen können, das Herz eines Hundes mit schwerer MVD zu stärken und mit Energie zu versorgen, gehört D-Ribose, auch bekannt als Alpha-D-Ribofuranosid, für MVD-betroffene Hunde im Stadium B2 oder C. Siehe Einzelheiten hier. Dosen sind von 1/4 bis 1/2 Teelöffel zu den Mahlzeiten, zweimal täglich.

Merk dir das:

Ganzheitliche Nahrungsergänzungsmittel sollten nur eingenommen werden, wenn sie von einem zugelassenen Tierarzt verschrieben werden, der auch ganzheitlich ausgebildet ist. Suchwebseiten zur Suche nach ganzheitlichen Tierärzten in den Vereinigten Staaten und Kanada finden Sie hier und in Großbritannien hier.

Dirlotapid (Slentrol) – siehe Studie von 2007 – ist ein von der FDA zugelassenes Diätmedikament für Hunde mit mindestens 20 % Übergewicht. Es ist ein selektiver Hemmer des mikrosomalen Triglyceridtransferproteins, der den Aufbau und die Freisetzung von Lipoproteinen in den Blutkreislauf blockiert. Das Medikament veranlasst den Hund, weniger zu fressen, da es die Fettaufnahme verringert und ein Signal von den mit Lipiden gefüllten Zellen sendet, die den Darm auskleiden, dass der Appetit des Hundes gestillt ist.

Nachdem der Hund sein Zielgewicht erreicht hat, empfiehlt der Hersteller des Arzneimittels, Pfizer Animal Health, eine fortgesetzte Anwendung für bis zu drei weitere Monate, während ein angemessenes Maß an Nahrungsaufnahme und körperlicher Aktivität bestimmt wird, um das optimale Gewicht des Hundes aufrechtzuerhalten.

Nebenwirkungen im Zusammenhang mit dieser Behandlung sind Erbrechen, weicher Stuhlgang, Durchfall und Lethargie. Es sollte Hunden mit Lebererkrankungen oder Hunden, die eine Langzeittherapie mit Kortikosteroiden erhalten, nicht verschrieben werden.

Mitratapide (Yarvitan) von Janssen Pharmaceuticals ist ein ähnliches Medikament, ist jedoch nur für kürzere Zeiträume in Verbindung mit Ernährungsmanagement und Verhaltensänderung zugelassen. Laut Herstellerangaben kann das Produkt bei bestimmungsgemäßer Anwendung zu einer Reduzierung des Körpergewichts um 5 bis 10 Prozent führen.

Juli 2022: Neun gesunde Hunde, die nur mit Hill’s Prescription Diet h/d Trockenfutter gefüttert wurden, entwickelten eine stetige Aktivierung ihres Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosteron-Systems (RAAS). In einem Artikel vom Juli 2022 hat die Iowa State Univ. Forscher (Samantha Sotillo, Jessica L. Ward [rechts], Emilie Guillot, Oliver Domenig, Lingnan Yuan, Joseph S. Smith, Vojtech Gabriel, Chelsea A. Iennarella-Servantez, Jonathan P. Mochel) fütterten neun gesunde Hunde mit einem niedrigen Natriumgehalt Diät von Hill’s Prescription Diet h/d Trockenfutter für fünf Tage. Ihr Natriumspiegel erreichte so niedrige Werte, dass dies zu einer stetigen Aktivierung des Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosteron-Systems (RAAS) der Hunde führte. Die Forscher wollten das RAAS absichtlich aktivieren, um eine Studie zur Dosierung von Benazepril, einem Hemmer des Angiotensin-Converting-Enzyms (ACE-I), durchzuführen.

ANMERKUNG DES HERAUSGEBERS: Ein zu niedriger Natriumspiegel ist eine Elektrolytstörung namens Hyponatriämie.

July 2021: Feeding puppies dry foods or processed foods may lead to skin allergies as adults, study shows. In a July 2021 article, an international team of veterinary researchers (Manal B. M. Hemida [right], Siru Salin, Kristiina A. Vuori, Robin Moore, Johanna Anturaniemi, Sarah Rosendahl, Stella Maria Barrouin-Melo, Anna Hielm-Björkman) studied 4,022 dogs in Finland, to investigate the association of puppyhood diets with with later allergy/atopy skin signs (AAAS), as reported by the dogs’ owners in answers to a questionnaire. They based their study upon the “microflora hypothesis,” which argues that early life exposures to beneficial nonpathogenic microbes can alter the dog’s microbiome development, influence the innate and adaptive immune system, and cause permanent consequences for the dog’s health. Forty-six food items and the ratio of four major diet types — raw food, dry food, other commercial dog food, and home cooked food — were tested for their association with AASS incidence later in life. They report finding that:

• Puppies which consumed at least 20% of their diet as raw food, or below 80% of their diet as dry food, showed a decreased prevalence of skin allergy signs as adults.

• Puppies which consumed no raw food or 80% or more of dry food, showed an increased prevalence of skin allergy signs as adults.

• Puppies which consumed no other processed commercial dog food, showed a decreased prevalence of skin allergy signs as adults.

• Puppies which consumed at least 20% of their diet as other processed dog food, showed an increased prevalence of AASS as adults.

• Eating raw tripe, raw organ meats, human meal leftovers, and fish oil supplements as well as eating more that 20% of the diet as raw and/or less than 80% of the diet as dry, in general, showed a decreased prevalence of skin allergy signs as adults.

• Dogs fed fruits, mixed-oil supplements, dried animal parts, and dogs that drank from puddles, showed an increased prevalence of skin allergy signs as adults.

They concluded that their findings agree with the microflora hypothesis. They stated:

“We conclude that eating raw tripe, raw organ meats, fish oil supplements and human meal leftovers during puppyhood were identified as significant potential protective factors of AASS incidence. In contrast, eating fruits, mixed oil supplements, dried animal parts, and drinking from puddles outside during puppyhood were detected as significant potential risk factors of AASS incidence. These findings are further backed up by the diet ratio analysis where consumption of different feeding patterns during puppy age showed that even if the dog eats 80% of its food as dry, adding a minimum of 20% of the food as raw, significantly decreased the risk of AASS later in life. A concept of early exposure to beneficial bacteria by serving “real foods” and avoiding sugary fruits might be usable as an AASS prevention action. However, the study only suggests a causal relationship but does not prove it. Diet intervention studies are required to further elucidate the in-depth association between dietary factors such as raw and dry foods, human meal leftovers and beneficial dosing of oils and the development of AASS.”

March 2021: Puppy fed only chicken and beef developed nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism due to dietary calcium insufficiency. In a March 2021 article, a pair of University of Liverpool veterinary clinicians (Catarina Amorim [right], Heather Jones) report treating a 5-month old Bernese mountain dog for severe bone pain and inability to stand. The puppy had been fed only raw chicken and beef. They diagnosed nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism due to dietary calcium insufficiency. After five days of in-hospital treatment, the puppy was able to walk stiffly. A re-evaluation appointment was scheduled for four weeks later, but the owner failed to fed the dog a prescribed diet, and the patient was euthanized three weeks later.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a sad and very painful example of why it is so important for dog owners — especially of puppies — to feed only properly balanced meals. This case emphasizes that the diet (only chicken and beef) was raw. But this is not about whether the food is cooked or not. It is about balancing the meat — all of which is high in phosphorus and low in calcium — with supplemental calcium. Attaining the proper calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is rather complex, and if you don’t know how to do it, then don’t make up recipes which are not approved by knowledgeable dietary specialists, like qualified holistic veterinarians.

March 2021: Cavaliers rank 7th in prevalence of obesity in UK in 2016 study. In a March 2021 article by a team of Royal Veterinary College researchers (Camilla Pegram [right], E. Raffan, E. White, A. H. Ashworth, D. C. Brodbelt, D. B. Church, D. G. O’Neill), the frequency and breed predisposition for dogs being overweight in the UK in 2016 was reviewed, using the VetCompass database. They stated that:

“Obesity has been reported as a modern day epidemic in companion animals (Kipperman & German 2018) and is the most common nutritional disorder seen in dogs, resulting from a chronic excess of energy intake in food relative to energy expenditure.”

The study included a random sample of 22,333 dogs from a population of 905,544 dogs under primary veterinary care during 2016 in the UK. They found that breeds at increased risk of overweight status compared to crossbreds were (1) the pug, (2) beagle, (3) golden retriever, (4) English springer spaniel, (5) border terrier, (6) Labrador retriever, (7) cavalier King Charles spaniel and (8) cocker spaniel.

November 2019: Heart supplements reduced left atrial size and mitral regurtitation in MVD-affected dogs over 6 months. In a November 2019 article, a team of Purina researchers (Qinghong Li, Allison Heaney [right], Natalie Langenfeld-McCoy, Brittany Vester Boler, Dorothy P. Laflamme) compared the effects of adding heart supplements to placebo in a 6-month long study of dogs in Stages B1 and B2 of mitral valve disease (MVD). Nineteen MVD-dogs participated — 17 Beagles and 2 minature Schnauzers — and were divided into two groups — 10 in the treatment group and 9 in the placebo group. Two dogs in the treatment group also were treated with MVD medications, and three dogs in the placebo group received MVD drugs. The supplements added to the diet of the treatment group dogs consisted of:

• medium-chain triglycerides

• longchain omega-3 fatty acids

• lysine and methionine (carnitine precursors)

• vitamin E (an antioxidant)

• magnesium

• taurine

At the conclusion of the six months, the average left-atrial-to-aorta ratio (LA/Ao) of the treated group dogs decreased slightly, while the LA/Ao of the placebo dogs increased. (Increases in the LA/Ao ratio in MVD-affected dogs indicates an enlarging left atrium due to MVD.) The average left atrial diameter (LAD) of the treated dogs reduced slightly, while the LAD of the placebo dogs increased. They noticed no significant changes in the sizes of the left ventricles of any of the MVD-affected dogs. The researchers concluded:

“Our study demonstrated that dietary intervention with a blend of nutrients designed to address metabolic changes associated with MMVD in dogs was able to slow or reverse cardiac changes in dogs with early, preclinical MMVD. This study did not provide the opportunity to extrapolate effects from any single nutrient within the CPB. Rather, we believe the key nutrients acted synergistically to achieve the documented efficacy.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This study indicates that supplementing MVD-affected dogs with certain vitamins and minerals may slow the progression of the MVD and even reverse heart enlargement. We recommend that MVD-affected cavaliers be given a combination of such supplements, based upon holistic veterinarians’ advice. See our list of heart-healthy supplements here.

October 2018: Cornell Univ. researchers find nine dry dog foods contaminated with glyphosate herbicide. In a December 2018 article, a team of researchers (Jiang Zhao, Steven Pacenka, Jing Wu, Brian K. Richards, Tammo Steenhuis, Kenneth Simpson, Anthony G. Hay) from Cornell University tested nine dry dog foods and nine cat foods from 8 manufacturers for glyphosate, the pesticide in RoundUp, and found all 18 foods contaminated with the weed killer. See the list of foods here. Glyphosate has been declared a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and other toxic outcomes also reported in scientific research literature include genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, teratogenicity, liver, kidney, and gut bacteria toxicity. The glyphosate concentrations in the tested foods were higher than those reported for average human diets. They conclude that the tendency of dogs to eat more as a percent of their body weight than humans do, combined with higher glyphosate levels in their food suggests that the dogs’ exposure to glyphosate may be 2.7 to 28 times higher on a body weight basis depending on the brand.

August 2018: Japanese researchers devise body weight and body length measurements ratio to determine dogs’ body condition score (BCS). In an August 2018 article, a team of researchers (Akiko Koizumi, Rina Aihara, Honoka Asakawa, Momoko Sakurada, Kazuya Otsuji) from Teikyo University of Science in Japan studied the body length measurements and weights of 42 dogs (including one cavalier King Charles spaniel) of 19 breeds, ot analyze correlation with the ideal body weight (IBW). They included size, sex, and body fat percentage in their analyses. They report finding a high correlation between IBW and the dog’s length (between the episternum and the ischial tuberosity). BCS was estimated based on the difference between IBW and current body weight. They conclude that these results suggest that a simple morphometric measurement can be a practical alternative to the conventional BCS assessment. (See Body Weight – Body Length – BCS chart above.)

June 2018: Italian researchers find only one of 15 dry dietary elimination pet foods lists correct ingredients. In a June 2018 article, a team of Italian researchers (Rebecca Ricci [right], Daniele Conficoni, Giada Morelli, Carmen Losasso, Leonardo Alberghini, Valerio Giaccone, Antonia Ricci, Igino Andrighetto) studied 40 dog and cat foods designed as dietary elimination diets — 15 dry foods and 25 wet foods — to determine if they listed the correct ingredients and did not contain any unlisted animal species ingredients. They found that only one of the 15 dry foods correctly matched their animal species ingredient list, and that only nine of 25 wet foods did so. The most frequent contaminants identified in dry and wet foods were pork, chicken and turkey. The researchers did not identify the brands or product names of any of these dog foods.

June 2018: Veterinary nutritionist Lisa Freeman suggests grain-free or exotic dog foods are causing dilated cardiomyopathy. In a June 2018 blog article, veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Freeman (right), suspects that “boutique”, grain-free, and/or “exotic” diets may be causing dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs. She admits that there is no evidence to support this accusation, and that, “It’s not yet clear if diet is causing this issue.” She states that “The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine and veterinary cardiologists are currently investigating this issue.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Freeman’s comments appear to be an attempt to leak information — which may or may not be factual — from on-going research, which raises an ethical question if she is participating in that research. She is notorious for advocating meatless dry dog food diets (kibble) with corn and/or soybean as the sources of protein. For example, she stated:

“Some owners are concerned about using diets that contain any vegetable-based proteins, such as soybean or corn. These are NOT added as fillers and contain important nutrients. There is no reason why ‘grain free’ foods are better for either dogs or cats.”

So, when she refers to grains in dog food, she is talking about making corn and soybeans the dogs’ protein. All in all, her current article is based upon no research evidence (much less peer-reviewed), and she admits that fact, if you dig down deep enough. That makes her headline totally misleading (“A broken heart: Risk of heart disease in boutique or grain-free diets and exotic ingredients”). She should at least have put a question mark at its end, instead of a period. When Dr. Freeman does participate in published, peer-reviewed works, she is forced to make conflict-of-interest disclosures such as this one:

“Dr. Freeman reports … grants and personal fees from Nestlé Purina Pet-Care, personal fees from The Nutro Company, personal fees from P&G Petcare, and grants and personal fees from Royal Canin outside the submitted work.”

We can think of no veterinary specialty that could find itself as hopelessly conflicted as that of veterinary nutritionists and their “college”, the ACVN. When you consider the financial tentacles of Hills and these other kibble pushers named in the quote above, wiggling through the veterinary schools and waiting rooms of general practice vets, just imagine how much more these manufacturers spend on veterinary nutritionists, especially those involved in dietary research at vet schools. That is why we discount the value of ACVN members and advocate holistic veterinarians as the best source of dietary advice.

April 2017: CKCSs are over-represented in UK survey of overweight dogs. In an April 2017 article reporting resuts of an on-line questionnaire survey covering details of 11,154 UK dogs (age, sex, neuter status, breed), current body weight, whether or not the dogs were overweight, lifestyle, activity and behavior. A total of 1,801 owners (16.1%) reported that their dogs were overweight. They were significantly heavier more likely to be neutered, older, and of certain breeds (the cavalier King Charles spaniel, Beagle, bull terrier, bulldog, Chihuahua, golden retriever, Labrador retriever, and pug). The owners of overweight dogs also reported that their dogs were exercised less frequently and for shorter periods of time than those reported not to be overweight.

March 2017: Italian researchers find 70% raw beef diet bests dry kibble in producing healthy gut functions. In a February 2017 article, a team of Italian investigators (Sandri M, Dal Monego S, Conte G, Sgorlon S, Stefanon B) tested eight boxer dogs, four of which were fed a diet which included 70% raw human-grade beef, with four fed dry kibble. After 14 days, they switched the groups. They did the usualy feces-poking examinations over a period of 28 days, and then concluded that:

“The administration of MD [raw based] diet promoted a more balanced growth of bacterial communities and a positive change in the readouts of healthy gut functions in comparison to RD [commercial extruded] diet.”

May 2016: Gene researchers find a POMC gene mutation in Labradors is associated with obesity and greater food motivation. In a May 2016 article, a large team of genetic researchers* studied 310 Labrador retrievers, assessing their weight and their desire for food. They found that 23% of the dogs carried at least one copy of a mutant form of the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene, which encodes proteins that help switch off hunger after a meal. For each copy of the mutant gene, a dog was on average 1.9 kilograms heavier than Labradors with no copies of the variant.

November 2015: Content analysis of 17 commercial pet wet foods show misrepresentations in most of their ingredient lists. In a December 2015 article investigating the animal species contents of 17 popular wet (canned) pet foods, major falsehoods were discovered in the ingredients lists of nearly all of the products. For example:

• In 82% of the products, the DNA of animal species not listed among the ingredients were found in products.

• 41% of the products advertised “with beef” in their brand names or otherwise prominently on their labels, yet the major protein sources were chicken and pork. These included canned products by Purina and Pedigree/Mars

• A third of the foods which advertised “chicken” in their brand names or on their labels contained more beef or pork than chicken. One Hill’s product listed “chicken” in its ingredients but contained no chicken at all.

• One Pedigree product claiming “14% whitefish” among its ingredients contained no fish at all.

• One Aldi product claiming to be salmon and listing fish first in its ingredients and not any chicken actually was 92% chicken.

These misrepresentations of the ingredients of commercial canned foods may have serious consequences for dogs and cats which are allergic to certain protein sources and are not supposed to consume them.

July 2015: Cavaliers were among 14 breeds found overweight in study of Crufts winners. In a July 2015 study of 960 winning dogs in 28 breeds at Crufts from 2001 to 2013, the researchers (Z. R. Such, A. J. German) compared specimens in 14 obese-prone breeds and 14 non-obese-prone breeds. Forty cavalier King Charles spaniels were included among the obese-prone. Of those 40 CKCSs, 33 were determined to be of ideal weight and 7 (18%) were found to be overweight. The most likely to be overweight were the pugs, basset hounds, and Labrador retrievers, and the least likely were standard poodles, Rhodesian ridgebacks, Hungarian vizslas, and Dobermanns.

June 2015: . In a June 2015 report, a team of researchers from Lincoln Memorial University and the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and two employees of Hill’s Pet Nutrition proved that throwing $$$$$ around can get Hill’s veterinary journal endorsements of its “prescription diet” junk food. In this case, Hill’s funded a study of its Canine Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution kibble, a mess allegedly designed to take pounds off of overweight dogs, that is loaded with wheat, corn, pea bran and soybean meals, and “cellulose” (the equivalent of sawdust, which is intended to give the dogs that “full feeling”).

They conclude: “This study confirmed the effectiveness of the NWMF [Canine Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution kibble] in weight management of client-owned dogs. Owners reported significant improvements in dog’s quality of life without negative side effects”, which, of course, is exactly the conclusion Hill’s intended from the beginning of its heavy financial investment in the “study”.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This study proves two things: (1) So-called veterinary nutritionists remain clueless about good nutrition for companion animals; and (2) They have no shame when it comes to accepting money from Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

October 2014: Joe Wakshlag is making some progress in his education about feeding dogs what they need. In a September 2014 presentation before the commercial petfood industry, board certified veterinary nutritionist Dr. Joe Wakshlag (right) concedes that “working dogs” — dogs which are active in physical exercise activities such as agility, fox hunting, sled dogs, etc. — need “highly digestible animal based protein”. So far, so good. But he does not reach the obvious conclusion that ALL dogs should get their protein from highly digestible animal based protein, instead of the grain based kibble that he otherwise advocates.

September 2014: Only 60% of tested commercial pet foods correctly identify meat ingredients. Pork is the most frequent hidden ingredient. In an April 2015 study of 52 commercial pet foods, only 31 of them correctly identified the meat ingredients. 31% of the foods contained meat species not included on the product label. Pork was the most common meat not identified on the ingredients lists. In the Chapman University study, DNA was extracted from each product and tested for the presence of eight meat species: beef, goat, lamb, chicken, goose, turkey, pork, and horse.

September 2014: Survey of 2,000+ breeders shows half (wisely) do not trust veterinarians for nutrition advice. In a September 2014 study surveying 2,067 dog breeders in the USA and Canada, researchers Kevin M. Connolly, Cailin R. Heinze, and Lisa M. Freeman found that 49.3% do not consult veterinarians for advice in feeding their dogs. Breeders feeding home-prepared diets were particularly distrustful of vets’ advice. The researchers should not be surprised by the results. Why should they expect breeders to seek helpful, objective nutrition advice from vets who litter their waiting rooms with bags of kibble they are trying to sell to their patients’ owners?

The researchers report that “Unsubstantiated health and marketing information influenced diet selection of many breeders.” This indicates the researchers’ predictable bias against healthful raw food and home-prepared diets. The study concluded that the solution is for vets to take “a more proactive role in directing dog breeders and other pet owners toward scientifically substantiated sources of diet information”, meaning to steer breeders away from home-prepared diets and towards the commercial dog foods which finance and control the biased research into canine nutrition.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This study confirms that veterinary nutritionists cannot be trusted as objective scientific researchers. Their goal here clearly was to advance the indoctrination of dog owners about feeding dog foods which their commercial dog food sponsors manufacture. The researchers of this study all are at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, a school notoriously underwritten by low quality dog food companies such as Hill’s. For example, researcher Dr. Lisa M. Freeman, as noted above, irresponsibly has advocated commercial dry dog foods in which corn and soybeans are the major sources of protein, instead of real meat, insisting that they are not fillers and that “there is no reason why ‘grain free’ foods are better for either dogs or cats.”

April 2014: New dog genome research debunks evolutionist theory that dogs have adapted to carbohydrates. In a January 2014 report by an international team of genetic researchers, and in a May 2014 article reviewing the January study and two previous studies published in 2013 (see March 2013 report), the researchers and reviewer conclude that there is insufficient evidence to support the previous papers’ conclusion that post-domestication selection of dogs from wolves by mankind had changed the dogs’ genes into carbohydrate cravers. Canine nutritionists have argued, without solid evidence, that dogs have evolved from carnivores to omnivores as a result of their companionship with humans over thousands of years. The most recent study, which examined a much greater number of wolf and dog genomes, is substantially more comprehensive than previous ones, and indicates that the number of amylase genes were not fixed or stable across diverse wolf and dog genomes, and that no consistent pattern for dietary evolution exists at all.

February 2014: Pet food specialist links dry kibble to increase in pets’ cancer. In a December 2013 article in Food Safety News, Barbara Royal, D.V.M., of The Royal Treatment Veterinary Center in Chicago, is concerned about how dry kibble is processed:

“The extrusion process (a high heat processing), creates two potent carcinogens, a heterocyclic amine and an acrylamide, which will be in every extruded kibble food, but certainly not be on the label. It is a byproduct of the extrusion process, and because it is not an ingredient that is added, it need not be put on the label,” she explains.

“So owners are unaware that, with every bite, they are feeding a potent carcinogen. I believe that this is one reason we are seeing such an increase in cancers in our pets.”

December 2013: Obesity negatively affects dogs’ cardiopulmonary function, study confirms. In a December 2013 report, an international team of veterinary researchers (Australia, Belgium, and Italy) confirms what long has been suspected, that obesity in dogs significantly harms cardiopulmonary function, including heart rate and blood oxygen saturation. The study included twelve overweight dogs, including one cavalier King Charles spaniel and six lab Beagles. They concluded:

“Therefore, results of the present study allow us to strongly recommend owners of obese dogs to target an ideal BW [body weight of] BCS 5/9 * for their dogs.”

December 2013: Wild-eyed hysteria reigns among veterinary nutritionists over feeding healthful raw diets. In a December 2013 JAVMA screed in which they admit a total lack of any substantive factual research, “board certified veterinary nutritionists” Lisa M. Freeman, Marjorie L. Chandler, Beth A. Hamper, and Lisa P. Weeth, all ardent first defenders of their programs’ big money financiers — the crappy kibble manufacturers like Hill’s and Purina — parade out a list of “potential” horrible consequences of daring to feed our dogs a healthful diet of home-prepared raw meats and vegetables. They also warn veterinarians to “counsel” raw-feeding pet owners on the “risks” (which they admit they do not know).

So, we may expect these baseless scare tactics to spread exponentially each time we take our dogs to gullible vets who chose not to do their own research about the extraordinary health advantages of feeding properly balanced, home-prepared diets of fresh meats and vegetables. The Bottom Line: do not count on these so-called “board certified veterinary nutritionists” for knowledgeable, objective advice about formulating well balanced raw diets for your dogs.

October 2013: Obese dogs exercise less! SHAZAM! In an October 2013 study of 39 dogs, the researchers reached the totally unsurprising “preliminary” conclusion that “obesity is associated with lower vigorous intensity physical activity”. This comes on the heels of the April 2012 study finding that dogs’ weight gain is tied to their quantity of food intake, and the June 2012 study finding that the quality of life is reduced in obese dogs, but improves after weight loss.

September 2013: Dry dog food manufacturers continue to lie about ingredients in their prescription allergen diets. In a May 2013 study of twelve dry (kibble) dog foods especially marketed for dogs with food allergies, an Italian research team found that ten of the kibbles (83.33%) contained protein and/or fat sources not disclosed in the ingredients lists. While the report does not disclose the names of the manufacturers or the brands of the kibbles, the researchers state that they came from five international dog food companies and consisted of eleven novel protein diets and one hydrolysed diet.

Examples of false advertising included two advertised as containing only duck but were contaminated with fish and mammal proteins; two advertised as containing only rabbit but were contaminated with bird and fish; one advertised as containing only deer but was contaminated with bird and fish proteins; and one advertised as containing only lamb but was contaminated with bird proteins.

The researchers conclude:

“The discovery that commercial limited antigen diets contained ingredients not declared on the label is discouraging because feeding an actually food-hypersensitive dog a product unpredictably contaminated with a potentially allergenic protein may preclude significant remission of symptoms and mislead the clinician in diagnosing AFR. The observation that more than 80% of the selected diets were contaminated signifies that the risk of a dog failing to recover during the dietary elimination trial is high, and this raises questions regarding the diagnostic validity of the products used. … The results of our study suggest that feeding dogs commercial limited antigen diets may not prevent them from ingesting potential allergens. …

“In conclusion, the use of ten of twelve pet foods tested herein as limited antigen diets may not reliably rule out a diagnosis of AFR, and the use of home-cooked diets should be considered whenever the dog fails to respond to dietary restriction.”

This very disturbing report is consistent with a similar study published in August 2012 in which was found that ten of twenty-one commercial dog foods had falsified their ingredients. See a summary of that 2012 report here.

June 2013: Only 6.2% of vet-prepared dog food recipes met minimum essential nutrient guidelines. In a June 2013 report, US researchers examined 129 veterinarian-prepared dog food recipes and found only 8 (6.2%) that meet at least one of three essential nutrient guidelines. The results suggest that most veterinarians have been ill-trained in companion animal nutrition.

March 2013: US researchers find false crude fiber percentages reported on commercial dog food ingredients lists. A team of University of California at Davis nutritionists studied 20 canned and 20 dry dog foods for fiber concentration. They reported in their April 2013 article that ingredients lists on the packages were unreliable as indicators of the actual fiber concentrations and compositions of the dog foods.

August 2012: 10 of 21 tested commercial dog foods falsified their ingredients. In an August 2012 report, ten of twenty-one tested commercial dog foods either contained ingredients specifically excluded on the label or did not contain ingredients specifically advertised on the label. For instance, a food labeled as containing venison instead contained beef and pork and no venison or deer meat at all; a food labeled “lamb” contained pork instead of lamb; a food labeled “chicken meal” contained pork instead. Foods labeled “no gluten” or “grain-free” in fact contained gluten and grain levels four times higher than allowable amounts. Commercial pet food companies are notorious for switching main, advertised ingredients, depending upon costs of those ingredients. This August 2012 report clearly substantiates that fact.

August 2012: Netherlands’ obesity in show dogs study finds cavaliers in the 4 to 5 “ideal” range of the 9-point BCS. In an August 2012 Netherlands study of 1,379 show dogs (128 breeds), including 18 CKCSs, the cavaliers averaged a 9-point Body Condition Score of 4.67, which puts them squarely in the middle of the “ideal” range of 4 to 5. The 18 cavaliers were scored between 3 and 6. Overall,18.6% of the show dogs had a BCS >5, and 1.1% of the show dogs had a BCS>7.

June 2012: Royal Veterinary College (RVC) conducts study of the influence of diet on improving seizure control. The RVC is working with a small animal health and wellness company to confirm the efficacy and safety of a novel diet in the management of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy being treated with phenobarbitone and/or potassium bromide. To confirm the efficacy of this new diet, RVC seeks to recruit dogs which are suspected of having idiopathic epilepsy, with these qualifications: (a) dogs which have a seizure frequency of at least three seizures in the last three months; and (b) dogs receiving phenobarbitone and/or potassium bromide treatment. For more information, contact RVC by clicking here, and/or downloading this brochure.

June 2012: Another duh! UK research paper title says it all: “Quality of life is reduced in obese dogs but improves after successful weight loss.” See summary of the report here in the Veterinary Journal, again.

April 2012: Well, duh! UK study concludes dogs’ weight gain is tied to quantity of food intake. A team of UK veterinary dieticians with nothing more pressing to do, spent 4.5 years studying the diets of 33 dogs and found that limiting weight gain was directly related to limiting food intake. See the summary of this report in the Veterinary Journal.

February 2011: Four out of four venison diet dog foods also contained common pet food proteins. In a US diet study report, manufacturers of four (out of four tested) commercial dog foods that claim to contain only venison as a protein really included other common pet food proteins.

May 2010: Introducing the Heart Diet. UK cardiologist Simon Swift noted at a 2010 symposium that:

“Interestingly, asymptomatic dogs fed a ‘heart diet’ had a reduction in heart size. The ‘heart diet’ included decrease sodium, increased levels of arginine, carnitine and taurine as well as supplementation with omega 3 fatty acids. Whether this translates into a delay before heart failure develops remains to be proven.”

The Heart Diet was reported in a 2006 article by Drs. Lisa M. Freeman (board certified veterinary nutritionist) and John E. Rush (board certified veterinary cardiologist), and by Peter J. Markwell (senior veterinary nutritionist at a UK dog food company). They fed “a moderately reduced sodium diet enriched with antioxidants, n-3 fatty acids, taurine, carnitine, and arginine” for four weeks to fourteen dogs, including cavaliers, with asymptomatic mitral valve disease. Another fifteen asymptomatic dogs, including cavaliers, were fed a placebo. They found that the dogs on the heart diet had measurable reductions in heart size, including the left-atrial dimension and left-ventricular internal dimension.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A downside of this 2006 study was that, as might have been expected when veterinary nutritionists are involved in the research, the food fed in both diets consisted of “commercial, extruded, dry dog foods”, i.e., kibble. Another downside, as expected, is that the study was funded by Mr. Markwell’s employer, a kibble manufacturer.

November 2007: Royal Canin sponsors study finding Royal Canin’s Satiety Support diet is best for weight loss. In a November 2007 report, researchers from the Royal Canin Research Center in France compared three dry food diets (kibble) — (1) their own Satiety Support diet, (2) their own Obesity Management diet, and (3) Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s r/d diet. All three foods were heavy in cellulose and other nutritionally worthless fillers intended to give dogs “that full feeling”, along with corn and wheat. Royal Canin’s Satiety Support, a diet both high in protein and fiber reportedly was found by the Royal Canin researchers to be the most effective of the three products in satisfying appetite and thereby reducing the dog’s inclination to begging and scavenging. They also compared the diets for satiety, digestibility and palatability.

August 2007: Pfizer finds its Slentrol is effective in reducing dogs’ weight. In a study sponsored by Pfizer, Inc., the manufacturer of dirlotapide (Slentrol), a weight-loss product for overweight canines, the researchers found that “dirlotapide … was effective in reducing body weight in client-owned overweight dogs in the absence of dietary restriction or increased exercise. Dirlotapide treatment was found to be clinically safe, and although emesis and diarrhea occurred in a few dogs, all cases resolved spontaneously.” Of the 245 dogs involved in the study, 5% were CKSCs.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel combines the best of both worlds: a social lapdog who enjoys a tummy pat and an athletic, energetic dog whose tenacity and agility rivals true sporting breeds. This beautiful and small breed is a champion in both sporting events and the tail wagging department. Unfortunately, the flair and vibrancy of this upbeat spaniel breed can be quickly tarnished by skin allergies, which can severely impact their quality of life.

type of coat

The Cavalier’s coat is medium-length and feels silky soft. In adulthood, most Cavaliers have feathers on their legs, feet, chest, ears, and tail. The Cavalier coat is low maintenance and generally needs a quick brush or comb through a few times a week depending on the dog’s active and athletic aptitude and occasion. This breed is an average shedder but doesn’t require any special grooming like clipping or trimming, although some Cavalier owners trim the coat and feathers that can grow between the pads on their feet.

Susceptibility to skin allergies

Unfortunately, the Cavalier’s smooth coat and healthy skin can make it prone to allergic reactions. Left untreated, skin allergies can be uncomfortable for your Cavalier and affect his quality of life. Frequent and excessive itching causes skin damage from hot spots and constant scratching, biting, and rubbing. Yeast and bacterial infections can develop if skin allergies are not treated promptly and appropriately.

Allergy sites in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Cavaliers typically develop allergies in specific areas, particularly the face, paws, legs, sides, and rear end; Other particularly problematic areas are the abdomen and skin folds. A dog that constantly and repeatedly chews or bites these areas is likely suffering from allergies. Other signs of skin allergies in Cavaliers include scaly skin and scales, and patches of dry and scaly skin on the body areas mentioned above. In addition, the Cavalier’s ears are allergy-prone sites that, if left untreated, can become infected and painful, leading to distress or worse, eardrum damage and deafness.

The link between skin and food allergies

Environmental and genetic factors can cause skin allergies in some Cavaliers. Fleas, dust mites, mold, pollen, and household chemicals are all prime suspects of allergens that can cause atopy, leading to rashes, sores, and shedding. Cavaliers are genetically predisposed to developing ichthyosis, a serious skin condition that results in large, scaly, dry flakes of skin; Often this skin condition occurs early in the dog’s life, and while there is no cure, specially mediated shampoos and essential oils, such as fish oils, can provide the Cavalier with some relief from these symptoms.

A major cause of skin allergies in Cavaliers is internal food intolerance or allergies, particularly to animal proteins such as chicken and beef. Cavaliers are prone to food allergies, particularly additives, fillers, and chemical preservatives that can trigger allergic reactions.

treatment options

A variety of treatments can provide relief for environmental and genetic skin allergies. Organic, hypoallergenic, sulfate-free shampoos with anti-inflammatory agents like aloe vera and hydrocortisone can help calm and soothe Cavalier’s inflamed skin. Antihistamines, corticosteroids, topical creams, and organic hot spot sprays are also methods of treating skin allergies.

Skin allergies that are the result of food allergies are more difficult to diagnose and treat. The first step is to consult a veterinarian to determine if foods are the basis of your Cavalier’s allergies. The veterinarian and a registered pet nutritionist can put together the right diet for your Cavalier Spaniel through testing and elimination diets. A diet of limited ingredients and fresh dog food is often the best way to diagnose food allergies. Discuss the following steps for implementing an elimination diet or food trial with your veterinarian:

Feed your Cavalier new, clean food for at least eight weeks. Make sure to feed a restricted or single-ingredient diet during this time for the most accurate results. The feed should contain animal protein, carbohydrate calories and vegetable protein from a single source; The food can be commercially prepared or cooked. Proteins like rabbit and peas or fish and potatoes are ideal choices for a Cavalier with a potential food allergy. Stay away from foods that contain unidentified proteins and other natural flavors. Avoid feeding your Cavalier Spaniel dietary supplements, table food, treats, or flavored medications, as these items can alter the results of the food trial. After at least eight weeks, slowly introduce your Cavalier back to his normal diet and see if the allergies return.

You can also add probiotics to your Cavalier’s food, which can strengthen his digestive system, reduce inflammation, and boost your dog’s immune system. Affordable, probiotic supplements for dogs offer an alternative method to reduce allergic reactions or eliminate the allergy altogether. Recent research has found that probiotics help reduce the level of inflammatory responses to allergens by supporting a stronger dog’s immune system.

Keys to fighting food allergies

One of the best ways to combat food-related skin allergies is to eat a fresh food diet. Commercial dry and wet foods often do not provide the necessary nutrition and quality your Cavalier needs to lead a healthy, allergy-free life. Fresh foods contain healthy fats and fatty acids like omega-6 and omega-3, which are found in a variety of sources like fish oil and sunflower oil. A fresh food diet also contains zinc, B vitamin complexes, and essential amino acids, all of which can calm inflammatory responses to allergens.

The table below offers some possible solutions to the variety of food allergies that Cavalier Spaniels can develop:

Condition Dietary needs and adjustments Coat color changes Increase in amino acids found in protein (>75 grams per 1000 calories); Use our calculator to convert a label percentage to the calorie basis (grams per 1000 calories). Simultaneous GI characters

Avoid foods with tryptamine and histamine like dairy or fermented vegetables and meats (yes, that includes bacon); Try a food trial with simple ingredients

Chronic itching and dermatitis

Strengthen the diet with vitamin E, B vitamins, zinc, omega-6 and the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil; add a probiotic; Try a food trial with simple ingredients

Dull coat and dandruff

Adjust EPA and DHA levels in the diet (supplementing fish oil is the most common method); try a food that has added zinc

flaking and crusting

Add zinc and vitamin A levels

How Fresh Food Can Help

Eating a fresh food diet that includes real, visible ingredients, well-preserved fats, and the right amount of antioxidants can reduce or even eliminate your Cavalier’s skin allergies. Commercial dry food is usually cheaper and lasts longer than fresh food; Commercial pet foods, however, fall far short of the nutrients and antioxidants your dog needs to be happy and healthy. The heating process by which dry food is made and the lack of regulation in the industry means you may pay less for the food, but your dog will pay for the lack of nutrition upfront; In fact, you may end up paying more in vet bills in the long run. On the other hand, the fresh food diet doesn’t contain the fillers and artificial ingredients found in some commercial kibbles. As such, your Cavalier is less likely to develop food allergies when fed fresh.

Proper nutrition with fresh foods contains minerals and fatty acids that work together to keep your Cavalier’s skin and coat healthy, boost the immune system, and fight inflammation that is often the first sign of an allergic reaction. Custom fresh food recipes are another option that will help limit your dog’s exposure to food allergens.

About Nom Nom

Many Cavalier King Charles Spaniels require a special diet of fresh foods to treat or prevent skin allergies related to food intolerance. Nom Nom offers fresh dog food that is individually formulated and delivered directly to your home. These perfectly portioned fresh food batches will satisfy your Cavalier’s hunger while providing him with the nutrients he needs to stay allergy-free.

Each batch of our fresh food contains the nutrient mix that provides a powerful combination of essential minerals and vitamins every dog ​​needs for healthy eating and managing allergic reactions. Our nutrient mix includes vitamins E and A for healthy coat and skin. Magnesium, zinc and selenium are also part of the nutrient mix and provide additional support for the immune system. Our fresh food diets allow your Cavalier Spaniel to eat well and enjoy a high quality of life.

references

1. Summers, F., O’Neill, D., Church, D., Thomson, P., McGreevy, P., Brodbelt, D. Prevalence of disease in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in primary care veterinary practices in England were recorded. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, 2 (4), (2015).

2. Kang M, Kim H, Jang H, Park H. Sensitization rates of causative allergens in dogs with atopic dermatitis: detection of canine allergen-specific IgE. J Vet Sci, 15 (4), 545-550 (2014).

Yes, dogs can eat cheese. In fact, cheese is often a great training tool, especially for puppies. But should dogs eat cheese? While some dogs can eat cheese and most dogs love it, many dogs cannot tolerate cheese. Even for dogs that can tolerate cheese, it’s probably best to feed it in moderation.

Benefits of Cheese

Cheese contains protein, calcium, vitamin A, essential fatty acids and B-complex vitamins. Most dogs love cheese and trainers often use it for treat-motivated dogs. This snack is also a great way to hide pills for dogs who need medication.

Feed cheese safely to your dog

While cheese is safe to feed your dog, there are a few things to keep in mind. Cheese is high in fat, and feeding your dog too much of it on a regular basis can lead to weight gain and obesity. Even more problematic is that it can lead to pancreatitis, a serious and potentially fatal disease in dogs. In addition to the problems associated with the high fat content, some cheeses contain herbs or other products that are toxic to dogs, such as garlic, onions, and chives.

Therefore, it is better to feed your dog a low-fat cheese such as mozzarella, cottage cheese, or a soft goat’s cheese. Cottage cheese is lower in fat and sodium than other cheeses and helps reduce the risk of obesity. Cottage cheese also contains less lactose, which reduces the likelihood of intestinal upset.

Lactose intolerance in dogs

Not all dogs digest cheese well, and while cheese is low in lactose compared to whole milk, dogs with severe lactose intolerance can have side effects from cheese, even in small amounts. After the first cheese feeding, watch your dog closely for signs of intestinal upset and consult your veterinarian if you have questions about adding cheese to your dog’s diet.

It’s not uncommon to want to spoil your dog by sharing leftovers or your favorite treat instead of a dog treat. After all, if it’s safe for you to eat, then it must be safe for your dog too, right? Not necessarily. While many foods are perfectly safe for dogs, some are very unhealthy and downright dangerous, so it’s important to know which fruits and vegetables dogs are allowed to eat.

Dogs digest food differently than humans, and eating the wrong food can cause dogs to have long-term health problems and, in extreme cases, even death. As omnivores, dogs have no real need for fruit or veg as part of their diet, but an occasional fruit or veg as a reward is fine. Fresh dog food also portions fresh vegetables into meals. Read on to find out which fruits and vegetables can be shared in moderation and which ones should be avoided.

Fruits that dogs can and cannot eat

apples

Yes, dogs can eat apples. Apples are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, as well as fiber for your dog. They are low in protein and fat, making them the perfect snack for older dogs. Just make sure to remove the cores and cores first. Try them frozen for a snack in frigid, warm weather. You can also find it as an ingredient in apple-flavored dog treats.

avocado

No, dogs should not eat avocados. Although avocado can be a healthy snack for dog owners, it should not be given to dogs at all. The pit, skin, and leaves of avocados contain persin, a toxin that commonly causes vomiting and diarrhea in dogs. The fleshy interior of the fruit doesn’t have as much persin as the rest of the plant, but it’s still too much for dogs.

bananas

Yes, dogs can eat bananas. In moderation, bananas are a great low-calorie treat for dogs. They are rich in potassium, vitamins, biotin, fiber and copper. They are low in cholesterol and sodium, but due to their high sugar content, bananas should be given as a treat rather than part of your dog’s main diet.

blueberries

Yes, dogs can eat blueberries. Blueberries are a superfood rich in antioxidants that prevent cell damage in humans and dogs alike. They’re also packed with fiber and phytochemicals. Teaching your dog to catch treats in the air? Try blueberries as an alternative to store-bought treats.

Cantaloupe melon

Yes, melon is safe for dogs. Cantaloupe is packed with nutrients, low in calories, and a great source of water and fiber. It is high in sugar, however, so it should be shared in moderation, especially in overweight or diabetic dogs.

cherries

No, dogs should not eat cherries. With the exception of the fleshy part around the seed, cherry plants contain cyanide and are toxic to dogs. Cyanide interferes with cellular oxygen transport, which means your dog’s blood cells can’t get enough oxygen. If your dog eats cherries, keep an eye out for dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, and red gums as these can be signs of cyanide poisoning.

cranberries

Yes, cranberries are safe for dogs. Both cranberries and dried cranberries are safe to feed to dogs in small amounts. Whether your dog likes this tart treat is another question. In any case, moderation is important when feeding cranberries to dogs, as too many cranberries can cause an upset stomach.

cucumbers

Yes, dogs can eat cucumbers. Cucumbers are especially good for overweight dogs as they contain little to no carbohydrates, fats or oils and can even boost energy levels. They’re loaded with vitamins K, C, and B1, as well as potassium, copper, magnesium, and biotin.

Grapes

No, dogs should never eat grapes. Grapes and raisins (dried grapes) have been found to be very toxic to dogs, regardless of the dog’s breed, sex, or age. In fact, grapes are so toxic that they can cause acute sudden kidney failure. Always keep in mind this dangerous fruit for dogs.

mango

Yes, dogs are allowed to eat mangoes. This sweet summertime treat is packed with four different vitamins: A, B6, C, and E. They also contain potassium and both beta-carotene and alpha-carotene. As with most fruits, remember to remove the hard core first as it contains small amounts of cyanide and can become a choking hazard. Mango is high in sugar, so use it as an occasional treat.

oranges

Yes, dogs can eat oranges. According to veterinarians, oranges are good for dogs to eat, but they may not be fans of strong-smelling citrus fruits. Oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, and in small amounts, the juicy flesh of an orange can be a treat for your dog. Veterinarians recommend discarding the peel and offering your dog just the pulp of the orange without the seeds. Orange peel is harsh on their digestive system, and the oils can literally cause your dog to wrinkle his sensitive nose.

peaches

Yes, peaches are safe for dogs. Small amounts of sliced ​​fresh or frozen peaches are a great source of fiber and vitamin A and may even help fight infection, but like cherries, the pit contains cyanide. Fresh peaches can be a great summertime treat, as long as you completely cut off the pit first. Skip canned peaches as they usually contain large amounts of sugary syrup.

pears

Yes, dogs can eat pears. Pears are a great snack because they’re high in copper, vitamins C and K, and fiber. It is believed that eating the fruit can reduce the risk of stroke by 50 percent. Just be sure to cut pears into bite-sized pieces and remove the core and pits first, as the pits contain trace amounts of cyanide. Avoid canned pears with sugary syrup.

pineapple

Yes, pineapple is safe for dogs. A few chunks of pineapple make a great sweet treat for dogs, as long as the prickly outer skin and crown are removed first. The tropical fruit is packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber. It also contains bromelain, an enzyme that makes it easier for dogs to absorb proteins.

pumpkin

Yes, pure pumpkin itself is a great choice and a very healthy treat for dogs. Not only does it help your dog’s skin and coat, but it’s also good for digestion and can help with both diarrhea and constipation. Just remember that you should never feed your dog pumpkin pie mix. When you buy canned pumpkin, make sure it’s 100% pumpkin. There are also many pumpkin supplements and pumpkin dog treats on the market.

raspberries

Yes, dogs can eat raspberries. Raspberries are good in moderation. They contain antioxidants that are good for dogs. They’re low in sugar and calories, but high in fiber, manganese, and vitamin C. Raspberries are especially good for older dogs because they have anti-inflammatory properties that can help aging joints. They do contain small amounts of xylitol, however, so limit your dog to less than one cup of raspberries at a time.

strawberries

Yes, dogs can eat strawberries. Strawberries are packed with fiber and vitamin C. They also contain an enzyme that can help whiten your dog’s teeth when he or she eats them. They contain sugar, so be sure to give them in moderation.

tomatoes

No, dogs should avoid tomatoes. While the ripe fruits of the tomato plant are generally considered harmless to dogs, the green parts of the plant contain a toxic substance called solanine. While a dog would have to eat a large amount of the tomato plant to make him or her sick, it’s better to skip tomatoes all together, just to be safe.

watermelon

Yes, dogs can eat watermelons. It’s important to remove the rind and seeds first, as they can cause intestinal obstruction, but watermelon flesh is otherwise safe for dogs. It is full of vitamins A, B-6 and C as well as potassium. Watermelon is 92 percent water, so it’s a great way to keep your dog hydrated on hot summer days. (You can even find watermelon-flavored dog treats these days.)

Vegetables that dogs can and cannot eat

asparagus

No, dogs should not eat asparagus. While asparagus isn’t necessarily unsafe for dogs, there really is no point in giving it to them. It’s too chewy to eat raw, and if you cook it long enough to be tender enough for dogs, asparagus loses the nutrients it contains. If you really want to share a vegetable, something more useful is probably best.

broccoli

Yes, broccoli is safe for dogs in very small amounts and is best served as an occasional treat. It is high in fiber and vitamin C and low in fat. However, broccoli florets contain isothiocyanates, which can cause mild to possibly severe stomach irritation in some dogs. In addition, broccoli stalks are known to cause esophageal obstruction.

Cauliflower

Yes, dogs can eat Brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts are packed with nutrients and antioxidants that are good for humans and dogs alike. However, do not overfeed them to your dog as they can cause a lot of bloating. Cabbage is also safe for dogs but carries the same gas warning!

carrots

Yes, dogs can eat carrots. Carrots are an excellent low-calorie snack that’s high in fiber and beta-carotene, which produces vitamin A. Plus, nibbling on this orange vegetable is great for your dog’s teeth (and fun) and it’s found in many dog ​​foods.

celery

Yes, celery is safe for dogs. Along with vitamins A, B and C, this crunchy green snack packs the nutrients needed to promote a healthy heart and even fight cancer. As if that wasn’t enough, celery is also known to freshen canine breath.

Green beans

Yes, dogs can eat green beans. Chopped, steamed, raw or canned – all types of green beans are safe for dogs as long as they are natural. Green beans are packed with important vitamins and minerals, plus they’re high in fiber and low in calories. Opt for low-salt or no-salt products when feeding your dog canned green beans.

Mushrooms

No, dogs should avoid mushrooms. Wild mushrooms can be poisonous to dogs. While only 50-100 of the world’s 50,000 species of mushrooms are known to be poisonous, the poisonous ones can actually injure or even kill your dog. Washed white mushrooms from the grocery store might be fine, but better safe than sorry; Skip the mushrooms for Fido all together.

onions

No, dogs should never eat onions. Onions, leeks, and chives belong to a family of plants called alliums, which are poisonous to most pets, especially cats. Eating onions can cause your dog’s red blood cells to burst and can also cause vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain and nausea. Onion poisoning is more serious in Japanese dog breeds such as Akitas and Shiba Inus, but all dogs are highly susceptible.

Peas

Yes, dogs can eat peas. Green peas, snow peas, snow peas, and garden or English peas are all fine if dogs occasionally find them in their bowl. Peas have several vitamins, minerals and are high in protein and high in fiber. You can feed your dog fresh or frozen peas, but avoid canned peas with added sodium.

spinach

Yes, dogs can eat spinach, but it’s not one of the best vegetables to share with your pup. Spinach is high in oxalic acid, which blocks the body’s ability to absorb calcium and can lead to kidney damage. While your dog would likely need to eat a very large amount of spinach to have this problem, it might be best to go with another vegetable.

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A wise man once said, “The best time for ice cream is anytime.” Most people love ice cream, and so do our dogs. But is ice cream really a harmless treat for dogs, or does it cause a major tummy ache?

Unfortunately, while it may be tempting to share your cone with your four-legged friend, it’s best not to give ice cream to dogs.

Why dogs can’t eat ice cream

lactose intolerance

The first problem with ice cream is that dogs’ bodies are not designed to digest milk after they are weaned as puppies. according to dr Jerry Klein, the AKC’s Chief Veterinary Officer, puppies have the enzyme they need to break down their mother’s milk. However, after weaning, their bodies produce less lactase.

“Many adult dogs are lactose intolerant to varying degrees, which prevents them from properly digesting dairy products,” says Dr. Small. “If you feed these dogs dairy, they can get anything from severe to mild gastrointestinal upset – loose stools, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain or gas. Dairy products with a high fat content can also trigger pancreatitis in dogs.”

food allergies

Dogs can suffer from a variety of food allergies, including allergic reactions to milk and dairy products like ice cream. These allergies are a reaction to the proteins found in dairy products and can manifest as vomiting and diarrhea and/or a red, itchy rash.

obesity

Another problem with ice cream is that it’s loaded with sugar, and feeding your dog sugary foods can lead to weight gain and obesity, which can cause other health problems. Even though the ice cream packaging says it’s sugar-free, you need to read the label carefully to make sure xylitol isn’t used, as this sweetener is extremely toxic to dogs.

Toxic Flavors

The final problem with ice cream is that some flavors can actually be dangerous for dogs. Chocolate, for example, can be toxic to dogs because their bodies cannot efficiently process components in chocolate, which contain theobromine and caffeine.

alternatives to ice cream

Quality dog ​​food contains enough calcium and other nutrients to promote strong, healthy bones for your dog, so adding calcium to an adult dog’s diet of milk or ice cream is not at all necessary. While some dogs do tolerate a small amount of vanilla ice cream as a treat, there are other options you can give them that aren’t as likely to cause digestive problems.

If you’re looking to treat your dog to a cold, freezing some non-fat plain yogurt might be a better choice. Since yoghurt is fermented, it contains less lactose and is therefore easier for dogs to digest. Do not feed your dog a commercial frozen yogurt as it is loaded with sugar. Be careful because although yogurt is easier for dogs to digest, not all dogs tolerate it.

Another good treat for dogs is Nice Cream. All you need are two ripe bananas and a food processor or blender. Mash the bananas until creamy and freeze. This fruit-based dessert is safe for dogs and offers some nutritional value. Bananas are high in potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and fiber. They contain sugar, so feed your dog bananas in moderation.

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s has launched a frozen dairy-free dessert made specifically for dogs. The company’s Doggie Desserts are icy treats made with sunflower seed butter. They come in two flavors: Rosie’s Batch of pumpkin and mini cookies and Pontch’s Mix of peanut butter and pretzel swirls.

So if you think there’s always room for ice cream for you and your best pal, think about your dog’s health and try one of these or a few other alternative snacks. You can enjoy them too.

Learn about other human foods that are and aren’t okay for dogs here.

By Elizabeth Xu

There are many reasons people give their dog treats, from training rewards to something to keep them a little busy. Whatever the reason, your dog is likely to appreciate something tasty to nibble on. As fun as treats can be, dog owners should be aware of how many treats they’re giving — and realize that the treats aren’t actually necessary, experts say.

“Because of obesity, I advocate feeding dogs and cats a high-quality, nutrient-dense and balanced diet with adequate calorie content to support and maintain a healthy weight, and do not advocate treats,” says Dr. Rachel Barrack, DVM, veterinarian and vet acupuncturist at Animal Acupuncture.

dr Amy Farcas, DVM, veterinary nutritionist at Veterinary Nutrition Care in California, agrees that treats are unnecessary, but knows dog owners don’t necessarily see it that way: “A lot of people think they’re important to bonding with their pet and them are an important part of life and what they do with their pet.”

Farcas recommends that people really think about the treats they give and says they can be appropriate for activities like dog training or agility.

“I think it’s helpful to think about why you’re using treats and what message you’re trying to convey and what behavior you’re trying to reinforce,” she says. “Giving treats everywhere for no apparent reason can be harmful because you may give too many treats and your pet may become overweight, but you also lose the opportunity to set certain [behavioral] expectations.”

Here are six treat ideas for your pup:

Peanut Butter Popsicles

If your pup is feeling a bit overheated during the warm months, this cool treat will likely help. The Humane Society recommends mixing one cup of peanut butter (ideally unsalted and unsweetened) with half a mashed banana and some water. Freeze the mixture on wax paper or in a toy like a Kong and give it to your dog when it’s frozen.

apples

Apples can provide vitamin C, fiber and calcium, the AKC says. Just be sure to limit your dog’s intake, cut the apple and remove the pips and seeds.

According to Farcas, treating dogs with fruits and vegetables has another benefit: fewer calories. “Often, gifting fresh fruits and vegetables has fewer calories than offering cookie-like, commercial treats,” she says. “As there is a tendency to give our pets too many treats and there is a trend towards obesity in our pets, I think this is a major concern.”

blueberries

Blueberries are the perfect treat size for dogs of all sizes. According to the AKC, they provide healthy antioxidants and vitamin C.

carrots

It makes sense that dogs might like fruits thanks to their natural sweetness. But what about vegetables? The AKC says carrots can be a good choice because of their vitamin A and fiber content. Most dogs will eat carrots raw or cooked, but cut up raw carrots to avoid choking.

Sweet potato jerky

If you’re looking for a treat that’s a little more like what you’d find in stores, the Humane Society might have the answer with this Sweet Potato Jerky Recipe. Simply scrub the potatoes clean and cut into ½ to 2/3 inch strips and bake in an oven set at 225 F for three to four hours.

Commercial Treats

If you don’t want to feed your puppy people food, there’s not necessarily anything wrong with commercial treats. Farcas says that because treats aren’t necessary to a balanced diet, there’s nothing that necessarily constitutes a “healthy” treat.

Be careful not to over-treat

No matter what type of treat you choose, Farcas says you should make sure treats make up no more than 5-10 percent of your dog’s diet. While the foods on this list are known not to cause problems for dogs, remember that you should discuss any dietary concerns with your veterinarian and know that they may have a different take on feeding certain foods to dogs.

“While it’s sometimes tempting to share what you eat with your dog and cat, it’s not really in their best interest,” says Barrack. “People’s food is often too rich and flavorful and can wreak havoc on the digestive tracts of dogs and cats.”

Strawberries are a favorite treat for dogs and their humans during warm weather. Warm weather means fresh fruits and vegetables are in abundance and once we include them in our diets, we can feed them to our dogs. It can be difficult or confusing to figure out which fruits and vegetables are safe for your dog (here’s a tip: grapes are definitely not safe), but yes, your best friend can have fresh strawberries. However, you should not feed your dog canned strawberries or strawberries in syrup. These are not good for your pet at all.

Benefits of Strawberries for Dogs

Strawberries are a healthy, low-calorie, sweet treat for your dog, packed with antioxidants, and high in fiber and vitamin C. Here’s a bonus. By giving your dog strawberries, you are also helping them stay healthy in more ways than one. For example, fresh fruit over time can help slow the aging process, boost the immune system, and aid in weight management. Strawberries can also help whiten your pup’s teeth.

How to safely feed your dog strawberries

Now that you know you can feed your dogs strawberries, what’s the safest way to do it? The safest way to serve strawberries is to wash them thoroughly and then cut the fruit into small pieces to prevent choking and make them easier to digest. If you have a small dog, you can puree or puree the berries and add them to the dog food. Sliced ​​up, frozen strawberries make a nice, cool summertime treat.

Whenever introducing a new food to your dog’s diet, it’s best to call your vet first. And when you start feeding your dog strawberries, be sure to start with small qualities and watch your dog for any behavioral changes or digestive issues. If you notice anything strange, stop giving it to him and contact your veterinarian.

Other fruity treats for your dog

Veterinarians recommend that any type of treat should only make up about 10 percent of your dog’s diet. There are other fruits you can feed your dog that are safe and can help keep them healthy. Here are a few more:

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are popular family dogs because of their small size and love for people. They were originally bred to be companion dogs, so they enjoy the company of their families as much as possible.

Cavaliers are friendly, gentle and loyal dogs which is why they are so popular, but they need constant company as they get very upset when left alone. They are highly adaptable and content with life in the city or country as long as they get plenty of exercise and mental stimulation.

Common Health Issues in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are incredibly good-natured dogs, but unfortunately, like many purebred dogs, they are prone to certain health issues associated with their breed. There is currently testing and screening for some of the problems that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels can have.

If you are thinking of buying a Cavalier puppy, we recommend getting one from a Kennel Club Assured Breeder as they will have additional requirements including health screenings. Parents who do the appropriate screening will reduce the chances of your pup being affected by these bothersome conditions. We also recommend that you discuss and think very carefully about the medical history of your potential pup’s parents and grandparents before adopting a dog with any of the health conditions listed above in the family lineage.

Some of the health conditions that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels can develop are:

Heart disease (usually caused by mitral valve disease) – this is a big problem for this breed. This is where the heart’s mitral valve weakens and stops working as effectively, which is often first noticed as a heart murmur. There is a Kennel Club program for that.

Eye problems – these include hereditary problems like cataracts. KC tests are currently available for hereditary eye diseases.

Curly Coat/Dry Eye (CC/DE) – a condition affecting the skin, coat, nails and eyes that can cause a severe form of dry eye syndrome.

Luxating kneecaps – where the kneecap temporarily dislocates.

Ear Problems – Cavalier King Charles Spaniels can be prone to ear problems. We recommend checking them regularly.

Bad Teeth – This is a common problem with all breeds, but possibly even more so with Cavaliers as they have a shorter snout.

Chiari malformation and syringomyelia (CM/SM) – a very painful condition in which fluid-filled areas develop in the spinal cord near the brain. There is currently a BVA/KC scheme for this.

– a very painful condition where fluid-filled areas develop in the spinal cord near the brain. There is currently a BVA/KC scheme for this. Episodic Falling (EF) – This appears to be a unique condition of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Although it’s often referred to as a “seizure,” it’s actually caused by a tightening of muscles that leaves the body stiff. This has often been reported to happen when the Cavalier was in exercise, excited, or stressed!

If you want to minimize the risk of your dog getting into trouble because of exaggerated traits, you can read our advice on choosing a pedigree dog.

Caring for your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Cavaliers are great little dogs that are suited to family settings. They are known to be good with children because they are so keen to please their owners and love human company.

Cavaliers are a playful breed and will love spending time with their owners playing around the house or garden. As spaniels, they have a certain prey drive, so they will particularly enjoy chasing and chasing games. Like all dogs, Cavaliers prefer company and do not do well when left alone.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and barking

As with any dog, Cavaliers are likely to make noise and how much they bark or vocalize depends on the individual dog. Cavaliers are known to be fairly easy-going dogs by nature, and most owners will agree that they don’t tend to bark excessively. They usually bark when they are excited or when someone new is at the door. If you have problems with excessive noise or barking, we recommend that you seek the advice of an accredited behaviorist.

training and socialization

Cavaliers are incredibly eager to please, making them fairly easy to train. We recommend starting positive, reward-based training from an early age to prevent your Cavalier from forming bad habits, and remember to continue his training consistently. With the right guidance, your Cavalier can grow into an obedient, confident dog.

Remember to socialize your Cavalier as a puppy with lots of other dogs, different people, and types of experiences to help him gain confidence. Cavaliers can develop separation anxiety when their owners leave them at all, so you need to teach them to be left alone when necessary, and remember to never leave your dog alone for more than four hours.

exercise

fact checked

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels make great pets thanks to their affectionate and affectionate nature.

These toy dogs want to please their owners and love human company.

Their docile nature and low-maintenance lifestyle make them the perfect family pet.

But can you leave a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel at home alone?

Of course, some Cavaliers are quite fine when their dog owner has to leave the house.

But the breed has a reputation for suffering from separation anxiety in the absence of their human companions.

Symptoms of separation anxiety can include constant barking, destructive chewing, and even overflowing around the house.

In this article helloBARK! will take a close look at separation anxiety and how it can affect Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

A brief introduction to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

The ancestors of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel first arrived in Britain around the 15th century.

While Mary, Queen of Scots and Tudor-Monarch Mary I are both believed to have descended from these Toy Spaniels, it was Charles I and Charles II who made the breed famous.

Indeed, until his death in 1685, Charles II was rarely seen in his palaces without these dogs.

The influx of Asian breeds like the Pug and Japanese Chin changed the appearance of the King Charles Spaniel (aka the England Toy Spaniel).

American Roswell Eldridge offered a cash reward for breeders who would breed the old-style Toy Spaniel, famous under Charles II.

This led to a distinction being made between King Charles Spaniels and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. The latter was recognized by the Kennel Club in 1945 before the AKC followed suit in 1995.

Characteristics of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is known to be a calm and loving dog. They enjoy human company and are considered the quintessential lap dog.

The breed loves nothing more than snuggling up next to you on the couch for a cozy evening while you can count on having a lasting shade as you move around the house.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels require moderate exercise, making them perfect for families or the elderly who can only take short daily walks.

They are not prone to barking, which doesn’t make them great watchdogs, but makes them ideal for apartment living if you have neighbors nearby.

While bonding with your dog can be a huge benefit, there are some downsides as well.

What is separation anxiety?

For dog owners who have to leave the house often, whether for work or pleasure, you may have encountered the problem of separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety occurs when a dog becomes distressed or unsettled when left home alone. This can manifest itself in different ways.

Symptoms of this condition may include persistent barking or whining, destroying objects in the house, scratching walls, doors, and floors, destructive digging, or attempting to escape from the box or room. In some situations, a dog may even defecate indoors due to high stress levels.

You may find your puppy showing signs of separation anxiety before you leave the house.

While house manners and puppy manners can help, even well-trained dogs can return to symptoms of separation anxiety if they don’t like being separated from the human or people they are attached to.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Separation Anxiety

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has a reputation for being a breed that can suffer greatly from separation anxiety.

While their unconditional love and loyalty is certainly positive most of the time, leaving your dog home alone can cause problems.

Given their deep affection for their canine owners, it’s understandable that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels would want the company of a human day or night.

As a result, the breed is considered one of the worst to show the symptoms of separation anxiety.

Furbo Dog Camera ranks the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as number three in their article titled “10 Dog Breeds With Worst Separation Anxiety.”

Your Cavalier King Charles Cavalier might panic that you won’t return when you leave home and allowing the condition to get worse can become a big problem.

Those with experience of the breed do not recommend these dogs for someone who needs to leave them four hours a day.

While this is an important consideration when considering getting a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, even someone who spends most of their time at home will have to leave to run errands at some point.

So how do you combat separation anxiety within this breed?

How to prevent separation anxiety

Contact Your Vet It is best to first make an appointment with your local vet. They may be able to offer some good advice on possible solutions to the problem. In extreme cases of separation anxiety, they may even prescribe medication to help your dog relax. This is a temporary solution and not a long-term solution.

Hire an Experienced Dog Trainer There are a variety of experienced dog trainers who have experience with this problem. A quick search on Google should bring up a few options. Such experts can educate dog owners on how to prevent and reduce separation anxiety. Some dogs are quick to spot signs that you are about to leave the house, which can make them panic.

Dog Camera One of the tools that we found useful is a dog camera. Such a device usually comes with a two-way speaker system and an HD camera so you can see and talk to your dog and hear any noises he makes. Some sophisticated models have motion and sound sensors that can send a push notification to your smartphone if there’s a problem at home. You can even have a treat dispenser or laser game to stimulate your dog when left home alone.

The Top 3 Dog Cameras We’ve picked the top 3 dog cameras currently on the market so you can keep an eye on your pets

Aromatherapy While essential oils can help ground people, they can have the same effect on dogs. Some owners have found that using a few drops of lavender or another oil in a diffuser can help relax their pooch. hello BARK! strongly recommend consulting with an expert about using aromatherapy to combat separation anxiety.

Leaving the TV or Radio on While not particularly scientific, turning on the radio or television can create background noise that will calm your dog.

Playlists on Spotify There are many playlists on Spotify (and YouTube) with music designed to ease your dog’s separation anxiety. Again, the soothing background noise can offer some comfort to your pup.

Reward yourself with treats Give your dog a treat when you get home. In this way you create a positive association with your departure from home.

Consistency is key Whatever method you try, consistency is really important. Separation anxiety healing will take more than a few days. In our experience, we have found that leaving the house at the same time every day for the same length of time for over a month has helped our dogs anticipate and adjust to periods of separation.

If you have any questions or need more help with separation anxiety, helloBARK! recommends contacting your local veterinarian or researching experienced dog trainers in the area who can give you professional advice.