Camilla, the italian-AIHA golden retriever, wants to greet Sheena and all of you

[eleonora]

Thanks Patrice for your precious advices and the link on nutrition resources.actually Camilla hasn’t hypothyroidism, we have taken the test a few months ago and the values were absolutely normal. however there is a predisposition to hypothyroidism in golden retrievers so i’ll keep in my mind what you wrote me about broccoli and spinach. thanks a lot

[Patrice]

Eleonora,
That is a good that she has checked out normal! Dogs with a genetic predisposition generally express their hypothyroidism at a younger age as the immune system attacks the gland. Some breeds like my Giants tend to slowly develop it over time, usually with low normal test results that result in symptoms of low thyroid. That’s where diagnosis is tricky and many dogs like mine are not treated properly.

I made an error in typing, was using my thumb on a phone, duh.

Dogs can have a pH as low as 1-2. I said “higher,” but what I really meant is that a dog’s stomach acid can be much more acidic than humans. Think of “battery acid” acidic! That’s why dogs or wolfs can digest bone so easily.

In fact, canines have a different process digesting their foods. In humans our digestive processes are more intricate and the food stays in transit a much longer time so the system can properly digest complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats. This allows time to extract amino acids, glucose, fatty acids and nutrients like vitamins and minerals.

Canines have a simpler approach, their food is eaten almost whole and the stomach uses a highly acid environment to break down the food quickly. That’s why dogs cannot tolerate grains very well, there is no equivalent lengthy process to do so.

This is the reason why prednisone is so hard on a dog’s stomach. The high acidity of the stomach acid combined with the prednisone can quickly lead to the development of ulcers. Dogs in treatment take acid reducers to protect their stomachs and that changes how well they can digest their food.
my best, patrice

[eleonora]

thanks for this clear explanation!

[AmyE]

Hello! I am not sure we have met but I wanted to say what a beautiful looking pup you have. I am glad she is doing well. Also I wanted to answer you about the raw diet. All of my dogs are fed raw. Coal (my IMHA pup) was the reason for this switch and they are all doing amazing on it. Coal is so healthy and her immune system is so strong I have very little worry about a relapse with her. Please do not misunderstand me I am very vigilant about her disease BUT I know her diet is medicine for her body and it is keeping her extremely healthy. If you have any questions about feeding raw I would love to help you. We do traditional raw and some premade raw. I have a lot of resources about raw feeding as well.
Warmly,
Amy & The Girls

[eleonora]

Thanks Amy, this is just what I wanted to hear! about the raw diet I had some concerns about the bacteria such salmonella and listeria… I was wondering if camilla takes for example salmonella from raw meat if this could cause a relapse of hemolytic anemia…. but as I read here on the forum, and as the vet nutritionist who visited camilla told me too, the acid ph of the dogs stomach is able to destroy these bacteria so the risk is practically zero. if you want to describe what your dogs eat i will have the pleasure of reading. Do you also use herbs or spices (such as nettle, parsley, rose hips, ginger, turmeric, etc.) as you prepare their meals? I read a couple of books on the B.A.R.F. and both also suggested additions of this kind…

[AmyE]

Unfortunately right now I am on my phone. When I get to my computer I will answer all of your questions. I didn’t want you to think I am ignoring you. It is too hard to type a lot of the phone.

[AmyE]

I use mostly high end kibble ( Rawz Chicken) for Coal because she needs it for the weight. She runs extremely thin but the raw food she is on is a mixture of a few things. One is Bravo freeze dried raw Pork. The other is Steve’s Raw Chicken Prey drive patties. She also gets raw chicken drumsticks just to eat in-between meals. I also make bone broth and use it to make “smoothies” out of Kale and bone broth that is added to every meal. As for supplements and herbs I use a powder called immunity and a probiotic herbal supplement from pet wellness blends called Pet probiotic and digestive enzyme blend. She was on Bravo and Honest kitchen and raw goats milk when she first got sick to help build her muscles back up after an extreme amount of waste from the steroids. Once she was improving and her steroid dosage was reduced I switched her to what she eats now. I will attach all the links so you can take your time and look over everything. I also use a kibble called Carna4 as treats its an extremely high end kibble but I don’t use it for food so I can keep my dog food budget reasonable. Carna4 is $$$$$$ way too expensive for my budget but one bag for treats lasts months! I hope this all helps you. I have a lot more info and I get a lot of good reading from Dogs Naturally Magazine.

http://rawznaturalpetfood.com/dog/

http://www.stevesrealfood.com/frozen-raw-dog-food/chicken-raw-meat-dog-food/

http://www.bravopetfoods.com/dog_freeze_dried.html

http://www.petwellnessblends.com

http://shop.bixbipet.com/products/immunity?variant=236750675

https://www.thehonestkitchen.com

http://carna4.com

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com

[eleonora]

thanks Amy, you’re very kind!