CANINE NUTRITION

by Dawn Chapman

Canine Nutrition is one of my passions. As a Registered Veterinary Nurse, I became a Pet Health Councillor twenty years ago working in a busy Veterinary Practice.  Most of the cases I dealt with were over weight pets and I loved seeing them become healthier and happier along the way.  Ten years ago I had a rescue dog that needed a complete change of diet for health and behavioural reasons, at this point I became much more aware of how difficult and overwhelming it can be to find and feed a dog a balanced diet from scratch while avoiding commercial and what seemed like gimmicky diets at that time.  As a Veterinary Nurse I was well aware of the human health risks that can be associated with RAW diets (which had just started to become more popular at that point in time) and also with an unbalanced diet, so I spent many hours trawling the internet and papers on nutrition in dogs and the food readily available to consumers.

I settled on a home cooking plan for my dog who readily ate kibble, he started to enjoy his food more, licking his bowl clean after every meal, his coat became glossier and his bowel movements became solid.  I enjoyed the process of involving his meals in my weekly cooking too and putting together his packed lunch.

As I had already started on my journey and people where asking me to help them I finally took the plunge and got my official Canine Nutrition qualification last year. This means I am now able to help with complex nutritional cases which can benefit dogs that have medical issue, intolerances, allergies, as well as over weight or under weight dogs and growing puppies.

When it comes to nutrition, Veterinary Surgeons are extremely helpful, however, most vets are not nutritionists, just like most doctors are not dieticians.  Going through nutritional requirements can be a lengthy process and it is definitely not a one shoe fits all situation. Vets are often very limited on how much time and help they can give on this particular subject. This is where I can help make the process much easier especially if you have no idea how or where to start.

The following case is one example of what I love to do….

I first met Vesper as a 5 month old, very quiet puppy, she was extremely emaciated with a body score of 2, all her bones were very prominent.  Her fur hid much of the horror lurking beneath. Her owner had been back and forth to the vets as she had repeated bouts of diarrhoea and no matter what she was fed, she was ravenously hungry, followed by the inevitable diarrhoea explosion.  The vets had followed the routine protocols, as many pups do arrive with diarrhoea after leaving the breeders. However, in Vespers case she was fading rapidly, despite the vets and owners best efforts.  It was at this point her owner rang me to ask for additional help.

After gathering information on her full history we made a plan together on how best to help Vesper nutritionally, her vet was at this point very sceptical that this would change Vespers current condition but agreed to work with her owner, taking on board the recommendations given in our plan.  We started with getting a food panel test done after discussing the pros and cons with her owner to determine which foods Vesper might be more compatible with.  This is not an exact science but in this case it was a very big jump into helping work out the best foods and quickest way of getting some form of nutrition into her that she could tolerate.  In a growing puppy a commercial food is the easiest way to ensure a balanced diet.  However, Vespers list of no-go foods was extensive and the food packaging labels where a minefield with not so obvious nutrients that she could not tolerate.  I helped her owner understand labelling and also put together a balanced meal plan for home-cooking with additional supplements to ensure she got the necessary vitamins and minerals to support her growing body. 

Within a week Vesper started to pile on the pounds with no diarrhoea and started to act more like a normal 5 month old bouncy, playful and cheeky puppy that we know and love.

She has continued to grow and develop into a lean and outwardly healthy dog despite her severe intolerances and IBD diagnosis.  She has remained on the meal plan primarily throughout with modifications for her age along the way. 

With support from the vet, her owner’s perseverance in trying to enable Vesper to have as varied a diet as she can manage, they have occasionally tried some other commercially available foods that should have been sufficient.  However, in all of these trials she has reverted back to having diarrhoea and losing weight until the home-cooking meal plan was reinstated.

Currently she is trialling another completely new insect protein source as her body has not yet had a chance to decide if it will reject it, it is in the easy format of a kibble so it cuts down on her owner having to cook for her.  Her owner, is still able to reinstate the meal plan if this is rejected too.

If you would like a consultation, I can be contacted via email tykesdoghub@gmail.com to arrange a chat.

For any dietary advice I will require as a minimum your dogs age, breed, current weight (most vets will allow you to weigh your dog at their clinic FREE) and a list of what exactly you are currently feeding your dog and how much including your name and a telephone number.

Dawn Chapman,

Registered Veterinary nurse, Pet Health Counsellor, Diploma in Canine Nutrition from Centre of Excellence.