One of the most common problems presented to all veternarians is the itchy pet, and as a holistic practitioner, the same holds true. Most often the source of itch is allergies. With conventional medicine, the treatment is often suppression and in difficult cases this can mean endless rounds of antibiotics and steroids. As clients and veterinarians become frustrated, they often begin to look for alternatives.

Lets begin by looking at the different causes of allergies and discuss the ways in which these can be diagnosed. General treatment recommendations will be given when possible, but given the difficult nature of these conditions, treatments often need to be individual patient based to be effective.

Allergies can be to fleas, food or the environment. All of these conditions can look very similar to each other as well to other disease processes that affect the skin. A veterinarian should be consulted to be sure that your pet does not have mites, an infection, or other diagnosable problem before concluding that allergies are the culprit. Keep in mind that even for a proficient veterinarian, diagnosis can sometimes be harder than you would imagine. These conditions are not mutually exclusive, and often a bacterial infection is actually caused by an underlying problem such as allergies.

This is not to say the skin problems can not be adequately diagnosed. There are often differences in the history or in the pattern of itch that is suggestive of one cause of disease or another, and with a good history and exam your veterinarian will be well on the way to determining the cause of your pet’s discomfort. For example, inhalant allergies in dogs (allergies caused by pollens, trees, molds or grasses) tend to be seasonal and often include itchy feet and ear infections as part of the history. Cats do not seem to suffer as much from inhalant allergies as do their canine counterparts. Flea allergies tend to concentrate around the tail base and stomach in dogs and often cats as well. Finally, with food allergies, you see year round problems which may show signs predominantly around the mouth, ears and anus.

I do encourage clients to work up the cause of the allergy. If an allergen can be identified, a change in environment or husbandry can improve the situation and certainly changing the diet is far simpler and better for your pet than forever fighting an allergy to the chicken you feed each day. Different allergies will need to be diagnosed in different ways. For example inhalant allergies can be readily diagnosed by a blood test while food allergies require a diet trial. Common food allergens in animals include protein sources such as meat and dairy as well as corn and wheat to name a few. A hypoallergenic food trial which lasts two to three months may be needed to determine whether a diet change may result in improvement in the skin condition. This diet needs to contain ingredients that the animal has not eaten before and thus has not had a chance to develop and allergy to. This food is most likely going to need to be homemade or purchased as a prescription food as most “lamb and rice” type formulas that you find in the pet store will have other ingredients in them which could invalidate your diet trial. Please note that food allergies can not be accurately diagnosed by blood tests. Many of these tests are available but are of little to no diagnostic value.

One last note regarding food. There are many animals whose conditions improve dramatically when taken off of processed food and are put on homemade. These changes may take a while to notice or may be almost immediate. I regularly see patients with frustrating skin problems who show such improvement.

Flea allergies are usually diagnosed by history, observation of the pattern of itch and finding evidence of fleas. Often this is seen as “flea dirt” which is actually flea excrement. This excrement does in fact resemble dirt. If you are unsure, you can be differentiate flea dirt from garden dirt by placing a small amount on a white cloth or towel and then wetting the dirt and towel. Flea dirt well run red onto the towel as it is actually digested blood.

There are numerous ways to combat fleas naturally. See post on Fighting fleas naturally. These methods do, however, tend to be more labor intensive and may prove insufficient to eradicate a stubborn flea problem. Of the pharmaceutical products out there, I find advantage to be the safest and most effective. This product is designed to kill fleas on the animal and, when the treated pet sheds skin cells it will kill younger life stages in the house as well.

NOTE:Finding evidence of fleas can be especially difficult on cats. They tend to be fastidious groomers and can also have severe, body wide, reactions to even one flea.

Inhalant allergies can be readily diagnosed by a simple blood test. The difficulty comes after diagnosis. Some of my clients choose to try allergy injections which can work effectively in about 60% to 65% of animals in my experience. In other animals, treatment involves detoxification, improving the quality of the animal’s diet, boosting the immune system with acupuncture and supplements, and using Chinese herbs to both control the symptoms and help the animal become less reactive to the allergen. This is a long term process. These problems have often been ongoing for years and have been driven deeper still into the body by masking signs with the “anti” system of repeated doses of anti-biotics and anti-inflammatories. Animals treated naturally, will see their allergy reactions becoming less severe year after year as they work toward “health”.

Feeding your canine or feline friend a balanced diet does not need to be that difficult, and contrary to popular belief, the ideal dog or cat food diet does not necessarily come from either a bag or a can. You can prepare a healthy diet for your pets just as you do for the rest of your family and your pets will thrive. That said, there is not one diet the is right for all animals. Raw vs. cooked; chicken vs beef; our animals are very different both inside and out and just because a particular diet is fabulous for your neighbors dog, does not mean that it will be right for yours. For example, an energetically “damp” animal would not be expected to do well on raw food. An allergic animal may not be able to process turkey or corn. Your veterinarian may be able to give you some pointers of where to start and which foods to avoid but ultimately, you will figure out by trial and observation what is best for your pet. Some supplements are necessary to balance any diet, and you should always work from a diet framework to be sure that you are aware of the differing needs of dogs and cats systems.

I believe that variety is key to any healthy diet. This is very different from what many veterinarians believe, I realize. Often a single food is advocated to be fed exclusively. And this may be needed for a diet trial or a very sensitive animal who can not tolerate a variety of foods, but I do not see this as the norm. There are theories that state that varying foods will contribute to your cat or dog becoming picky eater. This, however, makes no logical sense to me and the reality is that there are dogs and cats who are picky eaters who have always been fed the same food and have just never eaten well and others who receive a varied diet and develop picky eating habits. Lets step back for a moment and think about feeding anyone or anything. If you sit your child down to a dinner of chicken, broccoli, brown rice and cantaloupe, you should pat yourself on the back for providing a well balanced nutritious meal. If, however, you feed this same meal three times a day throughout your child’s life, you would obviously expect problems. First, deficiencies are likely to become evident. Beyond this, no one would be surprised to hear that the child is tiring of this meal. We readily recognize that the key to healthy eating is variety for ourselves.

To encourage your pets to develop and maintain good eating habits, I believe that you need to introduce a variety of different foods over time. Favorites can certainly be used repeatedly, but don’t be afraid of change. At the same time, and again, like with your child, if you provide a meal that is generally considered acceptable, you should expect it to be eaten. Bending over backwards to let your pet dictate the favorite and only acceptable meal of the moment will encourage picky habits. If you have a picky eater, skipping or not eating a particular meal well, may not necessarily be a major problem. This is of course assuming that the animal otherwise seems healthy and happy. On the other hand, you must be very careful with animals who are very young or very small as their bodies may not be able to handle missing a feeding. Furthermore, cats in particular should not be allowed to skip multiple meals as they can develop a particular and potentially deadly problem with their livers. This is especially a problem for overweight felines.

To continue with the controversy, the next question that often arises is whether or not to cook home prepared food or feed it raw. As with any change in your pets routine, consult your veterinarian for specific recommendations about your particular pet. There are many veterinarians who are very uncomfortable with raw feeding, and I will not say that all of their fears are unfounded, but I also recognize that there are risks with any food you feed. Aside from the many recent recalls, I have seen a dog choke and almost die from inhaling a piece of kibble that got lodged in his trachea. And that is not to say that kibble kills dogs, but to recognize that things can happen regardless of your diet choices.

With raw food, there are some realities. The first concern is feeding whole bones. If you are feeding chicken wings, necks, or other unground bone as a calcium source, you need to be sure that your animal is chewing the bones well before swallowing. “Gulpers” should never be offered whole bones.The second big concern with raw feeding is contaminated meat- salmonella or other bacteria which would normally be killed when cooking the food. You should know that there aredifferent ways to prepare your meat to minimize these risks and research is definitely in order if you are inexperienced in raw food preparation to minimize your risks. Many of my clients like the idea of raw feeding but are uncomfortable with the actual feeding practice. A great solution can be to get one of the balanced frozen raw foods on the market. The bones are ground and the diet is frozen immediately after processing to minimize chance of bacterial growth. Finally, and obviously, with any raw food, all surfaces must be washed to avoid the spread of bacteria. This includes the dog bowl. Please be especially aware of this if you have children in the house.

The biggest concern raised by veterinarians in regards to home cooking is whether or not the diet is balanced. You do need to supplement, meat is not a complete diet in and of its self, but it is not that difficult to balance your pets meals. And then comes the cardinal rule when feeding real food to dogs and cats. NEVER FEED COOKED BONES OF ANY SORT. These are sharp and will splinter when eaten. They are very dangerous. Be mindful that you also need to avoid onions, grapes and raisins, and limit consumption of garlic. Fried and spicy foods are not appropriate either.

If you do embark on either raw feeding or home cooking, do your homework, and discuss your plans with your veterinarian before beginning. If your veterinarian is unable to support your choices, it may be worth searching out another vet with whom you can discuss diet options. Good nutrition is a cornerstone of health and it is important that you can have open and honest discussions about this with your chosen veterinarian. I believe it is one of the most overlooked aspects of veterinary medicine. Once you begin feeding “real” foods to your pets, you may be amazed at the changes that you see in your pet.

One of the most important things that we can do for pets is to feed them properly, and while it is not that difficult to achieve a balanced diet, it is a bit more complex when we use food to help achieve optimal health. In Traditional Chinese medicine, foods are looked at much like herbs. Foods can heal. Foods can balance or unbalance the body. All foods have energetic properties, and the foods you feed your pet will affect their constitution, their affect, and can help to alleviate or exasperate personality traits, disease symptoms, and behaviors. Hot natured pets will tend to do better with cooling or neutral foods as cold natured pets will do better with neutral to warming foods. Thus the question of what foods are best to feed my pet is not a “one size fits all” answer. The first thing you need to do is to determine whether your pet is hot or cold natured.

The yin and yang of pets

Some characteristics of a hot natured, yang, animal ….

These animals are often nervous and on edge. They may have a red tongue, pant excessivly and seek cool floors on which to lie. Often you will note that these animals have very poor energy in summer heat, and show signs of excessive thirst. They will avoid warm beds, couches or carpets. These animals tend to get more acute, sudden illnesses with intense symptoms which go as quickly as they came.

Some characteristics of a cold natured, yin, animal ……

These animals will be cool, calm and collected. They may have a pale tongue which is often wet. They may prefer warm places to sleep, or wish to be covered or cuddled for warmth. These animals generally do not like to be out in the winter but will bake themselves in the sun or in front of the fire place until you fear they may combust. Cold natured animals tend to be more slow moving and sleepy and may catch colds frequently.

The temperature of foods

Food also has tendencies toward yin or yang. The temperature or thermal nature of foods does not refer to the temperature at which the food is served, but the way the food makes the body feel once consumed. Cooling foods can cool both the body and the psyche. Conversely warming or hot foods will affect the entire body as well. Foods, like bodies, all have BOTH yin and yang properties, but some have more of one and some more of the other.

Warming foods are often used to aid digestion. They can also improve circulation and may help ease the pain of arthritis if it is worse in cold weather.

Cooling foods will calm the mind and cool the body. They can also be useful when inflammation is a problem.

Neutral foods are the harmonizers of the diet and are often added to balance or temper the more extreme qualities of other foods.

EXAMPLES OF WARMING FOODS

tuna, turkey, salmon, lamb, venison, chicken, chicken liver, shrimp, trout, oats, cabbage, squash, kale, quinoa, dried ginger

EXAMPLES OF COOLING FOODS

clams, duck, egg, tofu, prok, millet, barley, wheat, whole wheat bread, lettuce, celery, broccoli, spinach, tomato, kelp, banana

EXAMPLES OF NEUTRAL FOODS

beef, beef liver, chicken gizzards, rabbit, sardine, string beans, aduki beans, kidney beans, yam, polenta, rice, corn, rye, potato, beet, turnip, carrot, eggs, cod, brown rice

In addition to their thermal properties, foods can moisten or dry, clear excesses or stimulate in cases of deficiency.

FOODS THAT MOISTEN

potato, sardines, tofu, wheat, pork, mussel, citrus, barley, , string beans, dairy

FOODS THAT DRY

lettuce, turnip, asparagus, amaranth, rye, mackerel, celery, garlic

This is only the tip of the iceburg so far as the true qualities of foods go. Before choosing or changing a diet for your pet always consult with your veterinarian for recommendations and understand that each body is different. The simple question…what is the best diet for my pet???…. may not have a simple answer.

This will be enough food for one day for an average 25lb dog. A 50lb dog would get twice this amount and a 12lb dog would get half this amount. You can do the math for your dog’s weight.

Protein

You will need to feed 4 units of protein per day.

One unit of protein is equal to

2 oz meat or fish

1 medium egg

1/2 cup yogurt- note that 1/2 cup of yogurt counts as 1 unit of carbohydrate as well

1/3 cup cottage cheese- note that 1/2 cup of cottage cheese counts as 1 unit of carbohydrate as well

2 oz organ meat-you can feed up to one unit of organ meat several times a week if desired.

Carbohydrates

You will need to feed 4 units of carbohydrates per day

One unit of carbohydrate is equal to

1 cup vegetables such as-broccoli, brussel sprouts, greenbeans, peas, cabbage, spinich, squashes

1/2 cup fruits such as-melons, berries, bananas, tomatoes, apples. Also carrots at 1/2 cup.

1/4 cup cooked beans, lentils or chick peas

1/3 cup of grains such as-oatmeal or barley can be added if you wish. These are the best of the grains for a dog but note that grains in general are the least favorable type of carbohydrate for a dog. Try to limit this to one unit of the total amount fed per day if possible. You can also use whole wheat pasta or brown rice if needed.

Supplements

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon bone meal

multivitamin as directed for body weight

1 capsule of fish oil unless feeding an oily fish such as salmon

500mg vit C

400 iu vit E

Please note that this diet will not be adequate or appropriate for all dogs. Be sure to check with your veterinarian before begining this or any other new diet for your dog.