(5/2021) It is not easy formulating a diet for 4-month-old puppies, a Dachsund with liver issues, a Cockapoo with urinary crystals, several senior dogs, young adult dogs, and cats prone to urinary crystals. That is why I entrust companies like Hill’s, Purina, and Royal Canin (and I use all three) to formulate diets that have a proven track record to take care of all my critters at home. I know those companies employ veterinarians and nutritionists who utilize science and research to keep my pets healthy.

Some diet fads that have caught on over time encompass raw and grain free diets. Unfortunately, there is a lot of marketing behind these diets but not science to back them up.

Raw Diets

There are claims that these diets are beneficial because they improve longevity, improve oral and general health, and resolve diseases. The problem is there are no published peer-reviewed studies to prove these claims. There are risks. These include nutritional imbalances, bacterial and parasite contamination that can affect pets, and the possibility of food poisoning for the people who make and handle these diets.

Grain Free Diets

Marketing has been behind these diets as the pet food industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Grains are not the evil ingredient they have been made out to be.

Myths:

• Grain Free means low carbohydrates - False
• Grain Free has health benefits - False, there is no scientific proof (however, there is scientific proof to the contrary-see below)
• Grains contribute to health problems - False
• Grains are a common food allergen in dogs - False
• Ingredients are the most important when choosing a food - False, it is the nutrients delivered by the ingredients

Now there is scientific evidence that comes from cardiologists who discovered that many grain free diets led to the development of life-threatening heart disease in young dogs who should not have developed this condition. The heart disease is Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Two years ago, the FDA even issued a statement about this: FDA Investigation into Potential Link between Certain Diets and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy (April, 2019). 93% of the reported dog foods had peas and/or lentils. Highest case numbers were linked to Acana, Zignature, Taste of the Wild, 4Health, Earthborn Holisic, and Blue Buffalo, and there are more diets linked to this specific heart disease.

Home Cooked Diets

Many people like the idea of home cooking diets for their pets. After all Food=Love and what better way to bond with your pet? There is the belief that it is safer and more natural. It is believed to be more healthful. Certain ingredients can be avoided (such as grains, preservatives, and by-products) as well as specific proteins (i.e. beef or chicken) and fat. There are philosophical views that owners want to follow such as vegetarian, organic, or raw. Some pets refuse commercial diets due to learned behavior or food aversion.

Home cooking can be problematic due to not getting the correct proportions of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats let alone important vitamins and trace minerals that are needed. It can be done, but it is not advisable to go it alone. Employ a veterinary nutritionist to help custom formulate and balance a diet based on your pet’s life stage, breed, health conditions, and preferences. Vet nutritionists spend time going over a health and diet history with an owner. They can spend several hours formulating a recipe to be made by the owner.

This is a fee for service endeavor. Some options are: Petdiets.com & BalanceIT.com

Food Allergies

The most common food allergies for dogs are beef, dairy, chicken, lamb, soy and rarely wheat and corn. The longer a diet is fed, the more of a possibility that an allergy could develop. It takes time for the immune system to (over) react.

Hypoallergenic Diets

It is best to feed one protein source at a time until there is a problem. That way you can then switch to a new (novel, never before eaten) protein source unrelated to the first. For example, chicken and turkey or beef and bison would be closely related proteins. The problem with over-the-counter Limited Ingredient Diets is that they often are contaminated with other protein sources (even just left-over in the machinery used to make the food) that will cause the allergy! It needs to be a strictly new, one source protein diet.

An alternative to a novel protein diet is a hydrolyzed protein diet. Hydrolysis breaks down proteins into more manageable small sizes that are unrecognizable by the immune system and therefore no allergic reaction is triggered.

The technology, standards, and quality control needed to make these foods leads to a higher cost. But these are therapeutic diets that need strict manufacturing procedures under the guidance of veterinarians and nutritionists. It is dietary treatment for disease.

Breaking News

A new diet that is about to be released will address environmental (skin) allergy and food allergy. It is Hill’s Derm Complete. It will be a prescription diet. It is used to treat dogs with allergic dermatitis(atopic skin disease) and/or food allergy. It improves the health of the skin barrier which contributes to decreasing exposure to allergens and reaction to them. It uses egg as the protein source.