Dog nutrition is a movable feast

The world’s knowledge of canine nutrition is constantly evolving. We know much about ourselves and our own nutritional needs from our study of dogs. We have however not been nearly so diligent in researching the nutritional needs of man’s best friend. Both the scientific community and myself as a certified canine nutritionist still have much to learn!

So while the advice offered by this website is well-intentioned, none of the information presented is intended as a substitute for veterinary treatment. It does however offer an alternative, more holistic and natural approach to dog health.

That having been said our understanding of the neutritional needs of dogs is developing all the time. New studies are constantly ongoing. The results of those studies necessitate an open mind to dog nutrition. They also require regular updates in the methods we use to heal dogs through nutrition. That includes the dietary suggestions I personally make in my feeding guides for dogs.

Surviving is not thriving

Much of what we know about the nutritional needs of dogs comes from research carried out by the commercial pet food industry. Research carried out purely for its own ends. To justify its thirst for profit using waste products from other industries.

No scientific research has actually established that highly-processed commercial dog food is good for dogs. That it’s actually healthy for man’s constant canine companion. Research carried out has established that dogs could survive on commercial dog food, but then they could probably survive on old shoe leather and rotting newspapers. It doesn’t mean to say it is actually healthy for them!

Research is expensive. The multi-billion pound commercial pet food industry can afford to fund research that furthers their cause. Making more money by hoodwinking unwitting consumers into buying their high-priced by-products. No one though is going to spend billions or even millions on proving that fresh wholefoods are actually healthier for dogs. Despite the fact that logic dictates it to be the case. So our understanding of the benefits of fresh foods to dog nutrition is learned at a much slower pace.

Let common sense prevail

The commercial pet food industry rails against those of us who promote a more natural and holistic way of feeding our dogs. The industry conveniently forgets that, prior to the relatively recent introduction of commercial dog food, that’s the way man’s best friend was fed for thousands of years. And if highly processed food is so much better than fresh, natural food, why don’t we as human beings live on the equivalent of dry dog food? Why does the the health industry encourage we human beings to eat fresh wholefoods if in fact highly processed dry food is better for us?

Following research carried out at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Dr Luis Pedro Coelho commented. “We found many similarities between the gene content of the human and dog gut microbiomes. The results of this comparison suggest that we are more similar to man’s best friend than we originally thought.”

In other words, dogs and human beings have a similar digestive system and can eat and benefit from more or less the same things. Something canine nutritionists like myself has been saying for years!

The fact is of course that highly processed food is not good nutrition. It’s not good for human beings and it’s not good for our dogs. It is good for commercial pet food manufacturers though. They get to sell their cheap by-products. The waste from other industries that they would otherwise have to some how pay to dispose of.

How a certified canine nutritionist can help

A certified canine nutritionist is trained in dog nutrition. I understand the importance of good food in maintaining good canine health. As I’m very fond of saying, good dog nutrition doesn’t come in a bag. If you want a healthy dog, you need to feed it real food.