IBD vs IBS in Companion Dogs
Let’s step back a second and remind ourselves about the difference between Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The symptoms can be similar and include – but …
Nutrition
Pea Sensitivity in Dogs and Cats
High legume content in grain-free commercial dog foods – particularly peas and lentils – was implicated as possibly causing dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs by the Food and Drug Administration …
Pumpkin: Why is it such a popular treatment for diarrhea?
A recent search of the term “pumpkin diarrhea pets” on Google (aka “Dr. Google”) returned more than 485,000 results. Of course I did not check all of them, but the …
Pumpkin: Why is it such a popular treatment for diarrhea? Read More »
Nutrient Comparison of Popular Dog Food Ingredients
A 2018 study by Reid et. al reviewed popular dog food ingredients and their nutritional value among four different international databases. The premise of this study was to assess foods …
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The Gut: The key to health?
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, is quoted as saying, “bad digestion is at the root of all evil” and “death sits in the bowels.” What Hippocrates likely meant was that …
Commercial Raw Diets and Food Sensitivities
It’s true that the health and vigor of dogs and cats fed raw diets “shine” in all respects. Commercial raw diets generally have less ingredients, less additives compared to kibbles, …
Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (Bloat) in Dogs
Bloat is a life-threatening emergency that affects dogs in the prime of their life. The mortality rate for gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) approaches 50 percent. The keys to survival are early …
Sweet Potatoes vs. White Potatoes: What is the difference for your pet?
There’s a famous old song with the lyrics, “You say potato, I say potahto; let’s call the whole thing off.” The songwriters obviously weren’t intending to compare the nutritional characteristics …
Sweet Potatoes vs. White Potatoes: What is the difference for your pet? Read More »
Medicinal Mushrooms for Pets
Mushrooms are fascinating fungi. Think about it: certain mushrooms are the only straight, out of the ground fungi we and our companion pets can eat. Indeed, they are a member …
Coconut Oil: The “Good” Saturated Fat
For some of us, coconuts conjure up images of palm trees and tropical locales. For others, they take us back to mouth-watering memories of our mother’s home-baked coconut cream pie …