The most common ailments members have faced with their dogs BEFORE coming to us, are as follows:
Diarrhoea or vomiting
Suspected but undiagnosed, IBD
Colitis
Suspected, or recurrent flare ups of, pancreatitis or EPI
SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)
Suspected allergy / intolerance, or a test result showing an allergy or intolerance to food that is not completed by a vet on raw proteins
Recurrent ear infections / yeast infections
Excessive itching
Cheesy / itchy paws
Dry skin or greasy coat
Sometimes, these issues can rear their ugly heads once more during your raw feeding journey. The good news is, we have a high success rate with this blog helping to heal approximately 90% of those who follow it end to end. The reason this works so well is that as we all love our dogs, we often think “this little treat won’t harm” or “this new food will be ok”. In fact, these little different things and treats and tidbits are often the cause of the issues above.
Over Christmas, it is estimated that 50% of dog owners will give their dog some “naughty” food such as roasted meat, cream, cake, roast potatoes or worse. Over Easter it is estimated that 25% of owners will find their dog either steals or is given a little something they shouldn’t have.
Come summer, it’s estimated about 35% of dog owners will travel with their dogs, and that half of these will slip their beloved dogs the odd bit of food they normally wouldn’t - after all, it's their holiday and once won’t harm right?
Approximately 75% of dog owners still use chemical flea and worming products from their vets or the highstreet, on a regular basis. 66% on average still vaccinate their dog yearly, despite the advice changing several years ago to vaccines being needed every 3 years, and vacci-check and titre testing being more readily available to help to avoid over-vaccination.
Approximately 40% of dogs in the UK experience fear of fireworks and / or thunder, suffering with high stress levels for several days, to several weeks, every year.
Sadly, this is where the problems often begin. All of the above can actually trigger what is known as leaky gut. Leaky gut is often not picked up as a diagnosis and instead the ailments mentioned earlier are used without any tests being performed to confirm the diagnosis.
If you have been reading this and are thinking any of these things fits your scenario then you are in the right place. Others who may find their way to this page are those who like to give their dogs a bit of a detox, in a similar way to how us humans like a health kick now and then.
The team at Raw Feeding For Dogs Made Simple (UK) have been through all of these issues in the past, so please do not worry, none of this makes you a bad person, if anything you are AMAZING because you have sought out help! Many hundreds, even thousands now, of members in our Facebook group have also been through these issues.
So let's get you started!
Step One:
Here at Raw Feeding For Dogs Made Simple (UK) we will help you to manage the situation, however as standard, we do strongly recommend a Wormcount such as FECLAB to ensure there are no internal parasites, plus:
🟢 HEALTH CHECK
Always advocate for your dog. We cannot tell you what is wrong so ALWAYS check general health with a vet, or even just a quick advice call with them, in the following situations:
If the affected dog is a pup, elderly dog or has a health condition
Where a behaviour or energy change has occurred suddenly
There has been 3 or more bouts of sickness or diarrhoea in 24hrs
Where you are anxious / worried about your dogs situation
Suspected of having the above mentioned conditions, but no diagnostic tests have been carried out to rule it in or out as a cause of the illness
Please note:
Even if these tests are done, and confirm a diagnosis, the great thing is that a species appropriate diet, done in the right way, can help these to be managed or even resolved! See the end of this blog for a list of incredible nutritionists who can support you and your dog where a health condition has a confirmed diagnosis.
Studies have shown that dogs fed carbohydrates have a spike in their bloods that when repeatedly raised, can trigger pancreatitis!
Allergy tests in the UK are generally based on cooked proteins or even food flavourings. We have not found one yet that tests raw proteins.
The transition process is designed to be a miniature elimination diet, as it works through the main allergen proteins in dogs - without trying it, there is no way to know if you dog has an issue, and if they do today, the great thing is that some intensive gut resetting may actually result in zero issues further into the dietary change!
Over-vaccination or chemical flea or wormer ( this is the things you can buy at the vets or high street shops), or high histamine foods or starchy high carb vegetables - can all be a major trigger for dogs with these issues
Following our gut reset protocol carefully, using the tried and tested brands and products, has helped over 90% of members with these issues to fully resolve them.
🟢 HYDRATION
Always encourage drinking in times of sickness or diarrhoea. If your dog will not drink themselves, attempt to gently hand feed water if necessary. Using dog safe bone broth such as Alexanders Natural or Karnlea, is perfect for this either frozen, cooled or warmed - whichever your dog prefers.
Follow our recovery from illness blog until your dog is well enough to go back to raw
Step Two:
If your dog is not yet fed a full raw diet (kibble, wet, steamed, cooked, freeze dried, air dried, cold pressed etc are still being fed) or does not yet have 100% natural treats (added flavours, additives, oils or root vegetables are still being fed), please follow our new to raw process for 3 weeks and then reassess the situation after this.
Step Three:
If your dog is fully raw fed but not currently eating all of the essential components of the raw diet, found here, please introduce them. Each key component can actually help with all of the health ailments noted above. After 3 weeks, please reassess the situation. Consider adding Colostrum to the diet too, such as Prodog or Aniforte
Step 4:
Check the full ingredients of your dog's current food, including treats and tidbits. If you feed any of the following foods, even only a smidge, please follow our 3 week transition process to strip the diet back to basics and then reassess after this:
Carrots, Parsnips, Butternut Squash, Pumpkin (pumpkin powder seems to be ok so far though the owners of the group are monitoring this and will update this blog should a common trend be identified)
Yoghurt (any variety), Store bought kefir (This is due to it not being as active as kefir should be in tests completed by the group owners and members, meaning it will not have eaten as many of the sugars that occur naturally in yoghurt so can be a culprit for the above ailments. Therefore, we classify store bought kefir as more of a yoghurt.)
Tripe or tripe mixes. (Always read the full ingredients panel on food and treats as not all list it clearly on the front of the packaging, if unsure, post to the group a full list of all brands with protein that you have fed and one of the team will review them for you)
Any oils but especially fish oil (salmon oil, cod liver oil, krill oil)
Any supplement that contains oils (if in doubt please post a link to the product or a picture of it, to the facebook group and we will assess it for you as there are many products out there with hard to find full ingredient lists)
Step Five:
Have you given any flea or wormer products from the vets or supermarkets or high street pet shops in the past 12 weeks? If so, you will need to follow our 3 week transition process, and then look to introduce the Adored Beasts Leaky Gut Protocol - Such as from Healthful Pets or Willows Pantry
Be the tortoise not the hare:
It can take up to 6 weeks to resolve some general issues, even longer for intense issues, so be ready to be patient and go slow if needed. Please though, always remember that there is only so much that a free online advice service can do, our free online advice group is in no way a replacement for a insured professional, we are not vets so if your dog is showing any signs of pain or illness please do not delay seeking medical support for your dog.
Ethical code of conduct:
Where this process is not successful in resolving your dog's health ailment, we strongly recommend you consult with a qualified (IPET Level 3 nutrition diploma or above) and fully insured (professional indemnity insurance) Canine Nutritionist. As much as we strive to help every dog, our process is only workable in 90-95% of cases so where it does not work, a more tailored plan of support will be needed, which a free facebook group is not able to offer ethically or morally.
Some examples of incredible Canine Nutritionists are:
Caroline from Canine Holistic Science Academy: canineholisticscienceacademy.com
Louise from Barnaby’s Happy Healthy Pets: barnabyspets.co.uk
Katie from The Pet Diet: thepetdiet.co.uk
Olivia from Batch Cook With Bailey (raw and cooked diet consults): olivia@batchcookwithbailey.co.uk
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