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Animal Nutrition and the Nutritional Consultation
Dr Viki Dioszegi BVSc BHSc
Good nutrition is not only vital for your pet’s well being, it is one of the most important contributions you can make to your pet’s health. You are able to influence for better or for the worse, your pets health, as diet is having an effect every day of the year.
Sadly majority of cats and dogs are fed processed food (dry, tinned, meat loaf) enhanced with additional bones and fresh meat and quantities of preservatives.
The quality of precooked food can never reach the vitality of fresh food. In fact bagged, tinned and meat loaf type processed food can be detrimental to health and in the long term can cause problems in the individual and in the future generations. Much has been written on this subject.
Quote from Dr Ian Billinghurst’s book “Grow your pups with bones”
“There is a mass of research ... commissioned by pet food manufacturers and carried out by independent bodies, which demonstrates that pet foods are responsible for a wide range of degenerative diseases. The vets involved in this research acknowledge that the disease caused by pet food is rarely linked to their cause by the public or by vets in practice. We accept dry and canned pet foods without question.
We ignore all evidence which shows them to be defective. There is another reason we accept these products so uncritically…
It is because our profession, in fact the entire pet industry, has become dependent on both the products and their manufacturers.
Pet food manufacturers fund our breed associations and our dog shows.
They subside the production and training of guide dogs.They give money to our professional associations, magazines and our universities.
They support our conferences and building funds.
They carry out research into our patient’s diseases and pay vets and others to carry out that research.
They teach our young vets about nutrition and fill our waiting rooms with their product. This boosts our income and if we sell enough of it, we benefit with kick-backs.
The icing on the cake is that their products provide us with patients. Sooner or later.”
We are bombarded with so much advertising these days that it can be very confusing what is best for our animals. Nevertheless think about it, you don’t feed yourself or your children the way you feed the important four legged members of your family. Whereas they enjoy treats from the table their nutritional needs are no less complicated or important than your children.
The answer is simple. A variety of fresh, real food is the key.
Our aim is to have every dogs and cat on natural, raw, non-processed diet starting from when they are puppies or kittens.
Nutritional Consulation
For optimal health and chronic health problems
The 3 steps of individually tailored diet:
- Meeting with basic nutritional requirements (% protein, fat, fibre, carbohydrate, essential oils, minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients) varying by age, exercise, reproductive state and the overall health of the animal.
- Apply Chinese dietetics to select food. During digestion and breaking down molecules of food it has a warming, neutral or cooling or affect on the body. Food has to match to the fine nature of the animal to balance it.
For example; hot, red, itchy skin lesions – stop giving roo or lamb meat as they are hot in nature and can further aggravate the problem.
Give cooling type meals during a hot, humid summer. - Choose the right supplements to further fortify vitality. (Extra minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, enzymes, friendly bacteria... if needed)
A nutritional consult will assess the overall health of the animal by thorough physical exam and case history. The inherited constitution and strength of the individual including the digestive ability is assessed and assisted by iris diagnosis. There are several easy home tests to check digestive ability as well. When necessary we use further laboratory tests.
The next step is the major guidelines for your pet’s home made diet with a special food selection chart and good quality necessary supplements. Home made diets can be tailored for animals with heart, kidney, digestive, skin disease. Any acute and all chronic disease reduces overall vitality therefore it is really important to replace and boost it with fresh food.
Don’t be afraid, home made diet is easy and simple to make even for special conditions! For the busy people (who isn’t these days) or if running out of home ingredients we only recommend food from three Australian companies to try:
- The Complete Pet Company
100% Natural, raw ingredients with "Organic chicken".
Patties frozen and ready to serve.
Complete Meal, Wheat Free (250g patties)
Veggie Mix (1Kg containers)
- Vegan Pet
(our only recommended dry food) in a 100% natural, 60% organic high quality vegetarian meal with extra Lactobacilli in it. - BARF raw food diet
Natural, raw, complete mix “patties”. Choose from roo, beef, chicken, turkey and lamb for cats.
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