Well so far not a lot has occurred except for some creativity in the kitchen (and actually some phone calls to various veterinary connections). I will ramble on about the kitchen antics in a minute, but first how is the dog?
Cody seems fine. Other than the fact that mom (that's me by-the-way...us wacky folks in California who call ourselves "mom" and guardians) is now hypersensitive to every breath he takes. Ok, he pants ALL the time... is that new? No... I'm just freakin' out.
The diarrhea resolved and now the poops are beautiful. And what pray tell make a beautiful dog poop? I'm sure you're very curious. Well in Cody's case, not diarrhea is a good start, then we look at consistency, color and whether or not whole chunks of food are passing through undigested.
NOTE: IF you're queazy about poop this is not the blog for you. Yes, we veterinarians look at poop, talk about poop at the dinner table and generally regard discussion about poop as normal polite conversation.
I noticed after the first batches of home-made food that whole pieces of carrots and rice were showing up in the stool. There were also some strange long black stringy looking things that were later identified as arame sea weed. My dog is a LABRADOR... read: garbage disposal. Do not try this with a Poodle or Chihuahua - you will not succeed.
So blenderizing the rice and finely chopping the carrots has lead to a smooth, firm burnt amber feces which is a delight to pick up. Will I share my recipe secrets? Well I've actually starting contemplating starting my own cooking show for dogs (oh wait I think someone already tried that...yes really. It didn't make it past the pilot episode). Ok my recipe came from Dr. Ihor John Basko's book: Fresh Food & Ancient Wisdom. I made some modifications...why? Because I'm just that way ok? No seriously, it is ok to use what you have on hand and do not stress if you forget the celery! Variety is good.
Dr. Basko is a well respected Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine veterinarian. He has a whole chapter dedicated to cancer diets. From what I've read, it seems that the basics of a cancer diet boil down to (pun intended) low carbs, no simple carbs (commercial dog foods are loaded with these), antioxidants, veggies, high quality easily assimilated proteins, essential fatty acids, and complex high protein grains. According to Dr. Basko if you do not include vegetables in your dog's diet, then you should supplement with the following antioxidants: Vitamin E & Selenium, medicinal mushrooms (shiitake, maitake, coriolus, ganoderma), Vitamin C & Zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, chlorophyll (chlorella, spirulina).
Very helpful kitchen appliances: rice cooker, crock pot, blender, food processor and/or chopping device - big knife :-).
What I made: Large Pot Meat Stew
- meat bones
- celery (if I hadn't forgotten it at the store)
- garlic
- ginger powder
- tumeric (loads of info about the anti-cancer properties)
- water
Into the crock pot until meat falling off bones. Remove bones, add:
- carrots
- squash
- broccoli
- chicken meat
- chicken livers
- coconut oil
Simmer on low heat until cooked. Add cooked brown rice, arame, nori, dulse flakes, fresh chopped leafy greens (sea weed and leafy greens are my addition) and voila! Wonderful dog food!
Now in general, veterinarians are concerned about diets being balanced. Well, if you include the above listed ingredient categories and offer a variety, the diet will be balanced over time. Of course feeding the same thing day in and day out will not only be BORING but will run the risk of missing some essential nutrient. So variety is the spice of life they say...give it to your dog. Oh, if you're in a pinch for dinner just serve up a bowl for yourself (I did!).
Hilarious - anyone who can write about the - oh so serious subject of dog poop - with humor is a good writer. Most dog owners are acutely aware of the characteristics of their dog's poop and where the dog deposits it. And the subject does have a way of coming up at the dinner table even among non-vets.
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