food allergies – Green Acres Kennel Shop Blog

Shared Blog Post – Food Transitioning versus Food Rotating: What is the Difference?

I have been rotating what I feed my pets for years, and at Green Acres Kennel Shop we have been recommending dietary rotation to clients at least since 2012 when our Operations Manager Kate wrote about her experience rotating diets in our newsletter that May ( FMI – http://bit.ly/DietRotation ).

On April 12^th of this year, veterinarian Jean Dodds of Hemopet and NutriScan published an article on her blog on the same topic. The following are some of the key quotes from Dr. Dodds’ article.

“Like humans, dogs should be eating a variety of nutritious foods, and not living on just one specific formula.”

“No one dietary formula, no matter how “complete and balanced” it is, can meet all of an animal’s nutritional needs over an extended period.”

“There is no one “perfect” food or perfect food combination that provides everything a human or animal needs to create optimum health over long periods.”

“Rotating protein sources not only ensures your pet will benefit from a varied amino acid and nutrient profile, it also reduces the risk he will form an intolerance to any specific animal protein source over time.”

You can read Dr. Dodds entire post, and I encourage you to do so, at https://nutriscan.org/food-transitioning-versus-food-rotating-what-is-the-difference

Pet Nutrition – The Science and Dogma of Pet Nutrition with Dr. Richard Patton

On April 28^th of 2016, Green Acres Kennel Shop hosted animal nutritionist Dr. Richard Patton for an educational seminar entitled The Science and Dogma of Pet Nutrition. This presentation is now available as a video.

You will want to watch this video if your pet:

Has food allergies and intolerances
Has digestive difficulties
Is overweight or obese
Suffers from chronic diseases such as kidney disease or diabetes
If you want to be sure you are doing the best for your pet nutritionally

Dr. Patton has over forty years of experience as a consultant on animal nutrition working in 22 different countries with everything from livestock and zoo animals to companion pets. He was an adjunct professor at Pennsylvania State University for 15 years and is the author of Ruined by Excess, Perfected by Lack, the Paradox of Pet Nutrition, a book which discusses pet nutrition and the pet obesity crisis. Not beholden to any one company, Dr. Patton is an independent nutritional consultant; his main concern is the health of our pets.

Last fall Paula and I had the opportunity to attend one of Dr. Patton’s seminars. We were not only impressed by his passion and breadth of knowledge on pet nutrition but were equally impressed by Dr. Patton’s ability to take technical concepts about nutrition and explain them from a common sense perspective. Dr. Patton discusses the following topics; the essential ingredients for optimal nutrition, wet food versus dry food, the drawback, and benefits of raw and natural diets, the role of behavior in nutrition; both the pets and the owners, an insider’s view of the pet food industry, and the pet obesity epidemic. He also answers several questions from the audience.

I want to thank Vital Essentials (http://www.vitalessentialsraw.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/VitalEssentialsRaw/) for helping to make this seminar and video possible.

Recommended Resources

Articles on Don’s Blog (http://www.words-woofs-meows.com)

What do you feed your dog? – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/05/31/pet-nutrition-what-do-you-feed-your-dog/

Reflections on 20 Years as a Pet Care Professional – Changes in Pet Food and Nutrition – part 1 – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/11/23/reflections-on-20-years-as-a-pet-care-professional-changes-in-pet-food-and-nutrition-part-1/

Reflections on 20 Years as a Pet Care Professional – Pet Food and Nutrition – part 2 – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/12/15/reflections-on-20-years-as-a-pet-care-professional-pet-food-and-nutrition-part-2/

Book Review – Ruined by Excess, Perfected by Lack – The paradox of pet nutrition by Richard Patton – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/03/16/book-review-ruined-by-excess-perfected-by-lack-the-paradox-of-pet-nutrition-by-richard-patton/

Pet Nutrition –Vital Essentials® Pet Food – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/08/14/pet-nutrition-vital-essentials-pet-food/

Podcasts from The Woof Meow Show (http://www.woofmeowshow.com)

What do you feed your pets? – http://traffic.libsyn.com/woofmeowshow/WoofMeowShow2016-06-04-What_do_you_feed_your_pets.mp3

Podcast – Pet Nutrition with Dr. Richard Patton – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/04/03/podcast-pet-nutrition-with-dr-richard-patton/

Podcast – Raw Diets and the Carnivore Meat Company-Vital Essentials-Dee Ferranti and Jodi Langellotti – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/04/17/podcast-raw-diets-and-the-carnivore-meat-company-vital-essentials-dee-ferranti-and-jodi-langellotti/

Podcast – The Rationale for Feeding Pets Raw Foods with Bette Schubert from Bravo Pet Foods – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/08/03/podcast-the-rationale-for-feeding-pets-raw-foods-with-bette-schubert-from-bravo-pet-foods/

Podcast – Bravo’s Raw Pets Food, Treats, Chewables and Bones with Bette Shubert – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2013/08/10/podcast-bravos-raw-pets-food-treats-chewables-and-bones-with-bette-shubert/

Podcast – Feeding Your Pet A Raw Diet with Gary Bursell of Steve’s Real Food for Pets – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2013/03/16/podcast-feeding-your-pet-a-raw-diet-with-gary-bursell-of-steves-real-food-for-pets/

Podcast – Feeding Your Pet A Raw Diet with Nicole Lindsley of Steve’s Real Food for Pets – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2013/03/23/podcast-feeding-your-pet-a-raw-diet-with-nicole-lindsley-of-steves-real-food-for-pets/

Books

Ruined by Excess, Perfected by Lack – Dr. Richard Patton

Podcast – Listener Questions No. 24 with Dr. Dave Cloutier

Don, Kate and Dr. Dave Cloutier from the Veazie Veterinary Clinic answer listener questions submitted via The Woof Meow Show FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/WoofMeowShow/). Questions answered are: 1) Is it a good idea to shave down a dog or cat?, 2) Does one need to worry about sunburn if a pet is shaved down?, 3) When we shave an animal are there cases where there hair does not grow back?, 4) Where do you start when someone thinks they have a dog with food allergies?, and 5) Are seasonal allergies a big thing with dogs?s.

This is an abbreviated show due to the live broadcast of the Boston Red Sox game. Go Soxs!

You can hear The Woof Meow Show on The Pulse AM620, WZON, and WKIT HD3 at 12 Noon on Saturday. If you’re not near a radio, listen on your computer at http://www.wzonthepulse.com or your smartphone or tablet with the free WZON 620 AM app. A podcast of the show is typically posted immediately after the show, and can be downloaded at www.woofmeowshow.com and the Apple iTunes store.