Jenna & Snickers » nutrition and health

Taking The Work Out Of Feeding Healthy

jenna — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 06:32:50 +0000

It always surprises me when people offer to send me & Snick food, treats, books… all sorts of things that they want me to test out and write about. Most recently someone wanted me to do a "give away" of a new book on my blog. I haven’t read the book and don’t know the author, but apparently I was supposed to feel flattered that they wanted to use my blog to promote their book? So, needless to say, I say no a lot more often than I say yes, especially when they’re offering food or treats. Most of the products I’ve been asked to let Snickers and Secret taste test are full of ingredients that I wouldn’t DREAM of letting them eat. Recently though, I was pleasantly surprised by a food I was asked to review – Proportions.

According to the Proportions website, "The Proportions whole food meal contains balanced portions of Hearty Stew, Harvest Fruit and Vegetable Mix, and a reduced portion of the highest quality kibble. Even the pickiest dogs go wild for the flavor and the freshness. More importantly, you will be reducing your dog’s “carb footprint” by replacing a portion of their kibble with high quality human grade protein and fresh fruits and vegetables, helping him to live a happier, healthier life." I checked out their ingredients and was impressed.

I love the results of my current feeding program (Dr. Harvey’s Canine Health, brown rice, varied proteins and supplements) but cooking for my dogs every few days gets tiresome. (I’ve been doing it for over four years now.) This was the first time I’d seen a comparable food that would be easy to feed. It looked good enough for me to give it a try.

So, What Is It?

When you purchase Proportions, you complete a quick questionnaire about your dog – weight, activity level, age, etc. and they base the amount of food they send on your answers. (Hence the name, Proportions, I assume.) Each meal consists of three packets – stew, veggies, and kibble. The stew is a little too watery for my tastes, but the dogs didn’t seem to care. The best part about it, for me, was how easy it was. You just tear the packets open, dump, stir, and feed! I especially like how simple that would be when traveling. Traveling with my home cooked food involves measuring and freezing individual meals, keeping them in a cooler on the trip, and hoping for a fridge with a freezer compartment in my hotel rooms. Proportions is much easier!

Love At First Taste

The 10-day sample they sent was meant for weaning a dog from their current food and assumes the dog eats kibble, so I didn’t follow the plan that was included in the package. I jumped right from our regular food to the Proportions over about three meals and Snickers and Secret LOVED it. They more than loved it. The second time I pulled out the Proportions stew packet, they new exactly what it was and they went WILD. My dogs already eat great food and love their mealtime, so the fact that they loved this food so much says a lot about how it must taste.

Proportions.com

I can’t really tell the health benefits of a new food in 10 days, but after a few days of feeding Proportions, I was very interested in buying more to do a longer trial. I went to Proportions.com to figure out what it would cost for a month’s worth of food for both dogs. I never quite figured that out though, for several reasons. There isn’t really a way to set up profiles for individual dogs. You just go to the home page and run the “get started” wizard to answer the questions. You have to continue on like you’re going to place an order, before you can find out much information. It’s kind of a turn off and I hadn’t already seen how much my dogs like the food, I would have left the site before I learned anything. Also, the website wouldn’t give me proportions for Secret. It said that her “special needs” required a telephone consultation to figure out her custom meals. Her only “special needs” I can think of is that she’s 10 years old, but I had no interest in calling anyone on the phone, so I’m still not sure what the cost would be.

One thing I really liked about the site is that you can buy the food without the kibble. I already buy a very good kibble (Taste of the Wild, Salmon, at the moment) that I use for treats and occasionally sprinkle in their food. I like that I can get the Proportions stew and veggies and keep using my own kibble.

Postponed

About a week into the 10-day trial period, Snickers started having some serious allergy issues – scratching, chewing his feet, biting his legs, etc. This happened in the fall of 2008 when we lived in Indiana and the vet said it was environmental, the fall allergies of a city dog suddenly living in the country. Since that fall and this fall are the only time he’s ever suffered from allergies, I’m guessing this was environmental as well. I didn’t want to take any chances by having a new food in the mix though, so I switched him back to his regular food right away and started treating his allergies. I don’t think the Proportions had anything to do with it and I still intend to try a longer trial at another time.

The Short Version

Snickers and Secret love, LOVE, LOVED the stew. I think the idea of Proportions – individually packaged, high quality, meals – is fantastic. The website could use some user experience improvement, but the food is good and the individual packets make meal time simple, especially when traveling. I’m not sure how the cost compares to what I’m currently feeding, but I’m sure that it would be an increase in cost for anyone who currently feeds just kibble.

If you’ve been wishing you could feed your dog a fresh, healthy diet without all the "fuss and muss" of raw or home cooked food, Proportions could be what you’ve been waiting for.

One Question Interview with Dr. Harvey Cohen

jenna — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:42:34 +0000

Welcome to the second installment of the One Question Interview series. Today’s answer is from Dr. Harvey Cohen, nutritionist and dog lover.

Question: If you had the opportunity to communicate and teach one concept to all dog owners everywhere, what would it be and why?

Answer from Dr. Harvey Cohen

Feed fresh unadulterated food to your dog. Avoid preservatives, chemicals, dyes, coloring agents, salt and sugar.

Keeping your dog away from chemical additives is the most important thing you can do to achieve optimal wellness. This nutritional choice, to eliminate chemicals from the diet, is so important that it is second only to love, when it comes to what your dog needs most for health, happiness and longevity. I believe if I could communicate to guardians everywhere the inherent dangers of the chemicals found in most commercial foods, we would see a tremendous decline in many degenerative diseases in our beloved companion dogs.

About Dr. Harvey
Dr. Harvey Cohen known to most as Dr. Harvey is a pioneer in holistic nutrition and the natural feeding of companion animals. He has been a tireless advocate of natural living for people and animals and has dedicated his life to teaching others the healthiest way to care for their companions. Distressed by the growing numbers of animals afflicted with cancer, allergies, skin problems, kidney disease, digestive disorders and arthritis, Dr. Harvey determined that the root of most of these problems is commercial pet food.

Since that time, Dr. Harvey has created foods, treats and supplements for dogs, cats, birds and horses, that use only healthy, chemical-free, all natural and organic ingredients. He has helped thousands of companion animals to regain their health and thousands more to maintain optimal wellness.

For more about Dr. Harvey, visit drharveys.com.

Limited Preventatives and Vaccinations

jenna — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:01:20 +0000

An important part of responsible dog ownership is providing your dogs with preventative veterinary care and immediate attention to injuries and illnesses.

People often ask me what I mean when I say my dogs are on a limited vaccination protocol or I mention other limited medications. Basically, I try to give my dogs the least amount of prophylactic chemicals that I feel will still do the job. This does not mean that I am not responsible in the care of my pets. I have put a lot of thought, research and consideration into these decisions.

NOTE: I am not a vet or a medical professional of any type. This is my personal opinion. I’m writing about it because people have expressed interest in my choices and why/how I made them. You should talk to your vet before changing the dosage or frequency of anything you give your dog.

Vaccinations

Canine Distemper & Parvovirus
After his initial puppy shots, Snickers had a distemper/parvo vaccination at one year and hasn’t had one since then. I had him titered in February of this year and he showed sufficient levels of antibodies for distemper and parvo, which means he doesn’t need to be vaccinated. I adopted Secret two years ago and she had just been vaccinated. I had her titered last month and she has plenty of antibodies also. She’s eight years old now, so I actually hope to never give her a distemper or parvo vaccination again. (There is some controversy regarding the usefulness of titer results. My vets trust them and I trust my vets.)

Most vets use a combination vaccine. I prefer that my dogs receive the least number of diseases in the vaccine. The only diseases I’m OK with being included in my dogs’ Distemper and Parvovirus vaccination are Parainfluenza and Adenovirus.

Rabies
I follow the LAW regarding Rabies vaccinations. Luckily, NY and IN are both 3 year states, so that’s how often my pups get their Rabies shots.

Other
I do not have my dogs vaccinated for Bordetella, Corona virus, Leptospirosis, Lyme disease or Giardia. My vets (one in NYC, one in Noblesville, IN) are both fine with that.

Related Links

Heartworm Preventative

My Shibas get heartworm preventative (brand and dosage as recommended by my veterinarian) every six weeks, during spring, summer and fall. Once the first frost comes, I discontinue until spring. The only time I make an exception for this is when Snickers and I are actively doing animal assisted activity visits. When we were visiting elementary school classrooms, my vet recommended we continue hw preventative year round because it also protects against roundworms and hookworms. (Apparently, most roundworm victims are children.)

I’ve read multiple articles about 45 day schedules being acceptable, but I can’t find any of them right now that don’t require subscriptions. Talk to your vet. My vet in NY said that the meds recommend 1x per month because (1) it is easier for people to remember and (2) a monthly schedule is still safe if you forget and do it late.

Flea & Tick Preventative

When we were living in Manhattan, I didn’t use topical flea & tick preventative regularly. If I was taking the dogs outside the city, I would treat them with Frontline Plus a day or two before leaving (unless it was winter time and therefore unnecessary). Now that I’m living outside the concrete jungle, I follow a six week schedule for flea & tick preventative. I treat them the Sunday after their heartworm preventative is given.

If you live in an area where fleas and ticks live year round, you should continue preventatives year round also.

To Fix or Not to Fix, It Shouldn’t Be a Question

jenna — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:57:19 +0000

Recently, someone on a Shiba board asked for recommendations for a good vet to neuter their dog. One of the responses was "Why do you want to do that to your dog? If you are a responsible owner and control your dog, there is no reason."

Well… there are more than a few reasons why truly responsible owners have their companions spayed or neutered.

Even if “you are a responsible owner and control your dog” there is no guarantee that your dog will never be loose without permission (how many of us have had our Shiba slip or break their lead?). If you aren’t there to control your dog, you can’t be sure he won’t impregnate another dog (or get pregnant if she’s female).

Dogs that are not spayed/neutered are not welcome in as many social situations (like daycare and some dog parks) and therefore can’t be as well socialized and enjoy as many fun activities.

Unneutered males are attacked more often by other males – regardless of how well behaved the unneutered dog in question may be – because other dogs can smell the testosterone and it makes them more aggressive and defensive.

Unneutered males are more likely to develop prostate cancer. Unneutered males can develop testicular cancer. Unspayed females are more likely to develop breast cancer. The odds of all these things are pretty low, but why take the chance?

I will admit, I am absolutely pro-spay/neuter, although I am not a fan of early spay/neuter. (I waited until Snick was 14 months old to have him neutered because my personal conviction is that no hormone production should be altered until after the dog is physically mature.)

I have seen too much pain and suffering caused by the overpopulation of companion animals in this country – overpopulation caused by irresponsible owners, backyard breeders and puppy mills – to not be pro-spay/neuter. I don’t believe anyone should own intact dogs other than responsible, knowledgeable breeders who are breeding selectively to better the breed. I strongly encourage everyone who loves the breed in general and their dog in particular to have their dog spayed or neutered.