My clients are always asking questions about their pets’ teeth and how to keep them healthy. It’s an important issue that I want to address today. Dogs’ and cats’ teeth usually start life bright and white, then slowly turn yellowish brown with age. The reason is because daily use and tartar can turn them pastel [click to continue…]
When I first came up with the idea for my book, I thought I’d call it Dog Dish Blues because that’s exactly what so many of my patients (and my own dogs) have had from eating the wrong food. Dog Dish Blues is the perfect name for this syndrome, if you will: dry, itchy skin; red, goopy ears; upset stomach; all manner of bowel disorders; and much, much more. Any one of these ailments is most definitely cause for the blues…both for dog and owner.
By my own count, at least six of the Veterinary Pet Insurance Top 10 ailments as listed have a nutritional common denominator and may be caused by diet. Furthermore, I can tell you that in our own practice at Gilroy Veterinary Hospital fully one third of visits involve a Top 10 condition that can become chronic (meaning that the same symptoms come back several times after treatment).
I didn’t end up calling the book Dog Dish Blues because I wanted to focus on the benefits of nutritional treatment instead. And so, the book I wrote is called Dr. Greg’s Dog Dish Diet: Sensible Nutrition for Your Dog’s Health. Our success treating 100s of dogs is most encouraging. Our countdown to publication continues. Bone Appetit.
Cousin Strider's gone to pot! Yeah, what do you suppose he's eating these days?
One of my great concerns is that the foods we are feeding our dogs today are so far removed from the diet of both wolves and the early ancestors of our dogs. It’s not just the fact that animals in the wild survive on a natural diet of game, berries and whatever they can forage, it’s the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates that’s way off. In Dr. Greg’s Dog Dish Diet: Sensible Nutrition for Your Dog’s Health, I explain the difference between the typical commercial diet and the natural wolf diet…and what this should tell us about feeding our dogs. I use what I know as a vet (30 years in practice), a lifelong dog owner and as a student of wolves’ natural diet to suggest simple but important changes you can make in your own dog’s diet. I feel certain that NOT feeding our dogs’ inner wolf is the source of a lot of problems, ranging from dry, itchy skin and red, gooey ears to upset stomach and bowel disorders…and much more that I go into in the Dog Dish Diet. (By the way, these illustrations are by Caleb Laughlin and appear in the book.) Bone Appetit!
Sadie went everywhere with me...to the point that Lonna often referred to her as "the other woman."
Wow, this is getting fun. I once heard a writer say that he didn’t like his writing while he was doing it…but when it was done? Well, that was a different matter. I’m beginning to understand exactly what he meant. Writing and publishing a book is a big deal. There are many steps, registrations and bar codes that need to be in place, services to coordinate, and the list goes on. Fortunately I can leave most of the administrative effort to my publisher Riparian Press, a division of Knowledge Access Books.
My friends know that I’ve been working on Dr. Greg’s Dog Dish Diet: Sensible Nutrition for Your Dog’s Health for quite some time. Actually if you consider all the years I’ve been discovering and unraveling the all-important link between nutrition and a dog’s health, I’ve been working on this book for almost 30 years.
But now after writing the book, rewriting it, and enduring a couple rounds of edits, I’m beginning to see the book come together. And I’d like to share just one aspect of the book with you now…the illustrations. Dog Dish Diet is heavily illustrated. I think there must be close to 40 illustrations throughout the book, and as I look at them I see my pets and my life coming alive on the pages. It’s a very special experience.
I feel lucky that Dog Dish Diet features the original sketches, caricatures and drawings by Caleb Laughlin. Caleb is a talented artist; if you need an illustrator, let me give you a link to Caleb’s email. He has effectively captured my story, my dogs and my message. Bone Appetit!
Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of dog’s teeth. And one thing I’ve noticed is that dogs that eat less kibble and dog biscuits and more bones have cleaner teeth. I know what you’re thinking. I too used to believe that kibble was a good choice for feeding dogs. Now I actually think it stimulates the development of tartar.
I’ve created a video that will help you understand more about bones…how to feed them…which ones are best. I’ve made this because while I believe in the benefits of bones, I’m fully aware of the risks when done carelessly or incorrectly. For example, you need to be careful if your dog is a gulper because he could swallow the bone or chicken thigh whole and choke. Also avoid baked bones that are brittle and can splinter. Big beef femurs that have been baked are hard and have been known to break a dog’s tooth.
Even with all the things you need to be careful of, I believe that the right kinds of bones, given under supervision and in the right quantities are very beneficial. Please watch the video below for more on how to use chew bones safely. Tucker says, “Chew for healthier teeth and gums.”
I go into a lot more detail about bones in my new book Dr. Greg’s Dog Dish Diet: Sensible Nutrition for Your Dog’s Health, coming soon from Riparian Press. I’ll soon have a pre-order offer so you can buy this informative book right here on my site.