Re: Canines/Grains

[Guest guest]

Just passing this along. I'm no expert bear in mind.

Pam

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http://members.aol.com/addieloo/grainarticle.html

Feeding Grain to Dogs?

Should we feed our dogs grains?

An interesting question. I began my search for answers when I came

across an article questioning the feeding of grains. Until this

point, it had not occurred to me that my dog could thrive without

grains. As a matter of fact I was convinced they were necessary.

After all, it is a major ingredient in most pet foods and treats. My

young German Shepherd had been suffering with severe ear and skin

problems. Due to judicious cleaning they were never infected but

were always on the verge. We tried every solution we could find,

both allopathic and natural. Nothing worked. Ear washes and

medications of all sorts only lasted a short time. His problem was

severe and he lost the hair on his ears and muzzle. His ears bled

and he kept me awake at night moaning from the pain. I did not give

up in my quest to help him. I found a reprint of an article written

by Swift, D.V.M. that questioned the feeding of grains.

Since he was recommending grain free diets as an option when the

usual protocols did not work, I decided it was worth a try. After

seeing the results in my own dog and hearing stories from others I

decided to gather information to help others who are struggling with

unsolvable problems.

Why might grains be bad for my dog?

While many natural feeding proponents include grains such as oatmeal

and rice in their diets, others do not. Why wouldn't they?

The most basic reason would be that dogs have no nutritional need

for grains or the carbohydrates they provide. In the 1985 revised

edition of the Nutrient Requirements for Dogs, (page 7) studies

confirm that growing dogs who were fed a carbohydrate free

diet " maintained normal plasma glucose concentrations and normal

rates of glucose utilization " . The results of the research agree

with previous research on growing rats and chickens that they " do

not appear to have a dietary requirement for carbohydrates provided

adequate dietary glucose precursors are available in the form of

glucogenic amino acids and glycerol " . The other nutrients that

grains provide are found in other (some more easily digestible) food

sources such as organ meats, bones and vegetables.

Another factor that Swift, D.V.M. suggests is that grains

inhibit the immune system. Grain proteins are less digestible than

animal proteins. He feels the presence of these " foreign, non-

nutritive protein and carbohydrate particles " may lead to allergies

and immune system problems.

Dogs do not contain the digestive enzyme in their saliva, amylase,

needed to begin the digestion of grains. Chewing, another factor in

grain digestion, is not something canines are designed to do. Rather

they catch, tear, crunch then swallow their foods in an instinctive

way. Digestion occurs in the stomach and the small intestine. It

does not begin in the mouth as it does in humans. Depending on the

dog, two or three chomps may be all they give, while others might

savor their food a little more. Grains are most thoroughly digested

in animals with long digestive tracts. Compared to animals who

regularly eat plant matter, a dog's digestive tract is about one

third of the size. In order to even begin to be digested grain must

be either cooked, soaked, fermented or sprouted. Undigested or the

poorly digested portion of grains is expelled in the form of large,

semi-soft stool. Some cheap grain-based commercial foods will

produce almost as much stool volume as food fed, leaving one to

wonder what quantity of nutrients have been absorbed from this food?

Grains, which are gluelike and break down into sugars, are likely to

be a contributing factor in the formation of dental calculus and

periodontal disease. Dogs who are fed a diet of kibble that includes

large amounts of grains (and does not provide the cleaning action

that raw meaty bones have) suffer from periodontal disease, tartar

build up and bad breath. Anecdotal evidence suggests that dogs who

eat a grain free diet are relatively free of the periodontal disease

that plagues many of our kibble eating pets.

Author and nutritionist Kymythy Schultze points out that " grains

break down into sugar within the body and can supply nourishment for

yeast overgrowth " . She lists the problems that may be associated

with grains as: " allergies, ear infections, skin problems, bloating,

joint problems, malabsorption, and digestive disorders " .

Pat McKay in " Reigning Cats and Dogs " discusses Candida Albicans or

chronic yeast infections, describing the symptoms of this serious

condition as: " excessive scratching, licking, chronic eye and/or ear

infections, rashes, hot spots, colitis, chronic cough, vaginitis,

kidney and bladder infections, arthritis, hypothyroidism, and even

diabetes " .

In lecture notes from a seminar given by Dr. Ian Billinghurst B.V.Sc.

[Hons], B.Sc.Agr., Dip.Ed., he points out that Hip Displaysia was

unknown before 1935 when cooked grains and artificial calcium were

introduced. By this I am assuming he means the introduction of

processed and prepackaged pet foods as opposed to feeding whole

grains as a part of a home prepared diet. He feels there is a

genetic disposition to hip displaysia but there is also a huge

environmental impact. In his book, Give Your Dog a Bone, Dr.

Billinghurst writes: " Dogs that eat grains as the major part of

their diet suffer premature ageing and the early development of

degenerative diseases, such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and

other pancreatic problems. Many skin problems, allergic problems and

arthritic problems respond to the withdrawl of grains from a dog's

diet " . He also points out " Unfortunately, rice, the most popular of

the grains that people feed to their dogs, is the one with the

lowest levels of protein, and possibly the poorest quality protein " .

Dr. Billinghurst believes that most allergies are developed due to

feeding young puppies unsuitable foods, setting it up for an allergy

later in life.

Whole grains and other seeds have phytic acid in their shells.

Phytic acid binds to minerals like calcium preventing absorbption by

the body. In the 1930's a study found that dogs bacame ill with

rickets when they were fed a diet of oatmeal. Phytates prevent

mineral absorption in both dogs and humans. Techniques such as

soaking and fermenting reduce the amounts of phytic acid in grains

by utilizing the natural enzymes found in grains, phytases.

Unfortunately, phytases, like many enzymes are fragile and destroyed

by commercial processing. Another factor that inhibits nutrient

absorption is the lack of the amino acid lysine. Lysine is the amino

acid that ensures calcium absorption and distribution in the body.

The lack of lysine in combination with phytates makes minerals such

as calcium, zinc, selenium and chromium less or unavailable to your

dog on a diet that is high in whole grains.

Does my dog ever need carbohydrates?

Unless you are breeding your bitch, there is no reason to concern

yourself with carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates do come from other

sources besides grains and in a balanced diet your dog will be

eating them. Carbohydrates are present in vegetables and dairy

products. If you have removed grains to cure a health problem in

your bitch, you may want to strongly consider whether this bitch is

genetically the best prospect for breeding. Research the health

problem and it's likeliness to be inherited.

Where would a dog on a carbohydrate free diet find the energy to

survive?

In humans, although most of us eat too many, carbohydrates are a

source of energy. While carbohydrates provide energy for dogs, they

have no biological requirement for them and easily get their energy

from fats and protein. Again from the book Nutrient Requirements for

Dogs (page 2), " gross energy values for mixed carbohydrates, fat and

protein average 4.15, 9.40 and 5.65 kcal/g, respectively. However,

not all gross energy contained in food is available for metabolism.

An undigested fraction is excreted in the feces. The difference

between the gross energy consumed and the gross energy in the feces

is referred to as apparent digestible energy (DE) " . The energy

excreted in urine is subtracted from the DE in order to determine

the metabolizable energy or ME. Reasonable estimates of the ME

available to dogs from protein, fat and carbohydrates are 3.50, 8.46

and 3.50 respectively. When you consider the biologically superior

ability of the dog to digest animal protein and fat, carbohydrates

take a much less important if not negligible role. Fats and even

protein provide the energy for a dog's bodily functions.

A well balanced diet that includes a variety of vegetable matter

will provide carbohydrates so it is most unlikely that your pet

would ever be " carbohydrate free " .

Why are grains fed to dogs?

The most common reason for feeding grains is cost. Grains are

cheaper than meats, particularly the " leftovers " from processing for

human consumption. Even respected author Dr Pitcairn, D.V.M.

writes in his book, Natural Health for Dogs and Cats: " Whole grains

are a very cost-effective and environmentally sensitive way to

provide the mainstay of your pet's diet... " " ...they are inexpensive

sources of protein as well " . Dr Pitcairn even goes on to include a

chart which lists food ingredients by their approximate cost per

gram of protein. Cost is the determining factor for pet food

manufacturers who often produce foods with higher than 50 percent

grain.

Grains are also needed to create " kibble " . Trying to make " kibble "

without grains would be like trying to make chocolate chip cookies

without flour. There are kibbled foods available that use potato

rather than grains but they are not widely available.

Another argument for feeding grains is that dogs, who are directly

descended from wolves, would find pre-digested grains in the

stomachs of their natural prey. To be honest, this is an argument

that had convinced me that grains were essential until I learned a

little bit more about prey diets and the animals that eat them. It

turns out that grains are not naturally abundant. Wolves, the

closest relative to almost all of our pet dog breeds, subsist mainly

on large game such as deer, moose, caribou, elk, bison, and muskox.

Researchers studying wolves in northern Alberta concluded that bison

provided 80 percent of the wolf's diet in summer and more in the

winter. The prey animals of wolves may eat some naturally occurring

grain in the wild but naturally occuring grains ripen and drop

quickly to seed. They would be available as a food source for only a

few days or weeks in each year. There's just not that much there to

eat.

The most common source of grain in prey animals diets is found in

those animals that live near human cultivation. Given the

opportunity, animals such as white-tailed deer would choose to

consume as much as 50 percent human grown grain crops as naturally

occurring foods. The reason is for this is simple. It's easy food!

The grains we grow bear little relation to grains found in the wild.

We have developed, through selective hybridization over the past

10,000 years, strong, high yielding, genetically uniform crops that

you just would not find in a natural setting. Deer, as an example,

without the benefit of human cultivation, feed on leaves, twigs,

buds of trees and shrubs, hard and soft fruits, vines, forbs,

lichens, mushrooms, and some grassses. The most likely diet of prey

animals would include vegetation such as: grasses, seeds, nuts,

berries, bark, roots, buds, twigs and leaves.

Now that we can think about the stomach contents being rather low in

grain in most animals, it's time to move to the next step: killing

and eating. When wolves hunt in a pack, the wolf or wolves who eat

the organ meats depend on two things: pack order and personal

preference. Wolves, like humans (and dogs), are individuals. Some do

not have the opportunity to eat the organs and others may choose not

to. I describe this prey model only because it was the strongest

argument that I had heard to continue feeding grains to my dog.

Unfortunately, it is not backed up by fact.

My dog eats grains and is doing just fine!

Great! Your dog may be genetically capable of handling the grains.

Keep in mind that dogs are individuals. Also keep in mind that dogs

can survive on very poor diets. Dogs have lived for a half a century

now on questionable commercial concoctions based on the best guess

at their minimum nutritional requirements. Dogs are strong, they

have to be to be carnivores.

My dog needs grains to maintain his coat!

As far as I can tell, the most noticable change that dogs may show

when switching to a grain free diet is a coat change. " Show coats "

that are thick and full all year round can be diminished

dramatically, especially in the first year of the change. It has

been my experience that the coat returns in a more natural state

which is different for each dog depending on it's breed. If a dog

appears to be suffering unduly on a grain-free diet, and there is no

health reason not to feed grains, by all means go ahead and feed

them. Consider, though, the quantity and the quality as well as the

overall diet of your dog. The best way to feed grains is sprouted

(raw) and in small quantities. Also take into consideration your

reason for feeding grains, is it a true health concern or merely an

appearance change?

GrainFreePets

I began researching this subject after seeing my dog suffer. I

wanted to find the root of his problem and not just treat the

symptoms. Since I have done this research (which is ongoing as I am

passionate about health and nutrition for my pets) I have reduced

the amount of grain I feed to my other dogs as well. As a proponent

of food variety for human health as well as my canine companions I

have not eliminated grain " snacks " for my dogs who can eat them.

They even gets the odd bowl of soaked whole oatmeal once in a blue

moon. But, the amount they eat now is dramatically less than what

they were raised on with both commercial and natural diets.

I urge you to continue researching for yourself. It is not my

intention to tell you how to feed your dogs, but rather to help

anyone who is reasearching diet consider another avenue to persue

for the overall health of your dogs.

Cosby & Otto vom Wolfratshausen

A Grain Free Diet for dogs and cats:

Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats, The Ultimate Diet by: Kymythy

Schultze, C.C.N., A.H.I.

copyright 2000, 2001 all rights reserved. This article may not be

reprinted in any part without expressed permission of the author.

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> True, but many times you see dogs eating grasses, etc... heck I've

even seen coyote droppings with grass and seeds in it.

> Suzi