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 Building a Good Foundation . . . Naturally
by Kymythy Schultze, Animal Health Instructor

There are many ways in which Nature can assist in one of the most natural processes; the miracle of birth. Before you breed your dog, she should be in excellent health and condition. Holistic health care works with nature and your pet's body to keep her in optimal health and an asset to your breeding program.

The foundation of health is diet. Food is second only to air in what your dog takes into its body most often. Food provides the energy for life. Good food provides lots of energy, poor food does not. Your domestic carnivore's body was shaped over eons of evolution to thrive on particular foods. The closer you can simulate the diet that your dog's body is designed to eat, the healthier your dog will be. The canine's short digestive system is equipped to thrive on raw food. Cooking damages many elements in food that are vital to good health. A balanced diet of raw meat, bones, vegetables, herbs, and oils provides an excellent nutrient profile. Balancing proportions of ingredients is made easier if one thinks in terms of "prey animal" proportions. What would one find in a mouse, bird or rabbit? A large part of any wild meal is raw bones...lots of them. There would also be some muscle and organ meat, hide/hair/fur/feathers, and stomach contents. The stomach contents would include grasses, plants, seeds, nuts, bark and/or fruit - no grains. "Pottenger's Cats: A Study in Nutrition" by Dr. Francis Pottenger should be required reading for anyone feeding animals, especially breeders.* The study demonstrates the health benefits of a raw food diet and follows a breeding program of several generations. The difference in health between the animals fed raw food and those fed cooked food is shocking. The raw food cats thrived generation after generation, with no reproductive problems. With the cooked food, cats had many health problems and were unable to reproduce by the third generation.

ALL nutrients are important for pregnancy and whelping: protein, vitamins, minerals, fats, enzymes. They can all be obtained from raw food. Abundant raw meat, fish and eggs provide good protein. Raw chicken or turkey backs, necks and wings provide important calcium. Cod-liver oil and flaxseed oil provide essential fatty acids. Raw pulpy green and root vegetables provide enzymes, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. A good quality powdered kelp is nutrient dense and can be added to meals daily as a vitamin/mineral supplement. Kelp also helps balance the glands, especially thyroid. Thyroid problems often lead to reproductive problems. Red raspberry leaf has been used for centuries as a fertility aid and pregnancy tonic. There are also homeopathic remedies that are very useful for pregnancy, whelping, and rearing puppies.**

A pregnant dog that is eating a nutritious raw diet will usually eat just slightly more than usual. After the pups are born, she'll consume more to keep everyone fed. Feeding her more raw poultry meaty bones will provide a wide array of nutrients and make almost instant milk for the pups. In the wild, at weaning time, Momdog would feed her youngsters the same things she ate; only in regurgitated semi-liquid form. Human care-givers can follow her lead by making adult meals mushy for weaning pups. Raw chicken necks can be put through a meat grinder. Raw knuckle bones (devoid of fat) in the whelping box can provide added nutrition, chewing practice and hours of entertainment. Adding buffered vitamin C to the pups' meal helps them build a strong immune system. As pups grow and develop, raw chicken necks can be just smashed and then eventually left whole. If feeding large pups, one can graduate to feeding larger chicken meaty bones as the pups grow.

My experience has shown me that pups raised this way are exceptionally strong and healthy. They have a high resistance to parasites and disease. Their bone is straight and of good substance and their teeth are pearl-white. They are bright and learn very quickly (I attribute this to feeling good!). Even my puppy families notice the difference!

Kymythy Schultze is an Animal Health Instructor, certified with the state of California, and teaches Holistic Care for Dogs and Cats at a local college. She is a published writer and promotes holistic care for pets through lectures and seminars worldwide. For lecture information, e-mail affenbar@adnc.com.

Kymythy has raised Newfoundland dogs for twenty years. Her dogs have championships, obedience, good citizen, draft and water rescue titles.

*Available from the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, P.O.Box 2614, La Mesa, CA 91943-2614. 1-800-FOODS-4-U. Video of study also available.

**Contact Academy for Veterinary Homeopathy (503) 342-7665 for homeopathic veterinarian.

THE PRIMARY FEEDING RULE:  REMOVE FOOD BETWEEN MEALS

One of the important contributing factors to ill health for dogs and cats is food left in the bowl between feedings.  Digestion has one of the highest priorities in the body, and while it is taking place, the blood supply and the body's energies are devoted to this task.  Animals in the wild may eat only once a day or even every other day and then fast until the next meal.  This gives their bodies a chance to eliminate waste from their cells and to repair and heal tissues.

Studies show that it is the smell of food that triggers the body to prepare for digestion.  Enzymes are produced, saliva and digestive juices start flowing, blood flow is redirected to the stomach, and the body slows down
to accommodate the expected nourishment.  If an animal is constantly smelling food from the food bowl, this digestive mechanism will tend to wear out.  It is thought that cats and dogs age faster because of the resultant undersupply of blood to the major organ systems.

Another effect of food left between meals in an increased tendency toward F.U.S. (Feline Urologic Syndrome) in cats.  Every time a cat smells food, it creates an "alkaline tide" in its body as it prepares for digestion.  It is this alkaline condition in the urinary tract that causes the crystals to form that block the cat's urethra.  Cats who get F.U.S. frequently come from homes where food was made available all day long.

We recommend that you feed fully grown pets once or twice a day.  Leave the food down no more than 15-20 minutes, then pick it up and either refrigerate what is left or wash the bowl to remove all traces of food odor. Another benefit --- no finicky eaters.

This is terrific information, c/o holistic vet John Fudens, DVM, HMC