Newsletter - February 2007

Happy Birthday, Cassie! It’s hard to believe that she’s ten years old. In Cavalier years, this is a milestone. More than that, the doom and gloom predications of her requiring medication for a lifetime due to colitis were, perhaps, overly guarded. Cassie thrives on her home-made diet and hasn’t needed medication in too many years to count. True, Cassie’s heart has gone the way of most members of her breed. She’s sporting a grade six murmur due to mitral valve disease, but her demeanor and joy of life can’t be graded as easily. This girl is inspirational and Tori thinks so, too.

Tori is in her first season. If she didn’t already love Cassie, she certainly does at the moment. Cassie, being the patient soul that she is, has put up with Tori following her every step and trying to mount her. I told Cassie that my birthday gift to her would be to find a way of getting Tori to love her a little less. So, if anyone has a date (dinner and dancing not required) in mind, Cassie would be most appreciative.

What’s New at monicasegal.com

Booklet Update: Cooked Diet Recipes (Second Edition)

The original diet plans in this booklet have been updated to meet the new 2006 National Research Council recommended allowances. In addition, all diets include a breakdown of kilocalories by percentage of protein, carbohydrates and fat. Consider this booklet if you want to keep your dog’s diet up to the latest, improved standards.

Reminder: Formulated diets can provide a balanced ‘menu’ that includes a ‘variety over time’ approach. Our diets are guided by NRC rather than AAFCO. NRC is an independent body, unrelated to AAFCO, or pet food manufacturers.

New Supplement: Di-Calcium Phosphate

Di-Calcium phosphate provides calcium and phosphorus. I use it in some puppy diets and for many dogs with food allergies and intolerances because it is considered to be hypoallergenic (no protein to react to). The biggest problem with di-calcium phosphate has been an inconsistent amount of both minerals. That is, the label claim states that a mineral can be anywhere between this and that percentage. Obviously, this presents a problem when formulating a diet because I’m not one to guess about what a product actually contains. The second problem is that current stock of a popular brand is running low and the product is being discontinued. So began my search for a product that would be good enough to put my name on. It has taken almost two years and many laboratory tests to find it. I’m proud to say that we now have a very high quality, very consistent di-calcium phosphate to offer. The lab reports shows that even after testing three different batches, consistency in calcium and phosphorus deviates by less than 1%. I am so convinced that this product is top-notch that Tori consumes it daily.

Diet of the Month Revised GARD Diet

I have revised the GARD diet, with Dr. Jean Dodd’s approval, to meet new NRC 2006 recommended allowances. Note that this diet is written as a one-week plan while the original was a daily diet. This change will, hopefully, allow you to see at a glance, how much food to prepare, so you can freeze portions for future use. The amount of protein remains the same. The diet provides more than 200% of the 2006 recommended daily allowance. Also, fish is one of the best-rated foods on the biological scale.

To clarify this diet, note that it has always been positioned to provide dogs with seizure disorders a source of branch chain amino acids and extremely low amounts of glutamate-aspartate. Since these dogs take medication(s) that can be hard on the liver, the diet is liver-friendly. However, it is not “just’ a liver-friendly diet. It serves a greater role, thus it restricts some foods. GARD has also been successfully fed to dogs that do not have seizures.

Per Week

42 oz cod, baked

35 oz potato

42 oz sweet potato

21 oz zucchini

42 oz green beans

2 capsules, vitamin E 200 IU

25 mg vitamin B compound

250 mg Ester-C

1 1/2 eggshells

7 tsp. canola oil (not to be used for dogs that have seizures)

40 mg zinc citrate or gluconate

1 1/4 tsp di-calcium phosphate

3 capsules, Multimineral Complex

This diet should support the weight of a 25-30-pound dog. It provides 678 kilocalories that break down as 32% from protein, 57% from carbohydrates and 11% from fat. - Protein: 49 grams - Carbohydrates: 85 grams - Fat: 7.5 grams

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Monica

“They say the dog is man's best friend. I don't believe that. How many of your friends have you neutered.’ -- Larry Reeb