Food and Health Q&As

I just watched the spay and neuter video with Karen Becker. It answers some questions and raises more. After losing my rescue GSD, adopted at 7 months, spayed, to severe knee problems at age three, my new companion Rott/Shep cross spayed (another rescue) female is on DES for incontinence at age 2. But my son's Yorkie/Bishon rescue male (neutered by 3 months) and my previous Border Collie female (spayed at 6 months by me) both suffer(ed) from serious allergies--complete with hair loss an...

Would you recommend Honest Kitchen Preference + meat for a 10 month old German Shepherd weighing in at 80lbs? Would this be balanced for a growing puppy? Or is it best to feed one of their "balanced formulas" until he reaches full maturity? If so, is it OK to just add a variety of cooked meats with it and that is all? I would also supplement with fish oil/vitamin E, as usual. Thank you!

Hey Cindy, I have a little puppy for 2 months now. I am feeding kibble but i noticed that her breath is getting smellier and smellier each day. So, I've been reading the eBook of yours about feeding a raw diet and I feel like giving it a shot. I noticed that you recommend two books. Are they still up to date? Or should I be reading something else? I need to study a bit though, since I am studying food science and technology and know what the effects of microorganisms are and how bad they c...

Hello. My 12 year old Border Collie has been getting peri-anal tumors for the last two years. I don't know what to do to help him. He is slim, doesn't like to eat, very energetic, but tires sooner than before, alert when awake, but like his naps now that he is aging. What can you recommend? We tried Darwin's raw food, but he did not eat at all for days and he is underweight, so I gave him his cooked hamburger, chicken, plus kibble earthborn. I really need help please. Thanks.

Hi Cindy, My dog goes to doggie day camp on weeknights and I board her for overnight once a month as well as when I go on vacation since flying is stressful for her. Could you please advise me as to the best way to prepare her Honest Kitchen Embark for camp & boarding. When I go on vacation, it usually lasts up to 2 weeks. I am just afraid that the pre-mixing may not be done properly by the camp/boarding staff. Thank you very much.

Hi Cindy, I hope things are well with you. We are getting on great training our two dogs but we have a problem with our golden retriever who is now nearly three years old. She gulps down her food (we give her Hills JD nuts/kibble). We feed her twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. To try and slow her down eating, we have put a large smooth stone in the middle of her bowl and the nuts around it, this slowed her down a little at the start but she has gone back to her old ways and g...

Hi Cindy, My 6 month old female GSD has been diagnosed with CHD. The x-rays have been confirmed by another vet as being good, reliable x-rays, and he also says that our dog's hips are "poor" and will need surgery. One vet wants to do Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO) and the other vet wants to do a FHO? Femoral Head Ostectomy. Do you have experience or knowledge about these two procedures? Both break my heart to think about them. The FHO seems to be less traumatic and have a quicker reco...

Hi. I have a 10 month old BOERBOEL. I feed him premium dog food but he looks skinny around the hip. I am thinking of the raw diet but, will this change his moods and get aggressive? I have a 3 year old boy that plays with him. If my boy falls and bleeds, will this attract the dog to his wound?

My question concerns Honest Kitchen Preference - what is your opinion on alfalfa? Preference seems to contain alot of alfalfa and I have heard good things and bad things about alfalfa use in dogs. Is the high amount of alfalfa that is in Preference ok to feed on a daily basis? Thank you!

I was just curious about GSD hips and bones. What age is it acceptable to allow your GSD to jog with you? Engage in jumping outside of what he would normally? Lastly, does tie out work effect your puppy's joints? Mine is currently 8 months.

My 5 year old GSD had a seizure a month ago and was fine but had 3 today. I called our breeder who feels this in environmental since he has never had one before. We are remodeling our bedroom there is drywall dust, old paint. It has been quite a long process since our house is so old. The men working here today were doing some demo and kicked up a lot of old dust from our walls. Could this be the problem? They only lasted about a minute each one and he snapped out of it and was fine. They hap...

We got a black lab/spaniel mix 10 wks old, although the vet thinks lab/beagle. Puppy biting was pretty extreme. I had bite marks for 3 months--put him in crate for time out when it was really bad. I know puppies bite but he actually went upside down on the floor & snarled. It stopped after 3 mos. Had him spayed at 7 mo. Amazingly intelligent-learns in 1 or 2 sessions, knows 30 different things including picking up toys by name. Follows me everywhere, NEVER away-which I love. 10 mos old now. V...

I recently purchased a box of The Honest Kitchen Preference dog food from Leerburg. How much raw vs. cooked meat measured by weight should I add to 1 cup of Preference (is there enough difference to matter)? Also, would the calcium/phosphorus ratios be balanced if I don't add any raw bone, such as ground turkey or chicken necks and backs, to my dog's diet? Thanks!

Hello, I am having trouble figuring out which honest kitchen product would be best for a pregnant/lactating bitch. Right now we feed pure raw, but would like to add in honest kitchen to up the carbohydrate content. Thanks in advance.

Hi Ed, Our eight month old Doberman was suffering with pano. We were pretty sure it was pano due to reading up on it, but were willing for vets to do x-rays to make sure there was nothing broke or fractured. The x-ray confirmed our suspicions and we were given pain relief for her. It was sad to watch our beautiful loving puppy suffer so much. So on searching for more info on pano, came across your page. We followed your advice about stopping the puppy food and the MSM, etc. and we have no...

My 1 1/2 year old Golden suffered from bad GI issues as a pup. Ended up having surgery at nine months: vet called from OR and said it's mesenteric torsion. Basically asking if I wanted to stop the surgery and put the pup down. I decided to finish the surgery and see what happened. Vet removed an estimated 30% of the small intestine. Miraculously the dog recovered and is thriving with no apparent side affects, except the dog has terrible intermittent gas. I had him on Pro Plan salmon and o...

I have an eight week old male brussels and have noticed orange seed like items in his bedding every morning for the past 4 days. He has been wormed at 3 weeks and I haven't noticed him with any since but these "seeds" are very perplexing. What are they?

I am an x-ray tech and my dog is an 11 year old pit/hound which is missing her back left leg since age 1. She fell from a walking position and has not been able to walk since for the last 36 hours. I want to take her to the x-ray school I attended and take hip views. My question is, is there any special positioning to concider for her as she only has the one leg. The left leg is amputated flush with the under belly. Any help would b greatly apprieciated.

Hi, I have a 5 1/2 month old Great Prynees, Maremma cross Rottie, Australian Shepard Female puppy that I had asked my vet about being spayed and at what age. He said 6 months was typical and asked if I wanted to do the Gastropexy at the same time. I am having problems finding anyone that has had this surgery done on such a young dog. I am wondering if they are suggesting it as she is my first dog or if they believe she is at such a high risk of bloat? When I look at the individual breeds,...

Hey Cindy, You were very helpful with me previously in the past with my boxers aggression issue. She just had 2 mass cell tumors removed that were cancer. She now has 20 staples in her back as well as stitches above her rear leg. She loves to play as all dogs do. We have historically played with her in the morning, afternoon and night. The stitches and staples will not be removed for another 2 weeks. The vet said to keep her calm, no jumping etc. Any advise on how to keep a dogs energy lev...