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Choosing A Protein Source for Your Dog’s Diet

November 21, 2016 By Bridgett Higginbotham Leave a Comment

by Linda Montgomery DVM

Whether you prepare your dog’s food yourself or purchase a commercial raw or kibble diet, your choice of a protein source is very important. Considerations include whether the meat is organically raised or not, any allergy issues your dog might have and whether it is meat or meat “meal”. Another, less commonly considered, aspect of choosing a meat source for your dog, is choosing one based on his or her constitution and/or current TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine) pattern.

The focus of today’s newsletter is feeding according to your dog’s TCVM pattern. While many dogs are in balance, patterns of imbalance are present in most disease conditions. Keeping your dog in balance is important in preventing and helping treat common disease conditions such as arthritis and skin problems.

Dogs who are Yang deficient or bothered by cold, damp weather benefit from warm meats. Examples of warm protein sources include chicken, pheasant, beef kidney, chicken liver.

For dogs who are Yin deficient or bothered by heat, cool protein sources should be used. These include duck, rabbit, turkey and white fish.

Dogs who are Qi deficient are generally weak and can have a Yin or Yang deficiency in addition to a Qi deficiency. Qi tonic foods include beef, chicken and rabbit.

Blood deficiency is not the same as being anemic. Blood deficient dogs have dry skin, and brittle hair and nails. Beef, liver and heart are all blood tonic meats.

For dogs who are in balance, neutral foods are recommended to help keep them that way. Neutral protein sources include beef, beef liver, eggs, pork and tripe.

Some protein sources are very hot or very cold, and should only be used for short amounts of time or avoided completely. Lamb, venison and trout are hot, whereas crab and clam are cold. This is important because many commercial dog foods are lamb based and should be not be fed long term.

Commercial kibbles are highly processed and impart heat, which can be a problem for dogs with Yin deficiency or other heat related conditions. Home cooked diets or commercial raw diets such as Honest Kitchen are preferred over kibble for most dogs.

Filed Under: Nutrition for your Breeding Dog

Your hormones and your dog

June 11, 2015 By Bridgett Higginbotham Leave a Comment

How Your Hormone Replacement Therapy Can Affect Your Breeding Animals
By Linda Montgomery DVM, PhD
Many women over 40 are on hormone replacement therapy. Sometimes doctors prescribe oral hormones, sometimes sublingual hormones, and sometimes topical, or transdermal, hormones. The only one you need to worry about with your breeding animals are the transdermal hormones.
Transdermal hormone preparations are made specifically to penetrate the skin and elevate blood levels of hormones. These hormone preparations are very good at penetrating skin: not just yours, but any skin they come in contact with. That means your family members and your animals are all at risk for absorbing these hormones, which can cause adverse effects.
Women usually rub their transdermal hormone preparations in with their hands. Therefore the hormones are not only on the body part you rubbed them into but also on your hands. In addition, they rub off on any clothing, towel, or sheet you come into contact with. If you then touch your dog, or your clothing or sheets touch your dog, your hormones can then absorb through your dog’s skin.
Most female hormone preparations contain estrogen. If a breeding animal, whether dog or bitch, comes into contact with this estrogen, adverse effects can occur. Dogs can experience a decline in sperm count, and bitches can experience difficulty coming into season or maintaining pregnancy.
If you and your doctor determine that transdermal hormones are the only and best way for you to receive your hormone therapy, there are things you can to do protect your family and your dogs. After you apply your hormone cream, wash your hands and dry them with a paper towel, not a bath towel. That way if any residual hormones are left on your hands they are not deposited on a community towel. Also, put clothing on to cover the area where you applied your hormones. That way they are less likely to be spread to others. If you sleep with family members or your dogs, remember that hormones also transfer to sheets, so wear clothing to sleep in to keep the hormones from rubbing off on the sheets.
If at all possible, the best solution is to use oral or sublingual hormone preparations. This greatly minimizes the risk to the rest of your family or your dogs. Also, don’t stop using your hormones just to protect your dogs. Clients have done this and it can have an adverse effect on your own health. Always follow your doctor’s instructions, and discuss these concerns with him or her to find the best solution for your health and for the health of your family members and breeding animals.

Filed Under: Caution with your breeding dog

The 5 elements. What type is YOUR dog?

May 31, 2015 By Bridgett Higginbotham Leave a Comment

Diet Recommendations Based on TCVM Personality Type
Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) uses a system of classification called the 5 elements. The 5 elements apply to personality, disease predisposition patterns, and dietary considerations. This article will help you understand the primary elemental personality type of you dog, and feed accordingly.
The 5 elements are: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

WOOD TYPE
Personal Characteristics:
Dominant behavior or attitude
Quick, fast movements
Enjoys or skilled with running or moving
Impatient
Easily becomes angry or loses temper
Alert and responds quickly to stimuli
Good at adapting to changing conditions
Quickly forms ideas then changes mind
Narrow minded or intolerant to different ideas
Physical Characteristics:
Thin body, either tall or short
Big eyes
Performance is good but variable
Tendons are strong and healthy
Runs like the wind. Quick and nimble movement
Disease Predispositions:
Stroke
Allergy
Depression
Neurosis
TCVM Health Recommendations:
Wood types have limited tolerance for depression. Even a small amount of stress or depression will strain the Liver (the organ of the Wood element) function. Thus, foods that have harmonizing or regulating properties are very important to Liver function. The recommended foods include chicken liver, pork liver, green vegetables (mustard greens, spinach, cabbage), carrots and citrus fruits.

FIRE TYPE
Personal Characteristics:
Easily excited

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Nutrition for your Breeding Dog

Optimizing Semen Quality in the Dog

April 28, 2015 By Bridgett Higginbotham Leave a Comment

May 2015

Optimizing Semen Quality in the Dog

by Linda Montgomery DVM, PhD

Semen quality is a constant concern for dog owners.  Your dog may have achieved show or performance goals, at which time it is appropriate to collect and freeze his semen for future litters of champions.  Unfortunately many factors can adversely affect semen quality in the dog, including age, infections, diet, medications, environmental factors, and unrelated health conditions.

Most dogs experience a decline in sperm production with age.  We many times get a 10 or 12 year old dog whose owner wants to have collected and frozen.  Sometimes they still have sufficient numbers of sperm for this purpose, and sometimes they do not. What we recommend to dog owners is to collect and freeze their dogs when they are young.  Although this is an extra inconvenience and expense, it ensures that your dog’s legacy will be preserved.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Stud Dog Management

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by Linda Montgomery DVM Whether you prepare your dog’s food yourself or purchase a commercial raw or kibble diet, your choice of a protein source is very important. … Read More...

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