Chapter 22

 

Feeding Your Dog For a Healthy Old Age

The modern dog like the modern dog’s owner has fallen prey to the whole range of degenerative diseases.  The number one killer of the older dog is cancer.  This is followed by kidney disease and heart disease.  Many older dogs suffer from arthritis, skin problems and bowel problems such as Pancreatitis.  The very common disease in the modern human animal, Diabetes is also common in the older dog.

 

Many Older Dogs no Longer have Dental Problems.

They no longer have teeth!  This is usually a legacy of modern processed foods.

 

Most Disease in the Older Dog –

Is a direct consequence of

 

A Lifetime of Poor Nutrition.

In particular, the absence of bones and the presence of cooked and processed foods.

• It has been my experience watching many thousands of dogs over the years that a dog fed modern rather than primitive food will die much earlier than it should.  It will do so slowly and in many instances, with great distress.  In the meantime it will have caused it’s owner much expense in vet bills and heartache.

This chapter is about promoting the health of the older dog.  It is about feeding the older dog to minimise disease, particularly the degenerative diseases.  Diseases that in many people’s minds are the inevitable consequense of growing old.

• Disease in old age is not inevitable.  It is possible for your dog to live a longer, healthier life than many of you imagined possible.  Health in your older dog depends on healthy eating.  Principally the continuance of the raw meaty bone habit.

As an important background to the very simple principles involved in feeding the older dog, I will first discuss with you the ageing process.

Once you understand what ageing is, how it occurs, how it affects the health of your dog, and how it can be reduced to an absolute minimum, you will understand the importance of two types of foods.

• Firstly whole, raw, primitive foods, and –
• Secondly, maga-doses of certain nutrients.

Both of these have the ability to slow many aspects of the ageing process and thereby promote health.

 

AGEING – WHAT  IS  IT  ?

Ageing does not mean getting older.  Something can be very old but not aged.  Ageing means deterioration.  A slowing down process.  Wearing out and loss of function.  For your dog it means no body part functioning as well as it used to.  Ultimately it ends in death, but on the way ageing produces a lot of ill health.

Most people regard ageing as inevitable.  Something about which nothing can be done.  Modern science is proving this to be untrue.  We may not be able to maintain eternal youth, but there is a lot which can be done to slow the ageing  process.  When we do, there is an added bonus.  Improved health.  Our dogs are no exception.

Research is showing that sickness and ageing are very closely related.  In fact they are almost the same thing.  By slowing the ageing process, you are also promoting freedom from disease.  This is such an important concept it would have been quite appropriate to discuss it in the section dealing with feeding puppies, particularly when you consider that ageing begins before your dog is born and continues for your dog’s entire lifetime.

• Ageing consists of many different processes.  Those processes fall into two broad groups.  One group, programmed ageing we can do very little about.  The other group of processes, the random ageing processes are the important ones so far as staying healthy is concerned.

 

Programmed Ageing

Ageing cannot be entirely prevented.  You knew that already of course.  All animals will eventually die.  This is because each plant or animal on this earth, from the moment it begins life has a built in obsolesence.  It has inherited a maximum lifespan.  It has an ageing clock.  This ageing clock is a bit like a time bomb.

It is a mechanism which eventually kills the organism.  It is a series of maturation processes all creatures go through, which take them from youth to maturity, and finally to death.

A common example of programmed ageing that most of us are familiar with is the human female animal.  She goes through childhood, followed by puberty followed by sexual maturity, followed by menopause, followed ultimately by death.

• This sort of ageing cannot be controlled by diet or drugs or by any other method except perhaps by breeding animals for longer life.  It is the reason even the healthiest old animal or person will eventually die.

Over the period of an animal’s lifetime, these ageing clocks first turn on and then gradually shut down various systems.

The final act of these biological ageing clocks is to cause an animal to self destruct or die.  This will occur no matter how healthy the individual is at the time.  However, it is rare for any human or animal to survive that long.  This is because of the ravages of randow ageing, a process I will talk about in just a moment.

Some simple examples of programmed ageing in the dog world can be seen at work if we consider the life spans of various breeds of dogs.

If your dog is a Saint Bernard, you will probably be aware that it has inherited a shorter span of life than a Poodle or a Kelpie.

• In general, smaller dogs live longer than large dogs.  Humans live longer than dogs.  These are examples of programmed ageing at work.

Because programmed ageing is a process we can do little or nothing about, I shall not discuss it further.  It is the second process, random ageing, which is so vitally important.  It is this process which is responsible for most of the health problems seen in dogs.  The good news is that it is this process over which we can have a major degree of control.

 

Random Ageing – the Origins of Disease

Healthy young animals’ bodies, like new cars, work really well.  All the parts are new, and they are superbly protected by a healthy young immune symtem.  So why don’t they stay that way?  Why do living things start to malfunction as they get older?

• The answer is, because they undergo random ageing.

Random ageing occurs when parts of the body break down and are repaired less than perfectly, leaving the body not able to function as well as it could previously.

Apart from inherited diseases and problems caused by trauma and poisoning, it is the process of random ageing, which is the chief cause of all diseases.  A common example of this type of ageing is a breakdown in the immune system, resulting in problems such as infectious disease and cancer.

Random ageing can affect every organ system, in fact every cell in your dog’s body.  It results in progressive deterioration.  It results in discomfort, disease and early death.  It is common for animals to die earlier than they have to because of the effects of random ageing.

• Fortunately, random ageing, is a process over which it is possible to have very great control.  It is possible for an animal or a person to undergo very little random ageing during it’s lifetime.

 

Control of Random Ageing

Scientists stydying ageing in a whole range of animals, including the dog and man are uncovering the relationship between food, disease and old age.  They have found that many of the ageing or degenerative processes are hurried up or slowed down very much by waht the subject eats.  They have demonstrated that as animals and people, eat unsuitable food, or unsuitable amounts of food, they age or degenerate more rapidly, and as they do so, they become much more prone to disease.

• In other words, what you feed you dog, if you do it right, can actually slow the ageing process.  If you can slow the ageing process, which is basically a process of deterioration and failure to repair, then you will also be on the right track to preventing disease.

In fact, depending on how much or how little time, effort and money you are prepared to put into looking after your dog you can choose your dog’s rate of ageing and deterioration, and therefore it’s sickness level.  It is totally your choice.  You make that choice by what you give and allow your dog to eat.

 

Speeding Up the Ageing Process

If you want your dog to age rapidly, have a short but miserable life filled with ill health and unhappiness, then feed it badly.

The simplest way to do that is to feed your dog commercial dog food only.  Another excellent method of accelerating the ageing process is to prepare the food yourself, making sure that it is all cooked.  Never feed your dog fresh uncooked food, and most particularly do not feed it bones …ever.

There are plenty of other things you can do to ensure your dog is not healthy, particularly as it gets older.  You could feed it an unbalanced diet such as all meat for example.  One of the most common ways people get their dog to break down is to make sure their dog is over-fed.  They encourage it to become fat.

If your dog is already sick, then the simplest way to keep it that way is to keep feeding it badly.  mOdern drugs will help to alleviate many of the symptoms, and will often make it feel better.  However, they will rarely slow the progression of the disease.  They will not stop the ageing process.  That requires a change of diet.

• Of course nobody would deliberately harm their dog.  The big problem is, so many people harm their dog without intending to by feeding it badly.

 

Slowing Down The Ageing Process.

If you have read the first part of this book, you will know the sort of foods dogs have been designed to eat.  You will kow that a dog’s basic diet should consist of raw meaty bones.  You will know that most of it’s food should be raw, and that it should consist of as wide a variety of foods as possible.  You will know it is important that each meal is not complete and balanced with every nutrient it requires.  You will know that balance must be achieved over many different meals.  You will know that it should be kept slim and athletic.

• In other words, for maximum health, and a long life a dog should be kept on it’s primitive diet for it’s whole life.

If your dog is old with no teeth, you can and should continue to feed it bones !  How?

That’s simple – feed it minced up bones.  E.g. minced up chicken wings.  Use these as the basis of your old dog’s diet.

DOES THAT MEAN FOR A DOG … NATURAL IS BEST ?

Many people feel that if only they can return their dog to nature, it will live a long happy and carefree life.  These people believe that natural means best.  That is not necessaryly so.

Dogs in their natural state in the wild do not live much beyong five or six years of age.

• As far as nature is concerned, once a dog has reproduced itself, it is no longer necessary in the greater scheme of things.  It no longer needs to stay alive.  It can die.  And it usually does!

 

In that sense, old age in animals is an unnatural event.

We artificially prolong our pet animals’ lives.  We do this in a number of ways, including preventative medicine programmes such as vaccinantion and worming, protecting them against natural enemies, providing shelter and warmth, providing food for which they don’t have to hunt, and of course by medicating our dogs when they become ill.

• By doing all that for our dogs, we buy them extra time, well beyong the normal life expectancy.  This is done, not by returning them to nature, but by creating a totally unnatural environment for them to live in.

We protect them from external attack.  In other words, so far as external protection goes, unantural is best for your dog because if porlongs your dog’s life.

Waht about internal protection.  Is unnatural best here?  The answer is yes and no.  Let me explain.

• When people express the desire to return their dog to nature, they are wanting to feed it it’s primitive diet.  What they are actually talking about is feeding it to promote maximum health and immunity against disease.  This is internal protection.

That is a great idea, and on which we have already discussed.  By feeding your dog a primitive or natural diet you prolong it’s life because you are using fuel, lubricants and spare parts which are specially designed for your dog by nature.  You are maintaining it properly as you would a car with regular servicing, clean fuel, and genuine replacement parts.  You are not using the inferior ‘’el cheapo’’ products as produced by most dog food companies.

There is however, something unnatural which can be done for our dogs which will also help prolong their lives, and keep them free from disease.  We can supply unnatural internal protection.  Extra nutrients in a concentration possibly grater than is found in nature, and much much higher is found in processed foods.

This is where science teams up with nature to help your dog.

• Not with processed foods which accelerate internal destruction, but with high doses of anti-oxidants nutrients.

This type of nutient provides internal protection for your dog.  Anti-oxydnats slow down the processes of deterioration and destruction caused by random ageing.

 

Halting the Destruction Caused by Random Ageing

Random ageing is not one mechanism, but a series of mechanisms.  In fact a series of processes withing a living body, whereby it starts to break down, to wear out and no longer function properly.

It is these processes of ageing which raw whole foods combat so effectively.  They do this for several reasons.  One is because of the effects of food separation.  Natural feeding or primitive feeding works on the basis that no meal contains every required nutrient.  As discussed in Chapter 6, this method of feeding is much healthier for your dog.  Most particularly it helps ensure kidney health, and it ensures that no vital nutrients become unavailable because of nutrient interactions.

The other, and perhaps more important way that primitive foods combat the ageing process is because they contain anti-degeneration nutrients knowen as anti-oxidants.  These can include enzymes and other as yet unknown anti-ageing factors.

• Anti-oxidants are molecules which protect living bodies against the destructive attacks of molecules called free radicals.
• It is now widely accepted that damage by free radicals is a basic cause of random ageing.
• Destructive free radicals are produced both withing the body and in the environment.

I do not wish to become bogged down in a discussion of the free radical theory of ageing.  The important points you should be aware of are, that these dangerous molecules, these free radicals exist and they cause accelerated ageing, and to reduce ageing and help prevent disease, they must be destroyed.

Food is the principle source of supply of molecules which help scavende and eliminate these free radicals.  The free radical destroying molecules which are vital to a long and healthy life are called anti-oxidants.

• Many nutrients, and in particular vitamins, have a role as anti-oxidants.  Nutrients that act as anti-oxidants include enzymes, sulphur containing amino acids, vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6, B12, vitamins A, C, E, and K, and also minerals such as zinc, selenium and chromium.

To be effective in their role of eliminating free radicals, some of these nutrients, the vitamins, need to be added to the diet in much larger amounts than has proviously been thought necessary.  The so called mega-doses, or fourth level of addition as discussed in Chapter 5.  It is only when supplied at this level that they will succesfully combat the ravages of ageing.

There are many as yet ‘’unidentified’’ molecules prensent in whole raw foods which prevent ageing and fight disease.  Similar molecules are the active ingredients in many of the medicinal herbs.  Doubtless, most of these have anti-oxidant activity.  This is a wide open field for research.  New light on the role of these chemicals in retarding the ageing process and boosting the immune system is being shed every day.

• It is because many of these anti-ageing molecules are destroyed by heat, that cooked food, which of course includes processed food is so much less valuable in prolonging life and preventing disease than raw food.

 

YOUR  DOG  CAN  DO  BETTER

I want your dog to live a longer and healthier life than the majority of dogs today.  I want your dog to live a long healthy life to the point where his or her body will have to be finally turned off as part of programmed ageing, because virtually no random damage has been caused.

You can do this for your dog.  You can feed your dog in such a way that you will reduce the random damage to an absolute minimum.  All you need to do is feed your dog a primitive type of diet based on raw meaty bones as described in Chapter 18, and supplement that with appropriate doses of anti-ageing of anti-oxydant nutrients.

 

FEEDING  YOUR  OLDER  DOG  FOR  LONG  LIFE  AND  HEALTH

If you have not done so already, please read Chapter 18 which describes how to feed healthy adult dogs.

 

The ‘’Do’s’’

• Do feed the sort of food that your dog evolved on… that is, the food which your dog’s body is genetically accustomed to eating.  This means mostly whole raw foods.  Primitive foods.  Foods which have not been processed.  That is, base your dog’s diet on raw meaty bones.
• Do feed lots of fresh, leafy vegetables suitably prepared.  Apart from raw meaty bones, these should form the bulk of the rest of your older dog’s diet.  This is most important.  You may add small amounts of protein foods such as minced meats, egg yolks, grated cheese and oils.  You may also add brewer’s yeast and kelp powder.
• Do feed small amounts of organ meats including liver, kidneys, brains and hearts on a regular basis.  Note that they should not constiture more than about 10% -15% of the diet.
• Do give your healthy older dog a regular fast to one to two days duration – every two weeks or so.
• Do watch your older dog’s weight and general condition, and adjust size, frequency and content of food to maintain optimum weight and condition.
• Do feed only high quality protein foods, keeping poor quality preteins as found in commercial dog foods to a minimum.  That means feeding plenty of eggs, cottage cheese, cheese, fresh mutton, fowl, beef, rabbit, fish, pork and most important of all … raw meaty bones!
• Do feed fat that has a high percentage of essential fatty acids.  That means pig and chicken fat, vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower, corn, canola, soyabean, linseed, sesame, grapeseed, olive ect., and fish oils.
• Do supplement fatty meals with vitamin E, selenium and methionine.  Your vet, or your health food store can supply all of these in tablet or capsule form.  Alternatively, the selenium can be supplied in brewer’s yeast and eggs, and the methionine can come from eggs.
• Do feed small amounts of offal once a week.  E.g. liver and kidney.
• Do make sure you feed your dog a balanced regime of vitamins and anti-oxidant minerals.  The vitamins should include the anti-oxidant vitamins fed at the third or fourth level.

 

The ‘’Don’ts’’

• In general, avoid all cooked and processed foods.  these contribute heavily to a short and often very miserable life. 
• Avoid food that contains excessive salt, protein, phosphorus and calcium… which mostly means avoid processed foods… avoid commercial dog foods.  Do not feed those salty doggy treats.
• Do not allow your dog to become obese.  In other words do not feed your dog too much food.  Too much food means your dog becomes fat.  Fat dogs have shorter lives than dogs of normal weight.  This has much to do with free radical production by fat, and a lack of anti-oxidants in the diet.
• Do not feed your dog a lot of cereal grains or other starchy foods.
• Do not combine heavy starchy foods such as potatoes, grains, pasta etc with heavy protein foods such as meat, egg, cheese, fish.

 

In Summary

As you can see, it is absurdly simple.  You are going to continue feeding your older healthy dog on a diet which is very similar to the one you fed your younger, healthy, non-reproducting, non-working dog.

That is, plenty of raw meaty bones fed by themselves, say about 50% of the diet.  Small amounts only of starchy foods, always fed without a concentrated protein source, but you can add veggies, and oil.  Plenty of fresh, green leafy vegetables.

• As the dog gets older, the proportions of fresh, green leafy vegetables should be increased.
• With the older animal it is vitally important that meals which contain protein, contain only high quality protein as described.
• Protein and oil type foods can be added to the vegetable mush, and don’t forget regular small amounts of offal foods, and the daily vitamin supplements.

 

Recommended Vitamin Supplements

 

THE B  COMPLEX

This will be supplied by liver, green leafy vegetables, brewer'’ yeast etc. which you are already feeding.  hOwever, as discussed previously, you will do no harm by adding extra B’s to your dog’s diet.

See your chemist vet, health food store, possibly your pet shop and purchase either a supplement designed specifically for dogs, or a human product.

A careful examination of the label of many vitamin supplements produced specifically for dogs, will reveal pretty low levels.  Compare to a human product.  In general, if using a human product, use half a child’s dose for a small 10 kg dog, a child’s dose for a 20-40 kg dog and an adult dose for a dog over 50kg.  These are a rough guide only.  Because the B vitamins are so safe, so non toxic, even for a tiny 5kg dog, the human adult dose would do no harm.

WARNING :  do not give B vitamins on an empty stomach, they may cause vomiting.

 

VITAMIN  C

Any fresh fruit or green leafy vegetables fed to you older dog will supply some vitamin C.  However, for a long and healthy life, do supply extra.

As a rough guide, use about 100mg per kg.  That means a 10kg dog would receive about a gram of vitamin C per day, whereas a 50kg dog would receive about five grams per day.  This should be divided into at least two and preferably three doses.

For a healthy older dog, any of the different forms of vitamin C would do.  However, if there is any question of health problems, please read the section on vitamin C in Chapter 5, which describes the different forms, including a few do’s and don’ts.

 

VITAMINS  A  AND  D

If you are feeding liver on a regular basis, it will most probably not be necessary to supply extra vitamin A.  Also, if your dog does spend plenty of time in the sun, extra D may not be necessary.

However, many older dogs spend a lot of time indoors, particularly during the winter months, and they also become less able to efficiently use many nutrients including both A and D.

• WARNING :  with these two vitamins, do be careful.  If your dog has kidney problems, consult your vet before using either of them in supplementary form.

A and D are usually supplied together.  If buying human grade vitamins, you will find capsules containing either 5 to 10 thousand international units of vitamin A together with an appropriate balancing amount of vitamin D.

As a rough guide, feed a 10kg dog 2,500 to 5,000 i.u. per day and a 50kg dog between 10,000 and 20,000 i.u. per day.  If you are also giving substantial vitamin E supplement, these doses should be halved.

• It is quite a good idea to supply these two vitamins for a month, and then withold them for a month.  The witholding period may be longer if your dog eats liver regularly.

Please read the section on vitamin A in Chapter 5.  If unsure, please consult your vet.  Both of you read it together!

 

VITAMIN  E

This is the anti-ageing vitami par excellence !  With older dogs, it should be almost a criminal offence not to give it!  However, if your dog has any cardiovascular disease, the dose will have to begin small and be gradually increased.  This is because if you dog has increased blood pressure, a large dose will temporarily make it go even higher.

However, by starting off at the lower dose rate, and gradually working up, there will be no problems.  Do consult your vet.

The recommended dose rate is 10 to 20mg (or i.u. – same thing) per kg per day.  That is for a 25kg dog, 250 to 500mg per day.  If in doubt about your dog’s blood pressure, start at about one teeth that dose, and gradually work up to the desired dose over about a month.  Get your vet to monitor this process.

 

VITAMIN  K

We now know that this has anti-ageing properties, so it is worth while ensuring your older dog receives plenty one way or another.

Green leafy vegetables and liver will supply this vitamin.  If giving extra, you may supply 1 – 10 mg of vitamin K per kg of dog per day.  If unsing the synthetic form, do not go above this dose rate.  (See Chapter5.)

 

That’s if for the moment.  So until the next book arrives –

LET  ME  WISH  YOU  AND  YOUR  DOG(S) –

***************GOOD HEALTH**************