An alternative approach

Local pet owners explain the benefits of going natural.

By Andrea McCann, Lafayette Magazine, Fall 2008

When Spick Welks got an itch that no amount of scratching would cure, her parents, Doug and Mindy Welks of West Lafayette, became obsessed with finding the root of the problem so their beloved bulldog would feel better.

“We want to find out what makes her itch,” Mindy says, since Spice acan’t help herself resolve the problem. “She’ll scratch until she’s so worn out she has to take a nap. Allergy pill from the vet didn’t work. We want her to feel good.”

The pet parents tried different foods, using the “Whole Dog Journal” to make sure they were selecting the best foods. They eliminated byproducts and preservatives from Spice’s diet and made sure the protein content was appropriate. They learned that different types of dog foods cause different problems, such as yeast infections and increased tear staining.

“At one time we had all three dogs on different foods, but Rocky and Mojo don’t seen to have issues,” says Mindy, who adds that they treat their three bulldogs as individuals, not as a group.

Through trial and error, they discovered that Spice is allergic to fowl protein. She can’t eat chicken-, turkey- or duck-based foods. They switched her to a pre-made raw diet of lamb, venison and buffalo, and though she still itched, the situation improved.

“To figure out what Spice’s allergies were, we even fed her kangaroo,” Mindy says. “We’ve tried everything with her, and nothing helped like raw food.”

So the Welks prepare Spice’s raw diet themselves, giving her things like organic hamburger from the farmer’ market, salmon, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, peaches, watermelon and cantaloupe.

“She’d scratched herself raw before, but she got better on the raw diet,” Mindy says. “She doesn’t even like dog food anymore.”

As more pet owners look for natural diest and remedies for pets, veterinarians and retailers offer more natural options.

Kathy Willowoode, nutrition counselor and community outreach coordinator for the Sunspot Natural Market in West Lafayette, says they sell pet food and treats regularly. She says she thinks sales of natural pet foods picked up after the pet food recalls. Manager Ryan Robinson says a lot of people choose to buy organic meats and grains to prepare their own pet foods.

“I eat organic foods at home,” Robinson says. “There wouldn’t be any reason for me not to feed by dog the same. I consider it a health option.”

The Blue Buffalo Company has an organic line for both cats and dogs, as well as a Wilderness line that is an alternative to a raw diet. All of its pet foods and treats are made from human grade ingredients and are gluten-free. Other “advanced nutrition” pet food can be found at retailers like Petsmart, and many veterinarians carry gluten-free or grain-free foods.

Dr. Suzanne Quintero, of Quintessential Health Inc in Lafayette, says it’s important to read the label on pet food packaging. But, she says it won’t mean much unless you educate yourself about pet foods in general, the requirements of your pet breed , and your specific pet. She says finding a professional to work with initially and periodically is helpful and likely will save money on veterinarian bills in the long run.

“Our pet’s diet, and the digestion of that diet, are the two most important factors underlying almost all chronic disease problems ,” Quintero explains. “If not a direct causative factor of chronic illness, then at the very least, diet and digestion will play a major role in recovery.

“The simplest preventive measure for maintaining health for the long term is to feed the diet that is appropriate for your cat or dog, and make sure that diet gets properly digested.”

Quintero explains that dogs and cats were never meant to eat a brain or high-carbohydrate diet and do not do so in the wild. Nor do they cook their food, she points out. Yet most dogs and cats are fed a diet with a high percentage of rice, corn, wheat, oats, potato, and other foods they wouldn’t normally eat. In addition, almost all pets eat a diet that is cooked and devoid of natural digestive enzymes, which stresses their own digestive organs.

“The incidence of pancreatitis and diabetes is on the rise, and I believe these two aliments are directly related to an improperly fed high-grain – or carbohydrate – diet for animals that were never meant to digest these foods,” Quintero says. She says high-priced, heavily marketed pet foods can be as damaging to a pet’s health as cheaper brands. However, she adds, there are some good, health-promoting foods on the market that are grain-free and use high-quality ingredients.

“Always look for ‘human grade’ for a start,” she recommends. “That means the pet food manufacturer is not using diseased animal parts rejected by human standards. And I do not ever recommend feeding cats a kibble diet, which is full of carbohydrates. The feline diet should be grain-free and a wet food.”

Diet modification and use of supplements is not holistic care per s of supplements is not holistic care per se, according to Quintero, buy they may be part of a holistic approach.

“The use of the words ‘holistic care’ means that we look at your ‘whole’ animal, which means taking into account your animal’s environment, emotional makeup, household relationships, as well as physical health and medical history,” she says.

This holistic way of looking at pet health is slowly becoming more popular, according to Abby Waltz, practice manager at Battle Ground Veterinary Clinic, where Dr. Paul Wittke combines Eastern and Western philosophies for a broader spectrum of treatment options.

Waltz says as the holistic approach to health becomes more accepted for humans, more people are seeking it for their pets. She describes the holistic concept as looking at the animal as a whole, with any problem seen as an imbalance of some system; holistic care restores that balance to the body.

Waltz explains that food therapy, such as the Welks use for Spice, employs raw diets and different combinations of diets to help animals restore balance to their bodies. She says it may take some time for the improvement to show, but it’s a solid long-term plan.

Battle Ground Veterinary Clinic offers orthopedic surgery, laser technology, dental treatments and other standard surgeries and treatments, such as spay and neuter surgeries and annual vaccines. It also offers less standard treatments, such as acupuncture herbal medicine and tui na, which is hands-on, physical manipulation similar to a cross between massage and chiropractic treatment.

Some people are resistant to treating their pets holistically. They may take their pets to a veterinarian annually for vaccines and whenever there’s a problem.

“We’re happy to treat them too,” Waltz says. “We just want to have healthy pets for the best companions for their owners.”