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In this article you will see original research conducted at Walkerville Vet between 2010 and 2011. It remains unpublished, for reasons that will become clear. You will find a link to the full article at the bottom.
Continue reading “Feeding Bones To Dogs Is Linked To Less Dental Disease”
If you have an allergy to cats, or know someone who does, then you know how debilitating it can be. Cat allergens are everywhere, and up to now there’s been precious little you could do except avoid cats altogether. Which for many people has not been possible.
So it was with great hope that here in Australia we awaited the arrival of Purina’s new food designed to reduce human allergies to cats and kittens. Imagine the possible benefits if it works:
Continue reading “A Review of Purina’s Cat Allergen Reducing Diet”
This is the story of Rowdie. She’s a survivor where many others aren’t. As you’ll see, I got lucky twice before solving the puzzle.
The food that nearly killed her is a leading brand of grain-free dog food you can buy at nearly any Australian supermarket. I wish I could tell you its name.
Here’s what happened.
Continue reading “Dogs Are Still Dying From Grain Free Diets”
Australian raw feeders are still coming to terms with the horse meat scandal that killed and maimed so many Victorian dogs. Given the potential risk of buying pet meats, it begs the question: is it worth it?
In my vet practice we support raw feeding, but that doesn’t mean we don’t also have a watchful eye. I’ll cover the risks first. By knowing them and their solutions, you can do it more safely.
Afterwards, I’ll feature some of the first evidence to show a benefit for raw puppy foods.
Continue reading “Is A Raw Diet Good For Puppies?”
The Maffra District Knackery has now admitted that they processed horses from the Northern Territory.
Now read on to see why it was always the most likely explanation…
An outbreak of liver failure in Victorian dogs has been linked to raw meat from a local supplier. At least 14 dogs died and a further 30 were hospitalised.
I’ve been following the story carefully. The more we know the stranger it gets.
Continue reading “The Dog Deaths From Raw Meat: What Went Wrong”
Try searching “can dogs eat almonds” and you’ll see dire warnings, like “7 Dangers of Almonds for Dogs” or “Why Almonds Are Bad for Dogs“.
This is absolute rubbish and internet myth-making at its worst. Why is everyone so afraid of almonds? Because they only read each others’ blogs instead of trusting evidence or experience.
It’s always safer to say ‘no’ than ‘yes’, isn’t it! Here I’ll go through each of those ‘seven ways’ and demonstrate their lack of accuracy.
And what do you know, they actually missed a real problem too.
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Ate An Almond”
This week on our homemade diet page there is the grim spectacle of people telling other people off. One feeds their dog walnuts, and the other tells them they shouldn’t.
This debate is but a taste of what appears online. But who is correct?
Like with all internet myths, there’s a grain of truth in there. Let’s find it!
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Ate A Walnut”
For such a common problem, there’s a lot we don’t know about hairballs in cats. It’s yet another example of our tendency to overlook the everyday and focus on the rare. This is to the cost of cats everywhere.
When there’s a lack of hard evidence, we only have experience to go by. So I’ll use mine to help you answer the key questions put to me by cat owners.
Continue reading “Help! My Cat Has A Hairball”
OK, jokey title aside, this is serious.
Are you struggling under the weight of too many choices? Everyone telling you how you must use a certain food, or a special remedy? You’re in good company.
Linus Pauling was one of the greatest scientists of all time, but even that didn’t save him. Despite groundbreaking discoveries and a Nobel Prize, he is perhaps most famous for the wrong reason.
Continue reading “Vet Sees People Manipulated By Clickbait, You Won’t Believe What Happens Next!” Why is it that 41% of dogs with cancer are fed a homemade diet?
I support many owners who feed homemade and raw diets, and I try to practise evidence-based healthcare. Therefore, a statistic like this deserves a closer look.
Continue reading “What To Feed Dogs With Cancer”
If your pet is having surgery, then you already know the importance of fasting them beforehand. What you may not know is why and for how long.
Here is a quick summary, with details to follow.
Senior diet and foods for older cats are so well-established that nearly everyone uses them. But do they help?
Here are some of the claims:
Are they correct? Could these diets be harmful instead? Let’s look at the evidence.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Food For Senior Cats?”
It must seem strange for a vet to compare humans and dogs and find humans better. Well let me tell you, this is an exception to a general rule. Just read Why Dogs Are Better Than Humans and you will agree.
However, our inferiority tends to mask the fact that there are a few special areas in which we do better. And because we don’t recognise them, we tend to make bad assumptions and harm our dogs. So here they are…
Continue reading “3 Ways Humans Are Better Than Dogs”
Listen to this rubbish.
If your cat only eats dry food, she is likely to be getting less nutrition than a cat eating wet food. Many low-quality dry foods contain a lot of fillers.
Throwaway lines like these are typical of the overly simplistic advice you find online about feline nutrition. The truth takes a deeper look. To know whether wet, dry or both are best for your cat, we need to talk about:
Let’s dive in!
Continue reading “Is It OK To Give A Cat Only Dry Food?”
There is a good reason why I had written 500 pet health articles before broaching the subject of diarrhoea in cats. It can be extremely frustrating. There is also a lack of good quality information for cat owners.
First a description, then a logical treatment plan.
Continue reading “Help! My Cat Has Diarrhoea”So your dog has had diarrhoea for more than two weeks, and you have ruled out all the more common causes of diarrhoea found here.
A basal cortisol level has even been done to rule out the 4% of these dogs that have Addisons disease.
What do you do now?
The answer is to consider the possibility that your dog has chronic enteropathy, or CE. This is a poorly understood group of related disorders that often respond to dietary, antibiotic or immunosuppressive treatment. Sometimes the solution is more than one of these approaches.
Continue reading “Chronic Diarrhoea In Dogs”
A few years ago, a sales rep for one of the major dog food companies came to me. The serious expression told me that there was something wrong.
“Andrew, you’re not making enough senior dog food sales.”
This wasn’t a surprise to me. Instead I said what I always say: “bring me the evidence that senior diets improve the health of dogs and I’ll use them.”
See also: Do Cats Need Senior Foods?
Continue reading “Do Dogs Need Senior or Mature Foods?”Old dogs commonly develop a form of dementia we call Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome. I’ve written about the signs of CDS and its treatment elsewhere.
Here I want to update you on the latest evidence about foods and dietary supplements that might benefit dogs with CDS. I’ll discuss each ingredient first and then the foods that might contain them.
Continue reading “Foods & Supplements For Dogs With CDS”
If a dog eats anything containing xylitol:
Now dive deeper…
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Ate Xylitol”
Warning: this post contains descriptions of animal cruelty.
Images of racehorses being slaughtered at abattoirs have put the racing industry in the spotlight. And rightly so. But there’s also a connection that’s much closer to home.
Continue reading “Does Pet Food Contain Horse Meat?”
There’s been talk for some time that certain dog foods could be causing heart disease. I used to think it was a case of vets being biased against grain free and boutique diets. Now I’m not so sure.
Continue reading “The Link Between Diet & Heart Disease In Dogs”
‘Essential facts (Details Below)’
Now dive deeper…
Continue reading “Grape Sultana & Raisin Poisoning” Some people don’t believe in Santa Claus. Others the tooth fairy. Me, I don’t believe in fussy dogs.
How is this possible? Fussy dogs are everywhere.
Continue reading “Fussy Eaters Are Made, Not Born”
I’m known for supporting clients who use raw diets. Done well, they should add to the health of your pet.
However, there are some persistent myths that get in the way. One of the most common is the idea that offal and organ meats are essential ingredients. As useful as they can be, (even with vegan diets!), they aren’t a cure all.
Continue reading “The Myths About Offal, Taurine & Raw Diets”
Let me tell you a story that shows what we’re up against.
I met a very perplexed feral cat researcher recently. In his study area the cats generally hunt and eat one common mammal. However, suddenly the population of that species crashed.
There were lots of other tasty critters still hopping around, some of which look nearly the same. Despite this, the cats began to starve.
Continue reading “Getting Cats To Eat Raw Chicken Necks”
There’s a lot of rubbish on the net…
Every time I bite into a crunchy apple, I hear the pitter-patter of eight tiny feet. That’s not some 8-legged apple monster, just my two hungry dogs.
Continue reading “Are Apple Cores Poisonous To Dogs?”
Around half of the wet cat foods being sold in my local supermarket are unbalanced. There’s usually no warning on the label to say so. (see list below).
Did you know this? I didn’t until recently, and it’s my job to know, so I’m guessing you didn’t either.
Continue reading “Unbalanced Cat Foods You’re Not Told About”
I’m deeply concerned by a fast-growing trend in puppy diets. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that puppy owners are being badly let down. It makes me angry and it should make them angry too.
New puppies at our Adelaide clinic are being set up to fail in numbers that I haven’t seen since the 1990’s. The consequences can be the permanent leg deformities you see in the picture.
Continue reading “Help! My Puppy Won’t Eat Dry Food”This page is a companion to our articles on homemade low carb diets for cats and the problems with commercial cat foods.
Continue reading “Carbohydrates In Australian Cat Foods”
There are four key differences between most commercial cat foods and the diets that cats have adapted to eat in the wild:
Continue reading “Making A Wild Food For Your Cat”
Update 2021: still no news on whether the findings of the Inquiry will ever make it into law.
Australia lacks any form of oversight regarding pet food safety or basic standards of hygiene or quality.
Australia also lacks any way to report faults in pet foods. Mistakes happen even with good brands, but attempts in the past by individual vets to highlight them have invariably led to threats of ruinous legal action against the vet involved.
I provided evidence at the public hearings into the safety of pet food on Tuesday the 28th of August, 2018 in Sydney. Here you can read my oral and written submissions.
You might also like:
I went there to put forward the demands of ordinary pet owners. You can be sure that industry was well-represented but what about you? We needed the opinions of ordinary consumers and average Australian pet owners.
Continue reading “The Senate Pet Food Safety Inquiry & You”
If you have an itchy dog, it doesn’t take long before someone tells you it’s due to the food. Usually that someone also offers an alternative.
It’s not a case of people trying to pull a fast one; they just believe in what they use. Who doesn’t? If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The trouble is, though, most owners of dogs with skin problems aren’t getting the advice they need. Or they’re getting it far too late.
Continue reading “5 Myths About Food Allergy In Dogs”
Elsewhere on this site we’ve published the evidence for which foods dogs and cats are allergic to. Now we’ll show you how to figure it out for your own pet. This even works for a mouse!
The bad news is that there is no simple test. Popular blood test kits are not reliable enough.
The good news is that you can do it at home. It’s called an elimination diet. You have two choices:
Three years ago when I first investigated vegan diets for dogs and cats, my response was a bit simplistic. I said that as long as you use a complete and balanced diet, your pet can be vegan.
Since then, we’ve learned more and I have too. I still think you can have a vegan dog, but there are important warnings. And vegan cats? Probably not, but I can show you how to feed them without any guilt.
Continue reading “Vegan Dog & Cat Diets In 2020: Are They Safe?”
More and more dog owners are choosing to make grain-free or raw diets. Most vets, on the other hand, recommend premium commercial foods. Neither group is likely to change. I think it’s time vets put aside their beliefs to help dog owners get these homemade diets safely balanced.
Continue reading “A Homemade Raw Dog Food Recipe”
Update: a Senate inquiry into pet food has been initiated as a result of this scandal. Click here to read my submission.
Over 100 dogs have now been identified with megaoesophagus after eating Advance Dermocare. Here are the essential facts.
Continue reading “The Advance Dermocare Fiasco FAQs”
‘Emergency Care’ (details below)
now dive deeper…
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Ate Chocolate”
It seems like every dog owner has already heard the news. Chicken necks are causing paralysis in dogs. Now here’s the full story.
Continue reading “Is Raw Chicken Dangerous To Dogs?”
Update 1 year later: read to the end for the good news!
Out of the box came a beautiful and regal young male Ragdoll cat. He was quite a sight; in the prime of life and nearly perfect in health and temperament. But not to his owners, who said, “he’s a monster, we’re going to have to get rid of him.”
Continue reading “How & Why To Feed Kittens In Meals”
Emergency care (details below)
now dive deeper…
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Ate Onion”
What if there’s a parallel universe where cats are our masters and keep us as pets. Wait, hang on… that’s our universe.
OK, let’s try that again. Imagine a universe where cats actually look after humans. I can just hear the sorts of things they would say:
Continue reading “Is It Bad For Cats To Drink Milk?” Many dogs do well on raw diets, but there are also several pitfalls to avoid. This article aims to guide dog owners into the safest choices within this sphere.
Vets have a tendency to be against raw diets, but I will do my best to be logical and unbiased. Therefore I’ll start with some benefits we see in these dogs.
Continue reading “Are Raw Diets Good For Dogs & Cats?”Imagine the outrage if a character called Fat Dog (or fat anything for that matter) was created today. Yet, there we were in Adelaide in the 1980s watching Fat Cat tell us to go to bed at 7:30 every night.
The fact is that an overweight cat is taken less seriously than an overweight dog. We see fat cats as fun and loveable, and somehow beyond our control. Like Garfield and his lasagne.
Continue reading “How You CAN Get Overweight Cats To Lose Weight”
If we assume that the US, UK and Australia have similar dog cultures then we’re watching a slow train wreck.
Does it really matter? Aren’t vets just a little too obsessed by your dog’s weight?
Continue reading “What’s Wrong With Dogs Being Overweight?”
Have a look at this chart: are you as surprised as I was when I put this together?
It shows the results of the last five studies where vets have taken percentages of overweight dogs in the US, UK, and Australia.
How can you make sure your best mate doesn’t end up as another statistic in the dog obesity epidemic?
Answer: read on. It’s positive, 100% judgement-free and based on 25 years of successfully helping dog owners like yourself.
Continue reading “How You CAN Get Your Dog To Lose Weight”
It’s very easy to feed a puppy correctly. Do it right and you’ll have a healthy, happy eater for life. Do it wrongly and you may end up with a fussy dog eating all the wrong foods. Or worse.
Please visit our pages on Five steps to feeding puppies and adult dogs or How much should I feed my puppy? if your answer isn’t found in these common questions.
Continue reading “Feeding Your New Puppy FAQs”
Here’s a checklist to help you get ready for the big day your puppy arrives. It might seem like a lot to do but that’s only because you’re actually thinking about things in advance.
Continue reading “What You Need For A New Puppy”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care
This might come as a shock to all the dog owners feeding raw bones. Vets are starting to advise owners not to do it.
To find out why this is happening, we need to dive into the debate over bone safety.
Continue reading “Are Bones Safe For Dogs?”
Every Springtime my little Loki starts to show the signs of his allergies. From then until after Christmas I have to work hard to keep him comfortable.
He’s not alone; every day we see dogs like Loki. We call this condition atopic dermatitis or atopy.
Allergies look so different in dogs that most of the time their owners aren’t aware what the problem is.