Performance Blend
A carefully selected blend of Organic herbs, wild ingredients, and superfoods created for dogs that participate in strenuous activities such as Gundog Trials, Agility, Working Trials, Canicross, Sled Racing etc.
All the ingredients are chosen specifically for their ability to support hard-working, athletic dogs to combat fatigue, improve stamina, assist in quicker recovery, maintain condition, adapt to the stresses of competition, and provide many essential nutrients that active dogs need.
All the herbs used are of the highest quality and our products have been created by a canine sports and holistic therapist.
The blend can be stirred into raw, moist, and homemade meals or rehydrated with a little warm water and mixed into dry food.
Organic Wheatgrass, Organic Alfalfa, Organic Chlorella, Organic Ashwagandha, Organic Seaweed, Organic Hawthorn berry, Fenugreek seed, Organic Beetroot
If your sport is seasonal then I would recommend that you take a break from the blend when you are not competing and resume a month before your competitions start again. Alternatively, cut the amount of the blend down and then increase it again as you restart your sport.
Be Lungworm Aware
Lungworm is becoming an increasing threat to dogs all across the UK due to a number of reasons including a milder and wetter climate and the increase in the number of urban foxes covering a larger area.
There are three main types of lungworm that dogs are most likely to become infected with:
Oslerus osleri (dog lungworm), Crenosoma Vulpis (fox lungworm) and Angiostrongylus vasosum
The lungworm needs a host such as a slug, snail, fox or sometimes a frog in which to grow and develop. The dog then, sometimes accidentally, eats a slug possibly on blades of grass, on a dog toy or water bowl or comes into contact with infected fox poo.
Approximately 3 days later the larvae can be found in the dogs stomach and then they proceed to migrate to the lungs where they continue to mature until they can lay thousands of eggs which are coughed up and are passed via the dogs faeces. The only difference with fox lungworm is that the mature worms live in the airways of the lungs and the trachea.
The parasite doesn`t pass directly from dog to dog, and other dogs in a household can be completely unaffected by it. The larvae do however pass out in the faeces of the infected dog so there is the potential for the infection to be spread that way.
Slugs and snails are partial to dog poop so if it is left out in the open they will crawl all over it and consume some, therefore becoming infected by the larvae and if eaten by a dog or a fox the cycle starts again. So it is crucial that any dog poo is picked up immediately before slugs and snails have access to it. Also avoid leaving water bowls outside at night and bring in any bones or dog toys to prevent contamination.
The biggest worry with lungworm is that occasionally there are no symptoms present until the disease is at a critical level, hence the importance of taking a regular worm count.
There are many symptoms that are usually present these include :
General lethargy and intolerance to exercise
Breathing difficulties and noisy breathing
Loss of weight even though the food is increased
Sore throat, swallowing hard and developing a cough or gag reflex
Staring into space and a change of temperament, unusually unsettled
Discharge or bleeding from the nostrils
Chest infection or pneumonia
Pale mucus membranes of the eyes and gums
Excessive bleeding even from a tiny wound and blood shot eyes
Collapse and seizures
The easiest way to regularly test for lungworm is by a faecal count. If your dog has had lungworm before or you are in an area of high risk then it is advised to test every 3-4 months or sooner should any tell tale symptoms appear.
The company I use is www.wormcount.com and I can highly recommend them.
Due to the fact that lungworm don`t shed larvae every day it is necessary to collect a small sample from 3 days worth of poo in the hope that they are shedding on one of those days. If your dog has had lungworm it is really important to send off another test within 3 months as they may still be carrying the worms but they were not shedding larvae on those particular days of testing. There will be a blood test available shortly which gives results with 15 minutes which is obviously a great help if your dog is showing severe symptoms by that stage and a speedy diagnosis can be life saving. Currently the faecal results take from 1-3 days to come back.
Although the fox lungworm can cause serious breathing problems and additional complications it rarely causes death unlike the other types of lungworm, but it should always be treated as an emergency to prevent the deterioration of the disease.
Due to the fact that the larvae are only in the stomach for a short while there is a short window of opportunity to influence them with alternative prevention before they migrate to the lungs and trachea. If products such as Verm-x or Four seasons are used it is usually necessary to give a larger or more frequent dose when preventing lungworm, so it is recommended that the product manufacturers are contacted for the dosage in this case.
These natural products are useful to use as a prevention but should NOT be used to treat a confirmed case of lungworn infection.
Caroline Hearn MICHT, Dip.ICAT, Dip.MLD
Canine and Equine Sports & Holistic Practitioner
Winter Bone Broth
As we approach the coldest months of the year we turn to foods which offer comfort and warmth.
We can also provide our dogs with a seasonal variation on the usual bone broth recipe by adding ingredients which are traditionally used to support joint health and immunity.
As game is currently in season, try and find bones from venison, duck, pheasant or partridge. Duck and chicken feet are a good source of glucosamine, chondroitin and gelatine and after many hours of cooking will dissolve into the broth.
Avoid bones with a large amount of fat, skin and central marrow, which will just produce a very fatty and oily broth. Either remove the fat and marrow or chose a different type of bone. If your dog is prone to pancreatitis it is very important to select lean bones, remove any visible fat before cooking and skim off any that comes to the surface during cooking.
You will need approximately 4 - 5 pounds of bones of varying types and size to make a good broth. Some bones, such as ribs will completely break down into the broth, whereas harder bones will be lifted out in large pieces.
You will need:
A slow cooker or large stock pot with a lid
Bones such as duck, venison, pheasant, partridge, chicken, turkey, ox tail, beef, lamb ribs etc.
Enough water to just cover the bones when they are placed in the cooking pot.
1 stick of celery roughly chopped
Cider apple vinegar - 2 tablespoons
Ginger – 1 thumbnail size piece of fresh or half a teaspoon of powered
Turmeric 1 teaspoon (fresh or dried)
Cinnamon - quarter of a teaspoon
Shiitake mushrooms- quarter of a cup (dried or fresh)
1 level tablespoon Autumn Harvest herbal blend
2 grinds of black pepper
How to make:
Place your chosen bones into the pot and pour on the water so they are just covered. Add the cider apple vinegar and black pepper. The slow cooker is used on its lowest setting or a stock pot placed over a very low heat for anywhere between 24 – 30 hours, although some people prefer to leave the broth cooking gently for nearer to 36 hours .You may need to top up with water if the levels are getting very low.
In the remaining 2 hours of cooking add the spices, mushrooms and vegetables.
When complete, turn off the heat and carefully remove the bones with a slotted spoon plus skim off any excess fat that may be on the surface.
As the resulting broth starts to cool, transfer into ice cube trays or suitable sized pots to place in the fridge or freezer for later use. If you want your broth as a set jelly then you could stir in a level tablespoon of gelatine powder.
Store in the fridge and use within 1 week or keep in the freezer and use within 4 months.
Add the defrosted broth to meals, any recipes you make or gently warm through to provide a warm, comforting treat on a very chilly day.
**It is essential to remove the bones and dispose of them safely and under no circumstances should they be fed **
Feeding Vegetables to Dogs
There is a lot of conflicting advice about feeding dogs vegetables. Here we will explore which are suitable and what to avoid or keep to a minimum.
Should I add vegetables or not? If so which type?
So should we bother feeding vegetables to our dogs and will it even benefit them?
There are many benefits to including some fresh vegetables to our dogs diet. It is important that they are prepared in a way that our dogs can digest them either through cooking, steaming or blitzing to a smoothie. We should all be including more veg in our diets so maybe the easiest way is just to prepare a bit extra when you are preparing your own meals and then set it aside for your dog.
Phytonutrients
The term ‘phytonutrients’ is a name for a variety of compounds only found in plants that have a vast array of health-giving properties. They are covered in far greater detail in the vegetable and fruit section and are a useful way to provide additional micronutrients and antioxidants to your dog’s diet. If the inclusion of fruit, vegetables and seeds is a new experience for your dog, then start off by incorporating tiny amounts until his system adapts and you find the ingredients that suit your particular dog.
Probably the best known of the phytonutrients are carotenoids and flavonoids.
Carotenoids are plant pigments responsible for the vibrant red, yellow, orange and green hues found in vegetables, fruits and plants that can play an important role in protecting cells against harmful effects of light, air and pollution. Beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein are all different types of carotenoid that can easily be included in the diet. They act as anti-oxidants which protect cells from free radicals, which are substances that work to destroy cell membranes and DNA.
Foods that are rich in carotenoids are:
· Lutein: collard greens, Swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, kale and dandelion greens.
· Lycopene: red/orange bell peppers, watermelon, pomegranate, apples, mint and blackberries.
· Beta-carotene: carrots, sweet potato, broccoli and romaine lettuce.
· Flavonoids: These give berries their red, blue and purple colour and can be included in the diet in the form of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and bilberries.
So, what does the inclusion of veg and fruit have offer to our dogs?
They provide a wealth of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fibre, including vitamins A, B, C, E and K, and minerals such as calcium, potassium and magnesium.
Anti-oxidants protect against many diseases due to the aging process, and for a degenerative condition such as progressive retinal atrophy a diet rich in anti-oxidants is the only known way to slow down the deterioration of this eye disease.
Fresh vegetables also encourage enzyme production and offer a gentle cleansing and balancing effect on the ph. levels of the body.
Depending on the type of vegetable, they provide soluble and insoluble fibre, which benefit the gut bacteria, and can bind to and remove certain toxins as well as adding bulk and moisture to the faeces.
With intensively farmed animals and soil depletion becoming a concern, our food is lacking in the level of nutrients that it provided many years ago, so the addition of vegetables, herbs, berries and some grains is a way to try and fill any nutritional gaps. The more variety we can add into our dog’s diet the less we will have to rely on dietary supplements.
An ideal herbal supplement in the Hedgerow Hounds range is Nature’s Boost, which combines vegetables, herbs, seeds & superfoods.
How to prepare and feed.
Due to the fact that dogs cannot digest the cellulose in vegetables, the best way to serve is to blend in a food processor to break down the plant’s tough cell wall, until they resemble a thick smoothie consistency, which also mimics the partly digested contents of a prey animal’s stomach.
Other options would be to lightly steam them or finely grate them into the food.
If you want to make larger batches up or you are lucky enough to grow your own veg and have a glut in the summer, then the pureed, pulped veg can be frozen into ice cube trays or pots for convenience.
If they are served whole many dogs just lift pieces of veg out, eat around them in the bowl, or pass them out the other end undigested, to make full use of the nutrients they need to be broken down.
A good feeding guideline would be 7% vegetables and 3% berries, although if you are looking to reduce the overall cost of home-prepared food, or if the dog needs to lose weight, then more veg can be added to make up a quarter of the meal.
The addition of vegetables will change the overall percentages, so subtract from the muscle meat and not the bone or offal which provides the calcium and vitamins. So, for instance a usual 80-10-10 ratio would become 70% (meat) 10% (bone) 10% offal and 10% vegetables.
Start off with a small amount and then monitor how your dog is handling the inclusion of vegetables in his diet.
It is not essential to feed vegetables every day, but even three times a week will be beneficial, rotating different types and changing with the seasons where possible
www.hedgerowhounds.co.uk
Garlic- Friend or Foe?
If there is one ingredient that causes controversy in the diet of dogs that would have to be garlic. Some people swear by its health-giving properties and others would never consider feeding it to dogs.
Garlic tends to be grouped in with all members of the onion family, which can be very toxic to dogs.
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a pungent member of the onion family. It grows as a bulb which contains between 10-20 individual teardrop shaped segments called cloves.
It has long been used to enhance the flavour of our meals and for its medicinal use as it possesses antibacterial, antifungal and anti-parasitic properties.
It does however need to be fed with care when incorporating it into the diet of our dogs. The main reason for this is that garlic contains thiosulphate, which if consumed in large amounts or over long periods of time can decrease the number of red blood cells, resulting in Heinz body hemolytic anemia.
The active constituents of garlic include alliin, alliinase, quercetin, anthrocyanins, amino acids and volatile oils. Garlic contains 33 sulphur compounds and the compound that you can smell once a garlic clove is cut or crushed is called allicin.
Allicin is an unstable compound that dissipates rapidly when exposed to air and heat so for maximum effect it is best consumed within 10 minutes of crushing. The familiar garlic odour can travel throughout the body when consumed, and we can smell it on our breath and through our skin. This also applies to our dogs which is thought to make them more unpalatable to parasites of all kinds, hence why people use it as a natural preventative at certain times of the year.
When it can be useful:
Before adding any supplementation to your dog’s diet, it is important to establish what you are aiming to achieve by doing so and what benefits there are for your dog.
The most frequent reason for including garlic is for the control of parasites, be that internal or external in the form of fleas, ticks, and mites.
It can be a useful addition to the diet as a small part of the overall natural regime of preventing fleas and ticks if you live in a high-risk area of the country. If you intend on using garlic as a means of internal parasite control it is still essential that you regularly use faecal worm counts to establish that your natural method of worm control is working for your particular dog.
The only time I include a form of garlic into my dogs diet is during the short growing season of wild garlic, also known as Ramsons, which is a broad leaf garlic occurring in late spring with a much milder action than the pungent bulb garlic. I have also witnessed dogs self-selecting wild garlic whilst out on a walk and consuming small amounts of the leaf and flower as it emerges in the spring.
When to avoid:
Garlic can interact with certain medications such as insulin, heart medication, immune suppressants, blood thinners, chemotherapy drugs and it should also be avoided if your dog has any pre-existing anaemia.
There is believed to be an increased risk of side effects in the Akita and Shiba Inus, so if you have these breeds, it is advisable to research further before use.
Due to its blood thinning properties, it is recommended that garlic is removed completely from the diet for two weeks prior to any surgery and for a week post-surgery.
Avoid feeding to pregnant and lactating females and bear in mind that it can taint the milk.
Do not feed to puppies under six months of age and use caution in dogs that are 6 – 12 months of age.
How to feed:
If your dog doesn’t have any of the contraindications mentioned earlier and you want to include garlic into your dog’s diet then here are a few guidelines.
It is not recommended or necessary to feed garlic in large amounts or for a long period of time. If you feel that it will be a useful addition over the summer months for added flea control, then freshly crushed garlic will be more effective from smaller doses.
Dosage:
Due to the incredibly pungent aroma and bitter taste of fresh garlic it is highly unlikely that even the greediest of dogs will want to eat large amounts in one sitting or consume it on a very regular basis.
So, if your dog is not on any contraindicated medication or has any existing health issues which could be compromised by feeding garlic, the following dosage for short term use should not cause any problems.
Based on the guidelines of holistic vet, Dr. Karen Becker, she recommends freshly crushing a clove of garlic, setting it aside for 10 minutes before adding to the food at a rate of quarter of a teaspoon for every 15 pounds (6.8kg) of bodyweight. This suggested dose is for use 2-3 times a week, just for the duration of the flea and tick season and not all year round.
This does also depend on your dog’s tolerance of garlic, as it can cause intestinal upset and if they find it palatable enough to eat in their meals.
As a rule, one clove, when crushed or sliced equals one teaspoon of garlic.
You can of course buy a garlic supplement specifically for dogs in a tablet form and because these are more palatable than fresh garlic it is important to follow the dosage guidelines of the product carefully.
Caroline Hearn MICHT, Dip.ICAT. MIAAT
Sports & Remedial Massage and Canine Holistic Therapist
LAMENESS AND REPETITIVE STRAIN IN DOGS
While supplements can be a big help in supporting joint health and controlling inflammation they will be of limited benefit unless there are positive exercise & lifestyle changes.
Caroline Hearn MICHT. MIAAT. Dip.ICAT Dip MLD Dip. Myofascial Release.
Human, Equine & Canine Sports & Holistic Therapist
As a canine massage therapist I see many dogs with injuries and lameness caused by repetitive strain, which can easily be avoided or kept to a minimum with some lifestyle changes. The main causes seem to crop up time and time again so here are the most common factors and ways to avoid injury to your dog.
Ball and Frisbee throwing:
Constant chasing after a ball or combined with leaping in the air to catch a frisbee is probably one of the main causes of injuries, lameness and strain that I see. The action of a burst of energy followed by a sudden stop, a skid then a rapid turn will put huge strain on the dogs shoulders, forelegs, neck, pelvis and spine.
Like us, dogs will favour one side of their body so will always prefer to turn in the same direction causing over use of muscles and joints. This repetitive action is very unnatural for a dog and if left to chase and hunt in the wild they would never continuously sprint with a sudden halt afterwards.
Also ball throwing for some dogs can mean they are on a constant adrenaline high so causing emotional as well as physical stress. This sort of exercise can cause micro trauma often not shown by the dog at the time of chasing as the sheer thrill they get can often mask any discomfort. But with time the dog will compensate for the discomfort elsewhere in their body and become lame. Instead, encourage hunting for a hidden ball or a treat in some undergrowth and reward with either giving the dog the ball to carry or a single retrieve of a ball placed ahead. Keep it to an absolute minimum and find other ways to interact with your dog . Always warm your dogs muscles up with at least 5 minutes on the lead before letting them off to run at speed.
2. Jumping out of cars, off furniture and down stairs:
All these activities put a lot of strain on your dogs shoulders and forelegs. The added problem with jumping out of the boot of cars is that your dogs muscles will be cold and it is often from a great height onto a hard surface, usually followed by immediately running off to start a walk. Teaching your dog to use a ramp will save so much strain on their body. Read our blog https://www.hedgerowhounds.co.uk/news/teaching-your-dog-to-use-a-car-ramp for more advice
Teaching your dog to calmly go up and down a car ramp is so important. Invaluable for young dogs, elderly or frail dogs or those recovering from injury or surgery. Saves a lot of strain on your own back too if you are currently lifting them in and out of the boot!
Stair gates are really useful for preventing dogs running up and down stairs and providing a comfortable and supportive bed for them near to you to encourage them not to lay on the furniture. Small dogs can be lifted off the sofa or a ramp used for larger dogs.
3. Slippery Flooring :
Dogs falling and slipping on laminate or tiled floors can cause so many injuries and really make an older dog lose their confidence. Use non slip mats and rugs in the areas that the dog uses and also around their bedding and in particular food and water bowls. Dogs with arthritis or mobility problems are better eating and drinking from raised bowls and make sure they are on a non slip mat. They find lowering their head difficult so often splay their legs in order to reach, this can cause really nasty falls and make them nervous at feed times.
Raised bowls for water and food can be made cheaply by stacking bowls together until you reach the ideal height for your dog. Always place on a non slip surface.
4. Inappropriate Exercise:
Problems can occur when dogs exceed their fitness levels or are taken beyond their capability due to age or mobility.
Some dogs have to make do with a quick stroll round the block in the week but are taken out for hours at the weekend and become exhausted making them more susceptible to injury such as cruciate ligament strain or tears.
Puppies and young dogs should be exercised very carefully as their bones, joints and growth plates are prone to injury causing lifelong issues.
Senior dogs should not be forced to walk but allowed to go at a pace that they are comfortable with and which improves their mobility. It is so upsetting to see old dogs being made to walk beyond their comfort zone and it causes pain, crushes their spirit and is detrimental to their long term welfare.
Dogs that pull hard on the lead and lean right over to one side almost scrabbling along are heading for joint and muscular damage. Use a harness and teach your dog to walk calmly at heel or enlist the help of a reputable trainer or behaviourist . It will be money well spent and save a fortune in vets fees long term.
Adapting your dogs routine will ensure many years of injury free activity and ease of movement in their senior years. There are some good supplements available to help support joint pain and inflammation and used in conjunction with long term lifestyle changes they can be really beneficial. Although the use of supplements can be helpful, they have limited value unless they are used in conjunction with lifestyle changes and there has been an accurate diagnosis as to the source of the pain and mobility problem.
Raw Feeding - Mindfully
It goes without saying that we all want what is best for our dogs, and for many of us, that means feeding a diet of raw meat and bones.
If we choose to eat meat and feed it to our dogs, we should do so with animal welfare, the environment and sustainable food production as a major consideration.
Some animals are reared with the sole purpose of ending up in the food chain. They have relatively short lives but nonetheless for the time they are alive deserve to be treated with respect and given the opportunity to live a relatively normal life with minimal stress, freedom to move, eat appropriate food and socialise with their own species.
We are increasingly disconnected from what we eat, whether that is meat neatly wrapped in cellophane packets bearing no resemblance to the animal it originated from or the convenience of grabbing veg from the supermarket, that has flown halfway round the world before it reaches our shopping trolley, with little thought on animal welfare, environmental damage, and destruction of wildlife habitats.
Current food production has a big impact on our planet, affecting soil health, biodiversity and threatening whole ecosystems. We need to be aware of exactly what we are buying and the processes that it went through before landing on our plate or in this case, the bowl.
As the old saying goes “we are what we eat” but also, what you eat, has eaten and the conditions it was raised or grown in needs careful thought.
Supporting the right producers
Large scale industrial producers of meat, crops and vegetables provide us with an abundant supply of cheap food, but with it comes a cost to animal welfare, damage to the environment and ultimately an impact on health. It is time to be more mindful of what we are buying, eating, and feeding our dogs.
Chicken in particular, is subject to frequent antibiotic use to “prevent” diseases which are caused by selective breeding and the over cramped conditions they are kept in. Antibiotic resistance not only affects the animals but also those that eat them.
The majority of mass-produced chicken is also fed on soya imported from Brazil and Argentina which is contributing to the vast destruction of the Amazonian rain forest. Soya is inexpensive and produces quick growing, cheap chicken, hence how you can buy a whole chicken for under £5 in a supermarket.
The fat composition of intensively farmed chickens is higher in the inflammatory Omega 6 fatty acids and much lower in the anti-inflammatory Omega 3 compared to their free-range equivalent. Chicken is widely used in pet foods of all types and certainly top of the list in an exclusion diet for dogs that have itchy, inflamed skin or constant gastric upset.
Trying to incorporate some pasture raised, grass fed and wild meats into the diet where possible will not only improve nutritional value but also support the environment they are raised in. Grass fed animals grazing on diverse pastures contain many different types of grasses, clovers and wildflowers and support 270 species of bee and 1300 species of insect. The animals are also healthier, less stressed and don’t need the preventative medications that their fellow grain fed, housed livestock rely on.
They offer higher levels of omega 3, sometimes as much as 4 times higher than grain fed animals, more nutrient dense and richer in antioxidants such as vitamin E and beta-carotene.
Importantly, we also benefit from what we are not feeding, albeit unknowingly, such as residues of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones and that will upgrade the diet enormously.
Support your local butchers, game dealers and farmers markets, they are knowledgeable about what they sell and can tell you exactly where and how their produce was raised and grown. If you support local suppliers, they will often go above and beyond any service a supermarket can offer. Any raw feeder will understand the thrill you get from coming out of the butchers clutching a few freebie bones or off cuts!
Eggs from high welfare, free range hens will offer far greater levels of the anti-inflammatory Omega 3 fatty acids and if you feed eggshells you can be confident that they have not been sprayed with chemicals, as supermarket eggs often are. Free range hens can forage, enjoy the sun on their back, have far less stress and therefore less disease and this will show in the quality of the eggs.
Raw meat suppliers
Raw feeding has seen a huge surge in popularity, with new companies appearing almost weekly. While this is a positive sign, it must also be noted that not all raw food producers are the same.
The origin of the meat being used must be considered and what was involved in the process of raising and slaughtering the animals, before it arrives in convenient tubs and tubes and served to our dogs. Not a pleasant subject but nonetheless if we eat or feed meat to our dogs, it is our responsibility to ask these questions and be happy with the answers.
When choosing a brand of raw food look for those that have a genuine interest in where the meat is sourced, how it was raised, and that they actively support local where possible.
Accurate labelling is essential, if it states that the recipe is beef, is that actually muscle meat or is it predominately beef lung and tripe, which is considerably cheaper and bulks out the food with lesser nutritional value in comparison.
Do they only use chicken carcass for the bone content and what is the source of that chicken? Is all the relevant information on the packaging such as contact details, website and DEFRA registration number?
Packaging is also a consideration and many companies are making changes to avoid plastic and move towards recyclable and compostable packaging and transportation boxes, often using sheep fleece for insulation, which can be returned when you next order.
Eat with the seasons
Both our distant ancestors and those of our dogs ate a huge variety of food in their diets, unlike the rather restricted diets of today. There was little or no sugars apart from when berries were in season and a rare chance encounter with wild honey.
It is now reported that 65% of our calories come from wheat, rice and maize and with extraordinarily little variation of ingredients used. Dogs get an even worse deal, with many being fed the same brand of dried food daily from puppyhood to their senior years, contributing to food allergies and intolerances which are now commonplace.
We are becoming increasingly aware that a healthy gut microbiome is essential for the optimum health of our physical and mental wellbeing. Things that adversely affect this delicate balance are too much sugar, inappropriate food, limited fibre, lack of variety in the diet, stress and antibiotic use.
By choosing seasonal, locally produced vegetables and also game meat, when it is in season, it is a cheaper, more nutritious way to fed and provides far greater diversity in the diet over the year.
Growing & Gathering
Many of us discovered or maybe rekindled a love of gardening in the recent lockdowns and were successful in growing a selection of vegetables and herbs and no doubt, thoroughly enjoyed the freshness and enhanced flavours of our harvest. Tomatoes that actually tasted of tomatoes, now there’s a thing!
The nutritional value of vegetables, particularly minerals and trace elements, have declined by 50% since the 2nd world war, mainly due to the depletion of the soil but also because of the varieties that are now grown. Early sweetcorn for instance would contain 10% sugar but modern-day varieties come in at 40% sugar.
In 2019, 48% of all fruit and vegetables tested by the government contained a mixture of pesticides. According to PAN-UK (Pesticide Action Network) “dirty dozen” list, based on data for multiple residues, the worst offenders were strawberries, pre-packed salad and spinach.
Wheat, barley, and oats did not fare any better and can have as many as 20 applications of different chemicals before harvest. Therefore, it`s especially important to keep dogs off cereal crops and particularly the young green shoots, as dog love to eat them.
You can enjoy nutrient dense, fresh vegetables, herbs and salad leaves by growing your own and picking what you need for that day. No plastic packaging, zero air and road miles and no pesticide residue.
Even within a tiny space you can grow sprouted seeds and a few herbs grown in pots on windowsills. It was incredible seeing what people grew on balconies and inventive ways to grow potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and green beans from a variety of containers and small raised beds. It is so satisfying to gather a few salad leaves knowing they haven’t been washed in chlorinated water or packed in a gas filled bag.
I feed much more vegetable content to my dogs nowadays, around 15% of the meal, a few times a week. This way I can feed better quality meat, which can cost a little more, but I use less of it.
If you need to stretch out the meals even further than some people will feed cooked ancient grains such as quinoa, millet, amaranth, wild rice or pre-soak organic gluten free oats added to seamed or pulped vegetables and then mixed with the raw meat, offal and bone. If your dog has complex dietary issues, then consult a specialist before adding any grains to their diet.
There are so many vegetables that are easy to grow and are ideal to share with your dogs, these include chard, courgette, green beans, salad leaves, parsley, kale and spinach. You can even place a pot of barley grass, wheat grass and lemon grass outside where you dog or cat can help themselves should they wish to.
There are several wild plants that you can forage for free at certain times of the year and add to your own as well as your dog’s diet.
Dandelion leaves are easy to identify and grow abundantly. With an affinity for the liver, gall bladder and kidneys, they are a good source of vitamin C, A, D, K and B complex, Iron, Manganese and Potassium as well as having 8 times more antioxidants than spinach. The yellow flowers are rich in Lecithin, but also the earliest nectar for bees and pollinators so delay in picking those until late Spring.
Nettles are rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, polyphenols, carotenoids, anti-oxidants and natural antihistamine and personally I love the flavour they give to many Spring recipes. Pick the green nettle tops from January until May. Avoid from May until October, as they are flowering, and the leaves contain cystolith crystals which can irritate the gut and the urinary tract.
Wild Garlic aka Ramsons. Wild Garlic grows in woodland or alongside streams and its vivid green shoots appear in April/May time. They are milder in taste and action than cloves of garlic and they are a perfect Spring tonic cleanse after a long Winter, when we have over indulged and feel a bit sluggish. My dogs always get a few leaves blended in with their vegetables for the short season the garlic is in leaf.
Blackberries are rich in antioxidants, high in vitamin C, manganese, Vitamin K, low in carbohydrates and high in fibre. The berries seem to be appearing earlier each year, what was eagerly awaited in October now appears ripe and ready to pick from late July until October. There are a few to be picked after this time, but I leave those to the birds, as winter approaches their needs are greater than mine.
Choose to pick those that are away from roads and growing alongside arable crops due to potential contamination from chemical sprays and traffic pollution.
Never over pick or forage in one area so there is a shortage, varying the places that you pick will give you slightly different levels of nutrients due to soil type or even if that plant grows in full sun or shade. Make sure you can confidently identify any plant that you pick and always refer to a guidebook or take along a knowledgeable friend.
“How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons”
Jane Goodall DBE
Caroline Hearn MICHT. Dip ICAT