Bone Appétit

The Spare (AKA: Cobb’s Daddy, Paul) had his follow up with the cardiologist last week and it went absolutely spectacular! 

The cardiologist confirmed that this was all just a case of myocarditis, a temporary situation, likely brought about as a result of a random virus. He also reiterated that Paul’s heart is perfectly healthy with zero blockages. He said he does not see him EVER developing cardiovascular disease in his lifetime! He confirmed that our lifestyle is precisely why. 

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  I’d like to tell you about our lifestyle and how it carried over into me becoming interested in canine nutrition for my dog’s health as well:

  
  

  We have followed a meat-heavy, low carbohydrate diet for over a decade now. I (Mama) began eating low carb back in the early 90’s but wasn’t consistent until 12 years ago when I realized it helped me with lifelong intestinal issues (IBS), among many other things. The loss of almost 50 pounds was just an added bonus. I also completely reversed a fatty liver, as well as obliterated “prediabetes". I put “prediabetes” in quotes because it’s laughable to call someone a “prediabetic” as it’s already dangerous at that point, and simply means they will “watch you” and once your A1C goes above a certain number, THEN they will start treating you with medications, that diet alone, would have reversed. Meanwhile, in the “prediabetes” stage, organ damage has already begun. I dodged that bullet simply eating a ketogenic diet. 

  
  

  Once Paul saw not only my physical results, but also all the improvements to my health, he jumped on the keto train with me and has been doing so for the past 10+ years now. While we will enjoy ourselves on a special vacation, we are pretty strict with how we eat 99% of the time because of all of these health benefits. 

  
  

  We both have coronary calcium scores (a measure of calcified plaque in the coronary arteries) of zero, and now, Paul has also had a cardiac catheterization, a cardiac MRI and an echocardiogram ALL showing a completely healthy heart, all due to our chosen, intentional lifestyle. 

  
  

  We’ve now had both a primary care physician and a cardiologist unequivocally confirm that the way we eat has contributed to our health, plus all the imaging that has proven it. 

  
  

  Once I saw all the ways our lifestyle has benefitted us, I wondered how to best feed our dogs. In 2020, I sought out and found some very intense online canine nutrition courses and jumped in. I was shocked at how in-depth these courses were in both biology and chemistry. Much more so than I’d ever had, even in nursing school.

  
  

  I passed each course with flying colors and became a Certified Pet Nutrition Specialist as well as a Raw Dog Food Specialist. 

  
  

  It is because of all that I learned during these courses that made me such a staunch believer in feeding REAL, human-grade food to my beloved dogs, as opposed to mass produced, highly processed, shelf or can stable foods with a ton of non-necessary, often chemical or toxic ingredients. 

  
  

  Since then, my pups have thrived on a raw frozen diet of nothing but REAL ingredients. No fillers, no by-products and no chemical or toxic additives. 

  Recently, I’ve put Cobb on a frozen, cooked real food diet. As dogs age, sometimes a cooked diet is easier to digest than raw. 

  
  

  I’ve noticed, over the years that many people will proudly proclaim that they cook for their dog. Unfortunately, these diets often lack key ingredients and nutrients that dogs MUST have to thrive. Simply throwing a protein, rice or potatoes and green beans into a dog’s bowl is not enough. This is why I chose a pre-made, perfectly balanced and portioned frozen cooked diet for Cobb. The bottom line is, it’s cooked REAL food and this is what works for us, for Cobb’s health and unique needs.

  
  

  Even with good nutrition, age will eventually catch up to us all, including our dogs. We plan to age, and hope that Cobb does as well, as healthy as possible. 

  
  

  Eating real food ensures that inflammation, where all non-infectious disease begins, remains low. I’ve often said through the years, that food is either your medicine, or your poison, so choose wisely.

  As Cobb often says, “Bone appétit”!

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  Notes:

  -If you’d like to see the podcast I did on canine nutrition with my friend Amber, you can find it here: 

  https://youtu.be/r2cG0rZ50sc?is=luMCq7fSSZi0oqMs

  
  

  -If you’re curious about learning about the dirty underworld of mass produced pet food, I highly recommend you watch the documentary “Pet Fooled”. An online search will show you where you can watch it.

  
  

  -I do not offer pet food consults. I obtained these certifications  simply to improve my own dog’s lives. I am happy to share what WE do, and offer suggestions only. If you’d like to find a Certified Pet Food Specialist near you, many non-big-box, smaller, boutique-type pet supply stores will employ Certified Pet Food Specialists. They will often have signs in their store window stating they have the proper certifications. If not, ASK!

  

  Paul, Cobb & Lily