Saw an Animal Healer and asked about help with Chloe's cataracts

[*Adele*]

Not sure if this should go under Health or feeding! LOL! Probably both but the main is about feeding I guess! Whilst at the Health and Healing Festival this weekend one of the exhibitors/performers was a Chakra Dancer but also an animal healer/horse whisperer kind of person!  We got quite chatty as she's known OH for a while through the festival and I asked her if she could help with Chloe's eyes (Cataracts and dry eye mainly), she told me the usual speil about dogs descending from wolves and the fact that they would in the wild be eating rabbits and the whole rabbit so feeding them dry food (Chloe has Arden Grange) and recommended cooking extra food when cooking for myself so she could have cooked chicken, lamb, veg, pasta, potatoes etc as well as canned pilchards etc. I'm very much of the opinion that dogs are so far removed from wolves that a lot of the eating a whole rabbit thing isn't really that important etc esp with the way that dog food has evolved!

I did question her belief in BARF etc though and she was adamant about cooked meat more than raw meat, all taken with a pinch of salt again. Anyway, I did say that I would give it a go even if it was a case of giving her cooked veg or something to see if it helped as she said it would help with her dry eye and it would be great to help her without resorting to drops etc. I promised to email her after a while to let her know how it went anyway although not sure if I'll personally see much improvement really 

Well tonight she's had a tin of pilchards and she was over the moon! Chloe that is! So maybe I won't follow her advice to the T and maybe I won't go completely BARF (concerned about cost tbh) but I will give some of her advice a go I must say to see if I can notice any difference! 

[Beth]

Sorry, but that sounds like a load of twaddle to me. if the problems are because they should be eating whole raw rabbits, then how on earth will giving cooked food help?

[*Adele*]

Sorry, but that sounds like a load of twaddle to me. if the problems are because they should be eating whole raw rabbits, then how on earth will giving cooked food help?

Yeah it did kind of make me giggle but I had to ask, she was there and it was free!  She clearly believes in what she does but totally agree with what you're saying!  We've done a fair bit of giggling and laughing at some of the people at the festival, I know we shouldn't! But we came to conclusion that a lot of these people just don't know what to do workwise and end up relying on a belief and then passing that belief on  basically!  They're all such prima-donnas it's unbelievable! And believe me its not much fun trying to convince a performer who is chanting on stage that it's not actually feedback from the speakers it's actually the idiot stall holder with these magic bowls which make the same sound trying to get on everyone's nerves!  Our sound guys won't be back next year thanks to him! Not a happy bunny!

[Cob-Web]

I hope things improve for Chloe, the healer you met sounds really interesting!

Although I have seen with my own eyes the benefits to my dogs of a raw diet, I have often wondered if domestic dogs have evolved to a point where they are no longer able to fully benefit from the same diet as their wild ancestors. Have those dogs which best tolerate processed foods been selected for, inadvertently, through breeding programmes so that they pass this tolerance future generations?

From a practical perspective, giving my dogs home-cooked diet wouldn't be convenient for me at all; and I am lucky that the raw meat I feed are cheaper for me to buy than most processed dog foods.

There is a desperate need for independent research into the long-term impact of various diets and ingredients that are available t dog owners, so that they can make informed choices that suit them and their pets.

I would be very interested to hear how Chloe improves, will you let us know ? 

[*Adele*]

Of course I will let you know how things go, I can't really guarantee that I will stick to how she told me to feed her, I went to the butchers today to get some decent meat for a change (something I've been meaning to do for a while) and was shocked at the cost!  I guess you notice it more when you're just buying meat from somewhere as opposed to a supermarket shop etc.  Chloe isn't a fussy eater as such but it's only recently that she's started eating with more gusto about it if that makes sense? I have wondered whether she was bored of the food but then she's been on Arden Grange since day one! I once wondered whether her jumpiness was potentially to do with her diet but I think that comes more down to her eyesight really. In the past when I've introduced new food to her she's almost turned her nose up at it but she really was very happy with the pilchards earlier! Unlike the cats who were not happy that she was getting the kind of treat that is usually theirs! 

Happy to make a bit extra or simply cut back on the amount of food I eat, happy to lose a bit of weight!  But I tend to cook with sauces and things so going to have to get around it that way. I think I'm going to try and cook more veg and things like that to see if she will take to that once a day.

The cost issue is a big thing for me really, Arden Grange costs me £35 for 5-6 months of food, to start buying BARF food or extra "normal" food would cost substantially more! So we'll see, I want the best for my dog at the end of the day.