Changed to Raw :-)

nala2012 wrote: »

Does anybody know which foods are high in zinc?

Liver has lots of zinc in it. As do fresh bones. Also a little almond oil on their food (half a teaspoon twice a week). You can apply almond oil topically on to things like elbow crusts (zinc deficiency), run through dry coat etc. Excellent stuff.

Phytic acid (in wheat) and gluten (in wheat) block zinc absorbtion. Also zinc oxide (used in dry food) is a poorly absorbed form of zinc. Hence dry fed dogs having elbow crusts that lots of people thought was because they lay on hard ground.

If you're feeding dry and are adding good foods and want zinc absorbtion it needs to be on a wheat free kibble!

Cracker fat, like it, will take and use as my own!

The more meat on the wings the better, definitely. It's why I prefer backs, cheaper again, bits of organ hanging off for free, nice bit of meat, soft bones. Too many small wings can block them up (impaction can happen when people feed necks all day every day, or 2kg at a time. Too much for the poo factory!

I don't like cheap "pet" minces, particularly cheap beef and lamb. The lowest grade human mince (grade 3) is the very last bits they can gleam off the carcass. The maximum fat content permitted is 30% fat (the stuff in Lidl and Aldi at €3.50/kg). But thats a fresh weight measure. 60 - 65% of this water. So you're only getting 5 - 10% protein. Fatty dynamite. Pet minces begin after this. People love it, coming back to the age old saying "it puts the weight on them". Which it does but again its the wrong sort of weight, it's fat, not lean muscle mass (which is built from protein). In this way fatty beef minces are as bad as "putting the weight on" with carbohydrates (cereal laden dry food are now 50% carbs). These are the cheapest ways, certainly not the best, putting huge stress on many bio functions. We'll never endorse them as a result. Little bits are fine, damn tasty, but treat them like pizzas.

Some better minces exist, consisting of cheek and head meat etc. Harder to find and you're at the mercy of whoever grinds it up that what you have is good stuff. Problem is, they all look meaty due to blood content.

Tripe is lower in fat (circa 20 - 25% fat, and thats a Dry Matter weight, hence up to 60% protein). That costs a lot more these days though due to opening of polish market who take all our tripe. Slaughter houses no longer give this stuff out cheap and thanks to extremely stringent protocol, are not permitted to do so anyway. Cheap pork maybe? I've been using more and more of it as I can source it cheap, it's bad rep is ill deserved.

You're far better off buying the half price beef cuts in Tesco when the opportunity arises and "putting the weight on" with the cheapest chicken you can find (that hasn't been imported and therefore grown in a box).

Whatever you're giving him just give me loads more of it. As long as its all good stuff (chicken, fish, bit of veg etc) he won't put on the wrong weight, being a biologically appropriate high protein feed, he'll wee out the excess he doesn't use for lean muscle mass gain.

Hey Lemlin, re supplements, kelp is brilliant, probably the best. Available all over web. There are two types, Laminaria (very good, real kelp) and Ascophyllum (not as good, regularly sold as kelp, great for cleaning their teeth though!!). Stuffed full of all the good stuff as well as a few polysaccharides that are only found in seaweed which are proven to have a variety of benefits including anti-oxidants, anti-tumour growth etc!!

Also great is gluten free brewers yeast (stuffed full of vitamins and trace elements).

Also bit of safflower oil if you can find it. Great for coats. Half a teaspoon twice a week.

Any herbs that are good for humans are brilliant for dogs too if you wanted to sneak them in now and again. Talk to natural shop, they're full of info.

Fresh / raw fed dogs don't really require all the extra stuff mind, but dry fed dogs with depleted vitamin levels absolutely do.

Lemlin wrote: »

Thanks for the info.
Is there anything you'd recommend as a natural repellent to worms/fleas that can be added to food?

Wormwood is an excellent herb for anti-worm in dogs. It is highly effective on intestinal parasites. Others include liquorice but to be honest a quick google will give you many more. Use a variety, you can't OD on small herb inclusions. If you suspect a worm issue, like you can see it in their poo, a dose of drontal may be required. After this I would immediately dose with natural anti-oxidants (available in any health food store) to purge the body of chemicals.

Neurotoxic flea drops are almost never recommended though some types are useful for mange etc. Lets assume your dog's not there yet. Fresh garlic and rosemary work well for flea repellents. Clean all bedding areas first. There are a number of coat washes you can make up, again google will give you what you need. Away from laptop at mo