Digestibility

Paramount to deciding what to feed your Poodle is “how digestible the substance is that you are going to be feeding the Poodle”. Digestibility is senior because we want to make sure the food is broken down in the stomach so that the nutrients can be distributed throughout the body. The other reason is because if food sits in the belly and does not digest, then you’re going to have a situation where the food will rot. It will cause irritation in the gut and the stomach lining. Perhaps even ulcerations, swelling and eventually lead to gastric problems, as well as other problems when the toxins are leaching out into the bloodstream. You can have a situation where rotting food is in the bloodstream and going all through the heart, the kidneys and the brain. Your dog will not be as healthy and will probably end up with a chronic illness because of this. So, we look at things that are easily broken up by the digestive system.

Raw Green Tripe

We feed raw green tripe because of the fact that it is very, very digestible. We feed the raw green tripe twice a day. We give two small meals as opposed to one very large meal, because we want to make sure that the food is fully digested before we feed again.

Enzymes

We also add our Critter Corral or Tavern Tonic into the food once a day. We use Critter Corral with every meal because that is a digestive enzyme that helps the system to break down the foods. Again, so you don’t have that fermentation process that I mentioned earlier. That will keep the blood clean.

If you have toxins leaching out into the system, then you’re going to have inflammation throughout the whole body. It would cause the dog to have joint problems and become arthritic. The enzymes are extremely important and so is the digestibility of the food.

Dental Hygiene

The other nice thing about the raw green tripe is that it acts as a natural dental floss. It will keep the teeth cleaned, because it’s kind of chewy and rubbery. The dogs love it. Also, by feeding a raw diet, you’re feeding a diet that is pH-balanced so that tartar doesn’t build up on the teeth. Our Poodles’ teeth stay nice and white because of the food that we feed. We don’t have to do “dentals”, which involve anesthesia. We take care of the teeth with a routine tooth-scraping with a small dental tool, very gently, next to the gums. And then after that we don’t have any kind of tartar on the teeth because of the fact that the pH balance is correct when you feed a raw diet.

Another thing to keep in mind is to not feed things that will be irritating the Poodle, or any dog for that matter. Dogs are grain-sensitive. That will cause inflammation again in the gut and stomach and then you’ll have that digestive tract problem of not digesting the food. So, we stay away from grains. In some dogs that even includes rice. They may have a sensitivity to it and may develop yeasty ears. That’s why a lot of times you see chronic conditions in the ears with Poodles – because of the grains in the foods that people are feeding. It builds up in the liver causing yeasty conditions and skin problems as well (itchy skin, allergies, etc.).

Say No to Free-Feeding

We do not free-feed our dogs. That is something that is not a natural process. Dogs of yesteryear did not have food available all the time. If the dog has food and nibbles all day, they don’t have a digestive process starting in the mouth with saliva.

The natural gastric juices don’t fill up the belly. When the dog eats, just like with people, the first process is the saliva in the mouth breaking down the food and secondly the gastric juices in the stomach breaking down the food. It is all triggered by the sense of smell and sight and if somebody just grazes all day, whether Poodle or human, they don’t have those gastric juices dumped into their stomach and intestines. They don’t get proper digestion and you get the problem of fermentation.

To quote a well-known PhD in Animal Nutrition, “dogs have been for centuries, making up for deficits in their diet. Where we get into problems is when we start giving them too much of something and overloading them with an individual substance”. So, it is important that when you are choosing supplements or foods, that you get one that is balanced and very high-quality.

Supplementation

We feed the enzymes daily and we also will give our dogs Vitamin C dosages daily. Also, our Ella Belle’s Dancin’ Dust, which is a multi-vitamin, mineral and amino acid that has been specially formulated for dogs. When you get into mixtures of foods that are claiming that they are good for everybody, remember that dogs are just like humans. Some do well on a high meat diet, others do well on a high plant-source diet as well as carbohydrate-balancing. So, every dog is an individual and what you do pick out needs to be balanced. To make sure you’re not missing anything you would add supplements in proper dosages.

You wouldn’t want to double up for vitamins and minerals for long durations of time. However, the enzymes can be given in double doses if somebody is having a gastric condition or even with joints/arthritic conditions. The enzymes are very, very good and very versatile and can be given in double doses for long durations of time.

Another Note on Teeth

The reason that it’s so important to keep the dog’s teeth cleaned is because the tarter promotes bacteria in the mouth. The bacteria will drip down into the system, going into the blood and thus all areas of the body, including the brain. This can cause chronic illness, joint problems, arthritis and many other things. So it’s very important that your dogs teeth be kept clean.

This can all be done with good nutrition.