Flannigan's Story - Good Nutrition;  A Matter of Life or Death

Homepage Articles About Us Family Album Interview with Linda Links Breeder's Showcase Great Great Danes Artwork of Linda Arndt Consultations

INTRODUCTION

I have been involved in the pet industry for almost 40 years, as a breeder and exhibitor and then as a pet nutritional consultant for holistic food and supplement companies. I know how powerful good nutrition can be in the prevention of disease and extension of life. I have seen many owners who were told  their pet had to be euthanized or have some expensive surgery done, only for the pet to be turned around with a better diet and supplements.

This is a story about one of those dogs. It particularly tugs at my heart because it is about an 8 year old tri-colored Collie named Flannigan. Since I too have a tri-colored Collie as well (Zoome), it hit home when I saw the images of this dog.

---

A few weeks ago I got a call from a lifelong friend of 51 years.  She was in a panic because her sister's 8 year old Collie had a stroke and was unable to walk. This had happened at a very bad time in their lives and the idea of losing their pet or having to make the dreaded decision to euthanize their pet was causing tremendous stress on the family. Therefore, I was asked if I would intervene/counsel or assist in some way.

Flannigan was paralyzed unable to get up and walk. He was at the vet clinic and although heroic measures were taken, the dog was not responding. Flannigan was in a sling, but unable to support his weight or walk and only slightly responsive.  I listened to details and thought, well, we are dealing with a geriatric dog to begin with, and that is not good...and strokes - well, I don't even know where to begin since I was unfamiliar with this condition with any of my dogs or other breeders I knew.

I was at a total loss as to whether this dog had the potential of recouping. Everything I read or heard pointed to "NO" and his age was against him as well. As the conversation unfolded over the 24 hours, I tried to prepare them for the reality of what was to come, and that was to have the dog euthanized because he was unable to walk on his own. It is a real disadvantage of owning the large breeds, when their unable to be mobile, it is impossible for owners to maintain them or provide them with any "quality of life." It was a very sad situation.

As usual, regardless of the situation I start to ask about diet/brand and type and supplements the dog has been feed, as well as all medicines and tests run. I was told the dog had a kidney issue 3 years ago and was put on a well known prescription diet specific to this condition.

Obviously I cannot name brands - but it is my opinion that there is not one prescription diet on the market that is worth the powder to "blow it to hell". This is due to the poor quality of ingredients, minimal nutrients and lacking micro minerals. Most owners refuse to use them for very long, because the pet's coats look so bad, the pets hate the taste, the cost is outrageous and they have little to do with healing nutrition, and more to do with an expensive marketing niche. Because of just this fact, I developed a supplement program to enhance the prescription diets for two of my puppy buyers.
Blackwatch Feed Program for Enhancing Prescription Diets,  

Blackwatch Feed Program for Kidney Support Both of which we had great success with during the time these diets were in use.

As for Flannigan, when I realized this dog had been on a prescription diet for over 3 years, immediately a red flag went up. "minimal nutrition" comes to mind. And at 14% protein, based mostly in rice which was fed because his kidneys had slightly elevated enzymes three years ago. But this is not enough quality protein to build and repair muscle/coat and many vital amino acids are missing! Regardless of the 19% pork fat content on this food, you would never know it by looking at Flannigans brittle coat that the dog was fed that much fat.
The concept of correct ratio of Omegas were totally neglected in this food as there was no balance of fish and flax. If the results are that evident on the outside, imagine what is going on on the inside of this dog.

 I knew he was probably nutritionally depleted, particularly in omegas but no where were there vital micro minerals, which are easily obtained with kelp or seaweeds. The crude forms of minerals (Oxides) in the food were hardly bioavailable by the body. Of course there were no probiotics and digestive enzymes present in the food either. How these companies get by with calling their diets prescription diets. when they are often worse than a grocery store level foods is beyond me. Shame on all the companies with prescription diets!

We used to have Innovative Veterinary Diets IVD which were a higher grade and more holistic but then Royal Canine came along and bought them. Of course their line of of pet foods food is a long way from the holistic philosophy so do they think we really believe they are going to keep the IVD diets a quality prescription diet? NO - the industry shows us this never happens.

When I was finally sent a photo of Flannigans coat I knew we were in serious trouble. It was brittle, broken off and flyaway and the key to what was going on inside. These photos below shows a short, broken, brittle ruff of hair, typical on a dog that is nutritionally depleated.

Flanagan's Coat after 3 years on a prescription diet.

---

Compare the "broken mane/collar" in the right hand photo of Flannigan (top), to the photos of the "long mane/collar" on my own Collie "Zoome" at 12 months. It shows you the big difference between a dog on depleated nutrition and a dog feed a quality comprehensive program who is blooming with health. Also note: Zoome has not been brushed or professionally groomed in these photographs, in fact he was long over due for the groomer. I do have my Collie and Sheltie groomed every 6-8 weeks because I love their beautiful coats and want to keep them in good condition. But the Blackwatch Feed Programs, with Precise Foods at the core of it, shows the bloom of health on this animal, and a coated breed is not difficult to keep if fed properly.

Wellness is never more evident that it is on a coated breed --it does not lie. The little merle guy is our new sheltie "Joey" aka Buzz Lightyear- the day he came home to us 12 weeks. We have had the same experience with our cat at the office. Feed one year on Eagle, then switched over to Precise Plus Feline - in 1 year you would not recognize him as the same cat. (Grady's Story).

---

At the request of Flannigan' owners, I made some suggestions in his diet. We started with a balanced bland diet recipe, until he was stronger then the intent was to move him over to one of the Precise pet foods along with my supplement suggestions (see below).

And after much blood work was done, and working with their vet, we came to the conclusion that this dog has always had some elevated enzymes levels regarding his kidneys. This was nothing new and probably the reason for the low protein, prescription diet for kidneys in the first place. But after three years this diet has definitely made its mark on this dog's whole system and is evidenced in his coat, eyes, lethergy and I suspected the strokes. His former diet simply could not support the bodies metabolic functions over the long haul. The glandular system is all inter-connected and is the bodies electrical plant, so to speak. If the brain can't spark, then it can not operate to it's full capacity and connect the nerve signals to the muscles etc - that is it in lay terms.

I let me make it very clear, I am not vet, and my opinions and theory is only speculation on my part, and not to be used in lieu of veterinarian advice. That said, I consulted with several vets I work with about the latest info on protein and kidneys. It has been found that in the early stages if kidney issues - it is now better to select a very high quality, easily digestible, moderate protein diet to maintain them, instead of going with a low in protein diet, because all the organs/muscles suffer because they can't repair themselves.

For days I am haunted by the fact that this large dog has been on a diet so low in protein it is hard for the body to repair itself, let alone "run" the body's electrical plant and no trace minerals to give it the spark needed to run the electrical impulses of the body. So I explained to the owners.."this is a shot in the dark - I do not guarantee a thing, but we have nothing to lose but to try enhancing his diet and see if we can save him". Their vets concurred.

Those of you that know me or used my feed programs know how I preach about the importance of a good food as the basis of their diet (Precise) and my CORE 4 Supplements - 4 nutrients in 3 bottles - a lifelong program for wellness, as well as the key components to recovery, rescue and repair needed when a dog is ill.

The CORE 4 Supplements not only help prevent serious conditions, I believe based on my own dogs over that past 40 years, that it does increase longevity. It certainly increases "quality of life" no matter how long they are genetically programmed to live. In 40 years of breeding dogs (Great Danes, Borzoi, Pugs) and owning other breeds; Whippets, Collies, Shelties, Beagle (rescue) only 2 of our dogs have died due to disease - the rest just got old and we had to make the decision to let them go. So I know feeding the right gives us a greater chance at a longer, better life free from illness and even a great dog food will not do it alone.

---

Flannigan in a sling for support

---

Below: Flannigan After a Few Short Weeks on The Blackwatch Feed Program

---

Lets Look At Flannigan's Feed Program

While at the vet clinic I had them cook a balanced homemade diet appropriate for kidney issues but loaded with wholesome components instead of poor quality ingredients, and added supplements that are in the Blackwatch CORE 4 Kit# 38

Now that he his home and doing well he has been moved over from the balanced bland diet + supplements to Precise Light a lower protein 18% which will at least allow for some repair and 7% fat which we can easily increase to a better level with a wonderful naturally preserved Alaskan Wild Salmon Oil.

The poor quality of fat that he has been on has drastically effected his coat. Due to his slight kidney condition we want to keep him on a 22% protein diet which will repair tissue and provide a 15% fat.

So we can feed Precise Light protein kibble 18%, then bring the protein up to the low side of moderate protein - a 22% protein - one could add some highly digestible freeze dried raw nuggets from http://www.darwinspet.com Diets. Then we can increase the good fat levels to 12%-15% with a complete Omega supplement such as the Alaskan Wild Salmon Oil

VARIETY PROVIDES BETTER NUTRITION

For variety Flannigan's family were instructed that they could use fresh fruits and veggies, homemade low sodium veggie soups and keeping check on anything with much protein - just enough for flavor and limiting eggs, cottage cheese to twice a week. If you would want to use raw meats, this is the option I recommend:

http://www.darwinspet.com Diets Freeze Dried Raw Nuggets - the enzymes are intact with this process making them an ideal choice for treats or to bump up the highly digestible protein levels a little to provide very good nutrition. In Flanagan's situation I would suggest 5 -7 nuggets a day crumbled on his food or these are great to used as treats because his treats need to be "balanced" since he is in repair right now.

NOTE: This is a good time to explain the labels on raw foods. When a label says 50% protein, that does not mean your dog is getting a 50% protein diet. It means that of one of those nuggets 50% of it is comprised of raw meat, the rest is fruit and veggies. Also know - raw meat protein is processed very differently by the body than the protein in a kibble, cooked homemade diet or a processed grain free diet. You can not compare these diets when reading a label unless you understand that raw is processed differently by the body than cooked foods.

The easiest way to present this is - you can feed a raw meat diet that is 50% protein and that is equal to a holistic kibble in the 25% protein range. That seams easy but the issue with many raw or grain free diets is the level of calcium and phosphorus.
Likewise, do not be fooled by grain free diets - THEY ARE NOT RAW DIETS, they are still cooked so when you get a 42% protein in a grain free diet that is way too high for your pet and we see "protein burn out" as groomers are well aware of in coats. We do not know the long term effects of high protein cooked/processed diets on these dogs - the foods are too new and there is no history or real research on them yet.

At least not in the USA. If you insist on using a grain free diet - I like the Petcurean NOW!! line and the Golden Eagle Grain Free lineup in Europe. These are both moderate in protein/fat/calories and with normal calcium/phosphorus levels - a more common sense approach to a new concept of feeding - but they are still not appropriate for large and giant breed growth.

Other Variety Options You Can Use:

Honest Kitchen Preference - 21% protein/12% fat  (no meat just fruits - veggie- herbs) - works well and a small amount of this with the kibble to enhance it but not disrupt the balance or over do protein levels.  Ingredients: Alfalfa, sweet potatoes, cabbage, celery, apples, spinach, organic kelp, coconut, bananas, zucchini, and honey.

OR

Honest Kitchen FORCE - 21% protein - 14% fat - no grain/NO gluten
Hormone-free chicken, organic flaxseed, potatoes, celery, sweet potatoes, apples, alfalfa, organic kelp, honey, zucchini, green beans, cabbage, bananas, papayas, yogurt, basil, garlic, rosemary.

LINDA'S VEGGIE SOUP: Use 2 large cans of chicken or beef broth - (low sodium for heart or elderly dogs- or homemade). Add LOTS of veggies - carrots, green beans, wax beans, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and couple cloves of garlic. The idea is to use this as the filler so you want it to be hearty and filling.

VARIETY WITH OTHER HUMAN FOODS: use in moderation

Baby foods, yogurt, buttermilk. berries. melons, apples, banana, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, oranges, squash, sweet potato, green beans, zucchini - minced/diced/raw/cooked - they love frozen berries and melon balls!! Pulverized fresh veggies are best for digestion. (No raisin, chocolate, grapes).

NOTE: when using a dehydrated food such as Honest Kitchen, a  4 lbs box will make up to  17 lbs wet food.

---

SUPPLEMENTS NEEDED FOR FLANAGAN:

We started Flanagan on the CORE 4 concept of wellness.  Using the ingredients in the CORE 4 "OPTIMAL" Supplement Kit #38, which is best suited for stress, pregnancy, repair or illnesses.   

1) Probiotics - (Product Used: Filling N The Wholes), this product is of my own design and it is 6 beneficial bacteria plus 2 that are micro-encapsulated. This product will prepare the gut for better digestion and boost the immune function. Filling N The Wholes, it is the best choice for repair because the ingredients covers all the areas that he needs help with; immune, digestion, metabolism, joint, heart.

2) Digestive Enzymes - also included in the Filling in The Wholes - these are used to get the most out of the food he is being fed because these enzymes break down fats, proteins, carbs and fiber so it is more usable by the body. Since he has been on minimal nutrition for 3 years, he is starving for a supplement that will bring his body up to speed at a cellular level.

3) Dietary Enzymes - from barley sprouts - also a product of my own design. These are the crucial enzymes lost in all pet foods because it is either stored, cooked or processed in some way. These enzymes PUT THE LIVING COMPONENT BACK INTO THE DIET they are: Superoxide Dismutase, Amylase, B-Glycosidase, Car Boxylase, Catalase, Glyolase, Lipase, Liporxidase, Phytsae, Protease, Uricase, Methione Reductase, Allantoinase, Ascorbic Acid Oxidase.

They provide the nutrient to the body so the body can repair at a cellular level as well as make the antioxidants necessary for the body to detoxify itself. With the diet this dog was on before, he was unable to really detoxify his own body because the elements were missing so the body can repair and rejuvenate itself.

4). Ox-E-Drops (Concentrate)- This liquid is an anti-bacterial, anti viral, anti-fungal and used internally it helps keep a healthy pH in the gut, as well as it is benefits of keeping infections and yeast from overgrowing in the gut. I am concerned about Flannigans yeast levels in his gut due to the high grain content on his prescription diet. It also can be used topically in a 2% solutions for many things including cuts, abrasions, eye and ear drops, in vaporizers  and for colonics. A list of instructions and uses comes with this remarkable first aid kit in a bottle
.
SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENTS USED FOR FLANNIGAN - IN ADDITION TO THE CORE 4 KIT:

1).Alaska Wild Salmon Oil which is naturally preserved

2). Spark of Life - 68 micro-minerals that everyone in the industry forgets about adding to diets yet they are critical to running the metabolic/electrical system of dogs/cats/humans. I feel that Flannigan responded quickly one he was administered a trace mineral product and continued to gain mobility after the whole program was instituted in a matter of a week's time.

3) Water for Life - a concentrate liquid that you add to a gallon of drinking water and feed 1-2 ounces a day of the diluted mixture. It makes water wetter, that is the best way I can explain it in lay terms. The outcome is it re hydrates cells quickly making them receptive to nutrients. When an animal is nutritionally depleted, this is a very important  component to getting nutrients into the body so they can work at a cellular level to start repair. It is a companion product to the Spark of Life - together the two bring vitality, energy and repair to the body very quickly.

Flannigan was started on these supplements but he had to be eased into them because we did not want him to have loose stools when he could not get up and walk to potty himself.

Starting with a straight probiotic called BakPakPlus, then moving him over the Filling N The Wholes for repair, once he was on his regular feed. Every 2-3 days we would incorporate a supplement easing into the program until he was on all supplements and able to get up on his own.

I am so please to share that he is doing remarkably well, able to stand, walk, potty himself and play. He is after all an 8 year old dog, but his quality of health is evident in his photos - he has a new lease on life because of sound nutritional practices and using "functional foods" and "nutraceuticals" that benefit the animal at cellular level.

I never expected this dog to live, let alone to walk again. Not only does this family have their pet back, he is in better shape than ever! Another happy ending. If I did not have such a high success rate with the Blackwatch Feeding Programs I could not be involved in this industry, day in and day out, because of the heartbreak people go through when their pets are ill, or they lose them to disease.

OWNERS UPDATE: From the time of the stroke April 14, 2010 until the time of this writing June 26, 2010 - it has been a total of 6 weeks in recovery. This is a note from his owners....