Holistic feeding of my starved puppy, Scucca, day 1 & 2

I saw that this forum section was woefully neglected and since holistic health/feeding is my area of expertise, I thought I'd utilize this to chronicle Scucca's diet 'recovery' process.

About me:

I have extensive experience in raw diets in humans and am an herbalist who once owned my organic cosmetics company using recipes I formulated myself (like Lush). I sold one of my formulas to a company in Mexico City years ago and used that money to design small dog furniture in Oslo, Norway & MI with a design partner.

I've been feeding him tiny meals since we acquired this pup.

He was skin and bones, TWELVE POUNDS at 13 weeks. Severely dehydrated and hungry, he was very lethargic.


DAY 1
I had a flash of inspiration to buy pup formula on the way back home from the place where we got him, which was hours away from where we live.

At first, he could only lick the puppy milk from my fingers but eventually drank the entire bowl of about 1/2 c of formula. IMMEDIATELY he perked up.

He was VERY thirsty... and though he was not strong enough to chew kibble, his appetite was good.

Started him out on the formula every couple of hours with milk, then progressed to about 1/4 c or less of soaked vitamin enriched high quality puppy kibble in formula for the first solid feed.

His next solid feed was 1/4 c of atlantic wild salmon (human grade/organic) mixed with a teaspoon of virgin coconut oil and 1/2 a clove of smooshed garlic ... plus a bit more formula in another bowl and water.

HE LOVED it.

I added 2 drops of lugol's iodine to his formula as well to stimulate him depleted thyroid. I also added a 1/2 capful of hydrogen peroxide, which has shown to be efficient at treating kennel cough in dogs, plus grade B maple syrup (another thing that has been reported as effective in treating kennel cough symptoms in dogs-- see link at end of post)

Iodine deficiency is RAMPANT in humans and animals, especially in the Great Lakes Basin where we live. My family uses lugol's on a regular basic and it is an essential nutrient that is very overlooked.

IMMEDIATELY after ingesting all of this (remember, these were all given in teeny amounts), he perked right up... prior to eating this he suffered from fever, which went away right afterward. I was AMAZED by this little fighter!

He had a few more small feeds throughout day 1 and gained about 2 lbs (I think most is water) that day alone.

At his age, he should weigh about 30 lbs. He is smaller than an 8 week old Newf right now.

DAY 2

His first meal at 5 am (because I finally got to sleep somewhere between 7-midnight the day before):

~wild salmon (about 1/4 c) mixed with a tablespoon of whole milk organic ricotta cheese, 1 tsp virgin coconut oil, and 1/4 clove well squished raw garlic, mixed.

~1/2 c 'puppy milk' (formula) with a drop of lugol's

~fresh distilled water

**wild salmon/human grade: good for coat, skin, heart, and joint health. Provides much needed Omega 3 fatty acids. Given as a whole food instead of just the oil for the needed calories. Easily digestible protein.

**ricotta cheese/whole milk/organic: a recent study in the UK reported that organic milk from grassfed cows were higher in nutrients than their more commercial counterpart's milk. It is free of growth hormones and other drugs. A good source of protein and fat.

**virgin coconut oil:

Apart from coconut oil, the only other source of lauric acid found in such high concentrations is in mother's milk. Tropical oils and mother's milk are by far the richest food sources of medium chain fatty acids available. These are vital for promoting a healthy immune system in both animals and humans.

KILLS GIARDIA AND PARASITES IN BOTH HUMANS AND ANIMALS!!

http://www.coconut-connections.com/parasites.htm

It is also anti-microbial and anti-viral.

**raw garlic: reported to take care of kennel cough symptoms

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/cough.html

It is also a very powerful antibiotic in it's raw crushed form! It regulates blood sugar and is effective in treating colds and flu.

I have him on an every 3-4 hour feed schedule today. Tomorrow it will be every 4-5 hours, etc til I get him stabilized and all clear.

After his first feed he felt well enough to tussle and play tug for the first time with an old washcloth that I used to wipe the fishy stuff from his mouth and paws. He was like a normal puppy! Yay!!!
 
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Murphy

New member
Peter is our expert on what to feed Newfs. Many members generally defer to him if they have questions about feeding so there really isn't a gap. There are also many breeders here who have extensive knowledge of correct diets for these giants of ours. So while it is nice to know there is someone else with information, there has never been a situation where a question wasn't answered or great advise given. Hope the pup feels better real soon.
 

Jeannie

Super Moderator
um... ok. I was just putting this here not to play 'expert' but to kind of make a log that might help other people in the same (god forbid) situation as me. I certainly didn't want to usurp anyone or be presumptuous. I would be happy to defer to anyone about feeding, I am just letting folks know what I am doing/sharing info. If I stepped on any toes, I am sorry. It wasn't my intention. I can take this down if it's a problem.
I don't see where Jen's post was meant to be upsetting to you. Peter is very knowledgable when it comes to nutrition for newfs. He will give you the best advice you can get - anywhere for anyone.

Even though you meant this to be a log or diary I am sure you will get many suggestions from our experts. Please don't take it wrong. Everyone just wants to encourage/help you.
 
I don't see where Jen's post was meant to be upsetting to you. Peter is very knowledgable when it comes to nutrition for newfs. He will give you the best advice you can get - anywhere for anyone.

Even though you meant this to be a log or diary I am sure you will get many suggestions from our experts. Please don't take it wrong. Everyone just wants to encourage/help you.
there 'really isn't a gap', etc. Perhaps I am overtired and if so, I apologize. However, I find it really odd that I've been kind of bombarded with occasional neg stuff. I will drop this and delete posts.
 

newfx's2

New member
My dh is a vet certified in Holistic/Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture. It's best not to feed raw while the pup is in this weak stage. It's best to lightly cook/steam the food to make it easier for the pup to digest it. Eating raw takes too much energy on the system to break it down. Once the puppy is back to normal, then go back to raw.

One suppliment he would suggest is Invigor, by Honest Kitchen.
It's a pet antioxidant supplement. This natural pet supplement is made from herbs that help to combat free radicals and support the proper function of the immune system, cleanse and revitalize for overall health and vitality.
Ingredients:
kelp, hawthorne berry,olive leaf, astragalus, watercress and spirulina.

Another one is Solid Gold Seameal
SeaMeal contains 60 trace minerals, 12 vitamins, 22 amino acids, digestive enzymes, and flaxseed meal. We recommend using SeaMeal with all our foods.
Ingredients:
Dried Seaweed Meal, Flaxseed Meal, Dried Lemon, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Product, Pineapple, Lactose.

One more is Sunshine Factor, by Healx
A [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]certified organic red palm fruit oil to boost the immune system.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Hope this helps!
 
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Oh, I forgot to specify-- the salmon that he's getting is cooked/organic/vacuum packed. I am not going to switch him to a more raw diet until it's warmer and he gets better.

It's sooo cool that you posted re the supplements! I just saw your post right now... I was looking at the first two at the pet store just this afternoon! THANK you, you just made up my mind to go back and buy them :)

Gosh, I wish we had those types of vets like your dh here in SW MI. That's just wonderful-- what lucky dogs you guys must have!!

My dh is a vet certified in Holistic/Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture. It's best not to feed raw while the pup is in this weak stage. It's best to lightly cook/steam the food to make it easier for the pup to digest it. Eating raw takes too much energy on the system to break it down. Once the puppy is back to normal, then go back to raw.

One suppliment he would suggest is Invigor, by Honest Kitchen.
It's a pet antioxidant supplement. This natural pet supplement is made from herbs that help to combat free radicals and support the proper function of the immune system, cleanse and revitalize for overall health and vitality.
Ingredients:
kelp, hawthorne berry,olive leaf, astragalus, watercress and spirulina.

Another one is Solid Gold Seameal
SeaMeal contains 60 trace minerals, 12 vitamins, 22 amino acids, digestive enzymes, and flaxseed meal. We recommend using SeaMeal with all our foods.
Ingredients:
Dried Seaweed Meal, Flaxseed Meal, Dried Lemon, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Product, Pineapple, Lactose.

One more is Sunshine Factor, by Healx
A [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]certified organic red palm fruit oil to boost the immune system.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Hope this helps!
 
today the pup was fed:

Salmon/garlic/ricotta (meal 1)

ground venison/fruits/veggies/kefir (meal 2)

baby milk with some wellness large breed puppy kibble softened in it. (meal 3)

Again, all these are super small portions... he's been doing great today. He's also been sleeping longer and longer (instead of waking every hour/half hour) and playing for longer and longer periods.
 

ardeagold

New member
This is interesting. I like hearing about herbal/wholistic supplements and what they're used for. We've used some Chinese Herbs along with acupuncture with great success when a couple of ours were having problems.

Of course those were herbs designed to aid the healing of specific areas of the body...which happened to be the neck/back. But whatever it was...the herbs, or the acupuncture, or both...it worked beautifully.
 

NessaM

New member
While you'll want to monitor his temperature and things to make sure he's continuing to be healthy, and the sleeping isn't a sign of some latent illness manifesting, remember that as a puppy he will be sleeping A LOT.

My breeder always said they have to sleep to grow, and he's got a lot of growing to do!

(I once emailed her when Nanook was very little, because I thought he was sleeping too much! I asked her if I ought to wake him up and make him play? She laughed at me.)
 
This is interesting. I like hearing about herbal/wholistic supplements and what they're used for. We've used some Chinese Herbs along with acupuncture with great success when a couple of ours were having problems.

Of course those were herbs designed to aid the healing of specific areas of the body...which happened to be the neck/back. But whatever it was...the herbs, or the acupuncture, or both...it worked beautifully.
I talked to a breeder (the lady we met after picking(searched GPS for petstores to buy a crate) Scucca up-- went to see her at her petstore) who talked about how she used chiropractic on her dogs with great success, too. She contacted a doggie chiro in a magazine she found and he sent her instructions to give her human chiro... and it worked on the dog, whose back had gone out!

I love stuff like this, too. My dogs are fed mostly human grade stuff with holistic/herbal supplements and until now, I've never had any ill health with any of them. Same goes with my kids, btw. :)
 
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While you'll want to monitor his temperature and things to make sure he's continuing to be healthy, and the sleeping isn't a sign of some latent illness manifesting, remember that as a puppy he will be sleeping A LOT.

My breeder always said they have to sleep to grow, and he's got a lot of growing to do!

(I once emailed her when Nanook was very little, because I thought he was sleeping too much! I asked her if I ought to wake him up and make him play? She laughed at me.)
hehe, it's the good kind of sleeping and his temp is normal. His breathing is no longer weird like it was the first night. He's a crazy little dog. He reminds me of my middle son, whose birthday is close to his... He's either hell on wheels UP and awake now or just passed out totally. You'll know what I mean in a few months when u whelp yer pup hehe.
 

Newfobsessed

New member
I just can't help but think how lucky any dog is to have someone who is part of NN, (in example those who have started and contributed to this thread). The wealth of knowledge and willingness to share and help any way possible just thrills and touches me. I am always learning here, and know that others are too. There are a lot of precious dogs who include NN people in their prayers.
 

victoria1140

Active member
we use garlic for our dogs but do you feed it whole, crushed or diced as am never sure how much to give.

Merlin has ibs and nettle leaves in his food as a supplement to help with his ibs.

Also acv , aloe vera gel and chamomile at times, managed to get Merlin completely off steroid treatments that way though people think I'm weird when I pick the nettle leaves as they are classed as a weed over here
 

Summer

New member
THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING! Jess.

I use herbs whenever I can, so I appreciate any knowledge anyone can share with their experience.
 

Henrys Mom

New member
I find all of this interesting! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. No one person knows everything so it is nice to hear from a variety of people. I hope the pup is doing better!
 

R Taft

Active member
I am also in herbal and holistic have been for a very long time.......I am very lucky to live near Ian Bidstrup, who is an awesome holistic vet.

From precious pet "Begin with a low dose, introducing garlic in increasing amounts over a week or two until you are feeding the entire dose. According to Self, an average dose of garlic for large dogs should be about one fresh, crushed garlic clove per day. If you feed pure, cold-pressed garlic powder or granules, the equivalent is about a half-teaspoon. The suggestion for medium-sized dogs is half a clove (or 1/4 teaspoon of powder); for small dogs, give just a quarter clove (or a pinch or two of the powder).

As with any drug or herb, it's important to watch for any sensitivities particular in your dog's body. Some herbalists say that a high daily dose of fresh garlic, given for long periods of time, can deplete the intestinal flora. If the condition you are treating is seasonal, or if the treatment is successful, slowly decrease the dose after the dog improves and maintains the improvement."
 
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