The K-9 security team at the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System in Ann Arbor, Michigan has been having great results with Dr. Tim’s dog foods. The team has been eating Momentum regularly when they’re not busy holding down the fort.
Check out the team below:

I just wanted to let you know what an enormous difference your Momentum has made on my boy Spike. I acquired Spike from a musher in NH who does middle distance races. I had him on Orijen in the PM and raw in the AM. He was doing ok but not where I wanted him. By the second day of mixing 50/50% I had a different dog. Physically his coat was more shiny and he mentally grew up. I could see his brain comprehending what I was saying and asking of him. I am an animal chiropractor and your food has directly influenced Spikes nervous system and physical body.

Thank you,
Donna G. from New Hampshire

At the Global Pet Expo in Spring 2011, Dr. Tim came across the Paw Wash – a device that helps you get your dog’s paws clean after a romp outdoors. He thought the device was pretty cool; but the story and person behind the product was even more so.

At the age of 12, Katie Mulich would get frustrated when trying to clean up her dog’s paws before letting her back in the house. Sadie, a German Shepherd/Labrador Mix, was just a puppy at the time and never failed to get muddy when running around their family farm in Louisburg, Kansas. Katie found a length of PVC pipe in the barn, put a cap on the end, and filled it with soap and water. She put Sadie’s paws in, one by one, and the suction of her homemade device magically removed the dirt and gravel from the paw pads, fur, and in between the toes. With a school science fair coming up, it was the perfect opportunity for Katie to perfect and test her invention. Needless to say, she won the top prize at the science fair; a patent soon followed.

Now, at age 21, Katie is a student at the University of Kansas – she will graduate next fall with a degree in film and media studies, with a minor in business. That business minor should come in handy, as the Paw Wash went retail just ten months ago. To date, over 2000 units have been sold and Katie has secured her first big distributor after placing 3rd in the New Pet Products category at industry trade show Super Zoo this past September. One Dollar from the sale of each unit will be donated to Wayside Waifs, a no-kill, not-for-profit humane society and animal welfare organization in Katie’s home state (www.waysidewaifs.org). The cause is especially close to Katie’s heart, as her dog Sadie was adopted as a puppy; one of a litter of twelve puppies, Sadie was the only one adopted; the remainder of the litter was euthanized. By donating to Wayside Waifs, Katie hopes to help more animals find homes before they are given up on.

In the future, Katie hopes to formulate a special cleanser to compliment the Paw Wash; but for now, she recommends a gentle cleanser without a lot of suds. For more information on the paw wash, and to learn more about Katie’s story, check out http://thepawwash.com/.

I work in a pet store and we learn as much about the choices so we can help our customers choose the best food for their pets, and lately Dr Tim’s has become of the ones we feel confident about recommending to our customers. I have a question for you. We often have cats with UTI and other symptoms of renal disorders whose owners are tired of paying for the prescription diets, which seem to run counter to today’s findings that a high protein low carb diet is optimal for such compromised kitties. We usually recommend high protein, low card wet food, but given Chase kibbles’ low ash in addition high protein, do you feel comfortable offering it as an alternative to the prescription brands? Any caveats?

Laurie

Thank you for the kind words and confidence with our food lines. The Chase Cat Food is made for the urinary issues that cats can run into, such as the struvite type crystals, FUS issues but also hairball prevention and aiding in controlling the stress problems an indoor cat undergoes. Kidney or renal issues are still something that the veterinarian of that particular feline should be asked as to the diet that might be best but the thing that I believe in is lots of water consumption for a kidney problem cat. How to encourage that tends to be more in the canned food department, moving water sources(faucet, waterfall, etc. as they drink more with this method of offering water.)

So, with a kidney cat a canned food may have higher protein but it also brings in a lot of water versus a dry food. So a high protein, low carb dry food is better suited for the diabetic or fat cat versus the kidney cat, in my opinion.

Timothy A. Hunt, DVM

I have been looking for a nutritional dog food or supplement for my 10 year old Jack Russell Terrier. Everything that I find lately, has garlic powder and or Oregon Grape Root in the ingredient list. I have always heard dogs shouldn’t have garlic, nor should they ever eat grapes. Is Oregon Grape Root in the grape family?

Charlotte

Great questions. I tend to avoid anything grape for dogs these days as they can cause kidney problems in rare cases. Question is why? Not sure. Some also ask if the different types of grapes (red versus purple) could have an influence, or if what is applied to the grape in the field. Not sure on this either. Oregon Grape Root is not related to the true grape, as far as I can tell. Garlic powder in low levels has never caused a problem as far as I have seen over the years. Too much might be an issue so don’t get carried away.

Timothy A. Hunt, DVM

The itchy dog or cat; by far the most common issue I’ve seen over the years as a veterinarian, so let’s take a look at the reasons behind the itching and how we can best treat these animals.

First, consider all the reasons why your dog or cat could be itchy:

• Atopy: pollen allergies that are seasonal and makes them itch at their ears, face, groin, armpits, feet or under their tail.
• Food allergy: non-seasonal itch of ears, feet, or under their tail.
• Parasites: mange, a non-seasonal itch anywhere on the body; and fleas, which makes them itchy over the tail head.
• Contact allergy: itchy where the animal comes in contact with something, or hypersensitivities to their own normal skin inhabitants
  (yeast and bacteria).

The most important thing I can do is obtain a really good history from the owner about this itchy issue.

Why? Because in order to treat the current problem and anticipate how we are going to prevent further problems, I need to know the following information:

• The current age of the animal. Younger animals are more prone to things such as mange, versus an older animal. Older animals are more prone to inhalant and food allergies.
• Where does the animal itch? Flea allergies, for instance, are much more likely to cause itching above the tail head versus, let’s say, food allergies in cats that cause them to itch between the eyes and ears. Food allergies and inhalant allergies will cause itching in many of the same spots. Inhalant allergies, or “atopy”, are primarily due to pollen. Inhalant allergies cause certain types of cells to become activated and release substances called histamines that lead to itching. These histamine-containing cells are primarily located in the skin of animals; in humans, histamine releasing cells are mainly located in the respiratory tract, nose and eyes.
• Which came first, the itch or the scab? Most of these itchy dogs will present with a concurrent bacterial infection of the skin; knowing which arrived first helps immensely but it requires a very observant owner. An itch can lead to skin infection, but a skin infection can also lead to an itch. Knowing which came first is monumental in that primary bacterial infections (scabs first) are treated with antibiotics alone when caught early, whereas the atopy (itching first) dog needs steroids, antihistamines and fatty acids to treat and prevent their itching. Knowing this difference will help anticipate which preventative measures will be most likely to succeed.
• When did the itching start? Seasonality of the itch is the key to diagnosing an itchy dog or cat. The inhalant allergies from pollen will occur during months when things bloom – easy to realize when you live in the north and have snow that covers the ground for 6 months of the year, but a little more tricky when you don’t have winter. Winter itching only would make me consider household dust mites, molds, etc. as a culprit. If we have an animal with a year-round, non-seasonal itch, then we start to consider the following: food allergies, hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, sensitivities to their own skin inhabitants such as yeast or staph bacteria, and parasites.



• How severe is the itch? Severe itching that wakes the owner up at night always makes me consider mange. There are two types of mange: 1) Demodectic mange which dogs under one year of age get, and 2) Sarcoptic mange, which is more common with older dogs and occasionally cats. Demodectic mange will present with a patchy hair loss pattern and little or no itching. Sarcoptic mange will present with a dog that almost never stops itching and has hair loss due to scratching. Both are diagnosed with skin scrapings and can be treated by your veterinarian successfully.
• Itching that doesn’t wake the owner up still is valid, and I still will do a skin scraping to rule out mange. The level of medication to treat the itch will be dictated by what we find to be the cause of the problem if we are confident that we understand it.
• What medications have been tried, and what was the result? This can tell me a ton. For instance, food allergies don’t typically respond well to steroids while atopy cases do. Parasite issues often are not helped at all, and can actually worsen with the use of steroids, and primary cases of staph bacteria hypersensitivity will improve with antibiotic use alone.



• What food changes have been tried? For many years, my only option with suspected food allergies was the food trial. Dogs and cats, if allergic to their food, are actually allergic to the proteins in the food – sometimes many proteins or just one protein. So to do a proper food trial, we change the dog or cat to a food with as few proteins as possible and hopefully new proteins that they have never been fed before. All other food items need to be eliminated and a minimum of two months is needed to judge whether the food change has made a difference. Two months may seem like a long time, but it can take that long for the animal to expel all previous food allergens from their former diet. This sure can be a drag to do correctly, and few clients can make the two months. The good news is there are two other options in lieu of the food trial that can be done: 1) Blood tests that detect certain antibodies that are used to correlate exact proteins that lead to allergies or 2) A skin injection test to find those protein culprits. I personally have had pretty good luck with the food allergy blood tests and use them regularly.
• Has there been any blood work done? Hypothyroidism is a very real problem in certain breeds and can lead to many chronic skin and non-skin issues. Several common symptoms are the itchy dog or a dog that has a thin haircoat. Never discount hypothyroidism with a long-term itch that just doesn’t respond well to treatment or continually recurs. Often on first presentation I may test a dog that is itchy for a long period of time, has hair loss and has a “thin skin” feel to them. Easily treated with thyroid supplementation, it is a straight-forward fix in most instances. Routine blood work would also include liver and kidney function tests, urinalysis and complete blood counts. This could help rule out Cushing’s disease, which in a nutshell is an endocrine problem that leads to excessive self-creation of steroids on the part of the animal. These excessive steroids will then cause the immune system to not work well and allow simple scrapes to turn into big infections – and thus an itch. Diagnosed by further testing, Cushing’s can be successfully treated by either trilostane or mitotane. Determining the cause of the itch is not insurmountable. However, it does take patience, a very thorough history, and more patience. One thing to remember with skin issues is that they can require a lengthy game of CSI to fix the problem – it might take some time on the part of the vet and client to solve the riddle. Quick fixes are usually just that; a short relief for your pet before the itching recurs. If we want to do our best to eliminate and prevent recurrence of that dreaded itch, we need to take our time and do it right.

Is this a trend that is based on real science, or a fad that has caught on?

First, we must understand that a cat is an obligate carnivore.  That means the cat, be it a tiger or an ordinary house cat, must eat other animals to fulfill their needs for certain types of nutrients. In their natural habitat, cats are hunters that consume prey high in protein with moderate amounts of fat and minimal amounts of carbohydrates. Cats also require more than one dozen “essential elements”, including vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids. “Essential” means the nutrients must be supplied by the diet because the cat cannot create it. Several of these “essential” elements include the amino acids taurine and arginine, certain fatty acids such as arachidonic acid and vitamins niacin, A, D and B-12.  What is the primary or only source of these needed nutrients? Animal tissue. Once again, the carnivorous cat utilizes animal sources of nutrients more readily than plant sources. For example, cats cannot convert beta-carotene from plants to vitamin A (as some animals do), so they need preformed vitamin A from an animal source. Preformed vitamin A needs no conversion.

Why not a dog food for a cat?  Because dog foods have lower protein, taurine, niacin, vitamin B6, methionine and choline than what cats need.  Also, dog foods will not typically address the urinary acidification and magnesium content appropriate for reducing the risk for struvite crystal formation. A key point to remember is that cats are neither small dogs nor humans.
 
Every protein source contains different levels of amino acids and each protein is different in its ability to be broken down into amino acids. The ability of a protein to be used by the body and its amount of usable amino acids is termed “biological value”. Egg has the highest biological value and sets the standard by which other proteins are judged. Egg has a biological value of 100. Fish meal and milk are close behind with a value of 92. Beef is around 78 and soybean meal is 67. Meat, bone meal and wheat are around 50, and corn is 45. Things like hair and feathers would be very high in protein, but would be down at the bottom of the list for biological value.
 
Does a high protein percentage (as shown on the package) mean that a pet food is automatically better than others with lower percentages?

No, a higher percentage of protein doesn’t mean that a pet food is always better than another food with a lower percentage. A lower protein percentage isn’t automatically bad, either, provided that the protein included in the food comes from a good source such as fish, chicken or lamb. Don’t rely solely on the percentage of crude protein shown in the guaranteed analysis on the package when choosing a food. While it seems safe to assume that a high percentage of protein means that a food contains a lot of useable protein (and is therefore better than another food), this is not always the case. Always evaluate the source of the protein – not just the amount – when considering and comparing pet foods.
 
In summary, a cat’s natural diet is low in carbohydrates and they are not designed to digest carbohydrates. Regardless of whether grain or non grain carbohydrates are used, they are added to dry cat food because it is mechanically necessary to produce the kibble and carbs are less expensive than meat; not because carbohydrates are healthy or necessary for your cat. The same can also be said of the protein source in cat foods; plant proteins are easier to bind and thus easier to hold a kibble together, but not necessarily the best proteins to use for a cat’s diet.  Where is the line for too much plant protein versus animal protein in a feline diet? It wasn’t but 30 years ago or so that a large company tried to market an all soy- based cat food, only to discover the taurine deficiencies cats ran into with this approach; but on a positive note, this is how feline taurine requirements were identified!

Grain free cat foods are all hype.  What is important are low carbohydrate cat foods, as that is where the science of common sense really lies.

Do older dogs and cats have nutritional needs that differ from younger dogs and cats, as a general rule? I don’t believe so. Many dog food companies and veterinarians will tell you that a dog is a senior once he or she turns seven years old, and at that point they’d be better off with a senior diet – but it’s not that cut and dried. Every dog and cat is different. For instance, I ran two dogs that were ten years old in the 2009 Iditarod and they finished strong. Were they on a senior diet? No – they simply ate as nature intends for a highly active canine to eat. Is the “Senior Diet” marketing, pure and simple? Heck yes!

My belief is that specific life stage and senior pet diets are pure hype. The best way to feed a dog, regardless of their age, is a diet that consists of a minimum of 26% protein and 16% fat. A dog’s metabolism is naturally geared to respond to these percentages, so accordingly I recommend an “All Life Stages Diet” as opposed to a diet that addresses a perception rather than a reality.

Of course you’re going to notice your companion slowing down as he or she ages, and we’re all a little sad when we acknowledge that Buster just can’t get on the bed anymore without a boost. But does that natural aging process warrant a diet change? No! Those fat and protein requirements remain the same, and barring any liver or kidney issues or diabetes, as diagnosed by your veterinarian, there is no need to buy into a specific life stage diet.

And while it seems like a convenience and a time saver to feed your dog a senior diet that contains glucosamine and chondroitin and all the other built in supplements, the fact of the matter is that the amount of those supplements in the feed is not adequate to address any issue; it is cost prohibitive and simply “window dressing” for the vast majority of pet food manufacturers. If your veterinarian recommends a supplement, give a supplement; it’s the only way to ensure your pet is getting a useful dose.

The same goes for cats; the higher the overall protein and fat the better, which logically lowers the carbohydrates in their diet. And again, if there is a medical issue that develops with the cat, then it may be medically prudent to adjust the amounts of protein and fat in the diet; but as a rule, the more digestible a protein is, the better a dog or cat can handle it – medical issue or not.

The specific life stage diets are pure marketing by pet food manufacturers, who grasp onto a human trend and apply it to dog and cat nutrition. Are there some human trends in diets that can relate to dogs and cats? Maybe, but you shouldn’t anthropomorphize the dog and cat diet based on our own. A dog is not a small person, and the cat is not a small dog. Feed your pets the way they are meant to be fed, and you will have a healthy animal no matter what their age.

My male dogs eats poop. Why? I can’t get him to stop-it’s disgusting-he also eats a lot of grass-I am positive he is lacking something in his diet. He has Hypo-throidism and is on 7mg of Soloxine 2 times a day.

Katherine

They eat poop because it tastes good, so let’s make it taste bad. One trick is to sprinkle Adolph’s meat tenderizer on the food prior to feeding. This tastes good going down, makes the poop taste bad (to a dog) afterwards. Use liberally like Parmesan cheese on their food. Kids; don’t try this at home.

Timothy A. Hunt, DVM

We have 2 Labs, 10 years and 11 years old. What food do you recommend?

Rich

I believe the best choice to start with would be the Kinesis, the 26% protein and 16% fat. If they are relatively active, I wouldn’t hesitate to try the Pursuit instead. Remember with either one you can feed 1/4 less food than you are used to feed as these foods are very digestible and calorie dense. As much as 15% more digestible than many brands on the market.

Timothy A. Hunt, DVM