Why a Vegan Great Dane?

In 1987, I brought home a beautiful female Harlequin Great Dane whom I named Dagmar. (In Danish, it means "joy of the Danes".) My Dalmation, Sasha, immediately took over the job of potty training and other canine maternal tasks. When I took Dagmar to the vet, who also happened to be a homeopathic vet, I asked the vet if it was possible for a dog to be vegetarian. I was a bit timid about even asking the question, not wanting to impose a nutritional regimen that might not be suited to a canine digestive system, or worse, might be detrimental to the health of the dog. I was surprised when she answered, "Not only will that make your dog healthier, it will extend her life expectancy." I found two "higher quality" brands of dog food at the pet store and, with some of my own dinner menu mixed in, raised my Great Dane as a vegetarian, and switched my Dalmation over to a vegetarian diet. My Dalmation lived to 16 years, and my Great Dane, who was supposed to live 7 to 9 years, lived beyond her 11th birthday. When Dagmar died, I expected to get another Great Dane, followed by a second one, when I was ready, but life got busy and complicated and I lived 14 dogless years before I got another one. On September 23rd, 2012, after I had searched the internet for over a year for exactly the right puppy, my husband and I went to the breeder to pick up a beautiful female Harlequin Great Dane. She was a couple days shy of being seven weeks old. I named her Valentina, which means "brave protector". (It was the name I had come up with 14 years previously, in anticipation of getting another Dane puppy after Dagmar died.) I'm sure every parent thinks they have the most beautiful baby in the Universe, just as every puppy owner thinks they have the most beautiful puppy, but I must insist, this dog is beautiful and very smart. She learned her name by the second day with us, and within the week, she had learned "come", "no", how to ring the peepee bell on the door, "kisses," "sit" and "no bite", (even though teething and tempted to bite everything in sight!). After two weeks with us, Valentina understood questions like,"Do you want to go outside/inside?" (She goes to the door.) "Do you want to go upstairs?" (She runs to the foot of the stairs.) and "Go eat your food." (She would go over to her food dish, look in it, and then look up at me as a signal that I needed to put more food in the bowl.) as well as the command "shake hands." After having read so much about the atrocities contained in commercial dog food, I vowed to make her food from fresh, organic, vegan ingredients, so she could have a good shot at exceeding the current life expectancy for Great Danes. I went to my nearby PetsMart, to get a bag of "transitional vegan kibbles," and found that they no longer carried any. We were happy to find that a local specialty pet store had vegan kibbles and I began transitioning Valentina toward the vegan kibbles, and transitioning myself towards making all her food. So much has changed with the internet. I have found a wealth of knowledge, and connected with people that I never would have found in a library. I have ordered books, researched blogs and websites, and amassed a compendium of vegan canine recipes, all via the internet. And, yet, I feel I have just scratched the surface of what I need to know.

So, Vegan Great Dane will be a record of what my husband and I experience and learn about providing a nourishing diet for Valentina with more-than-minimal nutrients plus everything else involved in raising a healthy Great Dane. (And, of course, I won't be able to resist including some pictures of her.) Much has changed about the approach to puppy training -- I have been surprised to learn that I did a lot of things right in training my other dogs in the past.

One more detail: Valentina will be a bi-national dog. We split our time between Austin, Texas and Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. Like Kafka, the Dalmation that I had before Sasha, Valentina will be trained in two languages, so she will understand commands both in English and Spanish. There are requirements for taking a dog into Mexico and for taking a dog into the US, so, I'll also be sharing those experiences with you. I welcome your comments, support and any information you might offer. If you are offended by veganism/ vegetarianism, please take your criticism elsewhere. I raised two dogs as vegans, and they were extremely healthy their entire lives. I'd love to hear from you, your experiences, information, your stories, and your support. Thank you.

Companies That Sell Vegan Dog and Cat Food

Evolution Dog Food -A 100% Complete For All Life Stages Dry Dog Kibble. Human Grade Pure Vegan Ingredients. (Also sold on amazon.com)
F & O Alternative Pet Products Vegan dog and cat kibble and canned food1-877-376-9056
Harbingers ofa New Age Vegecat™, Vegekit™, Vegedog™, and digestive enzymes406-295-4944
Natural Balance Canned and Kibble Vegan dog food 1-800-829-4493
Natural Life Pet Products Canned and kibble dog food 1-800 367-2391
Nature's Recipe Canned and kibble dog food 1-800-237-3856
Newman's Own Organic vegan dog treats
Pet Guard Canned dog food and biscuits
V-Dog Vegandog foodv888-280-8364
Wow-Bow DistributorsCanned and kibble dog food and biscuits1-800-326-0230
Wysong CorporationDog and cat kibble 989-631-0009




Friday, July 31, 2015

Fluoride -- Canine Catastrophe


Substances That Scare Me, (Series)

Part 1: Fluoride – Canine Catastrophe

[Disclaimer: First of all, understand that I am not a doctor or a veterinarian, and I am giving no advice for the health of a human or dog, etc. I am only expressing what I think, where research has led me, personally,  and what I do for me, my husband and Valentina, (yada, yada, yada) but also understand that I do A LOT of research into health categories. Second, I use my own intuition to determine whether something feels “right,” health-wise for me, my husband, and my puppy dog, Valentina.]

One of the first sources I bought for determining Valentina’s diet was a book by William D. Cusick, entitled Canine Nutrition and Breed Specific Diets: The Best Diet for a Great Dane.(He has created a series of different books for different breeds of dogs.) This is not a vegan book, however, Cusick covers very specific nutrients for a Great Dane, and this has helped me formulate my own vegan recipes and supplement list. He lists the necessary elements of a healthy diet, and provides recipes for each age of the dog. He has a chapter regarding nutrients that can harm a Great Dane.  The first one he mentions is “fluoride.”

I’m not going to comment on fluoride and humans. All you need to do is a little internet research for that. My dentist, Griffin Cole (Austin) has very definite opinions about fluoride and humans that, in my opinion, are worth listening to. There are YouTube videos on this.

Fluoride: Canine Enemy #1

Fluoride has been added to the water of most commercial sources, claiming that it hardens tooth enamel in children and thus preventing tooth decay. Cusick sites research studies (Biester et. al 1936),  that show that the addition of fluoride to the water supply of canines causes mottling  in canine permanent teeth. It alters the serum calcium and inorganic and organic phosphorus concentrations in puppies. (Andreeva, 1959) Cusick states explicitly that “fluoride should not be included within the dietary intake of any breed of dog. Therefore, I suggest that you filter the Great Dane’s water supply to eliminate the fluoride.” (p.23) He also advises that you check the water filter type to determine that it actually does filter out fluoride. He suggests the possibility of buying bottled water for your companion.

Personally I give Valentina both.  I use Zerowater filters, (recently, at a super price at my Costco), and I buy bottled water.  There is the question that with filtered and bottled water, most of the minerals have been removed. So, for Valentina’s water as well as my husband’s and my water, we supplement the water with ConcenTrace trace mineral drops for my husband and me, and for Valentina, we use a product called   Ultimate Essential Mineral Supplement For Dogs, Cats & Other Small Pets Helps Them Stay Healthy, that I buy on Amazon. As far as I can see, the two products are pretty identical in ingredients. Cusick states that the essential minerals for Great Danes (and probably all dogs) are: Cobalt, Molybdenum, Copper, (Fluoride?!), Iron, Arsenic, Magnesium, Zinc, Chromium and Manganese.

Water is one of the most essential substances to humans and dogs. We are, in great part, mostly water. Deprivation of water can cause death.  In recent years, many sources have suggested that it is important to drink water that “has memory,” that comes from a spring water source, because it is rich in all the essential minerals and other substances. Most essential, in my opinion, is to at least make sure our water has the needed minerals, (or to supplement it with trace minerals if it doesn’t), and to remove toxic substances that may harm our precious canine companions.
 
The only sport Valentina loves more than Frizbee (in Austin) is Basketball Soccer (at Lake Chapala.)