Bloat with torsion in dogs is a scary, painful, often life threatening and all too common occurrence in large, deep chested dogs . As the science is yet to pin a definite culprit, there is a lot of confusion. In this extensive review piece I present the most up to date thinking on the matter and make some important dietary recommendations for at-risk dog owners.

The US FDA Reports That Some of the Biggest Names in More Natural (Meaty, Grain-Free) Pet Food are Causing DCM in Dogs… I’m really confused by this one. The US FDA releases the top 15 dry foods most associated with DCM in dogs according to the reports they are receiving

Whole ingredients bestow the greatest epigenetic effects in mice, humans and dogs. Here are the most scientifically supported and likely epigenetic foods in use in dogs today… Part 1 of this article showed us via studies of human populations malnutritioned via famine and socioeconomic decline, of stem cells in culture

Four Cats Dead, TB From a Venison Raw Dog Food Made by Natural Instinct Not sure how many of you heard but four cats came down with TB at the end of 2018 after eating raw dog food produced by Natural Instinct and based on venison. Specifically, it was Wild

Epigenetics is a Relatively new Realm of Science but the Immediate and Long-Lasting Implications for us and our Pets is Astounding. Part 1 of 2. What is Epigenetics? Epigenetics is defined as the study of heritable phenotype changes that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence, meaning changes in

Manganese is an interesting conundrum. Why are raw diets low in it and where do dogs normally source it from? Some weeks ago we were discussing cruciates in dogs and how to avoid a cruciate tear – the main points being Get them lean, no fat dogs, ever, these are long distance

There is Confusion Online About the use of Seaweed in Dogs, Largely Over Iodine Concerns, Here’s the Low Down… We’re clearly huge seaweed fans here in Dogs First. It all began when my friend and I bumped into a scientist with 30 years experience in the seaweed field. To say

Fasting in dogs, is it a good idea? You betcha. But don’t worry, there are some very easy ways to do it… During your perusal of the forums you have no doubt encountered the recent trend of fasting in dogs. If like me, the sheer thought of their little face,

It’s a Constant and Exhausting Tide of Bullshit. That’s Their Plan. A new “knowledge summary” (a clever way of avoid the use of the word “review”, which it most certainly is not) study in the highly enlightened Veterinary Evidence journal (I would have put Evidence in italics if FB provided

Four STEC Infections; one Person Dead After Exposure to Raw Pet Food (but not Really) When you read a title like the above on Food Safety News concerning some humans apparently getting poisoned by raw green tripe, you think you’re going to read something interesting, enlightening or in the least

We asked 290 Raw and Dry Feeders if Raw Meaty Bones Cause Tooth Fractures, Here are the Results of 541 Dogs… This was the informal questionnaire put to both raw and dry feeders on my Facebook page over the weekend. Some data was excluded on the basis of incorrect submissions.

The Recent Trend of Adding Even MORE Fermentable Fibre via Grain-Free Foods Might Pose More, as of yet Undisclosed, Issues for Dogs… Over the last month, there has been a lot of concern regarding “grain-free” dry foods. Our recent article on the risk of DCM in dogs fed grain-free diets

“Once McDonald’s brought out the salad, they were doomed”! These are the words of Bill Burr, my favourite comedian. He was being interviewed on the Tonight Show when he took the perhaps unpopular stance that he felt sorry for McDonald’s. His point was that once they started serving healthy options

Who are Medivet?! Ownership of the health profession is every multinational’s dream. To highlight this, let me give you two stories: Highlighted back in 1997 by Parker-Pope of the Wall Street Journal, in a piece called “Colgate Gives Doctors Treats For Plugging Its Food Brands”, Colgate-Palmolive (CP) were the first

STAGE 1 OF THE DOGS FIRST TRIAL OF GRASS EATING IN DOGS IS COMPLETE… We wanted to investigate why dogs eat grass so we rounded up 10 very keen grass eaters (85 applied, so lots are at it), 5 dry fed and 5 fresh fed dogs, to run a little trial.

This week Dudley begins his various therapies, most importantly physio and hydrotherapy. The progress we have seen in this week along is frankly, incredible. On just his second hydro session, just four days after his first, the therapist said this could easily be a different dog. Wait until you see

Multinationals Have Turned Veterinary Science Into the Veterinary Industry… I’m not supposed to be blogging on my holiday but I can’t help it. This is just too big and too serious an event. Mars have taken a huge step towards controlling a hefty chunk of the vet hospitals in the US.

Do you Care how the Meat in Your dog Food Died? I had a disturbing conversation with a big meat man that I wanted to share with you. The guy has been in the meat industry for 40 years. A major Irish producer, some of the stories he can tell you

Did you Find it Worrying That the Nutritional Manual for our Vets is Published by Colgate-Palmolive? A little (true) story…. Around 2010 I flew to Brisbane, Australia to see first hand the effects of switching a large group of dogs from dry to raw. The differences in the dogs were

Studies Debunk Veterinary Prescribed and Single Protein Dry Dog Food Diets as a Route to Determining Adverse Food Reactions in Dogs… A recent study in the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition examined 12 limited-antigen diets for dogs from 5 separate manufacturers (11 novel protein diets and 1 hydrolysed protein

Why Do Vets Recommend “That” Dry Food?! Are Irish vets not yet wondering why the only dry food they choose to stock (Royal Canin) is rated a miserable 2.5 stars out of 5 by Dog Food Advisor? With Science Diet not performing that much better (3 stars out of 5).

It’s funny, when we think of really poor dry dog food we imagine it coming from the likes of China, largely a result of the melamine scandal (when a chemical fertiliser used to boost the apparent protein content of the food, saving the company having to use more expensive items