- Welcome to the Natural Health for People in Pets podcast, a show that aims to empower you with the knowledge and tools needed to take control of your own health and wellbeing, as well as providing health promoting strategies for the dogs in your life. The world of health and nutrition can be overwhelming, so what better way to understand what works and what doesn't, what's evidence-based and what's not, then to hear it from someone in the know.
So, please welcome your host of the show, accredited naturopath and nutritionist Narelle Cook. - Welcome back to Natural Health for People and Pets. I'm your co-host, Glen Cook, and joining me is the host of the show, Nalco, for our first show back in 2021. Happy New Year. - Happy New Year everyone. Very exciting. 2021, we made it. We all made it. - Yep. We finally got through the dreaded LGE of 2020,
and boy, am I happy to leave that behind us. Yeah, - I think everyone is, but onto better and - On the green greener pastures, - Bigger things. Mm-Hmm. For those listeners who aren't aware, I've just launched my 12 week weight loss and wellness reset program. Mm-Hmm. . So that was really exciting and a really big deal for me. Yeah, - Absolutely. I've seen you working really hard on it. So why don't you go through and tell us why you created it and your point of differences.
- I'm really passionate about the program because I do treat a lot of people for weight loss in my clinic. Mm-Hmm. . And I see the Yo-yo dieting, the fad diets, the binge eating, the rebound weight gain. And it's really upsetting to see people go through that.
And so the whole idea of the program is, it's all the information that I wish someone had have told me 25 years ago, and it would've saved me so much pain and misery because back when I was 20, you know, early twenties, I was obsessed with body image and I was obsessed with food. So I'd spend my days like counting calories, counting carb grams, fat grams, you know, forcing myself to get up at ridiculous hours in the morning to go running rain, hail, or shine.
And it was just a miserable way to exist and to live. I mean, that's not living, you know, when you feel like you're spending every minute of your day either worrying about what you're gonna eat next, worrying about what you just ate. Mm. Watching the clock for when you can eat next, you know, wondering whether you've exercised enough. It just goes on and on.
And then if you happen to go over your set quota of whether, you know you're eating an extra mouthful of food or extra 50 calories, then that sends you into a tailspin of just mental pain and misery. And so that's what I want people to avoid, because it doesn't have to be that way. Like you don't have to go to extreme lengths to lose weight and maintain a healthy body weight.
And, you know, it took me a long time to figure that out because it wasn't really until I studied natural medicine and developed a deep understanding of how the body works in terms of our hormones, that I realized, you know, I just have to eat to stabilize and balance my hormones and everything just fell into place. But mindset is a big part of the program and a big part of healthy body weight as well.
Just to give an example, back in the day, like I said, in my twenties, my first marriage broke up and because I was so rigid and I was depriving myself for so long with my food, as soon as life became overwhelming and I had that massive like emotional toll, this is what I see in my clients as well. In clinic, as soon as something goes wrong in life, all of those dietary principles go out the window and then it goes like the switch flicks and it goes the opposite way.
So, you know, my marriage broke up and I bate for like six months I think, and I would've put on about 25 kilos. So what's that for our US people? About 55 pounds. Mm. In six months. And it was really, I mean, I say it's funny now, but I remember I was at my mother's house one night and my, I hadn't seen my brother for months feels like, anyway, he walked in and he took one look at me sitting on the couch in my baggy tracksuit. And he just like, what happened to you?
Because suddenly I'd like blown out massively at that point that I realized, okay, you know, I really need to get my act together. I need to pull it in with the eating. But that was the challenge. Like I didn't know how to go about that. I didn't know what to do differently. And I still had all that emotional work to do around food. So that's a big part of what's covered in the program. And it took me years to figure all that out.
So rather than have our listeners take another, you know, 10, 15 years to get to the point that I did, you know, I'm giving it to them now in the program. Mm-Hmm. . And the beautiful thing is like we've got a private Facebook group with the program and everyone who's in there at the moment are so supportive and very engaging and they're being really vulnerable too.
So people are sharing their journeys and and where they've been and how, you know, they've felt about themselves and their bodies and then you know, what their goals are, where they see themselves in the future. And I think it's really beautiful. - And I know for you that's a very huge point of courage to talk about your journey. 'cause you were so private about it. Like you really didn't like people knowing about your struggles with weight on and off.
So that's a big jump for you to be able to open up on a podcast and tell the whole world about it or as many people who are listening to it. So well done on that. - Like I said, that's why I'm so passionate about it because issues around food and body image, I mean, back then it affected my mental health massively. Mm-Hmm. I mean, I would just fluctuate all over the place, you know, from depression, anxiety, all that sort of stuff. But it also affected me physically.
I mean, I didn't have a regular monthly cycle for years because of my obsession with food. And, and I don't want that for the listeners. I don't want that for people because it doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to suffer mentally or physically to achieve your, your weight loss and health goals. So that's a really big point for me with the people that I work with.
- One of the things that I've spoke about it as openly as well is that, I mean, you know as well, I've struggled with weight for a long time and because I'm a stress eater, the minute I start getting stressed and it's usually work related when the work's on and I'm deep in it, like at night I have trouble sleeping, therefore I start eating. So when I'm eating, I'm eating later at night. Um, I'm consuming way too much. And it's been a really on and off problem for me.
And the other fundamental problem is that like, even though you're advising me, I'm deliberately ignoring what you're telling me to do. There's so many wrong behaviors there on my account. Like I know that there's been times when you've kindly offered better suggestions to me and you've said there's much better choices in what you can eat. Why don't you consider this, this, and this? And I'll say yes, but then I'll secretly go and eat behind your back. Yeah, - I know.
- Yeah, I know. You know, you know, like when I'm stacking on weight, it's clearly obvious that I'm way overeating. I'm ignoring all the sound advice that you're giving. So I did decide this year, especially when I'd done so well and I'd shrugged weight that I've been carrying for such a long time. And I think I got under a hundred kilos the first time in 20 years. I got under a hundred kilos. I was really doing well. Like I was into the mid nineties even and still going down.
And then suddenly all of a sudden all the weight came back on again. You know, so everything that I'd worked hard to lose, I instantly put it back on. 'cause I went straight in and all the principles that I put in place, everything, I went straight out the door. So then I thought, no, I've gotta stop this. You know, like I cannot keep sabotaging myself and putting my health at such massive risk. Mm. So I decided to public, I'm not shaming anyone. This is about my personal journey.
And you've talked about your personal journey. Mm-Hmm. But I'm not shaming myself or anybody, sorry, I'm not, yeah. I'm not shaming myself. I'm not shaming anybody. But what I am saying is I added myself so I could be accountable for what I'm going through. And I could share that with other people. And hopefully if I do stick to your plan and your mentoring, then I can remove this weight safely and comfortably and also eat better foods and make better choices along the way.
So it really is great that you're sticking by people and mentoring them and not just sort of leaving them to their own devices to read a few things which they won't do. And then they'll fall back into their bad habits again. So the problem is, you know, like I've just tried Noom and the problem with Noom is that yes, it's nice and it's a, I think it's a really good program. I'm not knocking Noom, it's just for me having to enter all that detail in Mm-Hmm. It makes you sit there and go far out.
I just can't put all this stuff together and you know, sit there and start entering all my diets and everything like that. So nothing wrong with Noom, it's just my laziness around it. And probably not even laziness. Like it's after working all day and doing like a 10 hour day at work and so forth, the last thing I want to then do is sit down and work on my diet, you know, like sit there and start entering details and you know, making it so complex. And I know you have to do that to a degree.
Like you do have to, you know, keep a journal and so forth, but it's nicer when somebody is actually present with you and they're there. - Yeah. I completely agree. And look, any diet people are gonna lose weight. But people go into diets with the mindset of this is a set period of time that I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna willpower through for the next three months or six months and then I can go back to my normal life.
And that's where the undoing comes because, so the program's not about giving people a a meal plan and telling them what to eat for every meal of the day. It's about educating them about how their body works because you know, we're either burning fat or we're storing fat. We can't do both. So I'm teaching people how to make food choices that are gonna skew them towards fat burning rather than fat storage. Mm. And starving yourself is the worst thing.
Killing yourself at the gym is counterproductive. So all of those little tips that we'll be covering in the course, - That's great. I'm excited to be a part of it too. And I need to be, honestly. - Yeah. And look, the feedback I've got from the participants so far is they do love and need that accountability and putting themselves out there to the group and showing up every day.
So if you are interested, just go to my website, natural health and nutrition.com au and all the program details are there for you to see. - Mm. Yeah. It's a worthy investment. I mean, look, spoiler alert, I didn't have to pay to do the course 'cause I'm your husband and I'm promoting it only because I believe in it. Like, if you did something that I thought was rubbish, I wouldn't embarrass you or myself and get on a public podcast and then promote something.
It's really good. Like I know the amount of effort and work that you've put into it with all Noelle study. I'm the one who gets to sit in the room and watch her pouring herself over a medical journals and everything and spending week after week looking through everything that needs to be done. 'cause she's kind of like a bit of a perfectionist in that. And again, not just saying that, 'cause I'm her husband, I mean, I have to deal with her perfectionist side as well. So Yes, you do. Yeah.
- Okay. So that's a program, that's my new year and that's sort of been what's keeping me busy lately. Mm-Hmm. But, um, let's, - It segues us onto the topic of the podcast, really. Yeah. - So today I thought, you know, new year, a lot of people have in their minds about losing weight themselves, but I thought, you know, what about our dogs? Mm-Hmm. . So I wanted to talk about weight loss in dogs Yeah.
Today, because depending on which source you refer to, up to 60% of our dogs are now overweight or obese, which is pretty much in line with humans. Like, you know, two thirds of the population are now considered overweight or, or obese. Mm-Hmm. And studies have shown that about 80% of overweight or obese owners have overweight or obese dogs. - Oh wow. That's a terrible statistic. It - Is.
And what's really sad about that is that overweight and obesity in dogs, it's associated with so many different conditions and diseases that are completely preventable. You know, things like diabetes, pancreatitis, osteoarthritis, and any of those joint and ligament issues like cru ligament ruptures and, you know, slipped discs. It can cause problems with breathing.
Particularly, you know, certain, like the brachy breeds increased surgery and anesthetic risks, slow recover from surgery because of immune suppression, heating tolerance. I mean, there's just increased strain on all the internal organs. Um, and sometimes the cancer, um, associated with overweight and obesity. Mm-Hmm. . Um, and so that's, all of that is preventable if we just don't over feed our dogs.
And that's not to mention that shorter lifespan and a poorer quality of life overall for dogs that are overweight, they did a study in Labradors and they reduced, they paired them up and they, for one of the two, they reduced the calorie intake by 25%. Mm-Hmm. . And they tracked these dogs from pretty much birth to death. And they found that with restricting calories, the dogs were leaner and had much better like blood metabolic markers.
But they also showed that they lived nearly two years longer and their quality of life in terms of not having chronic disease and was significantly less. So I always think, you know, we all claim to love our dogs beyond everything, and yet two thirds of dogs are overweight or obese. Mm-Hmm. And I, I just find that really upsetting. But I think one of the issues is, and it's it's with people as well, you know, most owners don't even realize that the dog's overweight.
And the way it sort of ties in with people is because the majority of the population is now overweight or obese. That's sort of the new normal. So the whole Mm-Hmm. You know, there's a shift in what's considered normal. So if you are a normal body weight or if your dog is just lean or you know, on the lean side, people will often criticize you and say, oh, you know, your dog's too skinny.
- Yeah. I was actually waiting for that marker to come up because there's been plenty of times where people that I'm involved in the sporting dog world who have got lean, fit, athletic, well fed, well balanced dogs have been highly criticized because they, people on the street have stopped them and said, like even to the point where they've said, I'm gonna ring the R-S-P-C-A and call them for animal cruelty because you're under feeding a dog and they've said, this is a working dog.
Like it's perfectly balanced and it eats three meals a day and like incorporated food in training and everything, please mind your business. - I mean, that's abuse. Like for me, overweight and obesity dog, that's a form of abuse. Yeah. Having a super fit, lean even slightly too lean, you know, is a much better health position than being slightly overweight.
- Well every single veterinary behaviorist and surgeon that I've ever known, like I've had the good fortune to sit down and talk about, they've always said to me better, A little lean than a little heavy. Absolutely. You know, and that's, you know, the, the majority of people. But now the problem for us now is that we are living in a very culturally sensitive world.
You know, going back 30 years ago when I first got into training myself, I could say to people, your dog's fat or your dog's overweight. And people go, yeah, what do I need to do to fix it? Now you've got a very carefully approach the subject because can be deemed not politically correct to tell somebody that the dog is overweight or God forbid fat. And then people will say, oh, what do you mean? You know? No, he's not. Oh, you're just being mean to me. I mean, look, it's a hard topic.
It's a hard thing to raise with people. And maybe there are better ways to tell people that the dogs are overweight. I dunno. But like, we own and manage boarding kennels. Well we don't own them, but we manage, you know, like a series of boarding kennels. And there's even been dogs that I've seen that have come in with three legs that are heavily overweight. Mm-Hmm. You know, and they've, they've got three legs, they're tripod dogs.
I dunno what the reason for the leg removal is, but the dog is obese. Even all that extra strain on a three-legged dog is just tremendous. - Well, even, I'm really, really conscious of it with ladybug, our French bulldog with a spinal injury because, you know, she's compromising her movement now. I mean she can walk, but you know, it's a lot of front body Yes.
Strength that she's using. So I don't want any extra weight on her that's gonna put an extra burden on her musculoskeletal system and you know, pulling herself around the place. Which is hard because, you know, with her physiotherapy we used a lot of treats and now she's sort of conditioned to offer those behaviors anyway. And um, I keep treating her. So I do understand how owners get sucked in. And we'll talk about that too, but, - Well, food can be confused for love sometimes.
- Oh, absolutely. With us and our dogs. Yes. - Absolutely. That's what I mean, - Overfeeding is the no-brainer, obvious one for weight gaining dogs. But just I'll touch on a couple of the others that may be relevant to your situation. You know, as dogs age, as they get older, they're more likely to become overweight. And usually that's just because of inactivity. They might have osteoarthritis or other joint conditions that sort of slow them down.
But what's important about that is a senior dog may need less calories overall, but the quality of the food is even more important for our seniors. So they need less processed carbs. Mm-Hmm. and more high quality protein to support their immune function and to prevent muscle atrophy. Because, you know, for humans and dogs, muscle mass is the key to good health and good metabolism. Mm-Hmm. . So that's important for seniors.
Genetics. Some dogs are just, some dog breeds, I should say, are just more prone to be overweight or obese than others. So if you have one of those breeds, then you just, you need to be even more vigilant with their diets. And most people know Labrador sort of fall into that category and studies have shown that labral actually have a deletion in their gene sequence that is associated with increased body weight, fat and greater food motivation.
And you know, when I was reading about that, I'm like, okay, well that's all well and good, but people need to remember because often people say, well I've got a lab so it's just automatically my dog's gonna be overweight. But, you know, genetics loads the gun and the environment pulls the trigger. Mm-Hmm. So, you know, diet is an environmental factor that we still have control of. So, you know, it's not an excuse.
Just because a person or a dog is genetically predisposed to a condition doesn't mean it's necessarily gonna eventuate. Mm-Hmm. , that's, that neutering can increase body weight due to the influence of sex hormones on appetite and lean body mass. Medical conditions like hyperthyroidism is probably the most common one. So an underactive thyroid. But there are other conditions that can contribute to weight gain. Mm-Hmm. lack of exercise.
We live in a sedentary society and everything we do these days is geared up to be able to do it with as least effort as possible. Mm. And I think because we live that way, you know, most people that automatically flows onto our dogs as well. So I don't think dogs are getting out. So just taking your dog for a stroll around the block, you know, for 20 minutes a day is generally not enough for most dogs.
But having said that, you can't just rely on increasing exercise to achieve successful weight loss. And it's like I say to my human clients, like, you can't out exercise a bad diet. Mm-Hmm. It's always food first. Yeah. - That's a good quote. I like that. Is that yours? I - Don't know. I don't know if I've read it somewhere and it just stuck in my mind, but I - Like it. - A bit of Google before you assign it to me. . So probably someone well known said it. Mm-Hmm.
. So for our listeners who may not know if their dog's overweight, you know, there are ways that you can easily figure that out. So I use a body condition scoring system and there's charts that you can easily find and download online, which have a really good visual depiction of, you know, very lean to obese. Mm-Hmm. . Some are on a nine point scale, some are on a five point scale. I tend to use the nine point scale, which means like a four or a five is the ideal body weight.
But then a sight hound at a score of three might be normal because, you know, sighthounds like greyhounds are naturally very lean. Yep. But they're great 'cause you get really good visuals if you just wanna keep it super simple. If you've got a short head dog, easy, just look at your dog, you know, can you see their ribs? Can you see a tuck? Like an abdominal tuck? Like we shouldn't have bellies hanging down behind the ribs.
Mm-Hmm. . And if you look at your dog from above, sorry, - Let me just turn back on that. When you say you should see the ribs, like explain that. Should you see all the ribs or just some of the ribs? - Well, you should definitely be able to feel the ribs if you run your hands like the palms of your hands along the ribs. Mm-Hmm. . But you should, I ideally be able to see the last couple of ribs in a dog.
And so if you've got a, like, you know, Randy Al Shepherd, he's got a really thick sort of double coat so you can't see anything much with him. So it's important if you've got a dog like that to get hands on and to feel along the rib cage. Mm-Hmm. . And to look down on your dog from above. So you should be, - They should be contoured. - They should definitely be contoured and they should have a - Waist comes from the chest tucks in and then goes back out at the rear again. Yep.
- Like I said, if you've got a short hair dog, it's really easy. If you've got a long hair dog, use your hands to feel. Or if you bath your dog or if your dog goes swimming and it's longer coated, that's a really good opportunity to see the shape of your dog. Consider all those things. But let's say you do determine that your dog's overweight, what can you do about it?
Firstly, I always recommend that people see their vet and get a full vet check and do some bloods just to really make sure that there's no underlying medical conditions contributing to the weight gain. And if you do have a larger breed dog, the scales of the vets are gonna be a lot easier to use than your scales at home. So we are lucky again, I mean our frenchies, we can just pick them up and put them on our scales. But Randy, our shepherd, we've got scales at the Ken.
So again, we're fortunate in that regard. - So the way you do that, if people don't dunno how to do that, what you do is you stand on the scale, get your weight, and then you record that and then you pick up your dog and then you stand on the scale again and then you record that weight and then you just subtract the difference between the two of them and you'll come up with the pet's weight. - Perfect. Yeah. Thank you for doing that.
So nearly all weight loss regimes will involve calorie restrictions. So it is, it's really important that you accurately weigh out your dog's food using scales and not relying on just cup servings or eyeballing the amounts. And this is even more important for small breed dogs where, you know, a small amount of food can make a big difference to their weight. Mm-Hmm. . And there are like, there's lots of equations out there that are used to determine how many calories a dog should be fed.
But again, if you just wanted to start at the most simple approach, whatever you're feeding now, you could just feed 80% of that amount. Mm-Hmm. and just see what happens over, you know, a couple of months. But it's more important that you determine what your dog's ideal body weight is. And if you're not sure, Yvette can probably give you a good idea based on the body condition score of your dog.
If you've got a pure bred dog, there's clearer guidelines as to sort of where they should sit within sort of a healthy weight range. Mm-Hmm. , if you know the ideal body weight, you can then go back to the food that you're feeding and make sure you're actually feeding according to their ideal body weight and not according to the weight they're at now.
So for people who don't realize their dog's overweight, to say they've got a 40 kilo dog, they look at the dog food pack and they say, oh, a 40 kilo dog needs to be fed four cups of food, but their dog's overweight. So, you know, let's say the ideal body weight's 30 kilos, they need to go back to that label and figure out how much a 30 kilo dog needs to eat and then that should naturally drop the weight off the dog anyway.
Mm-Hmm. for those who like to get a bit more technical, you can calculate your dog's resting energy requirement. And maybe I'll put the equation for that up on the Facebook page. That's not a bad idea. 'cause you need a scientific calculator. And I mean that's the approach I use with my client's dogs when I'm putting weight on or taking weight off them. There's a few approaches to that. And you know, ideally we want our dogs to lose about one to 2% of their body weight per week.
So if you've got a 20 kilo dog that needs to lose weight, that's about, you know, 200 to 400 grams per week, which, you know, I think's quite a lot for a small, you know, I'd be happy if my human clients lost 400 grams a week. I don't mind if, you know, if my dog clients lose 1% a week as long as it's consistent and the dog still has quality of life. Mm-Hmm. . So I think that's important.
I've touched on the label, so please don't get into the habit of rigidly adhering to the, the feeding guidelines on a pet food packet because there they're a starting point only. And you know, the studies show that even two dogs of the same body weight their energy requirements. So their calorie requirement can vary by, you know, plus or minus 50%, which is like humans, you know, we all know someone who can eat whatever they want and not gain weight.
And then, you know, their friend who weighs the same amount just looks at food and gains weight. Well, it's the same with dogs as well. So the instructions on the labels are guidelines only. And honestly, I don't think any of our dogs, 'cause I always calculate calories for if a label said, not that I feed kibble, but if it said feed two cups, I'd wanna know how many calories that is.
And if I work out the calorie requirements for our dogs, then I would, you know, feed according to that rather than the cup recommendations. Right. And it was really interesting. We've got a puppy at the moment, macho, he's a little shepherd pup and when we first got him, he weighed about five kilos and he's on Z wee peak for training. But I've got him on a commercial raw bath style patty for his other meals.
And when I looked at the label for a five kilo puppy, their instructions were one patty a day. But then I looked at how many calories were in one patty and, and that was about 400 calories. But when I used the equations, like the formal equations, a five kilo puppy, you know, should start at about 700 calories a day. So that's a huge difference in amount fed. So obviously I fed more than one patty a day, plus he had the zwei on top of that.
So that's just to sort of really highlight how, how much a dog can vary and what they need compared to the label recommendations. Yep. The other thing owners need to be careful of is that like when they're putting their dog on a weight loss program, is that the essential nutrients in pet foods are balanced according to the calorie content. So when we reduce the portion size to reduce the calories, we're also reducing the amount of the nutrients that our dog's getting.
So, you know, there is a risk that some nutrients might be suboptimal during a weight loss program, particularly if dogs have a lot of weight to lose and it's gonna be over an extended period of time. And even though I am not a fan and I don't recommend kibble weight loss products, they're actually formulated to contain more protein, vitamins and minerals per calorie than say a, a maintenance, like a standard adult maintenance diet for that very reason.
Just so it avoids the risk of nutrient deficiencies during calorie restriction. Yep. And I just think, you know, that's a point that not many people would probably be aware of. So if you do feed like an adult maintenance formula and your dog's overweight and you just say, well I'm just gonna feed half of what I normally feed, you're cutting down the nutrients as well. Yeah. He's getting 50% less nutrients. Wow. I would never have thought about that. Yeah.
Not many people do. Mm-Hmm. Again, that might be fine over a few months. Yep. But if you've got an obese dog and it needs severe restriction over a really long time, then you know, that's where I get concerned that deficiencies may start to develop. I've just mentioned, you know, I'm not a fan of kibble and you know, studies have actually shown that relative to dogs fed fresh food, dogs fed dry food or dry food and canned food are more likely to be overweight or obese in the first place.
Mm-Hmm. . And that just, I mean that makes sense to me because, you know, if we think about our own diets, it is really hard to become obese eating chicken breast and broccoli. Mm-Hmm. as opposed to highly processed packet carbohydrate foods. And it's the same sort of principle with our dogs and their diets.
So with my clients, I always recommend a raw diet, but it's really important, and most people do this anyway, if they feed raw, you know, to feed lean meat for weight loss because again, fat contains over double the amount of calories as carbs and protein.
So if you had two meals and they had exactly the same number of calories, but one meal was made with a really fatty cut of meat, say 20% fat sort of meat, and the other one was a lean meat, say 5% fat, then the fattier meal would contain a lot less nutrients over, you know, given the same amount of calories than the lean meat. Right. Does that make sense to you? Makes sense. Because the fat has, let's say it has twice as many calories.
Mm-Hmm. . So those calories are displacing nutrient calories. Right. So meal one's 500 calories, meal two's 500 calories. But if meal one has a heap more fat in it, then there's not as much space for the nutrients. That makes sense. Okay. To keep things really simple, I don't tell my clients I suddenly have to start making their own, you know, raw food blends from scratch. So I'll usually say you buy a commercial product, like that's all natural.
Have a weight loss formula that you just mix in with some kangaroo mitts or something like that. Mm-Hmm. or they may wanna add in just some other nutrient sources. So there's the wellbeing essentials complete 22 mix. There's a lot of meal balances that you can add to really make sure that your dog's getting banged for their buck nutritionally Mm-Hmm. when you're cutting down on their calories.
Yep. And even if people didn't wanna use a natural meal balancer, they can still use a synthetic product for a short term. Like I don't mind if a dog for three months or six months is on a synthetic supplement. And there's a few options out there like pretax and fer D which are just like vitamin and mineral sort of blends for dogs to make their food complete and balanced. Mm-Hmm. , that's the calorie in the nutrient side of things, which is really important to be aware of.
Right. Treats, I've never been a fan of treats and I've never understood the need to give dog treats unless it's part of a formal structured like training program or the dog's working - For them. Yeah. But that can be a normal part of their diet anyway. That's the confusion around that is that the thing around treats is treats are convenient because treats are usually something that is dry and it sits in your pocket or in your treat pouch or something like that.
But I mean, there's been people who have argued with me about, and they've said, oh, I feed raw and only raw and how am I gonna feed my dog on a daily basis? Well, as I've said to them, I may have mentioned it on the show before, get yourself one of those tubes that you put cream in that you can make decorative creams, you can put your meat in there and you can pop that out Oh yeah. Into the dog's mouth as as you're training along. So people said to me, oh, how's that gonna work?
And I said, try it first, don't knock it. Like, and they've gone and done it. They packed their raw diet into the tube Mm-Hmm. And they've, uh, rewarded the dog and given a little pump on the side and they've said it actually worked. I said, well there you go. You owe me a dollar. - Yeah. I mean, I'm not opposed to using like, you know, training treats, like I said, but I guess the average pet owner, all those really crappy process gimmicky treats Mm-Hmm.
That are on top of the, the diet, they're not take the calorie content isn't taking into account in, you know, the overall day of eating.
Yeah. So if people do wanna keep treats in and look, a lot of people, it's just about, you know, the dog looks at them and they feel bad, so they give them a treat of no nutritional value because it's just a, but look, if people do wanna give treats you can, but just keep them to less than 10% of the daily food intake and measure them out at the start of the day because it's so easy to lose track.
Which is another challenge we're having with our puppy because I measure everything out in the morning, but then you tend to top things up through the day. And I don't know how much he's had, but he, it's good food, so that's fine. And he's certainly not overweight. - Well, cwe peak and then he's getting the raw diet that you are getting him the big dog, raw diet. - Yeah. And he's a growing puppy
and we don't have any weight issues. So - No, we don't have any weight issues because with all the extra training he's getting, he's burning calories as well. - Yeah. And other good choices for weight loss treats, you know, a low glycemic index like fruits and vegetables, so berries or cut up pieces of apple or pear or carrot green beans.
Even things like melanin peas, even though they're slightly higher in natural sugars, they're still a much better option than say, kibble or dehydrated treats for dogs. And the other great thing about the vegetables is the higher fiber content, which can help keep dogs who are on a restricted diet, you know, feeling fuller for longer. Mm. Same principle with us. And just make sure, well-meaning family members, let them know that there's a program in place for my clients.
I usually insist that one person be responsible for the dog's food. Mm-Hmm. each day. And if you're currently feeding your dog only once a day, if you put him on a weight loss or her on a weight loss program, you know, you might wanna increase that to two or three meals a day because one digestion requires energy, so it's diet induced thermogenesis.
So by feeding your dog more times, you might actually get them to burn a few more calories across their day, but it also helps your dog, you know, stop feeling hungry. So if they're getting regular small meals rather than just one single meal that's a lot smaller than they used to, that can be a bit miserable for some dogs. Mm-Hmm. . So I usually recommend people just feed more times a day when they're doing a weight loss program.
Okay. We've sort of touched on exercise, but I definitely encourage dogs to exercise, but if you've got an obese dog, like they may not be able to go for more than a, like a five minute walk. So as an owner you need to be more dedicated and you know, you might need to take your dog out three or four times a day for five minute walks to get them moving.
Um, or you might need to go somewhere where they can swim if they've got a lot of joint problems or if anything that restricts their ability to, to do high level exercise. And if you as the owner have a physical reason why you can't get out and exercise your dog, there are so many options. I mean, doggy daycare Yep. Which we do here. Yep. Training. Yeah, training. Get friends and family involved. I mean, if you need to, you know, pay someone to come and walk your dog or just interact with them.
And the other thing with exercise is a lot of owners will feed their dog more because they can consider them active because they do a dog sport. But most dog sports really only involve like, relatively brief periods of intense activity. So it's usually not enough to warrant extra food.
So if people think about like typical human mindset, you go to the gym, you do like a one hour cardio, you get home, you're starving and you're like, I'm justified in bingeing or eating this massive meal because I've just exercised so I need the extra calories. Well, it's not the case and it's not the case with our dogs. Mm-Hmm. So keep that in mind. And I guess finally like the, the sort of the last aspect that I always consider when I've got a dog on a weight loss program, it's supplements.
There's not a huge amount of studies like clinical trials on supplements in dogs, but there are some for weight loss. Mm-Hmm. . And there's certainly everything I'm gonna mention. There's tons of human clinical trials to support the use for weight loss. And while diet is always key, like, you know, diet really is 80% of weight loss for humans or dogs, you know, you might just consider these as add-ons to make the journey a little bit easier for your dog.
Okay. So the first one is omega three fatty acids. So our fish oils now, like I said, lots of studies done in humans as to the weight loss benefits of omega three fatty acids. But there's also studies done in dogs that show similar benefits. Now the reason omega threes are so good is because being overweight or obese, it's a pro-inflammatory state for the body and it's known to promote metabolic disorders. So one of the key actions of the omega three fats is to reduce inflammation.
So it counteracts it in that way, but it's also helpful in reducing insulin resistance and other risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease that our dogs experience when they're overweight or obese.
Okay. Mm-Hmm. , I'm not gonna go into this now, but please buy a quality fish oil because if you buy a cheap bulk tub fish oil from some cheap chemist , chances are it's gonna be rancid and chances are it's gonna be full of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, which is gonna be completely counteractive because it's gonna create more inflammation in the body. So yeah. More health problems and maybe - We should do a podcast on oils.
- Seriously, omega three fats and all the different sources is huge. So yeah, I should probably, yeah. Get onto that. I reckon, I mean I use human grade ones. All my supplements for my dogs are human grade because I, you know, I trust the quality. But if you want a dog, one Anol Rapid would be a really great place to start if you wanted to supplement your dog with an omega three fatty acid.
Mm-Hmm. carnitine. So El Carnitine, there are studies that show that it is highly effective for weight loss in dogs. It can have a positive impact on performance and muscle recovery. It can reduce lactic acid levels and reduce like exercise induced muscle damage. So it's got a few different actions that can be beneficial to our dogs. But I guess the one we're looking at today is the weight loss aspect. Now l Cantine, it's a pretty safe supplement if you just wanna give it a go.
Mm-Hmm. the dosing will depend on the brand that you buy, but I know Sasha Packer from the Balanced Canine Sydney Mm-Hmm. , she's got a dog specific weight loss product that contains carnitine. So you can always jump on her website if you wanna access that. Mm-Hmm. another one that there's some evidence in dogs for weight loss is white kidney bean extract. It's generally referred to as a starch blocker.
And the way it works is to block the digestive enzyme alpha amylase, which converts starch to our simple sugars. So with, you know, when that enzyme isn't doing its job, starch doesn't get broken down into sugar and it can't be absorbed into the body. So particularly for dogs on a commercial kibble that's really high in carbohydrates, trying a white kidney bean extract would probably be really beneficial. And again, I think Sasha Packer of balance canine Sydney Mm-Hmm.
has a dog friendly white kidney bean extract product that people can buy should - Be listed on their website. Huh. Yeah. So you can put that up in your show notes on your natural health for people and pets Facebook page. - I will, I'll put a link to Sasha's page on my Facebook page so people can access that really easily. I'd like to - Actually get Sasha on the show to have a chat with her. - We would, so I will pressure Sasha to do that 2021 resolution.
Mm-Hmm. . And the other thing, if Sasha also and Brittany Brittany Young Yep. They have an amazing Facebook page called Fresh Food Feeding for Dogs, kibble Feeders Welcome full of awesome resources at all around fresh food feeding without any of the technical maths required that tend to overwhelm and bog people down and stop them from moving forward into a fresh diet for their dogs. Yep. So, you know, join their Facebook group. Just don't be a douche when you join the group,
otherwise you'll get kicked out. Yep. - Good. Yeah, I'm, I'm all for that as well on all my forums. - Yeah. Read the rules, don't be douche and everyone's happy. Yep, that's right. And the final one, I know we have to wrap it up today, but a probio, so research demonstrates clear differences in the, like the gut microbiota of obese and healthy weight individuals. And this applies to both humans and animals. Mm-Hmm.
because we've got certain species of bacteria that can influence the way we, our bodies regulate weight, our metabolisms, uh, insulin and inflammation. And there was actually a recent study that showed that dogs given a probiotic were more likely to be at an ideal body weight than those that didn't. Okay. So again, really safe to try with your dog. I recommend you always look for a multi-strain probiotic. So you want at least 10 strains of bacteria.
The product I use for our dogs, the human dose, I think it's about 50 billion colony forming units and I just dose it down to the size of the dog. But the dose can vary quite considerably and still be effective. Mm-Hmm. . So even a little bit less or a lot more can be good, but again, quality matters like fish oil, probiotics, I'm really, really particular about where I get my probiotics from because there's no point getting a probiotic if all the bacteria dead on arrival.
Mm-Hmm. So I like to use companies that have third party testing and stability trials. So a reputable company, if their label claim is say 50 billion colony forming units, they'll often put in, let's say off the top of my head, like a hundred billion at the time of manufacture because - They allow off the Yeah. - The die off. So the best, like the use by date might be two years down the track.
So they need to put in enough overage to make sure that at that two year, like use by date that there's still 50, at least 50 billion colony forming units viable and alive in that product. So that's really important to to know in mind. - Yeah. Yeah. Well it is because I mean again, these are things that you commonly wouldn't think of, you would trust a manufacturer that they would get it right.
Mm. And that you could go into a shop and just buy it and take it home and you know, swallow it down and it would do its job. But yeah, as you said, you know, when you have got independent people doing research and study and giving feedback on it, that does give further peace of mind. - I tend to use practitioner only brands.
That's not to say retail brands aren't good, but with the practitioner only brands I've got, they provide that information, all that third party testing for their fish oils and their probiotics and their quality control. Mm-Hmm. You know, they make that available to practitioners. So we do trust in the quality of the products and we can be confident that when we are giving them to a patient that they're gonna do what they claim that they can do.
Mm-Hmm. . Okay. So we should probably wrap it up there. - Yeah. Okay. So quick question. If people need a design, a diet for their dog, can they come and see you? - Absolutely. I will be seeing new dog clients in 2021. I've had a bit of a hold on new clients 'cause I was really busy in 2020 with clients. Mm-Hmm. . So if you've got a dog that's underweight or overweight or obese, definitely get in touch with me and I can, - Or the owner. Yeah. - So people or dogs. Yeah. Now I'm with you. Sorry.
Yeah, I was a bit confused. Yeah, if you wanna lose weight or if your dog needs to lose weight, you know, get in touch at natural health and nutrition.com au. You can email me at either hello or Noelle at natural health and nutrition.com au or if you've got any questions related to this podcast, get onto the Facebook page. So natural health for people and pets. Mm-Hmm. And I can answer any questions there as well.
- One thing I'd just like to say before we do the official windup is there's no point, and I'm speaking from experience here, this is a little bit of heart and soul here from myself. There's no point until feeling like you're at rock bottom before you do something to optimize your health.
So I think the mistake that a lot of people make, including myself, and you know, it's a shame, it's a bit of shame on me because I live with somebody who studies health recommends it and improves lives of people all the time. And then yet I slip under the radar myself speaking from experience.
Don't wait until it's too late or don't wait until it's devastating before you do something about like, if you can see things starting to get outta your control, step in and there's no shame in being mentored or being guided by somebody. In fact, sometimes that's just the helping hand that you actually need to do. You know, we're all busy, but I think that's an excuse I use far too often is I'm busy. I'm like, I'm too busy at work, I'm too busy doing this.
I'm too busy to look after my diet or too busy to do that. But that's a part of the problem and that needs to be rectified as well. - And look with the right guidance, if you are someone who legitimately is too busy, there are ways to make changes to healthy eating and weight loss that can fit into a busy schedule.
I agree. That's why I don't do a one size fits all for people because I know I've got stay-at-home moms with five kids and I can't expect them to cook up a gourmet breakfast when they're trying to get kids ready for school. And I've got busy professionals that are working like a hundred hours a week, you know, ridiculous hours and I can't expect them to again, you know, come home and prepare gourmet dinner. Mm-Hmm. There's something that can be done for everyone.
I agree. Yeah. You just need to ask. Yes. Well thank you everyone. 2021. Here we come. - Yes, new year. New Year. . . - That's it. All right. Thanks guys. Bye. - Bye.