# Went to a great lecture this weekend..



## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

I had the luxury of attending a lecture this weekend by Dr. Karen Becker on Fresh Functional Foods. She is a wonderful woman with a wealth of knowledge. I wanted to share a couple of highlights that answer questions that come up on the forum quite a bit. The lecure was only an hour but we could have asked questions all day.  

She stressed that not everyone is comfortable feeding raw and offers other alternatives. She also knows everyone can't spend a fortune to feed their dogs but if we all feed the best we can afford we can help our dogs live longer happier lives. Even mixing fresh items into your pets food now and then is better than nothing. 

Dr. Becker advocates that the best foods are:

Real
Fresh
Clean, uncontaminated
Variable - lot's of variety

This is her list of best to worst foods:

Balance raw diet
Balanced cooked diet
USDA inspected canned food
USDA inspected kibble (dry)
Veterinary recomended canned food
Veterinary recomended kibble (dry)
Grocery store canned
Grocery store kibble
Grocery store semi-moist (pouched)

Below are some links where you can learn more about Dr. Becker and how to choose the right food for your pets. 

Dr. Karen Shaw Becker - this is her veterinary practice where you can buy her book.
Mercola Website - this site has many articles and videos by Dr. Becker - Nikkis Mom has posted this site before.

I'm looking forward to bringing the dogs to Dr. Becker so that she can help us determine the best foods for us. She believes that every dog has different nutritional needs based on their breed and individual life situation. 

Leslie


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

Thanks for posting this. It's true, we all do the best we can for our fluffs, time and money allowing.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

Good info, thanks, Leslie.

I've been looking more into canned since the last email you wrote on this topic. I just posted earlier (in this section) about how it's been nearly impossible to find a dry kibble that has ALL I want in it (or don't want in it). Canned, on the other hand, seems to be more "right on"...I guess I'm still of the old fashioned mindset that dogs need dry food--like I'd be doing something wrong if I did only canned. I also wonder how it would change Ollie's eating habits, for example. He free feeds on kibble but you can't do that w/ canned. When I do give him canned he eats it all in one sitting but then that's it until his next meal? No grazing? It would be a pretty big change for us. I do notice that when I give him canned/fresh cooked meals he eats them all in one sitting and then is nice and calm for the rest of the night with a full tummy, lol.

Any thought send them my way. I appreciate your expertise!!


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

QUOTE (camfan @ Jul 20 2009, 01:35 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=807719


> Good info, thanks, Leslie.
> 
> I've been looking more into canned since the last email you wrote on this topic. I just posted earlier (in this section) about how it's been nearly impossible to find a dry kibble that has ALL I want in it (or don't want in it). Canned, on the other hand, seems to be more "right on"...I guess I'm still of the old fashioned mindset that dogs need dry food--like I'd be doing something wrong if I did only canned. I also wonder how it would change Ollie's eating habits, for example. He free feeds on kibble but you can't do that w/ canned. When I do give him canned he eats it all in one sitting but then that's it until his next meal? No grazing? It would be a pretty big change for us. I do notice that when I give him canned/fresh cooked meals he eats them all in one sitting and then is nice and calm for the rest of the night with a full tummy, lol.
> 
> Any thought send them my way. I appreciate your expertise!![/B]



When Nikki ate canned, I fed her twice a day. In between meals, she'd get a few cheerios, bits of veg/fruit. I feed her the same way now with home cooking. She eats at 7am and 5pm. I've never free fed her. I never saw the point in that.


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## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

QUOTE (camfan @ Jul 20 2009, 12:35 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=807719


> Good info, thanks, Leslie.
> 
> I've been looking more into canned since the last email you wrote on this topic. I just posted earlier (in this section) about how it's been nearly impossible to find a dry kibble that has ALL I want in it (or don't want in it). Canned, on the other hand, seems to be more "right on"...I guess I'm still of the old fashioned mindset that dogs need dry food--like I'd be doing something wrong if I did only canned. I also wonder how it would change Ollie's eating habits, for example. He free feeds on kibble but you can't do that w/ canned. When I do give him canned he eats it all in one sitting but then that's it until his next meal? No grazing? It would be a pretty big change for us. I do notice that when I give him canned/fresh cooked meals he eats them all in one sitting and then is nice and calm for the rest of the night with a full tummy, lol.
> 
> Any thought send them my way. I appreciate your expertise!![/B]



Oh heavens - I don't have any expertise - I can just share what experts have taught me and tell you what I do - and I'm still learning. 

I give a small breakfast in the morning and the main meal at night. Normally breakfast is just a heaping tablespoon of their homecooked meal so that they don't have an empty tummy - this morning they each got a flossie type treat and some banana and strawberries. I know others on the forum who split the full daily amount of food into two equal portions one in the morning and one at night. I'm sure either is fine you just need to figure out what works best for Ollie and YoYo. Maybe you can give some kibble in the morning and do canned at night so that they can free feed during the day and gradually change over time. Even mixing canned with kibble is an improvement and you have to find what works best in your situation. You have a very busy schedule with the kids and work so it's important that whatever you choose works for you as well.

Another interesting suggestion that Dr. Becker made was that everytime you buy pet food, buy a different brand with different flavors to make sure your dog is getting a lot of variety and variation in ingredients. She was speaking specifically of Wet Nose the sponsoring boutique which carries only high quality premium grain free pet foods. But it made a lot of sense to me. What one brand lacks another brand might contain. It keeps your dog from being allergic to anything and gives them nutritional variety. She said it would also keep them from having a senstive stomach. 

Also, Grandma Lucy's makes a dehydrated dog food that you just add warm water to. It might be easier than canned and all the ingredients are natural and fresh. You can call them for samples to try it. No cans to recycle, no open cans in the fridge, and you can mix up one meal at time in a matter of minutes. 

Hope that helps, 

Leslie


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

Great info, thanks!! Thanks, all, for taking the time to type all that info out!!

I'll check out the grandma Lucy's (can't access it here at work--don't ask--some stuff I can view and some I can't and there seems to be no rhyme or reason...)


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## Furbaby's Mommie (Jul 10, 2004)

Thanks for posting this Leslie. I just ordered the Grandma Lucy's Chicken dinner for Shoni. Hope he likes it, he is choosy.


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## joyomom (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks for posting this information  
I enjoyed watching some of the videos!


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## puppy lover (Dec 25, 2007)

:thmbup: Really great information on her website. I'm ordering the pamphlet-book she wrote, Real Food for Dogs and Cats (has a lot of recipes and it's only around $5). There's another book offered called See Spot Live Longer, not by her, but it also looks good!
Thanks for posting!


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

I'm so glad you posted this Leslie!! I've been playing with the idea of bringing in Grandma Lucy's food here. I carry their treats, which are awesome. And I love the idea that the meat is cooked and freeze dried. To my knowledge, they are the only company that offers something like this with the protien source cooked. For traveling, it will be so nice. And I'm pleased to announce that they will be bringing out 2 more types proteins! They hope to introduce them at the Zoo and the Backer show.

I feed mine Dr. Harvey's and I alternate the protein weekly. I have to cook the protein because Jett's system just can't handle raw. I'm thrilled to have an option where I can just add water as well as for traveling. For me, the fresher the better so I'll still stick with Dr. Harvey's but use Grandma Lucy's when I haven't had time to make up another batch or when traveling.


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## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

QUOTE (Crystal&Zoe @ Jul 21 2009, 12:42 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=808159


> I'm so glad you posted this Leslie!! I've been playing with the idea of bringing in Grandma Lucy's food here. I carry their treats, which are awesome. And I love the idea that the meat is cooked and freeze dried. To my knowledge, they are the only company that offers something like this with the protien source cooked. For traveling, it will be so nice. And I'm pleased to announce that they will be bringing out 2 more types proteins! They hope to introduce them at the Zoo and the Backer show.
> 
> I feed mine Dr. Harvey's and I alternate the protein weekly. I have to cook the protein because Jett's system just can't handle raw. I'm thrilled to have an option where I can just add water as well as for traveling. For me, the fresher the better so I'll still stick with Dr. Harvey's but use Grandma Lucy's when I haven't had time to make up another batch or when traveling.[/B]


Sojo's also makes a food like this and they will send you samples. Grandma Lucy's uses potato and Sojos uses Sweet potato so if your customers were to switch between the two they would get even more well rounded nutrition. Sojos also offers with grain or grain-free solutions. Just something to think about. All of the B&M store owners I've talked to recently have said their food sales are what's really carrying them through these tough times. Your shop is a bit different being in tourist area but it's something to think about. 


Leslie


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

Thanks for the info..........


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

QUOTE (WoofLife @ Jul 21 2009, 01:51 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=808162


> QUOTE (Crystal&Zoe @ Jul 21 2009, 12:42 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=808159





> I'm so glad you posted this Leslie!! I've been playing with the idea of bringing in Grandma Lucy's food here. I carry their treats, which are awesome. And I love the idea that the meat is cooked and freeze dried. To my knowledge, they are the only company that offers something like this with the protien source cooked. For traveling, it will be so nice. And I'm pleased to announce that they will be bringing out 2 more types proteins! They hope to introduce them at the Zoo and the Backer show.
> 
> I feed mine Dr. Harvey's and I alternate the protein weekly. I have to cook the protein because Jett's system just can't handle raw. I'm thrilled to have an option where I can just add water as well as for traveling. For me, the fresher the better so I'll still stick with Dr. Harvey's but use Grandma Lucy's when I haven't had time to make up another batch or when traveling.[/B]


Sojo's also makes a food like this and they will send you samples. Grandma Lucy's uses potato and Sojos uses Sweet potato so if your customers were to switch between the two they would get even more well rounded nutrition. Sojos also offers with grain or grain-free solutions. Just something to think about. All of the B&M store owners I've talked to recently have said their food sales are what's really carrying them through these tough times. Your shop is a bit different being in tourist area but it's something to think about. 


Leslie
[/B][/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure Sojo's is raw. I could be wrong. It's been awhile since I was looking at it. But since Jett can't have raw, I'm pretty sure that's why I didn't go with them. Also, I just really like it when food looks more 'whole'. Sojo's has really ground everything down and you don't see individual pieces of carrot, peas, etc. Just a little 'quirky' thing with me.  

Grandma Lucy's is really trying to figure out how to make one of their new protein sources with sweet potatos vs. the white without making the price too high. Sweet potatos are more expensive. I had a really nice chat with them about prefering sweet potatos to the white potatos.


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## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

QUOTE


> I'm pretty sure Sojo's is raw. I could be wrong.[/B]



You are correct - they do have one thats like Dr. Harvey's though where you can add your own meat, cooked or raw. You can't see the veggies in the Grandmas Lucy's either. There are a few big chunks of meat in every bag but for the most part it's all ground up into a flaky mixture. It looks like mashed potatoes when it's mixed up. I have the chicken and fish and the lamb right now. So far I've had to add meat to the lamb to get them to eat it or they just look at me like "where's the meat mom?" GL's is about 20-25% meat and they are used to about 40% so I can understand where they are coming from. 

Leslie


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