Being an enthusiastic raw feeder, I've been looking at the vitamins more closely, and specially the vitamin E, that is often said to be the second most plentiful vitamin to be getting from the food. However, giving it some thought I've found myself wondering why would a carnivore with just omivore potential, specialized in the usage of fat and protein as energy source, need such high doses in vitamin mainly met in certain vegetables and plant sources?

Internet is filled with different ideas of raw feeding. If you browse through sources you can't miss certain repeating numbers, such as the generally high needs for vitamins A and E. If you look at those sources deeper, however, there are hardly, if any, proof or reasoning based on studied facts. There are some, naturally, and from those some one is able to gather a basic guideline explaining certain dietary needs.

• Wolves, the ancestors of our tame dogs, ate mainly meat. Wild meat includes very high levels of zinc, and if the wolf happens to get a hold of the liver, the liver contain incredibly high levels of vitamin A. Therefore, both the need for zinc and the need for vitamin A as well as the ability to filter some of the vitamin A out are explained with natural diet of the animal.
• Vitamin D is essential for the development of dogs and wolves alike, and both need to get it from their food. Wolves get it much less on a daily basis, but we need to remember that dogs are not wolves and they have evolved towards omnivore metabolism. This may explain why dogs benefit from larger doses. However, there is vitamin D in the liver and wolves do, if given the change, eat liver in high amounts.

By far, the high need for Vitamin A is explained with evolution and metabolism of the dog. The need for vitamin D is also kind of explained, and the requirements in general are actually not that high. One is very able to achieve said amounts with just adding some fish to the food. However, by far there has been no explanation on why dogs would need such high doses of vitamin E. We will dive deeper into the world of dog nutrition in a second, but before that I want everyone to remember three things:

• Nature is never optimal, so no matter many natural animals can go on with less, it doesn't mean they get the absolute optimal amount of vitamins from their natural diet every day. Many times, raw feeders aim for the said optimal, therefore feeding more than the animal would get when living wild.
• Nature doesn't create an animal that can't survive with it's natural diet, or that will fall in sick when fed like it would eat in the wild.
• Dogs are not wolves. Dogs use plant material and grains better (usually) than wolves, however being able to adapt to different food sources than meat doesn't mean dogs benefit from grain based or vegetable based diet. Many studies and real life examples show that dogs do best with mainly meat diets.

Lastly, no matter I have studied several sources, everything written here applies only as something I have read and personally found out and it is not to be taken as any ultimate truth. In general, I don't teach feeding. It is however my great passion, so what better than share the research with you. ​
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Let's start with what science says; they are part of carnivora order. They are mainly meat eaters, and their physical features support this. However, when we take a look at the dogs dietary system, it actually differs from creatures like cats and ferrets, for example, that can ONLY use meat sources for food. Dogs CAN use plant sources, and newest research show some individuals are better in that than the others. This means, living with people as scavengers has lead to the dog developing more towards omivore that can use various food sources. Evolution just isn't quite there yet.

In this post I am not going to talk about dogs being carnivore (anatomy) or omnivore (their ability to use plant sources) more than what has been stated. There are way better and more educated people out there to talk about that. However, it is important to understand that dogs are able to use plant sources, no matter what many BARF and prey model and raw feeders might tell you. There are multiple sources out there proving dogs can use carbohydrates and they can use plants, and that they can even use vitamins and minerals found in plants.

The most common explanation people have against using plants is that dogs don't have amylase in their saliva like herbivores do. They don't, that ius correct, but research has shown dogs do produce amylase in their body and they even have genes to support the digestion of plant based material (https://primalpooch.com/the-great-debate-do-dogs-need-fruits-and-vegetables/ has a great post about this matter with many different sources. Check it out!). This means, to some extent some individuals can use plants and will benefit from them

This leads us to the question I want to talk about today; why do I feel feeding vegetables along with meat supports your dog's health, and why I feel like adding vegetables to your dog's meat based diet is a good thing.
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Following is based strongly on the pet nutrition blogger Rodney Habib's research. He has studied pet nutrition and after discussing with numerous experts has came into conclusion that plants can be used to fill in the gaps in modern raw feeding diets.

These gaps are created mostly because raw feeders, such as me, rarely provide the dog with 95% of their prey animals, and we usually provide human bred meat from just a few sources. This means, dogs are not eating like wolves would in the wild. One also needs to remember dogs are not wolves, and that dogs have better adapted to use plant sources and for example carbohydrates. Therefore, we CAN use plant sources to fill in the gaps left with too simple meat based diet, specially when the meat is not from organic sources and thus richer in, well, everyhting than your basic factory meat.

Many raw feeders feed minerals and vitamins from jars. Some self proclaimed feeding experts state raw feeding and feeding organs and meat is never enough to provide the dog enough nutrients such as vitamins and for example zinc, so they turn to man-made supplements to provide their dog with that. They base their opinions on the same research material as I do, but we look the matter from different perspective. They think what I can't get from commercial meats I get from jars. I think what I can't get from commercial meats I must try to get naturally, because animals in the wild do not die from defficiency. They thrive, in best cases. There MUST be a way for me to mimic that. True, wild animals do lack some vitamins and minerals depending on what situation they have with their prey animals, how often they eat and where they live, but if they can get everything they need from their diet, then it is simply false to say one can't give the dog what it needs only by feeding it natural ingredients.

Research proves that while it is not possible to give the dog all it needs from veggies and plants, you can fill in the small gaps left with plants when you provide your dog with good, preferably organic meats. You might have to give your dog some supplements, like the added zinc, if you do not feed your dog whole prey animals from various sources, but you can get most out of meat and you can benefit from veggies if you just pay some attention. 
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​The most common thing I hear against using plants in diet is that there is hardly anything else than water in plants.

My little sister went vegan a few years back. Like, not just partially but full damn organic vegan. She uses no supplements, either. She tries to get everything she needs from natural sources. Almost two years ago she also had a child, and she decided with her partner that the child would go full organic vegan too. I, as a meat eater, was very sure the child would have horrible problems in future because we people are meant to be omnivore by nature.

Turned out I was wrong. The child thrives, and should it be right what many raw feeders say, that there is simply not enough vitamins and minerals in plants, it should not thrive. It should be dead. It is wrong, just simply and plainly wrong, to say you can't get vitamins from plants. You CAN. You must, however, remember that dogs are not as good in using those vitamins as we are and that you can't provide dogs mainly plant based food and expect them to be healthy. Dogs do best when their diet is based on meat. Plants are there only to fill in certain gaps left when we feed our animals with two or three main protein sources and organs, leaving out other parts of the prey animals.

Steve Brown, dog nutrition experts too, is know to have said

“Vegetables provide essential nutrients, including fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Without plant matter providing those nutrients, an all-meat diet would need supplements. ”

I have not studied more about Mr. Brown's ideology, but it seems to go together with what others have said.

Also, In 2005, Purdue University conducted a study using fresh vegetables in canine diets. Their plan was to see if vegetables affected incidences of bladder cancer in dogs. The results show that vegetable consumption has been reported to reduce the risk of TCC in Scottish terriers who have a strong breed-associated risk for the disease (Raghavan et al. 2005). The numbers were as high as reducing the risk by 90% if the vegetables used were green leafy vegetables high in fiber and low in carbs.

Where is this based on?
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​To make this simple enough for my own brains; studies have shown that vegetables can be used to boost the process called autophagy, which means the process the body goes through to clean itself of debris, toxins and damaged cells and mitochondria. This leads to better over all health and longer lifespan of cells (meaning, longer life in general).

Cancer happens when the cancerous cells appear and start to grow. Protein and carbohydrates, specially getting more protein that is needed, has been reported to increase the growth of cells, even the growth of cancer. Behind this is the process called mTOR. The process has also been reported to inhibit autophagy, meaning the unnecessary growth of cells is messing up the system which takes care of cleaning up our system and making sure we have better cellular lifespan.

Implimenting fiber-rich and low carb vegetables in the diet can both boost the autophagy and benefit the microbiome inside the digestive system (this means, the better the microbiome, the healthier the dog), AND help slow down the unnecessary growth, meaning the mTOR, that would happen if the dog would get enormous amounts of protein. Since meat protein is where the dogs get their vitamins and minerals in raw feeding, producing some of the vitamins and minerals in the form of plants will slow down the process of growth without slowing down autophagy. The cleaning process continues, microbiome is kept healthy, but the unnecessary growth or unnecessary cells that would otherwise mess with the autophagy and cause tumors to spread is slowed down.

Now, this is highly speculative, BUT the study with Scottish terriers did show adding veggies to replace small portion of their diet of kibble (note here, high in carbs. Sugars stimulate mTOR too, like we remember) did lower their risks of getting cancer.

We are onto something here. We can't leave meat out of the diet because dogs need meat, but we can use vegetables to provide nutrients and fill the gaps and boost the microbiome, and it may also benefit us in the form of not having to feed humongous amounts of protein.

Nobody uses this now as any kind of justification on making their dog vegan. That is in any way against any biological facts. I am not saying feed your dog only with veggies. I am saying adding veggies in a little amount might be a good idea because of all the above.  
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​Well, I assume nothing else than knowing all the above. Knowing stuff in usually beneficial.

TO ME all the above means adding some small portion of leafy greens in my dog's diet, those rich with fiber and low in carb, is probably a good idea. I get vitamins, minerals and support digestive system and I can still offer my dog energy in the form it needs, protein and fat. I can also avoid chemicals and artificial supplements to certain extent. To me this adds to the purity of the food. The less we consume anything artificial, the better our system works. It's the same with dogs and people alike. 

One needs to remember, always, that for a dog most of the vitamins and minerals come from organs such as liver, but individuals are more or less likely to get something out of vegetables too. Fiber and over all good effects of vegetables are something that affect every dog. 

So your mom was right. Eat your veggies. Give your dog some, too, if you wish.

I own dogs that are in very different life stages and need very different things. Mr. Arthritis is an old man, tends to get chubby easily and has a stress belly. Mr. Hyperactivity is an old man with arthritis as well, but he is also still active and energetic. He needs special diet to support his joints. Mrs. Aloofness is a middle age lady with very sophisticated taste, she gets fat easily and she enjoys long naps. Exercising isn't really ”her thing”. Ms. Dominance is young, full of energy, and she exercises a lot. She jumps, climbs, pulls and the terrain she plays on changes from grass to little pebbles to forest full of branches and rocks. I also have an elderly ferret, who could use some more weigh and has bad teeth, and an adult ferret, who loves to play but also loves to sleep. A lot.

There is no way I could ever feed all my pets the same exact food. All my dogs the same kibble, both my ferrets the same kibble. Yes, I have some kibble there and they do eat kibble every now and then, but their main diet has to be specifically meant for them. It has to answer to their needs. Not a single brand of commercial pet food can offer me EVERYTHING I need in the same bag, and it can't do that to anyone else either.  
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 The amount of brands is endless. There are bags after bags after bags on shelves, each promising to answer to your every need. There are foods for active dogs, foods for puppies, foods for elders, foods for dogs with gastric issues. One could think it's easy to find a good fit, when in reality finding a good fit is pretty impossible unless your dog was the exact dog they developed the food for.

First problem of commercial dog foods is that they are developed and engineered to answer to the so called ”example dog's” needs. The problem is, none of our pets happens to be that example dog. They live different lives with different exercise, different environment and different genetics.

”For many years, the public, through TV and magazine ads, colorfur packaging, endorsements from actors and even our own veterinarians was told that dry and canned dog food was high quality and the best food for our dogs. We were told that all of the essential protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals were all right there in the package and all we had to do was pour it into a bowl. It was easy and convenient way to feed our pets and everyone agreed, it was easy to do and our pets readily ate it. Sales of dry and canned foods soared, particularly after World War II with baby boomers staring families and the family pet being a big part of it.” - Victoria Spencer (Afghan Hound – A contemporary view, 2014)

Foods are sold to us with easyness. How easy would it be to answer to every active dog's needs by buying food meant for active dogs? Or have a healthy senior dog by buying senior foods? This image is sold to us with ads, and it is temping to think the promises are true. However, the general idea of every dogs being the exact same is like stating all people should eat the same food. It's completely ridiculous idea since we need different things, everyone knows that. Food producers know this too, but they continue to market their foods as ”fit for all”, because the easy way is a tempting way.

The next big issue with commercial foods is that most of them are manufactured in countries that demand little to no quality control considering the ingredients.

Lately there have been many cases of commercial pet foods causing problems. News pop up frequently stating dog foods have caused poisonings or other health related issues. This is due to the fact the quality of ingredients isn't supervised. According to many sources, for example the documentary Pet Fooled and numerous different sources in the net, including www.truthaboutpetfood.com , state that meats and grain used in dog foods are low quality, often leftovers or even plain garbage, and they are handled with unhygienic manners. Now, the situation may and does vary from country to country, but since most of our pet foods come from USA, we can assume most of them are exactly what is described above.

Why use low quality ingredients? It's cheaper, first of all. Secondly, dogs as scavengers can process foods impressively well and they can live long, even healthy lives no matter the food they consume is not the greatest. This does not mean all dogs will. It has even been speculated that the increasing lecels of canine cancers would have something to do with processed commercial dog foods made from bad ingredients filled with many kinds of unnecessary chemicals bad for health.

Cost is also the reason why dog foods are mostly grain. The amount of carbohydrates in dog foods is astonishing. Meat is expensive, processing meat is expensive, and even if you use low quality meat you pay more the more meat your products contains. Therefore grain is used. Rice, corn, even wheat. None of these are in any way natural food for dogs. Dog can benefit from carbohydrates, but this can not justify majority of the food consisting of grains.

There are good brands available. Usually these brands can tell you exactly where their ingredients come from and they use good ingredients free from chemicals. Their sources are trustworthy, preferably local, and no third party is included. 
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Another issue with many commercial foods is poor proof of used ingredients. Some brands have very little to no actual information on where all the stuff mentioned in the bag comes from. They say they have lots of meat and this and that and their food contains this much of whatevers, but there is no actual information even about what kind of meat is used, from where they get for example all the mentioned vitamins and minerals, and how much does the product contain grain, and what grain. Sometimes names like ”chicken meal” or ”protein meal” are used. This means the food manufacturers have bought already rendered product that in some cases could even consist of the remains of sick animals, road kills, even deceased pets (www.truthaboutpetfood.com).

If you browse through the list of ingerients you can even find added color. This being paint. Noms.

If the manufacturers themselves can't be sure of the origins and quality of their ingredients, there is no way a customer could ever know for sure. The only way to know what goes into your dog's mouth is to prepare the food from real ingredients yourself. 

The quality of the ingredients matter. Buying the cheapest possible leftovers from butchers is sadly very common, but no dog will live a healthy life eating pork legs or chicken necks only. Whether you use raw or cook for your dogs, it's also important to know what your dog needs. No matter dogs can live with many diets, surviving doesn't mean the diet is optimal. You may want to do some research and be critical.

Unfortunately it seems there really is no fast lane to victory. Ignorance is bliss, but knowing your basics when feeding a dog properly is just a must. This doesn't have to mean spending your evenings crying and calculating milligrams. You can always rely on those good, reliable sources of food, ask some help or read some tips. There are many found in books and internet. 

​I have talked about feeding raw meat before, so if you want to, you might like to check out my previous post.

Before we start, I want to underline once more I am just a dog enthusiast and someone who fights to feed my dogs the very best I can. None of what I write here is to be considered an ultimate truth. I base my feeding mainly to the teachings of two dog feeding instructors. In some things they agree, in some they disagree. I am not really swearing for either's name, I just try to pick up what I can and make my own assumptions.

Basically when raw feeding a dog you must make sure you are giving your dog every vitamin and mineral it needs as well as the right kind of meat it can consume and use. Now, some people believe all this can be achieved with natural ingredients, while some people believe you can never get enough from the food itself. I am somewhere in the middle. I think it is possible to get everything you need from natural sources, but that situation might be easier to accomplish with some well chosen ad-ons.

I am NOT one of those who think it's best to give lots of extra. I believe filling the need is a must, some extra to that doesn't do harm, but giving double doses based on limited internet sources or personal thoughts is most likely not justified.

At this point I am using the chart offered by Katiska (https://www.katiska.info/ruokinta/yleista/vitamiinit-ja-hivenaineet-pahkinankuoressa/) explaining the needs of vitamins and minerals. The chart itself is based on various sources AND personal opinions, and therefore I am also using what I have learned from another dog food instructor, Riikka Lahti from the MUSH team ( https://www.mushbarf.com/fi/ ).

Some vitamins and minerals are more important than others when trying to build a balanced diet. This is both because there are both fat- and water-soluble vitamins as well as the fact that some vitamins are easy to get from the food while others are tougher.

Some vitamins the dog most likely gets enough from it's diet when raw feeding are vitamins B and C. There are both produced by the dog itself, and there's lots of vitamin Bs in meat. C-vitamin is also found in fruit, some veggies and liver.

Vitamins you might want to look a bit closer are vitamins A, E and K.

A vitamin is found mainly in liver. It is fat-soluble and that can't be ignored, no matter dog is somewhat able to push out the vitamin it doesn't need. Judging by the chart the minimal amount of A-vitamin per day would be 22,5mcg per kilogram. The amount of A-vitamin one gets from liver depends on what liver is used. I use pork/beef liver, so the amount is somewhere around 19 000 mcg / 100g. This means 1g of liver would have around 190 mcg of vitamin A. Mss. Dominance is around 24 kilograms, so she'd need 540 mcg vitamin A per day, meaning about 2,8 grams of liver per day. 2,8 grams. However, the absorbing is not optimal, so giving a little teaspoon of liver per day would fill her need of vitamin A just fine and not give a dangerous overdose either (teaspoon being about 5g). If you are giving something else with vitamin A in it, you might want to make sure the dose doesn't get too high, though. We talk about this later.

E-vitamin is found in fats and oils. The best way to get enough E-vitamin is to feed good quality, preferably cold pressed, oils and fish-liver oil. Some people like to add drops of E vitamin as well. I don't do that, and I will explain later why so. The chart suggests that the need of the vitamin E is 0,5 mg per kilograms. This means, once more, that for example Mss. Dominance would need around 15mg of vitamin E per day. From fish liver oil you get about 10 mg per 5 ml. Obviously from that very same oil you also get lots of vitamin A, around 250 mcg per 5 ml, so be careful with liver if you feed fish liver oil. I prefer to use sunflower oil and rapeseed oil mixed, and this way I get near the optimal.

I am a little bit over careful with possible over dosing, and therefore my boys, who eat also kibble and get A-vitamin from there, too, don't get liver that often. My girls need to have liver so they have all the vitamins they need, so in their case I try to give liver not daily but once in a few days or so. They still have the fish liver oil to give them A. And just to compare, and to ease my own mind, Royal Canin Maxi adult gives about 480 mcg / 100 g , so by eating that my girls would get more vitamin A than they do now (assuming they get about 3-4 grams of liver per daily, which they don't every day, and 250 mcg from fish liver oil).

There is not much I know to say about vitamin K. It is found in some light meats, liver, and produced in small amounts by the dog itself. Some greens, including spinach, include vitamin K as well. There is no real need to add vitamin K, as long as the dog is fed properly and it is healthy. Vets do give vitamin K in case of poisoning however, but in normal situation there should be no need to add vitamin K if the feeding is otherwise alright and the dog is healthy.

Now we get to the really important stuff, the vitamin D.

Vitamin D has it's fingers in many different processes within the body. The most important role is working together with calcium and allowing it to absorb. If the dog is suffering from lack of vitamin D, it can't use calcium, no matter how much is given. Therefore adding vitamin D when raw feeding is to be considered essential.

The optimal amount of vitamin D per day is said by the chart to be 0.7 mcg per kg. Most sources in the net, however, talk about 0.3 or 0.4 mcg, and since 0.7 mcg is the writers own opinion, I go with 0.3 mch per day per kilogram as the daily need. Once more, we use Mss. Dominance as an example and calculate her need to be around 8 mcg per day. So, where to start gathering that? Well, fish is one good option. 100 grams of sea salmon has about 6.8 mcg of vitamin D. One can also use fish liver oil, since it has pretty high amount of vitamin D (10 mcg per 5ml). Once more, if fish liver oil is used, make sure the amount of vitamin A is not super high.

Some people give products meant for people, but I find this controversial as if we are supposed to feed optimal food, I eant to give as little chemicals as possible. Fish liver oil and fish are natural sources for vitamin D.

 Minerals come in many, and I am mostly concentrating on those you can actually add. Most minerals are gotten from the meat itself, or from the veggies added to the diet. Iodine is gotten from the dried seaweed most raw feeders are using.

Zinc and calcium are probably the most important to look at closer.

Calcium is gotten from bones. Now, remember what was said about the vitamin D, now. No amount of calcium does any good if the dog is lacking vitamin D. When it gets enough vitamin D, the suggested amount of calcium per kg is 60 mg. With our example girl the amount of calcium per day would be about 1,4 g.

If you feed bones, calcium is rarely a problem. If you feed calcium as a powder, make sure the amount of calcium is high enough.

Zinc is one important mineral, and probably the most comtroversial. Some people say zinc is gotten from the food while others say one can never get enough zinc from the food. There is zinc in the meat as well as in internal organs, but it doesn't absorb that well. The minimal amount of zinc needed per kilogram is about 1mg, the said optimal being 2mg. I am not sure in what that optimal is based on, so I have been giving our example dog about 30mgs per day, trusting that the lacking amount is gotten from the meats and veggies she eats.

Zinc has many jobs to do, too, but as someone who owns long haired dogs one of the most obvious is good coat and good nails. Now, zinc if often paired with biotin and metionin, and as I have been using products with and without the last two I have to say I noticed the difference when using zinc paired with the said ingrediends opposing to using it without them. Therefore I use products with biotin and metionin, these days.  
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 From what I have gathered and read, what I need to add to my dog's diet are vitamins A, D and E as well as calcium and zinc. I also need to add seaweed to get enough iodine.

As a source for vitamin A I use liver, mainly, and fish liver oil. This way the amount of A the dog gets is a tad high (not even a tad), but since vitamin A is pushed out by the dog if it's not needed I am not too worried. I also give more than enough zinc and that helps vitamin A to absorb. I give very little liver per day, and I try to compensate this by making sure we have enough oils and veggies in the food to fill the needs of vitamins K and E that are both also met in liver.

Enough calcium could be achieved with feeding crushed bones, but since I'm hesitant to do that due to Mss. Dominance's special needs, I add calcium to their food as a powder. My powder is not having added vitamin D in it, however, so I use salmon to get the vitamin D I need for the calcium to be absorbed. I might change, later, to a product that has vitamin D added, but by far I haven't founded one with reasonable prize.

Zinc is added from a jar as well. I use Avital Biotin, so the need per day is 2 pills (this means 30 mgs of zinc per day, which is over the minimum but under the said optimal. I trust the gap is filled with zinc from the meats and organs and veggies I use). 

So in the end added to our meats and oils I have no more than 5 jars / bottles of supplements. To someone like me who hates any kind of playing with bottles and jars that is a tad irritating. Sometimes I wish for an easier solution, and there actually IS one. That's called MUSH Vaisto, a complete raw food made by a Finnish company MUSH. Their products are 100% Finnish, with the exception of some meats one just don't have here in Finland. We don't actually have sea salmon swimming in our lakes here.

Anyways, what I like in Vaisto complete foods is that they fill all basic needs of the dog and one doesn't necessarily have to add anything to them. I would probably still add zinc and maybe vitamin D in the form of the fish liver oil just to be sure, but other than that I wouldn't have to add anything. The simplicity of this intrigues me and should it be I'd only have one dog I would totally go for Vaisto. I also suggest it strongly, as my own experiences with it have been great.

My only problem, owning 4 dogs, is the cost. No matter during some months I choose the easy road and go with Vaisto, during some other, less rich months it's cheaper for me to mix the meats myself. During those times I mainly buy my meats from KennelRehu. Sometimes I buy some meats from pet stores, specially for my ferrets since they are very nitpicky, but that tends to be somewhat costy.

Since cost is a factor to most of us, let's talk about expenses next. 
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 This is something I find myself asking any time someone makes a post like this. ”Yes, fancy numbers and all, but how does that look in real life?!”

Well, it looks like this:

I add 450 to 500 grams of meat mix I have prepared. This mix consists of 1000 grams of grounded turkey, 500 grams of grounded beef/pork, 500 grams of grounded fish and about 100 grams of veggies (usually grounded raw spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, along with some possible seasonal berries like cowberries, blueberries, apples, zucchini etc.)

To this I add supplements based on the dog's weight. For Mss. Dominance this would be about 2 grams of calcium in total, so I don't really add that much because the salmon I use already has calcium, a little bit of seaweed, 2 pills of Avital Biotin, 5ml of fish liver oil (when we use it), half a teaspoon or so of liver, some rapeseed oil (I hate that name, seriously), some sunflower oil, some grounded flax if needed. Sometimes I add lactic acid bacteria, sometimes I crack an egg there and reduce the amount of meat a bit.

It sounds like a hassle, and it is a bit, so I usually give all supplements during evening. In the morning I only give the meat mix with some added grounded flax and oils, because it's faster. I have more time to play jar bingo in the evening.

* just to mention, I do use Working Dog Hyaluron 365 for my boys every day, but as it's not a must, I left it out of this post. I talked about it more in my post about arthritis. We also have kibble days every now and then, usually when I forgot to defrost food, and boys get some kibble every day because they tend to get hungry during the night if they don't get kibble in the evening, but most of our diet is based on raw meat and the calculations above.   

The use of carbohydrates in dog food is often explained with the need of sugars. Sugars are essential for the brain, which is correct. The dogs, however, are able to form glucose out of fat (the process is called gluconeogenesis), and therefore they do not need a special source of carbohydrate in their diet. The reason why dogs and wolves can use some carbohydrates and turn them into energy is because their prey in wild consists of plant eaters. While eating their prey they can sometimes consume parts of the undigested plants eaten by the prey animal. Therefore their digestive system can use that source of energy to some extent. In most commercial dog foods the amount of carbohydrates is as high as 30%-70%. It is not natural for dogs.

The most common problem created by excessive use of carbohydrates is obesity, along with problems like diabetes. A dog is just plain and simply not made to use that much carbohydrates. However, because dogs CAN use carbohydrates for energy to some extent, and because the sources of carbohydrates are cheaper to use for the companies, commercial dog foods often use lots of sources of carbohydrates as part of their ingredients.

It is often recommended that puppies are not fed low-carb diets, however many companies producing low-carb diets have puppy foods. There is no real reason to why puppies should have high level of carbohydrates in their food if they are offered enough protein and they get all the supplements they need to grow.

Carbohydrates are not to be mixed with fiber, that does indeed serve a purpose in food. It is, however, not needed in great amounts. A little goes a long way.

Another problem often caused by carbohydrates, and the reason why I am writing this post, is yeast.

Afghan hounds are prone to yeast. It's a common thing in the breed due to the breed's ”originality” and because of their long, quite heavy hanging ears. It is possible a dog developes yeast because of humidity, but it's even more common because the dog gets too much sugar from it's diet.

Yeast needs sugar to live. The yeast infection of a dog is simply an overgrowth of the natural bacteria the dog already has in it's normal flora. It's usually a symptom of the imbalance of digestive system, either because of allergies or inability to use as much carbohydrates the dog is fed.

”Diet is the foundation of health. The way you nourish your dog is either going to help his immune system manage yeast, or it's going to feed a potential or existing yeast overgrowth situation.” - healthypets.mercola.com

So quite simply, if your dog has yeast, you should take a look at it's diet. Are you feeding your dog a food it can process, or are you expecting it's system to digest food that is actually not appropriate for it's species? Before you go on trying million different hypoallergenic kibble, take a moment and consider the possibility of going raw.
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Raw food diet does not cure cancer, nor does it do miracles, but sometimes it can change the life of a dog. This is because most dogs benefit from being fed like dogs should be fed – getting low carbohydrates and lots of protein and fat.

Allergies are always a symptom of an immune system failure, however if your dog is ”allergic” to wheat or gets yeast from too much sugar, it is not to be considered suffering from immune system failure but simply having a digestive system of a more original canine. The fact some dogs are better using carbohydrates and dealing with sugars is not a reason to call the others allergic. Allergy is something caused by an overactive immune system failing to see what is to be considered a threat and what is not. Yeast is simply an overgrowth of bacteria that feed on sugars (however, in some cases it is caused by allergies).

Raw food diet is not feeding raw bones and hoping the dog survives (that is actually called BARF and it's not healthy for the dog. It provides mostly calcium with the loss of everything else). It is feeding raw MEAT. Bones are actually quite small part of any canine's diet, and therefore they shouldn't be too dominant in raw feeding either. In some cases you can't use bones at all, but you can still feed your dog raw meat as long as you prove the source of calcium.

What does this benefit, then?

Well, obviously it's the most natural way to feed a dog! Most dogs do great with raw, most do great with getting some raw and then getting kibble. Some dogs that have digestive system problems may be bad at using lots of fat and therefore some very rare cases may benefit better from a high quality kibble than from raw food. This is totally alright, as long as the kibble fed is good quality. I myself avoid kibble with corn, rice, potatoes or sweet potatoes, as they are high in sugar and sugar is exactly what I don't wish to have in my dog's diet.

Raw food is mostly just protein and fat, and with added supplements (such as vitamisn A, D and E, calcium and zinc) it answers to the basic need of a dog. Your dog is a meat eater. Take a look at it's teeth – are those made for biting rice or ripping the flesh of a prey? Often dogs that are fed raw have more energy. This is simply because they can use their food faster and better.

Raw is what nature meant for canines to eat. 
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