Frequently Asked Questions from the K9Nutrition List
UPDATE: I moderated the K9Nutrition email list for four years (I no longer participate on that list). Archives were available on Onibasu but were removed in April 2011. My own posts remain available, but many of the links below no longer work, nor can you search or see other replies. I am in the process of working with Onibasu to move my posts and a few others from people who agree to a separate section of Onibasu that will again be searchable.
Following are links to posts with answers to frequently asked questions. Many are written by me; some are written by others I consider knowledgeable. A few links are also provided to articles on other web sites.
Addison’s Disease:
Allergies (also see Skin Problems):- A Veterinary Guide to Treating Itchy Skin in Pets
- How to Tackle Pet Skin Disorders With Holistic Care
- Air Cleaners:126317
- Antihistamines:134183, Antihistamine Therapy in the Dog, Zyrtec, Antihistamines for Dogs
- Atopy: Helpful hints for the successful veterinary treatment of canine atopy (2013, technical)
- Ear Problems
- Food Allergies:
- Chicken
- Corn: 147400
- Elimination Diet: 137565, 139001, Allergies, Diagnosing food allergies in dogs
- Food Allergy Testing: 152272
- Food Allergy Trials in Dogs
- Hypoallergenic Diets: 137565
- Storage Mites: 138462
- Hyposensitization shots: 163215, 151554, 125158
- Itchy Pets
- Licking/chewing at feet, red paws: 160810
- Preventing Allergies: 127551
- Seasonal allergies: 151513
- Secondary Infections: 123256
- Shampoo Therapy:153638. Also see Suds over Drugs and Helpful hints for the successful veterinary treatment of canine atopy for more info and recommended products.
- Tracking down and treating allergies: 150586, 152876, 155198,153638, 156302, 125402, 122668, 120892, 132880. Also see The Itchy Dog: An Overview of Diseases.
- Anxiety Medications
- Calcium/Magnesium/Diet: 137551
- Diet: 144430
- Flying: 140276
- L-Theanine: 145474
- Medications: 148374
- Natural treatments: 131793
- Adequan (similar to Cartrophen) 153696
- Arthritis in Dogs
- DGP: 147134, 147427
- DLPA: 147091
- Grains contributing to arthritis: 152610
- Hyaluronic Acid: 155170, 149267, 146109, 137625
- Medications: 136741, 147143
- Misoprostol and More: Making NSAIDs easier on your dog's gut, 154360, 154386, 162318
- Vitamin C and HD: 143925
- Adding meat to kibble: 128896
- Calcium requirements for puppies: 161817
- Effects of too much calcium on puppies: 131885 , 116336 , 132003 , 99885
- How much bone meal to use: 124383
- Diet and Supplements: Cancer, Jun2004
- Lymphoma: 125354
- Microchip: 156523
- Raven's battle with osteosarcoma
- Raw and chemotherapy: 124668
- Behavior Modification and other natural treatments: 145550,145556, 135313 , 135199 , 101998 , 101954
- Drug Therapy: 137301
- Commercial Diets
- Mixing fresh food with kibble: Adding fresh foods to a commercial diet, Jan2005
- Rotating between foods: 152102
- Homemade Diets
- Grains: 140498
- Guidelines: 149769, 133480, 133827, 135465, 145339
- Modifying Pitcairn’s Recipes: 134565, 129194,136297
- Pitcairn's Growth Diet C (modified) for puppies: 161655 , 134565
- Problems with diets formulated by nutritionists: 157263, 157299, 157311, 155346,
- Putting It Together (Cooked)
- Supplements: 133827
- Also see Raw Diets below for information on inexpensive sources of meat and other useful information.
- Chronic Bronchitis/COPD/Asthma: 145219, 174258, 117077, 101886
- Cough/sore throat medicine: 148184
- Kennel Cough: 124589, 128480
- Cushing's Disease in Dogs
- General: 134384, 134344, 132329, 132310, 130634, 135093
- Melatonin and flax seed lignans: 157488
- Phosphatidylserine: 150656
- Anesthesia Free Dentals, 154242
- Dental Hygiene: 140153
- Pets Need Dental Care, Too!
- The Dental Prophy!
- Teeth cleaning products: 154134 , 146967 , 141453
- Clostridium perfringens: 172448/172466, 134027, 141154
- Occasional Diarrhea
- Soft, smelly stools: 139580, 142949
- Stool color, consistency, odor, frequency, etc.: 165334
- Addison's Disease: 147962
- Frequent large stools: 125802
- Gas: 151742, 135592, 132716, 154913
- IBD: 155345, 154240, 157367, 114982, 114992, IBD, IBS, Colitis and other Gastrointestinal Problems
- Inappetence
- Inappetence
- L-glutamine: 125391, 149054
- Medications: 134279, 133287
- Prebiotics: 160724
- Probiotics: 161500, 125566
- SIBO: 147709, 134279, 125448, 114321, 113409, 113424, 113485
- SIBO and Doxy: 130841, 130928, 134888, 141778
- Slippery Elm: 121777
- Success Stories: 150686, 151079, 165861
- Deaf Dog Resources: 124939
- Ear Infections
- Grains: 149447, 149468
- Home remedies for short-term use: 154085
- Hypothyroidism causing ear problems: 147390,147397
- Pseudomonas infections: 154682/154724
- Recurrent Ear Infections: 94375
- Success Stories: 155074, 153638, 152160, 148225
- Zymox Otic: 114993, 110902
- Amino Acids: 134089
- General: 151930, 133813
- Grains in the diet: 142118
- Idiopathic: 130833
- Melatonin: 94283
- Success stories: 149686
- Taurine: 136240, Taurine for seizures that are difficult to control
- Feeding Evo to Puppies: 138376, 141005, 141188,
- Results feeding Evo and other grain-free dry foods: 161580 (and replies)\
- Anatomy of a Carnivore
- Evolution of the Dog: 133124
- Of Carnivores, Omnivores, Teeth, and Science
- Is it OK to feed raw fish? 122874, 138608
- Mercury: 125957
- Salmon and salmon poisoning: 144125 , 140366, 138693, 114890, 150447
- Fish oil vs. Flax Seed Oil: 107374
- Mercury: 144165, 125957
- Overview of Essential Fatty Acids
- Research on fish oil and vitamin E: 153029, 153052, 153056
- Types of fish oil: 115525
- Getting Rid of Fleas Holistically and Fighting Fleas the Old-Fashioned Way
- Fleas and Hot Spots: 149674 and 149452 (see replies), 150778
- Treating the environment: 152156 , 152248/152273
Formula (milk replacement) recipes: 150138, 150190, 150195, 116790 , 106187
Grinders: Sam Baere (formerly SillyPugs), 160907, 160180 (and others in same thread), 156367, 146326, 144633, 142351, 139689, 138642
- Alternative methods: 124728, 129112, 170804
- Heartworm Infection
- Ivermectin sensitivity: 152585, 152540, 152567
- Overview (treatment, prevention, timing, etc.): 146150
- Revolution: 146414
- Safeheart Doses: 145866 , 145292 , 145796
- Splitting pills: 137376
- Testing Puppies: 146296
- Timing of preventatives: 136864, 137777
- Treatment of heartworm disease: 146387, 146324, 124663
- Diet and Supplements: Heart Healthy Diet, Heart Problems
- Medications: 93604
- Taurine : 129210
- See Cooked (or raw) diets without bone above and Raw Diets below
- Homemade Diets
Hypothyroidism: Hypothyroidism
Kidney Disease:- Diet for Dogs with Kidney Disease, Kidney Diet
- Leptospirosis
- PLN (protein losing neuropathy): 161889, 138610
- Cholangiohepatitis: 137894
- Diet: 145507, 138505, 137619, Apr2004
- Elevated Liver Enzymes: 138390
- Liver Disease
- Milk Thistle dosage: 135794 , 159140
- Portosystemic shunts: 158928, 158666, 155602
- Protein: 146891 , 146861
- SAM-e dosage: 150244
- Supplements: 155165 (and other replies in this thread)
- Filing: 153851, 154736
- Grinding: 153834, 153892, 153906, 153908 , 153925
- Sedating: 153690 , 153712 , 153762
- Back Problems: 126268, 126277
- Broken bones: 159499
- Surgery for Hip Dysplasia: 122051, 121979
- Wobblers: 113806
- Arthritis: 140633, Chronic Pain
- Checking for Pain: 140348
- Chronic Pain Relief
- Misoprostol and More: Making NSAIDs easier on your dog's gut, 154386
- Need for: 141317
- Pain control for dogs that have problems with NSAIDs: 155166
- Pain in Dogs and Cats: Introduction and Basics
- Pain in Dogs and Cats: Injuries, Mild Pain, Arthritis, First Aid
- Pain in Dogs and Cats: Post-Surgery, Severe Pain
- Post-Surgery: 140282, Surgery Care
- Switching NSAIDs: 136860
- Tramadol: 132579, 137846, 135849, May2005, Tramadol
- Tylenol: 140293
- White Willow Bark: 148013
Panosteitis (Pano):154253
- Coccidia: 142808
- Giardia: 125752, 125775, 125780, 156759, 156727
- Hookworms: 147618, 112813
- Whipworms: 139492
- Wormers: 143128 , 128087
- Feb2004
- Eclampsia: 144461 , 144182 , 144139,137227, 112541
- Milk replacement formula recipes: 150138, 150190, 150195, 116790 , 106187
- And aggression: 121584
- And kidney disease
- And older dogs: 139078, 125113, 125031, 116668, April2003
- And puppies: 156887, 156905, Jan2004, Jun2006
- Homemade Diets
- Boarding dogs (also see Traveling with raw food): 143668, 139577, 110052
- Books and Web Sites
- Camping options: 149622, 148104 , 148102 , 118836, 118877, 110047, 104053
- Carbohydrates: 134560
- Children and bacteria: 151336
- Commercial Raw Diets
- Co-ops
- Egg Whites: 139931, 135257
- Getting started: 158356, 143767, 140961, 125273, 125297,132512, 130056, 140409, Jun2002, Putting It Together (Raw)
- Is it OK to feed raw pork? 153022,138289, 115823, 115820, 114210, 105851
- Joyce Chen Scissors and other cutting implements: 103264, 142677 , 143889 , 144128 , 142649
- Mineral availability from plant and animal sources: 155655
- Natural Diet: Don't "Just Do It"
- Prey Model Diet: 129268
- Puppies: 140409, 141188, 150042, Puppy Raw Diet, Feeding Puppies and Seniors
- Rebuttal to problems from raw food: 154691, 155220, 130303, 130300, 130296, Are Raw Meat and Dairy Products Safe?
- RMBs for toy breeds: 115726, 141552, 141077, 141019
- Sources for inexpensive raw meaty bones, etc.: 177051, 161260, 126093, 126570, 129461 and 151055 and 153283 (see replies), 159957, Raw Food Co-ops
- Traveling with raw food (also see Boarding dogs): 161589, 148096, 118836, 125615, 110046
- Veggie mush: 155076
- What to feed with Bravo/Oma’s Pride: 160788, 152485, Basic guidelines for feeding incomplete blends
Skin Problems (also see Allergies):
- Watch for these red flags in your veterinary derm exams
- Allergies, yeast and pyoderma: 120892, 141372, Apr2002
- Autoimmune Skin Disorders: 126078, 125205
- Cheyletiella mites causing itching: 148162
- Diagnosing: 150586, 149145
- Dry, Flaky Skin (Dandruff): 127005
- Flea Control: 125856, Fleas, 132228
- Hot Spots: 161250, 123419, 149758
- Malassezia (yeast): Malassezia Dermatitis, 139581, 153638, 152876
- Sarcoptic Mange: 131036, 130842 (treatment), 132804 (blood test), 133319, 133353, 130796 (misdiagnosis)
- Seborrhea: 144424 , 143519 , 139581
- Shampoo therapy: 148977, 153638
- Staph Infection (Pyoderma): 125763, 125773
- Daily Supplements
- Digestive Enzymes: 156094
- Minerals
- Moducare: 147959
- Supplements
- To add to a home made diet: 154314, 133827
- Transfer Factor: 141535
- Vitamins and Supplements
- Whole Food Supplements: 143340
Tear Stains: 153529, 153517, 153521, 153206
- Tick-borne Disease in Dogs
- Advantix: 148131
- Canine Lyme: What's New?
- Control of ticks in the yard: 151488, 151493, 121677, 131934, 134244, 134696, 148131, 153962
- Doxycycline: 177606, 124829, 124831 and stomach upset 146297
- Early Symptoms: 126886
- Ehrlichia: 125227, 125928, Sep2003
- Fever and enlarged spleen: 119889 (see replies)
- Frontline and BioSpot: 147530, 130258
- Liver Disease: 120289
- Lyme Disease: 134727, 120361, 116918, Canine Lyme Disease
- Protatek Lab (testing): 141342, 157195, Test Laboratories
- Preventatives: 172255, 132204
- Testing: 177054, 135263
- Avocados: 139882, 126359
- Garlic: 126309
- Grapes and Raisins: 127991
- Overview: 149307, 119023 , 116863
- Salmon Poisoning: 132525
- Xylitol: 136009, 152034, Xylitol - The Sugar-Free Sweetener That's Toxic To Your Dog
- Recipes: Treat Recipes
- Using a dehydrator: 169723 (see replies), 146348, 146362
- Bladder Infections: 140937, 125221, 125676, Sep2004,
- Crystals and Stones: Bladder Stones and Crystals, 15580
- Calcium Oxalate Uroliths: Dec2004, 140032 , 137056
- Struvite Crystals and Stones: So Your Dog Has Struvites, 132622, 129166, 154657, 156074, 15643, 161673/161674, 123622, 123654, 122447, 122408, 121528, 140141,
- Urate Stones and low-purine diets: 122062, 122007, 122005, 172259, 172282
- Other types of stones
- Urine killing grass: 133889, 133928, 133941, 133851
- Leptospirosis
- Lyme
- Nosodes
- No Vaccinations
- Puppy Shots: 137662, PuppyVax
- Revaccination: 131964, 137678, Revax
- Rabies: 128599
- Titers
- Vaccination Info
Venomous Bites: Brown Recluse Spider: 147671 (see responses), 147695,147693 , 147696
- How to help a dog lose weight: 164304, 160962, 116002, 125047 (see replies), 129700, Pudgy Pups
- How to deal with a malnourished rescue: 120329, 119792, 119794, 118095, 111952, 111496 (and replies), 111502, 111623
- Picky Eaters
- Care of the Emaciated Dog
- Weight Loss Diets for Dogs
- Deer/Venison: 170084, 109404, 109420, Chronic Wasting Disease by state
- Duck: 88603
- Diet and supplements: 156267, 146632, 136865, 134021
- Working Dog Diets
- Performance Dog Feeding
- Optimal nutrition for the exercising dog (see page 45)
- Fats, Carbohydrates, Proteins: THEIR EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE OF THE SPORT DOG
- The Sled Dogs: Keeping Athletes at the top of their game
- How to make kefir: 150247, 142764
- How to make yogurt: 138201 , 107413, 127143, 127138
- Where to get kefir grains: 149611
I regret that I no longer have much time to respond to questions. See my Contact page for more information. My name is Mary Straus and you can email me at either or