Fun & Healthful Dog Food from Kitchen Scraps

For all of you who have asked us for advice on feeding their pets, I wish we could.  We are not experts in animal nutrition, so all we can talk about is what we do for our little muttlets!

In short, we mainly feed raw and organic selections made from beef, chicken, turkey and occasionally bison.  We buy from a local manufacturer, and keep it frozen until we’re ready to feed The Skids. 

Chicken/Turkey Gourmet Blend

But this can be expensive!  So what we also do is save our cooking scraps and make homemade meals from fresh, wholesome people food.  Here’s how: 

• First, no grains (wheat, barley, oats, corn, rice, etc.), no potato or sweet potato.
• For carbs, add carrots and carrot peelings and fresh or fresh frozen apples.
• For green, add broccoli stems and spinach
• For meat, use everything left on the bird (chicken or turkey) except the bones.

It takes a month or two to accumulate enough scraps from cooking, including complete chicken and turkey carcasses, with everything going into doggie bags in the freezer.  Then, when the freezer is bursting at the seams, we thaw it all out and blend it together in the Cuisinart, supplementing a little fresh carrot, apple or spinach, as needed.  I freeze it all in convenient meal-sized zipper baggies! There’s nothing in this blend but really tasty food, and The Skids go crazy for it! 

We supplement their “store-bought” raw meals with this very tasty treat.  It’s fresh and wholesome, I know exactly what’s in it, and they thrive on it.  But your dogs might be different.  We are not soliciting comments on our choices, nor are we recommending that anyone else do this, but for those who have requested ideas, here’s one we enjoy doing for our furkids! 

Enjoy!

Why Shea Butter in Pet Skin Care Products?

The Shea Tree

Shea Butter is an amazing natural substance, known for millennia throughout Africa.  It's mentioned in almost all African historical documents, including a reference as early as Cleopatra's Egypt, evoking caravans bearing clay jars of Shea Butter for royal cosmetics. Funeral beds of kings were carved in the wood of old Shea Trees, and Shea Butter has always been a staple of African pharmacology.

Shea Butter has also been used for centuries in Africa as a decongestant, an anti-inflammatory for sprains and arthritis, healing salve, lotion for hair and skin care, and cooking oil. However, the protective and emollient properties of Shea Butter are most valued for skin care. In recent clinical trials, Shea Butter was found to help to protect skin against climate and UV aggressions, prevent wrinkle formation, soothe irritated and chapped skin, and moisturize the skin. Shea Butter also enhances cell regeneration and capillary circulation, which helps prevent and minimize stretch marks, inflammations, and scarring.  These are just a few of the reasons we use a lot of Shea Butter in DERMagic products, especially in our Skin Rescue Lotion, Hot Spot Salve and Cell Restoration Crème.  

Ripe Shea Nuts

We love using natural and organic ingredients like this in all our products, because we know they are safe, non-toxic, and very effective for problem skin conditions.  So many pet parents have been led down the path of steroids (hydrocortisone, prednisone) and antihistamines, which only treat the symptoms of itching and which also make the condition much worse later on.  And skin conditions treated with antibiotics when there is no bacterial infection will also become worsened.  We prefer natural means, and natural ingredients... and what could be more natural than taking the oil from Shea nuts, with all their natural goodness and healing value!  And before Shea Nuts are collected, a prayer is said, to simply thank Mother Nature for providing the Shea Tree, and also to show respect for collecting its fruit.  

We use raw, unrefined Shea Butter, rather than the refined and highly processed variety.  It arrives in our labs in 55-lb blocks, soft and easily cut.  It's a shame to use gloves for this process because the Shea Butter feels so delicious on one's hands!  It's a beautiful material, full of healing properties and, having been prayed over, cannot help but bring good results.

For any animal (including humans) with dry, cracked, or irritated skin, our Cell Restoration Crème can't be topped.  It's made with this wonderful Shea Butter, plus organic Aloe Gel (the kind you might drink), and organic Sesame Oil, which Dr. Deepak Chopra has always said will stimulate the endorphins in the brain when massaged into the skin.

Enjoy.  

A Really Raw Deal for Pets

Dear Pet Lovers...

Today was a new low in official advice-giving.  We don't understand the true motivation behind this, but we have our suspicions.  We do know that vets become vets because they care deeply about animals, but we do not agree with their sweeping generalization against raw food for pets because it might harm humans.  Really?

We have been feeding raw to our dogs for years, and we live on to blog about it.

Today the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) recommended that we NOT feed raw food to our pets.  Yes, you read that correctly... They are saying to NOT feed animals their natural preference, the food that keeps their immune system strong, that helps prevent skin problems, yeast infections, tooth decay and other imbalances that can lead to disease.

Read for yourselves here.  Apparently the vets are mainly concerned about the potential for salmonella passing from the raw food to the humans in the family.  What worries this blogger is that I expect any day now to read that raw chicken will no longer be offered in supermarkets because of the danger to small children and the elderly.

And eggs!  No more chocolate chip cookie batter licked from the spoon?  Fine.  Well, we are grown-ups here, and we understand the risks about salmonella, and we deal with them safely most days of our lives.  Why is dog food any different?  

Thank you, AVMA, for your concern.  We do appreciate the warning, and we will take appropriate precautions.  But in your consideration for this announcement, did you consider the manufacturers of raw food for pets?  Did you consider the impact on their sales?  

We believe there could have been a much better way to express concerns than a press release of scare tactics that favor the manufacturers of kibble and canned over raw.   Why not come out with a resolution that acknowledges the many documented health benefits of raw food for dogs and cats over canned and kibbled, and add the caveat that humans must exercise the same precautions with this raw food as they do when deboning a chicken?

It's an unfortunate state of affairs when media hype sets the mood of a nation, and even the world.  When one can instill FEAR, PANIC, DREAD instead of reasonable caution, awareness, and education, one gets more attention.  In fact, I'm giving this plenty of attention right now.  

So let's relax and not let associations, media hype, the government, or broadcast news form our opinions for us.  This is one of those cases where you are already doing the right thing by feeding raw and being clean about it, so consider the recommendation, and move on.

And while you're moving on... visit www.darwinspet.com to see how a great organic raw food company operates.

Woofs and wags to all!

Top Signs of Yeast in Dogs

What are the key signs of a yeast infection?  Any one of these is a very strong indicator, regardless of how it got started. If there are two or more of these symptoms, it’s pretty much a given that the dog is systemically infected with yeast:

• Scratching the ears, or head shaking

• Lethargy and loss of appetite

• Chewing or licking the feet, and dark rusty-red hair between the toes

• Cyclic manifestation of symptoms (appearing in the spring and “going away” in the fall)

• Hair loss on the tail and upper back

• Speckles (like tiny black dots) on the underbelly or rust-coloration around the genitals

• A foul funky smell and greasy hair (seborrhea), often accompanied by heavy dandruff

• Baldness from having been closely shaved

• Any black skin, especially if associated with hair loss.

So, how do I know if it’s a yeast infection or an allergy? Or something else?  Well, you don’t know for sure at first.  But if the condition responds well to a natural topical antifungal, the hair grows back, the black skin disappears, the itching and licking stop, and the underbelly returns to a normal pinkish white, that should tell you something.  All these symptoms respond to antifungals, especially to DERMagic Skin Rescue Lotion or Hot Spot Salve.  

It could well have been an allergic reaction to something that started all this, like a bug or flea bite or a bad reaction to grain in food, for example.  But what then happens is that the local immune system doesn’t function properly and this allows the yeast to bloom and invade.  This is what many veterinarians can miss.  They generally do not recognize the early signs of yeast, and allergy testing can give misleading false positives in many cases.  So, the pet parent accepts the diagnosis of allergies and spends a fortune on medications for the rest of the dog’s life, which may be considerably shortened by being on these meds long term.


Please check our website for more information on this important, and not-very-well-understood, dog skin problem. 

Gunner's Butt Grows New Fur!

Remember Gunner?  Gunner had surgery back in 2011, and after the surgical shaving, his hair never came back and his skin became blackened.  So Gunner's mom Stacy ordered DERMagic Skin Rescue Lotion and started massaging it into his skin every day starting in November.  The photo on the right is what Gunner looked like at the beginning.  Notice the crisp outline from shaving!  

Gunner - November 2011

The second photo was taken in February.  You can see pink skin returning, and Stacy reported that his skin felt warm.  The old black skin was cold and dead feeling, which is pretty accurate, really.  It takes some time for the lotion to penetrate and kill the yeast that is disrupting the normal cycle of the hair follicles and skin cells down deep. And once it does that, the new skin pushes through the old black layers and shows healthy pink color again.  And whiskers start to appear!

Gunner - February 2012

So here's Gunner's beautiful fur-covered butt on its way back to full glorious coat and healthy skin!  Just a bit more to go and he'll be just about perfect again.  

Gunner today - March 29, 2012

We are very excited about this result, but not surprised.  DERMagic products have been helping dogs like Gunner for years, even when the veterinarians have given up.


Folks, NEVER shave your dog like this.  If your pet has to have surgery, please ask your vet to shave as little as possible and not so close.  It's not necessary and you can see the harm it does.


Gunner, thanks for being such a good sport about publicly displaying your little bottom!  And no, your new hair does NOT make your butt look big!  :D

Sir Winston the Pomeranian Beats Black Skin Disease

Folks, sometimes a story is so compelling that we feel obliged to share it.  Please read about little Sir Winston's journey back to good health, pink skin and full coat with the help of DERMagic products.  Yes, Alopecia X can be reversed... and here's one very heart-warming tale, reproduced here exactly as Sir Winston's pet parents wrote it to us today!   A real feel-good moment for us around the office today!

Dear Dr. Adelia,

The attached pictures are of our Sir Winston, age 5.

The first picture is when he was at his worst with Black Skin Disease (September 2011.)  Winston had started losing hair around 2 years previously; during that time, he slept more and more during the day. His appetite began to wane; his social skills also waned. Although he still liked to go for walks, he just wasn't as active as a pomeranian normally is. We tried melatonin, as suggested by his vet, and medicine for his thyroid. Neither of those made any difference, and the disease continued  to take its relentless toll on his hair and skin. During the harsh, bitter cold winter of 2011, we put sweaters and coats on him to protect him from the cold because he virtually had no hair on his back, stomach,and tail. We had all but given up on anything that would help him.

On September 17, 2011, we received our first bottle of DERMagic Skin Rescue Lotion. We began the regimen immediately...with only a small bit of hope that it would really work. (You guaranteed the results so we thought we had nothing to lose and everything to gain.) We saw the black skin gradually wash away with each bath we gave him.

  On October 29, 2011, I recorded in my journal that John and I began to see some of Sir Winston's hair returning. We were cautiously hopeful, and noted that he loved his application times and seemed more lively, energetic, and that his appetite had improved. 

Oh, what a miracle!!! The second picture is of Sir Winston at about 2 1/2 to 3 months after beginning the regimen. Healthy, pink skin is visible on his chest, and his hair has begun to come in all over his little body. We saw the results of the DERMagic and our diligence in applying it, bathing him with your shampoo and conditioner, and our never giving up on it. We began to believe.  But the best was yet to come!!!

The third picture is of Sir Winston today (March 18, 2011)--six months after our first application of DERMagic. WOW!!! Our family who saw him at Christmas saw him again this weekend. They are absolutely amazed. Some people who saw him around the time of the first picture say, "That isn't the same dog."  John and I are truly amazed too. It is, to us, a true miracle. Sir Winston is so much healthier, so much more sociable, so much more alert. (Even his hearing has improved. ) Thank you, thank you, Dr. Adelia, for bringing DERMagic to us. You are a blessing to us. 

Sincerely thankful, 

Mary and John Houska

PS  We only have one regret...and that is that we lost one of our other poms who had Black Skin Disease. She died before we knew about DERMagic. We don't know for sure, of course, but perhaps we could have helped her to have a healthier life if we had  just known. 

Sulfur, the Healing Mineral

We often get questions from our customers about the ingredients in our products.  Today we're going to talk about one of the most common confusions that surround sulfur-containing compounds.  Some are beneficial, some are vital to the proper functioning of cells, some are caustic and toxic and contribute to acid rain, some are antibiotic medicines.  Today's blog is just a brief introduction to the vast array of compounds that contain sulfur, so if you still have questions after reading this, please write to us!

What is the difference between Sulfur and Sulfates?

Many treatments for our pet’s skin problems often include harsh chemicals (like sulfates) and steroids, which can make skin conditions worse! DERMagic Skin Care for Animals was created as an alternative to such traditional solutions to alleviate itching and scratching – only using natural and certified organic ingredients.

Sulfur and sulfates are related compounds but are as different as the free nitrogen in the air we breathe is different from the nitrates in nitric acid.

Sulfur, known as the healing mineral, is toxic to the scabies mite, and is both an antibacterial and potent antifungal… a natural disinfectant. Found in DERMagic’s Skin Rescue Lotion, it provides proven relief from itchy skin and is the only topical product on the market that can reverse a systemic yeast infection, with no harmful side effects. Pure elemental sulfur is a bright yellow crystalline solid. 

Sulfur is an essential element for all life, and is widely used in biochemical processes.  Elemental sulfur is non-toxic to animals, including humans, and can be taken internally as a mild laxative.  In metabolic reactions, sulfur compounds serve as both fuels and respiratory (oxygen-replacing) materials for simple organisms. Sulfur in organic form is present in the vitamins biotin and thiamine, the latter being named for the Greek word for sulfur. Sulfur is an important part of many enzymes and in antioxidant molecules like glutathione and thioredoxin. Organically bonded sulfur is a component of all proteins, as the amino acids cysteine and methionine. Disulfide bonds are largely responsible for the mechanical strength and insolubility of the protein keratin, found in outer skin, hair, and feathers, and the element contributes to their pungent odor when burned.

Sulfates, on the other hand, are a type of compound made when elemental sulfur burns in air. The principal sulfur oxides (or sulfates) are obtained by burning sulfur:

S + O₂ → SO₂ (Sulfur + Oxygen = Sulfur dioxide)

2 SO₂ + O₂ → 2 SO₃ (Sulfur dioxide + more oxygen = Sulfur trioxide.) 

When these compounds encounter water (in the air, in the lungs), they form sulfurous or sulfuric acid, highly caustic compounds. Sulfates occur as microscopic particles (aerosols) resulting from fossil fuel and biomass combustion. They increase the acidity of the atmosphere and form acid rain. 

When cosmeceutical manufacturers claim their products have no sulfates, they are usually referring to something completely different, i.e., Sodium Laurel Sulfate (and closely related sodium laureth sulfate) or SLS. SLS is mainly used in detergents for laundry with many cleaning applications. SLS is a highly effective surfactant (surface active agent) and is used in any task requiring the removal of oily stains and residues. For example, it is found in higher concentrations with industrial products including engine degreasers, floor cleaners, and car wash soaps. 

SLS is found in toothpastes, shampoos, shaving foams, and bubble bath formulations in part for its thickening effect and its ability to create a lather. It has been shown to irritate the skin of the face with prolonged and constant exposure (more than an hour) in young adults.  SLS may worsen skin problems in individuals with chronic skin hypersensitivity, with some people being affected more than others.  In animal studies SLS appears to cause skin and eye irritation.

 Most shampoos for pets contain SLS.  DERMagic products do not.

What about Sulfa? 

This is another common area of confusion.  “Sulfa drugs” (known as sulfonamides) are a type of antibacterial medication that contains the “sulfonamide” group (sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen). Sulfa allergies in people are common, and medications containing sulfonamides are prescribed carefully. It is important to make a distinction between sulfa drugs and other sulfur-containing drugs and additives, such as sulfates and sulfites, which are chemically unrelated to the sulfonamide group.

Please contact us if you ever have any questions about any of the ingredients in our products.  We love to talk about this!  Meanwhile, here's wishing you and yours the best of good health!