Local vet: Homemade is the best way to go
By COLIN HICKEY
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel Saturday, April 14, 2007

The recent nationwide recall of contaminated pet food didn't affect how veterinarian Judith K. Herman feeds her animals.

Herman, who has a practice in Augusta, doesn't bother with commercial pet food. Her dogs and cats eat raw, homemade meals.

She recommends to her clients that they do the same for their pets.

"Number one, you have control over the ingredients," she said.

"Number two, the quality is the same stuff you eat."

Herman, who owns the Animal Wellness Center, said such a switch does more than just protect pets from the threat of contaminated commercial food.

"When I switched my animals to homemade food," she said, "I saw a big difference in energy level and in their coats and in their stools and in their overall health."

Herman, though, is a bit of a renegade in her profession in recommending homemade food.

The American Veterinary Medical Association discourages pet owners from adopting the practice. The largest veterinary group in the world, the association features an article on its Web site that stresses the perils of fixing homemade meals for a pet.

Tom McPheron, a spokesman for the organization, said veterinarians realize the concern people have for their pets' welfare in light of the recall.

But he said people must understand that the recall only affected about 1 percent of the pet food on the market.

They also need to understand, he said, that feeding a pet properly is more involved than putting table scraps into its bowl.

"We just recommend that if they insist on cooking for pets that they educate themselves and work with their veterinarian to ensure the pet gets proper nutrition," McPheron said. "It is not as easy as a lot of people think."

Matthew C. Townsend, a veterinarian with Kennebec Veterinary Services Inc. in Oakland, also urges caution when considering the homemade food option.

"You can run into more problems trying to do the right thing for your pet," Townsend said.

At the same time, Townsend, too, realizes that the recall has spooked many pet owners enough to abandon commercial dog and cat foods.

"I think that everybody has to do what they feel comfortable with," he said. "If they have the time and can prepare a well-balanced diet for their dog or cat, that can work great. The problem is preparing a well-balanced diet."

Townsend added that diet needs can vary, sometimes dramatically, from pet to pet, depending on a number of factors, including age and whether an animal has medical issues.

Herman agrees that people need to educate themselves before making their own pet food. But Herman said once the knowledge is acquired, the practice is not that difficult.

To provide a dog a balanced diet, she said, "means that you have a meat source, that you have a calcium supplement to balance out the meat, and that you have the correct ratio of meat to vegetables."

Herman said that ratio generally is 60 percent meat to 40 percent vegetables.

Cats, in contrast, need a higher percentage of protein and cannot survive without meat, Herman said.

As a starting point for anybody contemplating homemade pet food, Herman recommends the book "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats."

"For new clients I have copies of his recipes that I pass out to them so they can get started in a confident way," she said.

Herman is a believer in using raw meat but said many veterinarians frown on that because of concerns over E. coli and Salmonella. She sees such fears as unnecessary as long as the pet owner is buying fresh meat and using it within three days -- unless frozen for later use.

"I'm not seeing it," she said of bacteria outbreaks, "and the veterinarians I'm networking with are not seeing it."

Townsend cautions, though, that ensuring a safe, healthy diet for your pet can be a tricky business.

"It is only as good as the food you put into it," he said, "and doing it at home doesn't guarantee you won't have problems."

Colin Hickey -- 861-9205

chickey@centralmaine.com


Reader comments

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Dr04102 of Portland, ME
Apr 17, 2007 12:32 PM
When I was a kid, all we fed our German/Husky mix was our left overs. There was always plenty good food left. He ate every bit and never got sick. He lived for 15 years. This is longer than most dogs are expected to live. He was fed home food from the start. No dog that I have ever had has been fed store bought food. It's gross.report abuse
cheripup1 of Clinton, ME
Apr 14, 2007 4:26 PM
My dog had many issue with commercial pet foods, before I started feeding him home cooked meals.
I did a lot of research on the subject.
Commercial pet foods are make for all breeds, even the top of the line dog foods, dry or wet are made in this fashion. We as humans all have diets that are tailored to our own needs. Not all breeds of dogs have the same nutritional needs.
I have researched the history of the breed of dog that I have, and what its original diet consisted of. I make his home made meals based on these findings. He is happier, healthier, and has a better coat than he ever has.
While doing the research I was surprised to find how many breeds of dogs have intolerance to beef, wheat, and corn. These are the main ingredients in most commercial foods, not to mention the animal by products that are normally just discarded.
Just something to think about.
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lin of West Gardiner, ME
Apr 14, 2007 3:01 PM
I agree with Dr. Herman but the quality of meat is a concern. So, I have opted to feed a high quality and expensive, all natural dry food (made in Massachusettes), that I supplement with ground flax seed, garlic pearls, sea cucumber, fish oil and then I add...sweet potatoes or apples or potatoes or cottage cheese or brown rice and hamburger now and then. This is not that complicated and I don't trust the manufacturers anymore...
I was using Iams...and was very happy with the product...the dry, canned and gravy. I do not trust them anymore. My feed routine must be ok because my last dog, Della, was blind and deaf and lived to be 16 years old (a Husky) and was still on the Iams. So, with any luck, the two dogs I still have will outlive me! report abuse
marsh moose of North Marshfield, MA
Apr 14, 2007 2:37 PM
After researching all the feeding options some years ago, we decided to feed our dogs a very high-quality, all natural, organic commercial food with some home-cooked meals occasionally. The cost of Pitcairn's diet was prohibitive for us (we're vegetarian, so we wouldn't normally buy meat). With more bulk food stores around these days, it may be more economical to rely 100% on home cooking than it used to be. At this moment in time, I would certainly trust home cooking FAR more than I would trust ANY big corporate pet food manufacturer's products! Also I do not support the corporate manufacturer's abuse of animals in research facilities (their own or subcontracted labs) but that's another subject...just Google it.report abuse

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