Rotational mono vegan/meat diet for dogs

[LauraleeA]

Hello There!
This is my very first post so please forgive me if i'm doing this wrong.
I've been feeding my dog raw/pre made raw for a couple of years now. ( I have a giant schnauzer, 6 years old)
but i've recently discovered a new way of feeding described as "rotational mono feeding" as a healing tool for cats and dogs.
This theory and book called "No More Vet Bills" by Nora Lenz & a facebook group called "healing diet for cats & dogs".
i've been implementing this new way of feeding seeing so many success stories and the general theory behind it seems similar to what is described here that.
it basically breaks up the diet into having "fruit days" "plant days" "meat days" and "fasting days"
the concept is that meat is very hard on the body to digest and therefor the fruit, plant and fasting days give the body a break from digestion and high fat content from the meat to give your liver a break to help heal the body from disease. the more rest the body has, the quicker the healing.
so ANYWAY
i was wondering if anyone has heard of Nora Lenz, and what the thoughts are for having your dog be vegan for a period of time to support the body to heal to be beneficial or harmful as im seeing so many success stories and also follow this concept of healing for myself.
Thank you

 

[Dr. Sue]

Hi Lauralee,

Welcome to HA! and thanks for your post. Feeding programs are always important to discuss and with any diet there will be multiple opinions.

I'm glad that you are seeing a difference in your pets with this diet plan. I think that it may well be because they are eating fresh foods more than because the diet is the best in the long term. I'm not familiar with Nora Lenz and would need to look at her program in more detail to understand where she is finding the science to support it. It is my opinion that this diet may apply to people more than to pets.

Personally, my holistic veterinary practice is focused on functional nutrition. My goal is to feed dogs and cats a variety of fresh, minimally processed whole foods that are biologically appropriate for each species and for each individual pet . These diets are generally meat based, especially for cats who we know from scientific research need to get their nutrients from high quality meat based protein in order to thrive. There is a plethora of supporting evidence for dogs and cats eating like they would in the wild, which includes eating meat, organ meat, fats, veg, herbs and includes intermittent fasting. I recommend that you check out the book Canine Nutrigenomics by Dr. jean Dodds for more on functional feeding.

I would agree that it's good to have a one day fast per week and even feed once daily in many situations to allow for complete digestion of the meal and for detox while still eating a biologically appropriate diet. There are chemical concerns with a some ingredients like soy, wheat, oats and legumes and other plants if they aren't grown or harvested organically from clean, fertile soil.

Non-processed healthy fats are good for pets, they just have to be healthy enough to digest them. I think that this is the basic problem - our pets have been subjected to poor diet, processed food and toxic environment so long that generationally they are weaker and unable to eat as nature intended.

I'd love to hear what Dr. Jeff, Dr. Christina and Dr. Sara have to say.

Dr. Sue

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Lauralee. Thanks for making your first post. You did it perfectly!

Also, thanks to Dr. Sue for weighing in. I agree 100% with everything she says.

I've never heard of Nora Lenz and her diet.

IMHO this, and any special diet, is going to help some pets. For a while that is.

The reason being is that special diets can cover up symptoms and make pets seem better for the time being.

However, they usually do not address the underlying energetic imbalance that causes the symptoms in the first place.

Personally I think that focusing on building and preserving vitality is the way to go in order to maximize quality and length of life.

Have you read through the Holistic Fun-damentals course?

If you haven't, that would be a great place to start learning more about what to do about the underlying issue.

Is your pup having skin allergies or other health challenges?

 

[JennieC]

Hi Lauralee,
Thank you for asking this. I have been in that group for a while as i have contemplated using this approach for my dog and cat, and now got my answer as i was not feeling too great about what i was seeing in there as well.
I was also seeing great results from some, but then aboslute horror stories from others, and seeing those is what deterred me from not trying it. I saw so many animals in horrifying "detox" that looked just miserable, and even one animal who was older and immediately started having severe balance issues and they were contemplating then putting the animal to sleep even though the owner said the animal never had those problems before.
Thank you again for posting and for the answers.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Any dogmatic diet, like dogma in general, is often incorrect and potentially harmful.

the concept is that meat is very hard on the body to digest

Meat may be slower to digest fully, but is also species-appropriate and natural diet for dogs and cats.

It's usually wise to emulate nature and feed as she would.