Why is my dog itchy and limping at the same time?

Even though these issues seem unrelated, they often come from the same place: inflammation. When inflammation rises, the body sends signals wherever it is weakest, such as the skin, joints, or gut. Itching and limping at the same time is your dog's way of saying that the body needs help cooling down.

Can stomach problems really be connected to skin or joint issues in dogs?

Yes. The skin, joints, and gut constantly communicate. When the gut becomes irritated from stress, food sensitivities, or inflammatory foods, the immune system becomes more reactive. This can show up as itchy skin, hot spots, loose stool, vomiting, or stiffness. They are different expressions of the same overwhelmed system.

What foods often trigger inflammation in dogs?

Every dog is unique, but common triggers include heavily processed kibble, high-temperature cooked foods that form advanced glycation end products, sugary treats, and some ingredients like wheat, corn, or soy. Even foods that are not always considered bad can be triggering if your dog's immune system is already heightened.

How long does it take to see improvements after changing my dog's diet?

Most dogs start showing subtle improvements, such as better stool, calmer skin, and more energy, within four to six weeks. The exact timing depends on your dog's health, age, and how stressed the immune system is. Healing happens gradually as inflammation cools down and the body can finally repair.

Can food therapy be used along with conventional medicine for my dog?

Yes. Holistic food therapy works well alongside your veterinarian's recommendations. You can think of conventional medicine as stabilizing symptoms and food therapy as supporting the deeper healing process. Together, they can create a more complete plan for your dog.

When should I seek veterinary care immediately for my dog?

Seek veterinary attention right away if your dog has sudden collapse, pale gums, trouble breathing, uncontrollable vomiting or diarrhea, severe pain, or if the limp becomes non-weight-bearing. Natural food therapy supports healing, but emergency signs should always be treated as urgent.

What is the first step to help reduce inflammation in my dog at home?

You can start small by switching one meal per day to fresh, gently cooked foods, reducing processed treats, adding moisture to meals, and including one simple herb or mushroom that supports inflammation balance, such as reishi or turmeric. Even one gentle change begins cooling the internal fire.

#3 Why many veterinarians don't recommend raw/homemade diet for pets

10/11/2022

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There are many benefits of eating unprocessed diets for people. Many books and documentaries are published and show how natural diet can prevent and help to recover from 5 big health problems (in the U.S.) in human medicine.

However, I have never met any veterinarians who recommend unprocessed diets to pet owners personally. Veterinarians’ response regarding raw and/or homemade food is almost always the same: risk of foodborne illness and nutritional imbalance.

It is true that raw/homemade diet increase the risk of foodborne illness, but those natural diet has many great health benefits for pets too (I will talk about later blogs).
Today, I first would like to discuss the risks of raw and homemade diet.

Risks of feeding raw and homemade diet to pets

Numerous studies have revealed the fact that a raw or homemade diet given to pets can be a potential risk of several important concerns. The most important concerns of feeding raw or homemade diet to pets include nutritional imbalance, health risks to pets and health risks to human companions.
Studies conducted to compare the nutritional status of homemade and commercial diets for pets suggested that there are several imbalances which could badly affect the health of your pet. For example, it was observed that a homemade diet for a pet contains much fewer concentrations of vitamin A and E, calcium to phosphorous ratio and very high concentrations of vitamin D.

Another risk of offering a raw meat-based diet to pets includes contamination of pathogens. No matter for what purpose raw meat is sold, it contains the risk of contamination by bacteria. The most common pathogens that are often isolated from raw meat are salmonella and listeria spp.
Health risks other than pathogen contamination include injury of the digestive tract and fracture of teeth because of bone fragments in raw meat-based diets. The bones of chickens are brittle, and they can splinter and cause perforation or obstruction of the entire digestive tract.

Case studies - after feeding raw and/or homemade diet

A case study conducted to observe the effects of an imbalanced diet showed that it could cause vitamin D-dependent rickets and hyperthyroidism. Another study was conducted to evaluate the nature of foreign bodies present in the esophagus. They found that 30-80% of foreign bodies were bone fragments which may have caused esophageal perforation of obstruction.

It is evident that offering a raw meat-based diet to your pet can change the blood chemistry. A study was conducted to understand how a raw meat-based diet affects serum thyroxine levels. The study identified 12 dogs with increased serum thyroxine levels, among which six dogs showed signs of hyperthyroidism.

Pet owner's awareness of sanitation

A study was conducted to understand the level of pet owners' awareness of sanitation. The study found that only 5% of respondents were aware of the existence of FDA guidelines regarding how to handle pet food. Over 75% of respondents understood and handle pet food on a very basic level such as:

Keeping the discarded food inaccessible
Inspecting the safety of packaging
Tightly covering the remaining pet food

However, only a small proportion, under 25%, do the following process to maintain sanitation:

Wash hands before handling pet food.
Washing the food bowl after every use.
Washing scooping utensils after every use

The survey shows 22% of respondents wash their dog’s dishes on average once weekly. 12% reported washing dog’s dishes at least once daily. Then, 18% reported that they wash their dog dishes either less than every 3 months or not all.

Lack of education on natural food for pets in vet schools

A study was conducted to understand the narrative of veterinary students. It was observed that incoming students had a positive attitude towards nutrition education in the curriculum. At the same time, they put less emphasis on nutrition education when compared with other areas of veterinary medicine.

Another study was conducted to understand the availability of nutrition information and the attitude of veterinary students towards that information. The study showed that veterinary students find it very difficult to gather and understand nutrition-related information.
They express it in such a way that the available information is more scattered and less accessible. The participants of the study further expressed that the internet is filled with nutrition-related information. Pet owners often get confused and frustrated after reading from the internet. Veterinary and pre-veterinary students shared their opinion that they need information that is easily accessible and readable. The information must also be trustworthy and applicable.

Final thought

There are several reasons why many veterinarians are not comfortable to recommend raw/homemade diet to pet’s owners. Their two big concerns are bacterial contamination and nutritional imbalance. However, it is also true that many veterinarians don’t have enough resources regarding to animal nutritions.
No matter what kind of pet food you feed, there is always a risk of foodborne illness. Unfortunately, raw/homemade food increase the risk more than dry food.
So, if you feed raw/homemade diet to your furry family, please take extra attention with the reliability of the food quality/freshness and sanitation measurement at home.

Resources:

Juul F, Vaidean G, Parekh N. Ultra-processed Foods and Cardiovascular Diseases: Potential Mechanisms of Action. Adv Nutr. 2021 Oct 1;12(5):1673-1680. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmab049. PMID: 33942057; PMCID: PMC8483964.

Current knowledge about the risks and benefits of raw meat–based diets for dogs and cats
https://avmajournals.avma.org/configurable/content/journals$002fjavma$002f243$002f11$002fjavma.243.11.1549.xml?t:ac=journals%24002fjavma%24002f243%24002f11%24002fjavma.243.11.1549.xml

Ontario Veterinary College First-Year Veterinary Students’ Perceptions of Companion Animal Nutrition and Their Own Nutrition: Implications for a Veterinary Nutrition Curriculum
https://jvme.utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/jvme.0918-113r1

Kamleh MK, Khosa DK, Dewey CE, Verbrugghe A, Stone EA. The Perceived Importance, Emphasis, and Confidence in Veterinary Nutrition Education of First-Year Canadian and US Veterinary Students. Med Sci Educ. 2020 Jan 13;30(1):323-330. doi: 10.1007/s40670-019-00908-w. PMID: 34457674; PMCID: PMC8368460.

Get the Facts! Raw Pet Food Diets can be Dangerous to You and Your Pet
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/get-facts-raw-pet-food-diets-can-be-dangerous-you-and-your-pet

Current knowledge about the risks and benefits of raw meat–based diets for dogs and cats
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/243/11/javma.243.11.1549.xml

Finley R, Ribble C, Aramini J, Vandermeer M, Popa M, Litman M, Reid-Smith R. The risk of salmonellae shedding by dogs fed Salmonella-contaminated commercial raw food diets. Can Vet J. 2007 Jan;48(1):69-75. PMID: 17310625; PMCID: PMC1716752.

Davies RH, Lawes JR, Wales AD. Raw diets for dogs and cats: a review, with particular reference to microbiological hazards. J Small Anim Pract. 2019 Jun;60(6):329-339. doi: 10.1111/jsap.13000. Epub 2019 Apr 26. PMID: 31025713; PMCID: PMC6849757.

Intake of minerals, trace elements and vitamins in bone and raw food rations in adult dogs
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/intake-of-minerals-trace-elements-and-vitamins-in-bone-and-raw-food-rations-in-adult-dogs/7520574DA173F4DB29330A6F858DE0E0

Luisana E, Saker K, Jaykus LA, Getty C. Survey evaluation of dog owners' feeding practices and dog bowls' hygiene assessment in domestic settings. PLoS One. 2022 Apr 6;17(4):e0259478. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259478. PMID: 35385485; PMCID: PMC8986020.

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