I feel bad I have forgotten to tell everyone how much I really love the Cloud Nine herbal shampoo from Halo — I have tried soooo many different ones and it genuinely stands out as superior in every way. Here’s my further thought about it from the blog on the HALO site:
http://blog.halopets.com/2010/07/29/pet-travel-tips-tv-appearance/
–Tracie Hotchner
Did you catch the news splash about Uncle ChiChi, a rescue poodle from New York City appeared on Good Morning America this week because he may be the world’s oldest dog? His age is somewhat vague because he was adopted from a shelter around 2 years old, but deaf and blind as he is, the old guy is still going strong. When asked what the ancient but perky dog ate, the owner said, “He eats Spot’s Stew, made by a company called Halo and it’s really healthy stuff.”
I thought the funniest line as a throwaway comment when the TV host asked how long the owner Frank had had the dog. It has only been a few years because he had inherited Uncle ChiChi from a relative, who had inherited him from a previous relation. “He’s bee in my family since 1988,” Frank declared — as though the little poodle was a castle or a valuable piece of jewelry. It was really a sweet moment of pride of ownership.
Of course I was thrilled since my pooches eat only Halo kibble as part of the elaborate feast I serve them twice a day — and Scooby Doo, Teddy & Jazzy aren’t even 23 years old with all three of their ages combined! SO I am hoping Uncle Chi Chi’s wise choice of food will keep my guys going long and strong into their twenties, too!
Check out the story (and the Good Morning America video) in yesterday’s New York Times.
–Tracie Hotchner
Hi, Tracie -
I have recently adopted a 4-year-old Italian Greyhound and I started him on the right foods from day one. He gets Halo dry food mixed with Innova Evo canned twice a day. I am sending pictures of the dog, Guido and my cat, Monk.
I love your shows! I download the podcasts and listen to them on my long road trips. Since listening to you I have gotten my cat off of the “kitty crack” and onto Soulistic cat food. He was not overweight but I have seen a real change in his energy level. I am also seeing a lot less hair on my clothes and furniture.
I have learned a lot from your shows and your books. I pass along the things that I have learned to everyone who will listen. Thanks for all you do and please keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Gina
I told Gina I was so glad she was following all my advice but as a real treat I wanted her to get a free sample of food for Gorgeous Guido — she’s been feeding him so well but I waned to surprise Guido with the exquisite taste of the real cage free chicken breast in pumpkin soup that it the centerpiece of my 3-course meal plan from www.Proportions.com and try a free trial (put TRACIE in the code box) — it’s a whole new level of excellence and based on my nutritional theories.
–Tracie Hotchner
Laura sent me this email regarding her cat’s trouble with urinary crystals.
I have enjoyed reading your Cat Bible book, and other information on your website, but I still am very uncertain on how to resolve a recurring situation with my dear male cat Leo (about 6 years).
He has had 4 episodes of urinary crystals in the last 6 months, two of which caused blockages, resulting in lengthy vet stays. He was on a catheter both times, which I’m sure was very uncomfortable.
His last blockage with last Thursday, and he is still have difficulties passing urine. His PH is 7.5 and the crystals are Struvite.
I feed him wet food only – alternating Science Diet’s CD with Primal raw beef cube. He does not get kibble. With this high protein diet, I am baffled as to why he is getting sick so often. A high protein diet has not seemed to acidify his urine and he is still developing crystals.
I know CD has by-products (which I’m not crazy about), that’s why I was trying to feed him some raw food. Now I’m really confused. I feel like I need to make a change quickly, but I don’t want to choose a food that will aggravate his situation. I’m not sure if he is reacting to the CD or to the raw food, so I’ve eliminated the raw food. However, I’d like a better plan moving forward since CD isn’t the best canned food, and I’m unsure of raw food.
I’d love your advice so that I can get my Leo back on track.
Your instincts are right on the mark – the Science Diet CD not only has by products, but plenty of carbohydrates, too. What most bothers me about products like this is that they call themselves a “chicken” cat food and in this case the predominant ingredient is pork by-products. Now where in God’s name does the discarded portion of a processed pork fit into a healthy diet for cat? Chicken is the 4th ingredient — and then some corn products like starch and corn gluten meal. “Chicken liver flavor” is something synthetic — because the pork liver they are using instead is surely much cheaper, although from a 500 lb. animal that could never be a cat’s natural prey.
The Cat Bible tells you how to read a label and this one should set your hair on fire by that yardstick.
Pork By-Products, Water, Pork Liver, Chicken, Rice, Corn Starch, Oat Fiber, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Fish Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, etc.
So right now your kitty is not on a high protein food – or one made of ingredients that are natural and healthy for a cat. - You need to get Weruva or Halo Spot’s Stew that use only human grade meat- no by-products of any animal and no meal. Until you get the cat off this highly processed inappropriate protein source you cannot know how much it is negatively influencing his health.
As for raw, it is the gold standard for cat foods and the best choice you can make for your kitty. You’ll be doing him a great favor if you can go to all raw (but not beef!! again, don’t feed your cat a meat source with no logical connection to a cat, who can naturally catch mice or birds, to which chicken and turkey are the closest thing). Another thing about crystals is that beef and organ meats can make them worse – and rinking lots of fluids can reduce the problem. So since it’s rare for a wet-fed cat to be thirsty and drink alot, you can give him fluids he’ll be motivated to drink. See if he’ll do well on a bit of milk (can upset the stomach) or try a nifty product from The Honest Kitchen called Ice Pups. It is a ground up chicken and greens powder that you dissolve in water. It was developed to be frozen into cubes for dogs to enjoy in hot weather, but i find it is a great way to get pets to drink fluids they wouldn’t normally drink. The more you can get him to drink, the better – the page for The Honest Kitchen is on my website and they give a discount to my listeners.
I’m hoping this will help, although it will take a few weeks to start to show results. I’m sorry for all you and he have been through.
I re-read your chapter on nutrition and how to read labels. Armed with this information, I spent an hour or so at the pet store reading labels… very interesting!
Following your suggestion, I bought Weruva’s chicken canned food -10% protein, and Leo loves it (it also smells great). I noticed that they use tapioca or potato starch. In your book, you mention potatoes as an ingredient to avoid. I wasn’t able to tell from the label what percentage of the food was comprised of starch. In Leo’s situation, what is your opinion of this ingredient.
I also purchased a chicken canned food from Instinct. From the label, it looks good, but Leo really prefers the Weruva.
At some point, I’ll venture into the raw food diets, but Salmonella is a concern and I don’t want to add to Leo’s health issues.
Thanks so much for your help and advice. I really appreciate having a reliable resource to help sort out the myriad of information available.
I know that the starch in Weruva food is used as thickener and is only a tiny portion of the food but I let the owner of the company, David Forman, explain it to you himself:
We use potato starch at less than 1% of the overall formulas, and as potato starch is made of other components other than carbohydrates, the percentage of actual nutrition coming from the potato starch is likely under 0.5%. In other words, the potato starch serves no nutritional purpose. The purpose of the starch is to thicken the gravy so the formula will not be super watery.
There is of course a big difference when using potatoes as the carbohydrate/binder source in kibble where the percentage of potato has to be high in order for the kibble to hold itself together. The quantity necessary of potatoes in kibble (or other carbohydrate sources in kibble) typically forces the potatoes to be a significant source of nutrition. Cats are of course obligate carnivores and need no carbohydrates. And dogs, also carnivores, do not need the carbs from potatoes, though some dogs may be able to adapt better than others when eating an omnivorous diet.
As for feeding raw, I don’t think you need to rush into that. Many cats do not do well on it and with Leo’s issues, I think you’ll feel most comfortable using different Weruva flavors and use Dr. Harvey’s Whisker Smackers and Halo’s Liv-a-Littles for treats.
Thank you so much for the information and your reassurance! Both my cats absolutely love Weruva – they lick the bowl clean and ask for more. This is unusual for them. I can’t tell you how much money I’ve spent trying to find a wet food they like since they both really prefer Wysong’s Uretic dry food (which is no longer part of their diet). I’m hopeful this new food will help Leo to heal.
I am going to put your question and my answer on my blog because I think other can benefit from this information.
-Tracie Hotchner
The Cat Bible
Can a great dog food cure a physical ailment that the top vets have not been able to solve? Seems unlikely, but this is a follow up to the story of the medical woes of Oscar – who was also a DOG TALK® Dog of the Month.
It’s been a while and I want to take a minute to update you about Oscar. As you may recall, we took Oscar to Tufts this past summer, hoping that we would finally hear something that would give us some hope. However, the final recommendations did not suggest a positive prognosis. In fact, one of the recommendations was to amputate Oscar’s leg. We couldn’t do that. We put him on anti-inflammatory meds and pain meds for a while, but, on your recommendation, started him on Halo dog food. Well, guess what! Oscar’s leg has healed! He limped so badly for over two years that we could never walk very far. When he ate, he would hold up the affected leg. He couldn’t get up any stairs. His paws were two different sizes, one very small, the other long and broad. Well, you get the picture.
In the past month or so, however, Oscar suddenly began to stop limping altogether. He stopped favoring the leg to the point that now we are able to take long long walks in the woods behind our home. We walk all the way to the farm where his donkey friends look forward to his visits (along with the carrots/apples I bring along). It feels like a miracle, Tracie. I wonder if it was the Halo, supplanted with real meat/turkey. I think it had a lot to do with it and I just want to thank you for recommending it. Initially, we were appalled to discover the price of the product, but the results are unmistakable. So, at nine and a half, Oscar is whole again and sends you his very best. We wonder at his outcome if we hadn’t started him on Halo. I am a fan now, of you and of Halo.
So I wrote to Dr. Donna Spector, the Official Vet of HALO Purely for Pets, and here was her reply:
It sounds like Oscar developed severe arthritis after ligament injury and subsequent infection of the joint. Tracie, I do believe that the recommendations you made for Oscar were helpful to his healing process. While the high quality proteins, natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatories found in Halo products can improve immune function and cellular organ function, to “heal” a targeted leg lesion would be unlikely. Although I do believe that proper nutrition can reverse many problems, I have to say I am a bit doubtful that Oscar’s story was a miraculous Halo turnaround. The omega 3 fatty acids together with the profile of Halo food likely helped improve inflammation in this painful joint. I think it is totally acceptable to highlight Oscar as the poster child for “natural ways to improve arthritis”…emphasizing fatty acids and the importance of a high quality natural diet. The higher nutritional plane achieved by using Halo could have helped the healing process — the injury gradually healed over time — but the food likely was not fully responsible. Great story. Thanks for sharing.
So Judith concluded:
The food that we had fed Oscar and had been giving our Shepherds for years was Nutre. The last two lived to be 13 and 14, so the food did pretty well for them. Of course, good breeding helps. We changed to Halo when you suggested, stopped all of the drugs, and supplemented his twice daily feedings with meat, turkey, bison, chicken and fish. I never was able to get him to eat the platinum despite numerous offerings; the food was always left when platinum was included. I do give him fish oil supplements by capsule. He walks daily for long periods of time to visit the donkeys, and I think this has helped him. Despite the fact that he doesn’t limp anymore, he still struggles with getting up and we think this will probably worsen in the months/years to come. He does have arthritis.
He even plays with me now and this hasn’t happened in a very long time. He is definitely happier.
When I asked for more photos to post on my website of Oscar playing with his donkey friend (his only fun activity for along time) Judith described how charming their interaction is:
Unfortunately, the three donkeys are sequestered behind fences in the winter and it is difficult to show the relationship that exists other than to see oscar stick his neck between two slats of the fence. Maggie’s offspring, Jigs, especially loves Oscar now. He’s almost three, and full of the dickens, but when Oscar would visit before the winter, the farmer who owns him would lower the electric fence so Oscar could get close to Jigs. Oscar would, at some point, lie down in front of this donkey, and Jigs would nuzzle him and actually groom him, licking his back as Oscar lay there. The farmer was amazed, I was amazed as donkeys don’t especially have a fondness for canines. Oscar just relaxed at Jigs’ feet and enjoyed the visit. We go over every day now to feed the donkeys carrots, and Jigs and Maggie will still run along their fence side by side with Oscar. Now that he has stopped limping, this activity is more fun for Oscar.
Again, we thank you for being so on board with us this past year. I’m certain that you have a lot on your plate in general, and the fact that you took/ take the time to correspond and support us is significant. I tell everyone about you and I’m sure that your listening audience has widened through our efforts. Your book has been loaned to other dog owner friends more than once and has resulted in the sale of yet more copies. We wish you continued success in your efforts to educate/inform pet owners everywhere. You are doing such a good thing.
Our best,
Judy and Thomas
The Dog Bible
I received the bookplate packet of samples and brochures. What fun! Thank you so much! Can’t wait to read all the info. I feed one of my dogs The Honest Kitchen — Thrive and Force – but have wanted to try Preference and you sent me a sample of it! I give a small amount of Halo dry food with THK. I have been giving Nordic Naturals to both dogs; their coats are so shiny and soft. Pumpkin has hypothyroidism and he was scratching and biting himself pretty bad: he has practically stopped now. I am going to ask my vet about Vectra and will show him the pamphlet; I would like to try it. I also wanted to try Platinum Performance and I got that too! I had a question: is it ok to give Nordic Natural fish oil and Platinum Performance or should it be one or the other? Can’t wait to put the bookplate into the book. Thank you so much. It is really wonderful to have someone so informed and trustworthy to help me keep my furry friends healthy and happy.
With much appreciation, Christine.
You’re doing wonderfully! I myself feed The Honest Kitchen at every meal with a small serving of Halo kibble good choices! So glad the Nordic Naturals fish oil is a success — it makes me so happy when my advice really helps! Yes, you can give the Platinum Performance supplement along with the Nordic because one is a marine-based (Nordic is all fish body and liver oil) while Platinum Performance used plant-based omega-3 fatty acids, So all that remains is for you to get Pets Best insurance I sent you a brochure for (and believe me, if you think you cannot afford it, you certainly cannot afford the costly choices now available to diagnose and treat ailments. Oh! And the Vectra and Vectra 3-D for flea and tick control — if your vet does want to get the free samples, great. Give me the name and number and I’ll pass it along to Dr. Elizabeth. BUT if your vet decides not to carry Vectra, you only need to find a Banfield vet clinic (by going on the internet) and after just a question or two about your pets heath they will sell you First Shield, which is the name for Vectra at Banfield — it’s made especially for them.
Tracie
I got this note from Lisa, who called into my radio show about her Lab Ally who has been suffering from skin problems and a hot spot resulting from them:
Thanks for suggesting I get my lab off Iams, in the past we did a food elimination diet and it didn’t seem to help, we also had a skin test done and the results showed that she is allergic to dust, cedar and mold but no apparent food allergies. Anyway she does seem much better, having a hard time getting rid of the hot spot. I am currently feeding her hamburger (boiled), shredded carrots and brown rice. I am also supplementing with Platinum Performance I need to get some Omega 3’s, I have been giving her the same ones I use but I think you said there was another brand that I should use, you touched briefly on commercial food that I can use, I think you said to use Halo, are there others and can I buy these at my local pet store? Thanks again!
First thing, I am really gratified that you understood my advice to get Ally off of commercial dry food she has been on exclusively, and thank you for going to the trouble of cooking for her and supplementing with Platinum Performance so that it is a balanced meal and contains many nutrients that have been lacking. The fish oil I recommend to everyone for themselves and their pets is Nordic Naturals, because it is the only one I have encountered which is 100% pure fish oil from sustainable fish and Norwegian seas. As for re-introducing kibble into her diet, I would recommend HALO (which uses only human grade meat in their dry food) from the new natural foods section of PETCO. I would also suggest that you go to SmartpakCanine.com and get a 5-day free sample of any of the kibble they carry — either LiveSmart, their own premium brand of lamb and rice or chicken & rice kibble — or any of the kind of Newman’s Own organic kibble or the whole Wellness line of dry food. That way you can discover which one she likes best (and you can switch to another the next month). The kibble arrives in a sealed portion pack, so the amount is just right and the food stays fresh. I also want to urge you and everyone listening to go to www.Proportions.com and sign up for the new monthly feeding plan, which Smartpak Canine has developed, based on my feeding theories. The trial samples will be ready after the holidays and you want to be amongst the first to try it since it solves ALL the balanced feeding issues. Meantime, feed a small quantity of the best dry kibble you can find, and make at least one half of her meal a quality protein source from a can or cooked meat, fish, chicken, eggs and/or cottage cheese and yogurt, and some vegetables. Feel free to call back into my shows any time and let’s get healthy skin and even drop a few pounds off Ally while we’re at it!
Tracie
The Dog Bible
I interviewed Lucy Postins, the owner of THE HONEST KITCHEN, on DOG TALK®. We discussed the sustainable antibiotic-free, free-range chicken from Petaluma Farm that is now in her foods. I also told her about The Honest Kitchen diet I had put Scooby Doo on when he developed a double chin (that at first I thought was a goiter) and ballooned to 129.8 pounds. I had an Aha Moment and realized I had been giving him way too much kibble with his Honest Kitchen. I decided to make it only 1/4 cup per meal and depend on mostly The Honest Kitchen for his nutrition. Six months later Scooby Doo had dropped 29 pounds — which has now become a total of 31 pounds. I have slowly added the Halo kibble back into his diet at only 1 cup per meal — and he is holding strong under 100 lbs. I got the following brief email from a listener after she heard the show:
I’m ordering Honest Kitchen for me. I will eat it every day until the 29 lbs come off.
I’m a listener of yours on Martha Stewart and I have been given some news recently about my 6-year-old 95-pound greyhound, Obi. His blood work showed that his kidneys are not working at 100%. I am not sure what the numbers were, but I can check with the vet if you need to know that. My vet wants us to buy either Science diet K-D or Purina NF Diet food. I have been looking into different options as I almost fainted when I heard that the food was $74 for 34 pounds. We love our dog, but quite honestly that seems very expensive. I have read an article on your site about dry food not being the answer for this condition and I know at least for cats that you advocate for wet foods. I have also gone to B-Naturals.com and read their section in the archives on a Kidney Diet. I’m not sure I want to cook all of his meals so given the scenario I would really appreciate your input on this as I don’t know what to do and have continued to give him the food we have been giving him for now since I just bought it.
On another note, I have just this week taken our one year old cat off of what I thought was a good food for him (The Good Life Recipe dry cat food made with all natural ingredients) or in your words “kitty crack” and bought canned food from your list of approved canned foods. Boo had no problem switching to wet food as I’ve heard some people on your show talking about. He loves it and I am anxious to see if I see any changes in him as a result of this change. The bad news is, that Obi seems really bummed that the cat (which we acquired because my college aged daughter had second thoughts about getting a cat) is getting this wonderful smelling food and he’s not getting anything that smells so wonderful and I had to take his favorite Dingo treat away from him too. I would really appreciate your wisdom and look forward to you helping me figure out what would be the best diet for Obi. I have attached Obi’s and Boo’s pictures for you to see.
God Bless you,
Michelle
I did talk to Michelle about this on the air, but the main take-away advice to this question is to READ THE LABELS and you’ll see for yourself that a corn or grain based food with minimal and low quality protein sources is the worst idea for an animal whose body is not working up to snuff.
She needs to get a high quality kibble like Halo, but that will only be half of Obi’s diet. He needs top quality protein making up at least 30% of his diet. All she has to do is add an equal amount of quality protein from a top canned food or add her own chicken, meat, cottage cheese, yogurt, and/or scrambled eggs) and Obi will be getting what he needs. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential, and I always recommend Nordic Naturals fish oil capsules because of their purity and freshness. My dogs get two capsules each twice a day, which will be about right for Obi, too.
He especially needs to drink plentiful amounts of water with his kidney issues, so she needs to make sure fluids are going down the hatch, too! If h’’s not a good drinker, then a great incentive to drink is to stir a scoop of Ice Pups into his bowl of water (it’s a finely ground chicken and herb powder from The Honest Kitchen) (my listeners et a discount – check out their page on my website for information). I’m not sure what a dingo treat is — I’m kind of afraid to find out! — but don’t know why he should lose his privileges with it.
Hi Tracie,
I just got back from Petco with a bag of Halo food!! I hope I was supposed to get dry food. Obi lapped it up. Thanks so much for your help. Before buying the food today, I have been feeding him sushi rice with chicken and cottage cheese and some scrambled egg whites. I hope you will be able to give me some recipes too. I can’t wait to read your blog.
It was a really emotional night on CAT CHAT® — a breed rescuer got a surprise $1,000 donation of food (i.e., Dinner Party and treats) from HALO — which I had no idea about! On an impulse I had asked Mary to call into the show. She runs a German Wire-haired Pointer rescue in Olathe Kansas (www.GWPRescue.com) and we had become pen pals. I wanted her to explain what breed rescuers do and what happens to breeding dogs in puppy mills — she had written me about the emaciated, past-starvation dogs that have come in from puppy mills and abuse situations and how she needs to restore their health with good nutrition. I had gotten in touch with the Vice President, Marketing Communications of HALO Purely for Pets (one of my website sponsors and the company that makes the kibble my dogs eat) and asked if there was any discount for rescues and shelters to get HALO. Lo and behold there is!! (all you have to do is call 800-426-4256 and they will give a 35% discount to shelters and rescues). So I invited him on the show so he and Mary could meet on the air. She and I were both amazed because after the three of us had been talking for a little while David from Halo suddenly said that HALO was going to donate $1,000 worth of Liv-a-Little freeze-dried salmon treats and Dinner Party to Mary’s rescue! She wrote in afterward:
Tracie and David,
Oh my goodness I am still shaking!
I cannot find words to express my appreciation and what a tremendous gift you have given our organization. I told my group I was speechless, (which was hard for them to believe) I was so touched I could hardly speak. Tracie, it was such an honor to be on your show. David is right that you were the passionate force caring for the animals that put us together! Such a true Blessing! And we are forever grateful to both of you!
Our dogs come from extreme circumstances, and as I said seven out of ten come into our care in horrific condition. We will be looking at the same type of situation with the puppy mill dogs we are expecting from South Dakota as we did with the puppy mill babies in Missouri three months ago. We are so excited to have this opportunity to give our puppies/dogs a good diet, and build up their suppressed immune systems.
I will get the food ordered tomorrow… we certainly cannot tell you how this will help us in the coming days. There are no words to express what we are going into. When we went to the puppy mill bust in Missouri in May, I hyperventilated at the sight and smell which made me physically ill. The mothers and babies were locked in a complete darkness in a grain silo where they kept them. Some were so thin their systems could not ingest or digest food. But having the HALO donation will be one less stress for us to deal with, and we will distribute the food between foster homes.
This means so much…
Thank you, Thank you!!!!
You are too kind — I am only a bridge connecting people — and privileged to be one. My gift is having been there to witness The Moment of connection. Mary you and your group are the ones doing the real heavy lifting — we are just cheering from the sidelines. Day in and day out you climb into the trenches and take in dogs who have been taken to the brink of ruin and you reincarnate them, in a literal and spiritual sense.
How thrilling for me to be associated with a company that shares my admiration of your dedication and my desire to support you in any way possible. You have earned it, believe me, and it’s an honor to help you.