Pet parents may choose to feed their dog a ketogenic diet for several different reasons.
Sometimes, people feel a ketogenic diet is better for their dog because it’s more like a “primal dog diet”.
Then, at other times, people choose a ketogenic diet to help with certain health conditions.
For example, studies show a ketogenic diet can help dogs suffering from things like:
Why Feed a Blood Building Diet?
We feel choosing the most energetically appropriate diet is best, even if you opt to feed a ketogenic diet.
A blood building diet may help dogs who:
- Suffer arthritis or anemia
- Seem dull and uninterested
- Lack a shiny coat
- Startle easily
- Limp from knee or ligament injuries
- Battle dry paws, dandruff, dry skin, and hair
- Lack energy
How to Create a Blood Building Ketogenic Diet
A ketogenic diet contains:
- 47%-57% Fat
- 28%-38% Protein – mostly from meat
- A maximum of 15% carbohydrates
Simply make choices from the ingredient groupings below.
Then, you can easily create different flavored blood building ketogenic meals for your dog!
In addition, we recommend using an online food or nutrient calculator.
The online calculators make it easy to calculate macronutrients.
Just enter your food ingredients and the amount of each.
Then, the calculator will tell you the percentages of proteins, fats, and carbs.
All you need to do is make sure you are staying in the “ketogenic” ranges.
You can find online food logs on websites such as Livestrong or Fitbit.
Add in Coconut Oil
We also recommend using coconut oil as the fat choice.
Coconut oil naturally contains 45% – 65% MCTs, which is excellent!
It aids ketosis and is also beneficial in preventing seizures.
You can further increase your dog’s MCT intake with a canine MCT supplement.
Blood Building Proteins
- Beef, red meat
- Eggs
- Kidney beans
- Liver
- Oysters
- Sardines
- Seeds
- Tuna
Blood Building Vegetables
- Sea vegetables
- Beets
- Dandelion
- Carrots
- Kale
- Leafy greens
- Seaweed
- Spinach
- Spirulina
Blood Building Fats
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Olive oil
- Flaxseed oil
Sample Energetically Warming Ketogenic Dog Food Recipe
To make the recipe at home, you will need:
- 5 pounds meat (see “protein” list above)
- 1.5 pounds of vegetables (see “vegetable” list above)
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
Directions:
First, debone and chop meat and vegetables.
Then, place all ingredients in crockpot layering:
- Slow cooking root vegetables on the bottom
- Meat in the middle
- Fast cooking items on top
Then, top with 1 cup of water.
Afterward, cook on low for 4 hours.
In addition, add the following to your pet’s diet:
- One canine multivitamin per day.
- Calcium supplement: 22mg/lb of body weight per day. You can also use eggshell powder or bone meal. If you are using bone meal, you must calculate the amount of calcium it contains. You cannot supplement with the overall bone meal content. First, look at the calcium content of the product. Then, calculate 22mg/lb of body weight from the calcium content.
Feeding Schedule:
- Feed roughly 1.5 cups per 25 pounds of body weight twice daily.
- Monitor your dog’s weight. If your dog loses too much weight, contact your veterinarian. You may need to make an adjustment in the feeding/diet plan.
References:
- Use TCVM Food Therapy to Energetically Balance Your Pet https://pettao.com/pet-food-recipes
- Dietary intervention for canine epilepsy: Two case reports: Dietary Intervention for Canine Epilepsy: Two Case Report https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6398089/
- Veterinary Practice News https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/ketogenic-diet-zonisamide-ease-seizures/
