Diet – Kate’s Family Pets

Our surveys have shown a trend away from feeding just kibble. In 2011, 65% of owners reported feeding their dogs just kibble, about 20% added table scraps or extras and 11% reported preparing home cooked food. In 2016 the proportion of dogs fed only kibble had dropped and half of owner were adding additional food and around 10% fed raw or home prepared food. In the 2025 survey more owners were feeding extras than those feeding only kibble, 15% were feeding home cooked or raw commercial diets and 45% of people reported that they fed their dog raw bones

I regard this as a significant improvement and hope my dietary advice has had something to do with the trend

Previous surveys have suggested that the pure kibble diets might be related to an increase in chronic illness and in particular ear issues, but the results are confounded by the fact that people tend to alter their dogs diet when they have problems so we haven’t been able to directly show a relationship. In the 2025 survey we found that 46% of our dogs have had at least one ear infection in their lives. Dogs were designed by nature to have ears like Dingos and so dropped ears are more likely to develop ear problems, but recurrent ear problems are usually the result of allergies (usually to Malassezia a yeast which lives in their ears). These findings have led us to be more prescriptive about diet:

If feeding kibble – Feed your dog a grain free kibble with prebiotics included
Supplement your dog with probiotics and fish oil
Feed as much REAL food as you can – eggs, canned salmon and sardines in spring water, cheese, yoghurt, leftovers.
Give your dog raw meaty bones regularly – big enough for them to chew up (rib and brisket bones, chicken carcases and turkey necks – not marrow bones)
Feed your dog vegetables and fruit
Make sure your dog has lots of exercise and is happy and stress free!

If you are interested in why we recommend this – read on:

Allergies, bowel disorders, cancer and mental health problems are on the rise in the western industrial world in both people and pets. Various explanations include pollution, increased allergen load indoors, lack of exposure to environmental bacteria (the hygiene hypothesis) and an increase in ultra processed and refined carbohydrate rich food.

We know that some people and some dogs are genetically prone to allergies but it is now clear that the gene X environment interaction will determine the development and progression of disease.

“genes that code for particular proteins can be switched on and off by lifestyle choices such as what we eat, and where and how we live–with profound implications for health and disease” ¹

There has been a revolution in our thinking about allergic conditions in the last 10 years or so with the increased understanding of epigenetics and recognition of the importance of the gut microbiome and its interaction with what is being called the “gut brain skin axis”. Recently it has been shown that unhealthy people (and dogs) have different microbiome profiles to healthy people (and dogs).

There is now growing interest in manipulating the microbiome as a method for preventing or modifying the expression of some diseases including allergic dermatitis and irritable bowel disease.

We can do this by avoiding certain foods, supplementing the diet with pre and probiotics, optimising nutrient intake and minimising stress

Foods to avoid:

Dogs did not evolve to eat grain. Grains contains gluten and high levels of fermentable carbohydrates – both of which are implicated in atopy in humans.

“a cereal-free, low carbohydrate diet should be considered in the investigation of any chronic skin disorder, whether or not there is evidence of gastrointestinal disease.”¹

Prebiotics and probiotics:

While the experimental results for treatment of disease with probiotics are still variable, Probiotic administration to children has been shown to be preventative of atopic dermatitis² and pre and probiotic administration during pregnancy and post whelping has been shown to protect the puppies of at risk bitches from developing atopic dermatitis³

Prebiotics are compounds which are not digested in the small intestine but are fermented in the colon – they encourage the growth of a more diverse range of gut bacteria. They are found in Fruit and vegetables and the common prebiotics used in dog foods are inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides. Omega 3 fatty acids have long been known to be powerfully anti-inflammatory and recent research shows that at least part of their beneficial effect is as a prebiotic which shifts gut metabolites towards a profile beneficial to the gut/skin/brain axis⁵

Optimising Nutrient intake:

“Feeding a species-appropriate, nutrient-rich diet, most closely resembling the canine ancestral diet, would seem a sensible option if a dog is to achieve optimal general and dermatological health”¹

Dogs evolved from docile wolves who realised humans were a good source of edible rubbish. They can digest carbohydrate better than wolves but they are still carnivores and the prebiotics they would have eaten would mostly have been derived from skin, cartilage and bones that humans discarded.

“a diet consisting mainly of good quality raw meat on the bone, skin, offal, eggs and fish is perhaps as close as we can come”¹ (to their ancestral diet)

A retrospective study of dogs in Sweden showed that if bitches were fed at least partly real food this protected their puppies against atopy in later life⁴

Some vegetables are rich in prebiotics – asparagus & artichoke may be a challenge, but sweet potato, carrots, tomatoes, apple, garlic and bananas are all rich in insoluble starch and shouldn’t be too hard to find in the fridge. There is one study which shows a link between vegetables and cancer in dogs⁶. Westies that are very prone to bladder cancer were less likely to be affected if they had been fed leafy green and yellow vegetables.

Minimising stress:

The “Gut, Brain, Skin Axis” was first proposed in humans in the 1930s and since then the link between mental health (depression and anxiety) and the microbiome have been shown in humans, dogs⁷ and experimentally in mice. Dietary manipulation has been shown to restore a normal microbiota in anxious dogs⁸.

Chewing has been shown to reduce stress, as well as promoting gastrointestinal health and a healthy microbiome. The abrasive action against the gums keeps teeth healthy and reduces bad breath. The act of chewing also reduces circulating cortisol, moderates arousal levels, protects against cognitive decline and in general makes dogs happy. You can buy fake plastic bones, dental chews, deer antlers and the like – but dogs REALLY love meaty bones

SO Based on all this what can we do and what can you do?

We have been feeding our bitches and puppies probiotic (ProN8ure) for several years now but we will in future include a sachet in our puppy pack and encourage owners to add probiotic to their dogs food for their first 6 months We suggest that you try to follow our feeding guidelines

If your dog has recurrent ear infections now and you want to check for food allergies

A simple and relatively cheap elimination diet is canned Salmon in spring water and mashed potatoes

If you see an improvement after 8 – 10 weeks then gradually reintroduce single source proteins … chicken, beef etc. or gradually move to the diet above.

References:

Probiotic species beneficial to dogs (Cornell University)

Bacillus coagulans
Bifidobacterium animalis (strain AHC7) helps with acute diarrhea
Bifidobacterium bifidum
Bifidobacterium longum (BL999) helps with anxiety
Enterococcus faecium (strain SF68)
Lactobacillus acidophilus improves stool quality and frequency
Lactobacillus casei
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactobacillus rhamnosus (strain LGG) maybe effective for diarrhea, since it is beneficial for humans with diarrhea