Hyperthyroidism caused by bar feeding in dogs
Do you know Barfen? Barfe, i.e. the raw feeding of dogs, has become a "hit" in dog feeding in recent years. Actually a reasonable approach if you keep a few things in mind.
Barfen is the dog's natural diet
Even if you can no longer equate the wolf with our house dog in every detail, the two animal species are still very similar. You can imagine a wolf at lunch now. He has one Rabbits torn and eats it up completely. In addition to the pure muscle meat, there was bones, offal (with vegetable stomach and intestinal contents), fat, cartilage, blood and fur. So everything that "wolf" needs. Fruits, berries, grasses and tree bark are also eaten with pleasure.
- Our domestic dogs have similar needs. Now there are thick books about how much protein, how much and what fat a dog needs and how the calcium content of the food should be compared to the phosphate content in order to keep a dog healthy obtain. But honestly, do you know exactly how a person's diet should be composed and do you meticulously ensure that you meet these requirements? This is only important in the event of illness or when a person has to achieve optimal physical performance, e.g. B. at the athlete.
- There are broad guidelines for how a ration should be structured. Of course, meat or fish serves as the basis, although some can also be replaced by other animal protein sources such as quark or cheese. Three parts of lean meat, one part of bones and two parts of offal can be offered. Additionally vegetables like carrots or rice or potatoes. Good oil (linseed or safflower oil) is important, on the one hand, to be able to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins, but also to cover the need for essential fatty acids. Herbs and special vegetables with essential oils, such as fennel, can also be fed.
How an overactive thyroid develops
Lately they are increasingly found in veterinary practices dogs, which appear in laboratory tests due to an alleged hyperthyroidism, i.e. the level of the hormone thyroxine, which is produced in the thyroid gland, is greatly increased. If you follow up on this story through further research, you will almost always find the cause in the feeding and not in a disease of the thyroid gland. Why is that?
- The meat that is sold for barfing, i.e. as dog food, is usually meat that is not suitable for human consumption. When comparing the prices of beef roulades and dog food, it should be clear that the meat for dogs is waste meat. The meat usually comes from the neck area (throat meat) or is stabbed meat, i.e. the area of the animal in which the cut is made to bleed - i.e. on the neck.
- The thyroid gland sits on the windpipe near the larynx in every species of mammal. So if an animal is cut up during slaughter, the thyroid gland may be destroyed when the gullet meat is cut up. The thyroid contains vesicles, which in turn contain the hormone thyroxine. These vesicles are now distributed all over the meat. In the end, the entire gullet meat is then "contaminated" with these vesicles.
- So, if you feed your dog extensively with gullet meat, you are giving him thyroid hormone with every ration. On the one hand, these lead to atrophy of the thyroid, as it does not have to produce any hormones itself. If you then change the feeding abruptly, the dog slips into an underactive state until its own thyroid regenerates. On the other hand, the thyroxine overdose can cause symptoms such as emaciation, diarrhea, skin and coat problems, nervousness, palpitations and much more.
The color of stool is primarily determined by the food. Does your dog get ...
So when you baref, be careful not to feed a small amount of gullet meat. Feed muscle meat whose origin you can identify (e.g. B. Heart) or find a butcher who slaughters himself and whom you can trust. Even those who buy larger parts of a beef and process and freeze them in portions are on the safe side.
