Interview: pet nutrition expert Sarah Wadleigh, about home made treats for pets

July 3, 10:00 AMClicker Training ExaminerEve Alexander

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Sarah is available for private consultations.

Sarah, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into nutrition for pets?
I’ve always been personally interested in nutrition. Twenty years ago when we lost our first dog to pancreatic cancer I was very surprised, after all dogs don’t smoke or drink or engage in the other kinds of things that contribute to cancer in people. So I started researching the topic and read a book called ‘Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats’ by Kymythy Schultze about species appropriate diets. It really opened my eyes to all the pet health issues that derive from feeding commercial pet foods. I started introducing raw meat into my dogs’ diets, though at the time I was still feeding some dry commercial dog food.

Five years ago I got a job working for Only Natural Pet. Through my job I have learned a lot. We frequently participate in product trainings by the vendors of homeopathic, herbal and other pet products. The exposure to so much information really rocketed me into the field of pet nutrition.

What are the benefits of home cooking?
Actually, I try to stay away from cooking or baking food. That’s the main problem with commercial pet foods. In the process of canning and drying, heat destroys the enzymes and antioxidants, and damages the amino acids. The food is almost completely indigestible!

People, dogs, all animals - we're each given a certain finite number of enzymes at birth to last our whole lives. In wild animals the enzymes are primarily used for healing. But when our pets eat diets depleted of enzymes for a number of years, their own personal stash of healing enzymes is forced to go towards aiding digestion. So with no enzymes in their food, they end up in a negative enzyme situation, which makes them very vulnerable to disease and chronic conditions.

Sarah's dogs are energetic, healthy and happy.

I speak to hundreds of people a year and 100% of pet health issues, such as digestive disorders (loose stool, vomiting), paw licking or chewing, and chronic ear infections, can be resolved by changing the dog from a commercial dog food diet to a mostly raw diet.

A few weeks ago I interviewed wolf expert Rob Gudger. He feeds the wolves a raw diet and he mentioned that they digest their food so well there's hardly any poop. When we feed our pets a raw diet will the amount of poop they produce decrease because the food is being properly digested?
Yes! There will be less of it and it will be hard and firm.

Clicker trainers use lots of treats! What kinds of treats can we make for our dogs?
Stay away from baked treats. Raw ingredients are best. I'll give you a treat recipe from my book called Peanut Butter Fudge Treats. This is a delicious and nutritious treat. The oats and Chia Seeds soak up the moisture to make a firm, yet moist treat. Another one of my dogs’ favorite treats is made by soaking raw nuts like almonds and walnuts, or apples, and then dehydrating. Dogs love these! (see recipe below).

Do you mean in a dehydrator?
Yes. Dehydrators are very affordable and easy to use. They’re a lot of fun.

How do you store the treats?
Make smaller batches so you use them while very fresh. Most are fine in a baggy in the refrigerator. The nuts do well in a glass jar. A really good treat for clicker trainers is freeze-dried meat. It’s like jerky. You break it into bite-sized pieces. It’s very nutritional and delicious, and easy to store. (see list of freeze-dried treats)

Small dogs enjoy raw food too.

I found some dog treat recipes online. Commenters argued about certain ingredients in those recipes such as brewer's yeast and garlic. Some said it was good for dogs and others said it wasn’t. So I got confused and scared to make my own treats. That's why I contacted you!
Brewer’s yeast, and all nutritional yeasts, are loaded with B vitamins. As with any food, some dogs may have an intolerance but generally speaking, garlic and nutritional yeast are very good for dogs. Some people think of yeast as causing yeast infections, but these are completely different types of yeast. If you read old veterinary manuals from the 1930s-1950s, before we had so many prescription drugs, garlic was often prescribed for dog ailments. A really good remedy for dogs is raw garlic mixed with raw honey. The dogs love it and it boosts their energy. Garlic also repels fleas and ticks. It is safe to feed a dog up to two cloves of garlic daily for a 50-pound dog. It would be proportionately less for smaller dogs, and even less (1/8 tsp per day for 2 weeks at a time) for cats.

A lot of people just don’t have time to make food for their pets.
There are actually freeze dried or dehydrated products you can buy to feed your dogs, so you don’t have to start from scratch learning to make pet food. You won’t find these foods in your grocery store or at stores like PetsMart or even at health food stores. But your smaller, health-oriented pet food stores will have them. You can buy these foods from an online retailer such as www.onlynaturalpet.com. If you visit the company website of the particular food you're interested in, they usually have a 'where to buy' link with a list of retail stores that sell their products. (see list of freeze-dried foods and treats)

Isn't it expensive to make your own pet food?
When I first decided to eliminate dry food (just about one year ago), I was worried about the expense. Based on a lot of reading and research, I decided to use my favorite lentil/rice recipe to replace the dry food that I had been feeding. I include this rice/lentil recipe in my book, which is followed by several expanded recipes that incorporate the proteins, vegetables and supplements. My dogs LOVE these combinations, and get excited when I make the rice and lentils. I've done numerous taste-tests and food prep demos using these combinations, and the approval ratings from the dogs in attendance is 100%. Ditto for dogs that have stayed at my house. In fact, at my last demo, one German Shepherd brought his plate back up to the table for a refill! Not kidding!

I noticed on your website that you add Dr. Harvey’s supplements to your recipes.
Dr. Harvey’s is a wonderful new company. Dr. Harvey makes all his supplements himself. But there are plenty of other good companies that offer supplements. Other greens can be substituted instead, and in my book I include recipes for some home made supplements that can be made in quantity at a very low cost using bulk herbs and ingredients from a health food store. Simple, yet super nutritious. I also include a list of my favorite supplements in each category: greens, essential fatty acids and digestive enzymes.

Sarah's 50 page recipe book is available online.

Tell us about your e-book.
My book contains 50 recipes and the first part of the book explains all the health benefits of preparing your pet's food - some of what we discussed today but much more in depth. The cost is $19.95 and you can pay online with a credit card or PayPal. Then you download the book in PDF format. You can print it out and/or keep it on your computer for reference. You also can just print a page at a time. It’s a very nice book with lots of color pictures. (go here to learn more)

I understand you’re working on a second book … what’s this one about?
Lately I’ve become interested in nutritional, edible herbs. Many people don’t realize that plants often considered noxious weeds, like dandelions, are very good for animals. You can use all parts of the dandelion, from the roots to the leaves and the flowers. In one summer you can grow enough of these nutritional herbs to last a year. So, the focus of the next book is to make more of this kind of information available.

Thank you so much Sarah. This has been super informative and educational. You've shared a lot of great resources with us. And you've given me enthusiasm about being able to make my own pet food correctly. Can my readers contact you?
Absolutely! I am available for consultations and am always happy to answer questions.

Sarah's website is creatinghealthfordogsandcats.com and her email address is sarah@creatinghealthfordogsandcats.com

Peanut Butter Fudge Treats

• 4 Tbs organic peanut butter (or almond butter)
• 3-4 Tbs hot water - Blend water and nut butter to form a thin paste.
• 1 cup oats - Stir in oats until thoroughly coated.
• 1/2 cup Chia Seeds (available at a health food store) (loaded with essential fatty acids!)
• 2 Tbs raw honey
• 1 Tbs powdered greens (barley grass, wheat grass, etc.) or Kelp
• 1 Tbs nutritional yeast
• 1 pinch of unrefined sea salt

Add the Chia Seeds, yeast, greens, salt and honey. Stir til blended well. Press into a pie plate or wide bowl and refrigerate overnight. Cut into 1" squares (or smaller).

Dehydrated Nuts

• Get raw almonds or walnuts at the health food store. They should be refrigerated.
• In a large bowl, cover with purified water, and let soak overnight.
• Next day, drain and place on dehydrator shelf. Dehydrate at 95 degrees for 48 hours.

Dehydrated Apples

• Slice apples to about 1/4" thickness, and arrange on dehydrator tray.
• Dehydrate at 95 degrees for 48 - 72 hours.

Freeze Dried Foods and Treats

• Only Natural Pet All Meat Bites Treats - Made by Only Natural Pet, and only available on their site.
• Nature's Variety Freeze Dried Diets - made by Nature's Variety
• Dr. Harvey's Power Patties - made by Dr. Harvey's - This is freeze dried tripe! Super-nutritious. Kind of expensive. About 15 patties for $14.99. You can cut the patties into quarters with a sharp knife to use as a super-motivational treat because dogs LOVE these. Cats, too.
• ZiwiPeak Daily Dog Cuisine Dry Food - made by ZiwiPeak (great company from New Zealand) This is air dried jerky - not really dry food. Super tasty. Available in Venison, Venison/Fish and Lamb. The little square jerky bits are great for treats. All ingredients from New Zealand. includes muscle meat, organ meat and essential fatty acids.
• Complete Natural Nutrition Real Food Toppers - made by Complete Natural Nutrition - they offer freeze dried wild Salmon, Chicken, Beef Sirloin, Beef Liver. If your dog likes fish, the wild Salmon is fab.
• Whole Life Pet Treats - Made by Whole Life Pet Products - Chicken, Beef, Beef Liver, Venison, Turkey, Lamb

Sarah's Recommended Book List

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