[g_podcast id="11240729"]
I'm very happy to have the lovely Sabrina Fechner on the show today.
It's Sabrina's first podcast interview and we talk about the following topics:
Sabrina is an animal health practitioner and nutritionist for dogs and cats.
My first question is, do animals need a nutritionist at all?
Sabrina: Yes, in the area of illnesses it is similar to the human sector. We have a lot of diabetic cats, diabetic dogs, musculoskeletal diseases, liver diseases, kidney diseases.
A large part of this is due to nutrition. That's why the topic of nutrition is very important, especially with regard to "barfing", it makes sense if someone is familiar with this area.
What does "barfing" actually mean?
Sabrina: Barfen means in German: Biologically species-appropriate raw feeding. Barfen is a concept where there are certain divisions. I would like to explain the different types of dry and wet food and their advantages and disadvantages.
I would like to start with dry food, which is the oldest form of feeding.
The advantages are: it is cheap, it is very easy to handle because we have little packaging material, a small amount is given (-1%) which is not very much for the dog, it is not very time-consuming. There is dry food in all directions, for all diseases and all age groups and it has a long shelf life.
The disadvantages are: that you have little variety, I compare it to eating muesli all day, I wouldn't like that either.
Dry food always contains additives, preservatives, ingredients, flavorings, BRA-BRT, which are now banned and are suspected of reducing the genetic material. It is often over-mineralized, it is highly heated and preserved.
Unfortunately, we have problems with bacteria in barf, because we can have food mites in dry food and there is a large deficit of moisture. This is particularly problematic with cats, as a cat is dependent on moisture and does not drink much water. We often have a high fat content, which leads to the problem of obesity, as well as a high starch content and problems with gluten.
I myself dealt a lot with the subject of nutrition back then because of our own story. Our dog had chronic renal insufficiency, I was a classic dry feeder and didn't know any better. Then the vet told me that the dog probably only had 1 year to live with these poor values.
So I only had 2 options: Either I change the diet or I go back to a classic kidney diet food.
Then I started my first training as a nutritionist and switched my dog to wet food, which was almost 5 years ago, and then went in the direction of barf.
I now work with a lot of nutritionists, veterinary practitioners and vets who really deal with nutrition, so I realized that nutrition can change a lot. You simply have to take logical steps and ask yourself: "Is this really a good thing?"
It's similar to people, there are also people who eat fast food or frozen pizza and still grow old.
But I don't think it's just about getting old, it's also about quality of life, i.e. staying healthy and pain-free for as long as possible, and that's where nutrition definitely helps?
Sabrina: Yes, nutrition has to make sense. I really have to adapt this to the needs of the animals, which can of course vary greatly.
How do you go about giving advice? Do you ask what the dog is currently eating?
Sabrina: Exactly, I don't do much nutritional advice myself, but I have the right people on hand and can say exactly which dog suits which nutritionist and am happy to recommend them to others.
First there is an anamnesis, then there is a questionnaire, pictures of the dog are also sent and then a plan is drawn up. Then it depends on what the customer wants, we try to move away from dry food and recommend wet food. Then you build this up more and more and see how you can go in the direction of barfing.
Vets often say "barfing doesn't work at all". The problem is that people decide to barf and then they simply feed raw without a concept. In this case, the dog develops a problem over time, so it is very important to get advice and draw up a plan, because barfing itself is not complicated.
I think you need to get advice on how to mix the food?
Sabrina: Yes, there are also many customers who are interested in this topic themselves. There are great people like Heidi Herrmann, for example, who offers great seminars in the form of training, or Ute Wadehn.
However, it is not enough to complete the training to be able to call yourself a nutritionist in purely legal terms, because this training takes a year, during which a lot of good knowledge is imparted.
I also know a lot of vets who have completed nutritional training.
What do you say when people say: "My dog eats very badly or too little", could this also be due to the food?
Sabrina: Yes, it could be due to the food or the fact that he can't tolerate something, then you should ask yourself: does he have problems with his teeth, does he have stomach pains, does he not like the type of food, is the food too cold, does he have intestinal problems?
In principle, you also need a lot of background information here.
You just mentioned the topic of intestinal health in dogs. We always talk about intestinal health in the podcast.What does this look like in animal health, how important is the gut in animals?
Sabrina: In principle just as important as in humans, we also have diseases such as heartburn, leaky gut, IBD, diarrhoea, problems after antibiotics, so the same problems occur here as in humans.
Can these also be remedied in a similar way, for example in a dog, if you give it a probiotic after an antibiotic?
Sabrina: Yes, but you have to differentiate here. Dogs are enzyme persisters, not bacteria persisters, so I either give a special probiotic for dogs, or I lower the dosage slightly from the human range and choose fiber, for example the Acacia fiber, an important component.
Why is fiber important?
Sabrina: Fiber is a very important component because dogs and cats need these nutrients. I prefer acacia fiber because psyllium consumes a lot of liquid, which is problematic for cats.
What do you think of the trend to feed animals a vegetarian or vegan diet?
Sabrina: For certain illnesses where the dog can no longer tolerate anything, such as an elimination diet, this is helpful, but insect proteins are more advisable as plant proteins are metabolized very differently to animal proteins. For a cat, a vegetarian diet is very problematic and almost impossible because it can only metabolize its protein structures from animal proteins.
What would also interest me - in humans there is a close connection between gut and animal or gut and mood, for example, do you know how it is in animals? If a dog is hyperactive or in a bad mood, could this also be related to their diet?
Sabrina: Yes, a lot, but unfortunately there is no scientific data available. The protein content plays an important role in hyperactivity and should be examined more closely.
For me, the conclusion is that dry food is not the best idea to give on its own and that it is worth getting help and, if a disease is already present, that the intestines should also be taken into consideration.
Are there also possibilities to accompany this analytically?
Sabrina: Yes, there are some laboratories that also offer this, such as the Enterosan laboratory, which offers stool diagnostics, there are already some possibilities.
The basic idea is always to keep the feeding as close as possible to the model of nature. You have to look for that: What needs does my dog have and can I meet them?
I'm always happy when I can recommend a good wet food to people and at the same time I look to see if I need to add anything else and what the supply looks like and is it something I can feed permanently.
What do you think is a good wet food, what properties should it have?
Sabrina: There are two different types of wet food. One is the complete feed, which contains everything the animal needs, and there is the pure meat can, which only contains the meat.
Here I really have to look at what else I want to add.
It is also important to look at the grain content, which should not be too high, and you also need a high meat content, which should be at least 50%, and as few additives as possible.
On the subject of ultra-high heating. Are there also types of wet food that have been heated to a higher or lower temperature?
Sabrina: All wet food must be heated to at least 90%. Unfortunately, some nutrients are lost, such as the B vitamins, so it is always advisable to add B vitamins as they are very sensitive to heat. It is similar with cold-pressed dry food, where nutrients are also not broken down properly, which leads to very high faecal output.
That's a good tip, the dog's faeces can provide a lot of information about the health of the intestines or the health of the dog in general?
Sabrina: Yes, although you can't say that directly with dry food, as it contains so many ingredients that thicken the stool and shape it to look the way it should.
And the smell too, so if the stool smells particularly bad, there's something wrong here too?
Sabrina: yes, exactly.
I think that we can make sure that our animals are well nourished. And that the argument that many people make, that dry food is cheaper, doesn't save much on the bottom line if you have a lot of work afterwards to get the animal healthy again because you have to go to the vet more often.
Sabrina: Right. There are also lots of diet foods that aren't cheap either.
What do you think of giving treats and constant feeding in between? And what should you pay attention to when giving treats?
Sabrina: These are things that you also have to take into account in the rations, especially with overweight dogs. It depends on what kind of treats you have, they should contain few additives and you should pay attention to the fat content.
You have a company called "Danuwa", what do you offer, how can people find you and can they contact you if they are looking for a nutritionist?
Sabrina: I founded Danuwa 4 years ago. I have always been an animal lover and grew up with animals and come from the naturopathic human sector and my big dream was always to go into this field.
Basically we develop products, i.e. supplements that can be added to the Barfs rations, we have developed the "Danuwa Elements" ourselves, as well as B vitamins and probiotics and fiber for the intestinal area.
My aim is always to make things as natural as possible and with a certain sense of purpose.
You can find me on the website https://www.danuwa.eu, as well as on Facebook.
I also have a special therapist group, the"Danuwa Therapist Group on Facebook", which is all about sharing experiences and product advice. This group is made up of four doctors, four physiotherapists, nutritionists and dog trainers.
You can simply give me a call, send me an email or a message on Facebook.
Yes, I found that super exciting and I know that many of my listeners are also animal lovers, so it was an interesting perspective to look at the topic from this side too.
Is there anything else you would like to tell my listeners or mention?
Sabrina: Yes. Barf doesn't have to be difficult and follows a concept. Just think about it: what is the best option for my pet with which illness and can I do it justice? It's also important to question things critically.
Thank you very much for your time Sabrina.
I look forward to hearing from you again soon. See you soon
Now I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode, and if you like what you hear, I really appreciate a review on iTunes or Apple Podcast. Because these reviews also help other people find the podcast so we can spread the knowledge about gut and health more.
I'm very happy to have the lovely Sabrina Fechner on the show today.
It's Sabrina's first podcast interview and we talk about the following topics:
- the importance of barfing
- the nutritional forms of dry and wet food and their differences
- the consequences of poor nutrition
- Vegetarian diets for dogs and cats
- Simple nutrition tips
Sabrina is an animal health practitioner and nutritionist for dogs and cats.
My first question is, do animals need a nutritionist at all?
Sabrina: Yes, in the area of illnesses it is similar to the human sector. We have a lot of diabetic cats, diabetic dogs, musculoskeletal diseases, liver diseases, kidney diseases.
A large part of this is due to nutrition. That's why the topic of nutrition is very important, especially with regard to "barfing", it makes sense if someone is familiar with this area.
Dry food or wet food, what is recommended here?
What does "barfing" actually mean?
Sabrina: Barfen means in German: Biologically species-appropriate raw feeding. Barfen is a concept where there are certain divisions. I would like to explain the different types of dry and wet food and their advantages and disadvantages.
I would like to start with dry food, which is the oldest form of feeding.
The advantages are: it is cheap, it is very easy to handle because we have little packaging material, a small amount is given (-1%) which is not very much for the dog, it is not very time-consuming. There is dry food in all directions, for all diseases and all age groups and it has a long shelf life.
The disadvantages are: that you have little variety, I compare it to eating muesli all day, I wouldn't like that either.
Dry food always contains additives, preservatives, ingredients, flavorings, BRA-BRT, which are now banned and are suspected of reducing the genetic material. It is often over-mineralized, it is highly heated and preserved.
Unfortunately, we have problems with bacteria in barf, because we can have food mites in dry food and there is a large deficit of moisture. This is particularly problematic with cats, as a cat is dependent on moisture and does not drink much water. We often have a high fat content, which leads to the problem of obesity, as well as a high starch content and problems with gluten.
How does nutritional advice work for animals?
I myself dealt a lot with the subject of nutrition back then because of our own story. Our dog had chronic renal insufficiency, I was a classic dry feeder and didn't know any better. Then the vet told me that the dog probably only had 1 year to live with these poor values.
So I only had 2 options: Either I change the diet or I go back to a classic kidney diet food.
Then I started my first training as a nutritionist and switched my dog to wet food, which was almost 5 years ago, and then went in the direction of barf.
I now work with a lot of nutritionists, veterinary practitioners and vets who really deal with nutrition, so I realized that nutrition can change a lot. You simply have to take logical steps and ask yourself: "Is this really a good thing?"
It's similar to people, there are also people who eat fast food or frozen pizza and still grow old.
But I don't think it's just about getting old, it's also about quality of life, i.e. staying healthy and pain-free for as long as possible, and that's where nutrition definitely helps?
Sabrina: Yes, nutrition has to make sense. I really have to adapt this to the needs of the animals, which can of course vary greatly.
How do you go about giving advice? Do you ask what the dog is currently eating?
Sabrina: Exactly, I don't do much nutritional advice myself, but I have the right people on hand and can say exactly which dog suits which nutritionist and am happy to recommend them to others.
First there is an anamnesis, then there is a questionnaire, pictures of the dog are also sent and then a plan is drawn up. Then it depends on what the customer wants, we try to move away from dry food and recommend wet food. Then you build this up more and more and see how you can go in the direction of barfing.
Vets often say "barfing doesn't work at all". The problem is that people decide to barf and then they simply feed raw without a concept. In this case, the dog develops a problem over time, so it is very important to get advice and draw up a plan, because barfing itself is not complicated.
How important is gut health in animals?
I think you need to get advice on how to mix the food?
Sabrina: Yes, there are also many customers who are interested in this topic themselves. There are great people like Heidi Herrmann, for example, who offers great seminars in the form of training, or Ute Wadehn.
However, it is not enough to complete the training to be able to call yourself a nutritionist in purely legal terms, because this training takes a year, during which a lot of good knowledge is imparted.
I also know a lot of vets who have completed nutritional training.
What do you say when people say: "My dog eats very badly or too little", could this also be due to the food?
Sabrina: Yes, it could be due to the food or the fact that he can't tolerate something, then you should ask yourself: does he have problems with his teeth, does he have stomach pains, does he not like the type of food, is the food too cold, does he have intestinal problems?
In principle, you also need a lot of background information here.
You just mentioned the topic of intestinal health in dogs. We always talk about intestinal health in the podcast.What does this look like in animal health, how important is the gut in animals?
Sabrina: In principle just as important as in humans, we also have diseases such as heartburn, leaky gut, IBD, diarrhoea, problems after antibiotics, so the same problems occur here as in humans.
Can these also be remedied in a similar way, for example in a dog, if you give it a probiotic after an antibiotic?
Sabrina: Yes, but you have to differentiate here. Dogs are enzyme persisters, not bacteria persisters, so I either give a special probiotic for dogs, or I lower the dosage slightly from the human range and choose fiber, for example the Acacia fiber, an important component.
Why is fiber important?
Sabrina: Fiber is a very important component because dogs and cats need these nutrients. I prefer acacia fiber because psyllium consumes a lot of liquid, which is problematic for cats.
What do you think of the trend to feed animals a vegetarian or vegan diet?
Sabrina: For certain illnesses where the dog can no longer tolerate anything, such as an elimination diet, this is helpful, but insect proteins are more advisable as plant proteins are metabolized very differently to animal proteins. For a cat, a vegetarian diet is very problematic and almost impossible because it can only metabolize its protein structures from animal proteins.
What would also interest me - in humans there is a close connection between gut and animal or gut and mood, for example, do you know how it is in animals? If a dog is hyperactive or in a bad mood, could this also be related to their diet?
Sabrina: Yes, a lot, but unfortunately there is no scientific data available. The protein content plays an important role in hyperactivity and should be examined more closely.
For me, the conclusion is that dry food is not the best idea to give on its own and that it is worth getting help and, if a disease is already present, that the intestines should also be taken into consideration.
Are there also possibilities to accompany this analytically?
Sabrina: Yes, there are some laboratories that also offer this, such as the Enterosan laboratory, which offers stool diagnostics, there are already some possibilities.
The basic idea is always to keep the feeding as close as possible to the model of nature. You have to look for that: What needs does my dog have and can I meet them?
Tips for a good wet food
I'm always happy when I can recommend a good wet food to people and at the same time I look to see if I need to add anything else and what the supply looks like and is it something I can feed permanently.
What do you think is a good wet food, what properties should it have?
Sabrina: There are two different types of wet food. One is the complete feed, which contains everything the animal needs, and there is the pure meat can, which only contains the meat.
Here I really have to look at what else I want to add.
It is also important to look at the grain content, which should not be too high, and you also need a high meat content, which should be at least 50%, and as few additives as possible.
On the subject of ultra-high heating. Are there also types of wet food that have been heated to a higher or lower temperature?
Sabrina: All wet food must be heated to at least 90%. Unfortunately, some nutrients are lost, such as the B vitamins, so it is always advisable to add B vitamins as they are very sensitive to heat. It is similar with cold-pressed dry food, where nutrients are also not broken down properly, which leads to very high faecal output.
That's a good tip, the dog's faeces can provide a lot of information about the health of the intestines or the health of the dog in general?
Sabrina: Yes, although you can't say that directly with dry food, as it contains so many ingredients that thicken the stool and shape it to look the way it should.
And the smell too, so if the stool smells particularly bad, there's something wrong here too?
Sabrina: yes, exactly.
Are the popular "treats" actually allowed?
I think that we can make sure that our animals are well nourished. And that the argument that many people make, that dry food is cheaper, doesn't save much on the bottom line if you have a lot of work afterwards to get the animal healthy again because you have to go to the vet more often.
Sabrina: Right. There are also lots of diet foods that aren't cheap either.
What do you think of giving treats and constant feeding in between? And what should you pay attention to when giving treats?
Sabrina: These are things that you also have to take into account in the rations, especially with overweight dogs. It depends on what kind of treats you have, they should contain few additives and you should pay attention to the fat content.
You have a company called "Danuwa", what do you offer, how can people find you and can they contact you if they are looking for a nutritionist?
Sabrina: I founded Danuwa 4 years ago. I have always been an animal lover and grew up with animals and come from the naturopathic human sector and my big dream was always to go into this field.
Basically we develop products, i.e. supplements that can be added to the Barfs rations, we have developed the "Danuwa Elements" ourselves, as well as B vitamins and probiotics and fiber for the intestinal area.
My aim is always to make things as natural as possible and with a certain sense of purpose.
You can find me on the website https://www.danuwa.eu, as well as on Facebook.
I also have a special therapist group, the"Danuwa Therapist Group on Facebook", which is all about sharing experiences and product advice. This group is made up of four doctors, four physiotherapists, nutritionists and dog trainers.
You can simply give me a call, send me an email or a message on Facebook.
"Barf doesn't have to be difficult, it follows a simple concept"
Yes, I found that super exciting and I know that many of my listeners are also animal lovers, so it was an interesting perspective to look at the topic from this side too.
Is there anything else you would like to tell my listeners or mention?
Sabrina: Yes. Barf doesn't have to be difficult and follows a concept. Just think about it: what is the best option for my pet with which illness and can I do it justice? It's also important to question things critically.
Thank you very much for your time Sabrina.
I look forward to hearing from you again soon. See you soon
Now I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode, and if you like what you hear, I really appreciate a review on iTunes or Apple Podcast. Because these reviews also help other people find the podcast so we can spread the knowledge about gut and health more.
