A Chat with Krista Karpowich on the Gut of Your Dog and how to make the best nutritional choices for your dog. Flexibility and options are key! Podcast Transcript — Upward Dogology
Upward Dogology Nov 1 2021 Krista
[00:00:00] Billie: Welcome to dog training disrupted by upward dogology, where I retrain your brain and introduce you to the world of cognitive behavioral therapy for dogs over the age of six months, our guest today has such a passion for sharing information that she started her own podcast, wag out loud among other avenues for sharing all her great.
Krista Karpowich is passionate about providing tips and advice. So you can be the best advocate for your dog's health and wellness.
Yeah. Hello. I'm Billie Groom, your host and successful dogologist for over three decades and expert in canine, cognitive behavioral therapy. And hello, Krista, how are
[00:00:50] Krista: you? It's great to be with you today. Thank you.
[00:00:54] Billie: Well, thank you so much for joining us. I'm so excited about this one, because you have such a, such an interesting learning journey and career path and where everything started from.
But before we get into the. Where did it start? Where was this? You're just on like a mission to educate and it's so wonderful. And you've helped so many dogs where did all this.
[00:01:17] Krista: I think the day I was born, I just, I was born a dog lover, seriously. We've had dogs, my entire life, all different sizes. I had a English bull massive when I was teeny tiny and diapers and I would ride her around the house cause she was pretty much a horse, but I have always loved, loved, loved.
And it wasn't until my previous dog prob we're talking maybe 15, 16 years ago, Higgins. He was a Norwich terrier and was having seizures three different vets. Couldn't figure out why. And at the same time we were getting another dog and adult. A Norfolk terrier pixel. And those people said, we're not going to sell her to you unless you promise to feed raw because she that's, all she knows is raw fed diet.
So I fed her and I fed Higgins. Raul, were you familiar with raw? I was not. I was coming just like everybody else. A kibble diet cause that's what we were supposed to do. Right. So I switched Higgins to Roswell. It was convenient since she was getting raw and he never had another seizure. So that was the light bulb moment.
When I said, wow, nutrition, that really plays a huge role. So I researched for all diets and mixed it up for them. You know, the different amino acids from different proteins. And fast forward to just 2018 with my current dog Winston, who was also a Norwich out for a dog walk one day and it just hit me.
I need to become certified in canine nutrition. I just want to learn more. I want to do it right. So when,
[00:03:07] Billie: and you looked into getting certified, which I think more importantly, you just, yeah, you want it to do it right? You want to educate yourself. Did you find. Difficult to find that the schools and the resources that focused on raw, or non-conventional a one eight, you know, information that perhaps your vet was giving you.
You mentioned a few minutes ago that your vet, you had gone to your vet a number of times, and that the advice that they were providing was perhaps slightly effective or whatever, but not what you were looking for. So did you find it difficult? To find the resources on what you now do
[00:03:52] Krista: at that time, it was difficult because they were lumping dogs with cats.
And I was just, I was just wanting to get basic canine nutrition. I didn't want to go into specificallyraw at that time, I just wanted to know about the anatomy and the physiology and the biology and the chemistry of how the dog's body works and how they throw. With a nutritionally balanced diet. So everything I was finding was dogs and cats.
And as you know, Billie cats, literally a different animal. So to find one that was just canine specific. I just had to look a little further, but I found it and it was the companion animal science Institute and they are in Canada. And I know. Yay. Yes. So took my
[00:04:44] Billie: course from what I understand is his
[00:04:47] Krista: name.
Yeah. Yeah. It blew my mind, but it was so good. And I learned so much. So, yeah, that's what I decided to
[00:04:56] Billie: do. That is impressive. So yeah, your, what you were researching was not necessarily about a specific diet, it was about why.
Condition that a dog might have might occur based on their system and their gut. I guess I read a lot of your posts. I love your posts are so informative. So yeah, I hear that word got a lot, as you know, it's not my area of expertise at all, but there's certain words that come up and in every area. And that just seems to be a real, so is that, is that the main reason?
What, what is it so good aboutraw?
[00:05:40] Krista: I like feeding raw because well, let's face it. 99% of the DNA of the domesticated dog is shared with the gray Wolf, their closest descendant or ancestor. So they are, they're still dogs with the Wolf box. Everything is the same. And if you put a bowl of kibble versus a, let's say a rabbit in front of a Wolf, I think he's going to pick the rabbit.
I had to guess.
[00:06:16] Billie: Yes.
[00:06:16] Krista: So raw food is, is a species appropriate diet. It has the muscle meat, the bone, the organs are where all the vitamins and minerals. And it's a live food as opposed to a highly processed food, like a dry kibble it's live, it's live enzymes, and kibble is processed at such a high heat that all the vitamins and minerals are cooked out of it and have to be added back in as a synthetic vitamin mix.
So. If we want to talk about a species appropriate natural diet, I prefer raw. Some people they don't want to go there and that's fine. So I, I would say the second best way to feed our dogs is a fresh food diet cook.
[00:07:14] Billie: Yes. And for me what I'm hearing and what really resonates with me is that process of dehydration.
And I think again, not my area of expertise, but I have a lot of clients. Who have tried different kibbles, different forms of kibbles, different forms of D. And I learned a while ago, you know, maybe it's just that from, from Mexico, that process of dehydration it's, it's that actual process. And then having to put back in the nutrients.
And so they were frantically and they had 34. You've probably heard the story, a ton. People have dozens of different. Bags of food or they're giving the bag of food, or they tried this one or their dog ate it for a week or their dog ate at once. And it was, you know, caused this or cause that, or it worked for a bit and didn't, and then it seems like that once they just get away from that process.
And I see it a little bit. If you were to compare it to humans, like the. Like eating deep fried food.
[00:08:18] Krista: I call it cereal. If we eat crunch every single day, it's very much, it's a bowl of inflammation. That's what we're feeding to our dogs. But I don't want to shame anybody, Billie. I am not here. I was that person feeding kibble, and you know, I talk to people.
Well, I've got five great Danes. I can't afford to feed a fresh food diet. Okay. Whatever you can do in your means, you can always add to that kibble. You can add sardines and water. You can add scrambled eggs, chopped greens, and it's gonna make. All the difference when they get at least a little bit of fresh food in their diet on top of the kibble.
[00:09:03] Billie: So I like that. I like that. Well, as you know, I'm holistic, but also you do have to be a bit flexible and not just be preaching to people all the time. Not you, everybody in the doc world. I think there's a lot of preaching and people telling what they haven't had, but at some point people are people and they're real and they have their own situations and their own preferences.
So education allows them. To fit that into their world as it works for them. And I love that you gave some ideas because it's easy for us to say raw. I mean, it's a three letter word. Right, right. But what does that really mean? And you just made it so simple there, you know, we've got, got some eggs and just, just people, food that isn't.
You know, deep fried and potato chips and crunch their hill.
Yeah. Yeah. It makes so much sense. It really does. So you did hit on a point that it can be pricey.
[00:10:06] Krista: Okay. Well, let's back up. I say you either pay now or pay later. You know, yes. Fresh food or raw food diet is going to be a little more expensive there's ways to not make it so expensive. You know, they've got raw food.
Co-ops everywhere. You just Google it. A raw dog food co-op near me, but
the commercial brands that are out today are amazing. They're complete, they're balanced. They're frozen. You don't have to touch it. Don't worry about Bret bacteria. That's a whole nother myth. You know, as long as you feed them and it's not sitting out for hours and it's not sitting on your counter directly, you know, you have to be smart about it.
Just like any raw meat that you make for yourself. But there's so many great options out there. It does not have to be expensive, but as I said, if you can't afford it, feed a kibble as a base and just add to it. You know, I mentioned sardines and water. You can get like three tens for $3 at the grocery store.
It's loaded with the good omega fatty acids that dogs need, and they love it. Yes.
[00:11:29] Billie: And eggs, eggs
[00:11:30] Krista: are the world's most perfect protein. Yeah,
[00:11:35] Billie: I, yeah. Yeah. As I am obviously vegetarian and do as much vegan as possible, but I do, my body just loves. Eggs. And I feed them to my dogs all the time. Oh, lucky dog.
Yeah. Just the end. They're not exp well, I mean, we're talking to people all over the world, so, you know, whether I think that's another issue too, is what is available to people. But like you said, there's you know, there's even. Stuff goes on sale on your grocery store, you know, just, just take it and, and, and just be creative depending on what's on sale that day that you go shopping and then mix it in with your, your kibble.
So do you find that, do you, do you have stats on how many people feed raw? And that kind of thing. Or do you find it becoming more popular and more
[00:12:32] Krista: definitely becoming more popular? I think the average dog owner is getting smarter. They're researching more. You know, the reason for my show is for you to be the best advocate for your dog's health and wellness.
And so many more people are riding on that train. They they've got it. They, they understand about sustainability and sourcing. Where do you source your ingredients or is it USA? Of course in a perfect world, anything organic and pasture raised pasture finished. That's the way to go. But again, we can't always, all of us afford that.
So we have to do the best that we can. We mentioned mixing with. There was a study that just adding leafy greens to a dog's kibble three times a week, decreased their chances of certain cancers. And over 97% of the dogs tested, it's huge. What we're just talking, like get frozen spinach, frozen kale now, dog.
Cannot break down the cellulose fiber and plant fiber. They just can't. So when you feed your dog, a baby carrot, it comes back out the other end, a baby carrot. They cannot digest it, but if you either lightly steam it or put it in a Cuisinart art and pulverize it, then. Breaks down the cell wall and they can digest it.
So it's super easy just to add leafy greens, dogs love fruit, but you don't want to give a lot because it does have sugar, even though it's natural, but oh my gosh, apples, pears, berries, bananas, dogs go bananas for bananas. So there's so much that we can help. With the nutrition that they're getting by just adding a few things.
And the reason I'm saying adding to kibbles, because kibble does have all the nutrients they need, it's complete and balanced. Even though it's synthetic and that's why adding some fresh food to that base would be better than just straight
[00:14:51] Billie: kibble. And truthfully cable is expensive too. It can be quite expensive.
So you're
[00:14:57] Krista: right. Ideally, a lot of people don't realize once you open a bag of kibble, it will go rancid within two weeks and people continue to feed that. And I mean, you're feeding your dog. Carcinogenic meal. If, if you have rancid kibble, so it doesn't last that long and you have to feed more of it.
You know, for my 15 pound dog, Winston, he would be fed a lot less volume-wise in raw because it's dense. And to your point, it has water. It has moisture. Whereas the kibble, you have to feed more. And therefore they have more pu
[00:15:41] Billie: yeah. And that's logical with human food as well. Right? When we, it is
[00:15:45] Krista: it, it all translates.
You're absolutely right. It
[00:15:48] Billie: really does. It's it's a lot logical on the same note, your podcast offers so much information, so people can go there, listen to your out loud. And find out all this information and as well, can they contact you with
[00:16:03] Krista: absolutely. I love connecting with fellow dog lovers. So please reach out, just go to wag out loud.com.
We've got resources on there and this week was I think number 131 that was episodes released. One of the experts on the show. Just share amazing information. I learn every single.
[00:16:25] Billie: Oh, that's wonderful. Thank you so much for all you do. And thank you for sharing that with us, Krista and yeah. You know, we will keep in touch and hopefully people will reach out and check out your podcast and take care of.
Thanks so much.
[00:16:41] Krista: Thanks, Billie. And I can't wait to have you on the podcast. It's by now.
[00:16:47] Billie: I'm so excited. That's so awesome. Thanks Krista. Take care. Have a great day.
[00:16:52] Krista: And I'm the kind of girl, I really don't
[00:16:55] Billie: know if you're ready for the ride. I'm sure I adore. Chris does. She's truly having such a positive effect and helping so many people in dogs, as we talked about, there is so much information out there it's simply overwhelming.
How do you know where to start? Well, what I really like about my guests is their overall mindset of being flexing. Finding what works best for your dog and your lifestyle. That's so important if the person or the resource you're getting information from is really rural oriented or set on one specific way of doing something.
You may want to question that. And this may sound ironic coming from me because as an expert in canine, cognitive behavioral therapy, I only use canine cognitive behavioral therapy. When I work with them. But this doesn't mean I don't recognize the value and benefits and necessities of other non-immersive methods.
So instead of asking who the best trainer is, ask yourself what your goals are and does the method that trainer use meet your goal. Oh trainers or most address the same issues, some specialize in a certain behavior, but the important part is not the behavior or the problem, but rather the solution. And that solution is not the same for everyone.
And often the best resource for knowing what is best for your dog is your dog. This also goes for walking tools in vet care and treats, and there's not one right product or sorry. Your dog will let you know the best food method, tool, or treat or approach for them. Flexibility is key. Please reach out to any of the experts I have as guests on this podcast.
And please reach out to Krista for advice on your dog's health and wellness. The links are in the show notes. Please email me with any questions to Billie at upper dog. ecology.com. Thank you for your support. Please follow Upward Dogology on Instagram and Twitter and on LinkedIn. My account is Billie Groom.
Thanks to Brian John Harwood and Danielle Bourgeois for the music clips. Enjoy your learning journey.