Tag / healthy diet

Benefits and risks of raw honey in canine diet / dog nutrition and healthy home made treats for dogs / canine nutritionist in UK / perfect cocker spaniel / dog blog about English cocker spaniels, tips on grooming, hand-stripping, diet, nutrition, food, health, raising a cocker spaniel puppy (C) Natalia Ashton
by Natalia

Can my dog eat… honey?

“Honey” may be one of the sweetest names for a golden cocker spaniel puppy, but it is also one of my favourite “superfoods” and natural ailments.

Nutritionally, about 40% of honey is fructose, 40% – glucose, 15% – water and 5% – other sugars plus 80 trace vitamins and minerals including B, C, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, calcium, potassium, iodine, sodium, copper, manganese, zinc, boron, silver and silica. Manuka honey also contains some proteins and fatty acids.

No wonder that honey is praised for its antibacterial properties, source of energy, and an ability to maintain healthy digestive, nervous, immune and skeletal systems, support haemoglobin levels, improve memory function and aid natural detoxification.

Studies that were done on humans or rats linked manuka honey to the blood sugar control, reduced risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome and several cancers.

In dogs, a 2016 pilot study concluded that medical grate manuka honey could be used for treatment of ear infections (but please do discuss this with your vet before going ahead!)

But can the dogs really eat honey?

The answer is… IT DEPENDS.

Whilst a little honey may be beneficial for healthy adult dogs without underlying health conditions, it should not be given to overweight and obese dogs, dogs who have diabetes, and must never be fed to puppies under 12 months of age or any dog with the weakened immune system.

Raw honey may contain botulism spores (two other common sources are raw meat and carcasses of dead animals) and be potentially fatal. Adult dogs are resistant to the bacterium, but neither puppies, nor ill dogs have enough natural defences for protection.

The spores cause paralysis, extreme salivation, vision problems, runny eyes, difficulty swallowing and breathing and death due to either paralysis of the heart or lungs. If a dog does recover, he requires maintenance therapy for life. First symptoms may take between a few hours to up to 6 days to develop and often begin with weakness in rear legs that appear within 24 hours after ingestion of the spores.

For this reason, all puppy parents must check any foods or treats for presence of honey and avoid them until their dog’s first birthday. It is also essential to check that grooming products, especially balms and creams, you use for a puppy are free from both honey and beeswax (cera alba).

The good news is dogs naturally love honey (because they do love anything sweet) and honey may provide some goodness for all healthy grown-up canines, so treat them to a 1/4 tsp (cocker spaniel size) of good quality raw honey a few times a weeks without worried.


Adapted from Beyond the Doughnut: 30 meals & treats your dog will love.


Photo credit: Karsten Masden and Florian Kurz via pixabay

Toxic ingredient substance in grapes that causes poisoning and kidney damage in dogs / grapes, raisins and sultanas toxic to dogs / nutrition for cocker spaniels / canine nutritionist UK / pet nutrition coach online / Perfect cocker spaniel: dog blog, book, spaniel grouping, puppy tips, diet information articles (C) Natalia Ashton
by Natalia

This substance in grapes may be the cause of poisoning – and found in your pantry too

Grapes are toxic to dogs. It’s the fact that most dog parents know about. The fruit is so dangerous for the pooches that eating grapes (19.6g per 1kg body weight), raisins or sultanas (2.8g per 1kg body weight) can damage the kidneys and be potentially fatal.

The exact mechanism of poisoning is still unknown and so far it has been linked to mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides, excessive amount of glucose in grapes, and even vitamin D.

And now there have been a breakthrough that may actually explain the cause of the problem.

According to a letter published in the April 2021 issue of Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the dogs may be reacting to tartaric acid also known as potassium hydrogen tartrate. The lightbulb moment happened when a dog ate some home-made play dough containing cream of tartar (a common pantry ingredient obtained as a byproduct of wine making and used as a baking ingredient) and developed symptoms similar to the ones caused by grapes.

The group of veterinarians who dealt with the poorly dog and  analysed the ingredients of his eaten “trophy”, reported the link to the JAVMA adding that grapes are one of the unique fruits (tamarind is the other one to think of) with high quantities of tartaric acid / potassium bitartrate – the substances that have been known to cause sensitivity reaction and poisoning in dogs in the past.

More research will be needed to confirm this theory. Until then, keep your dog away from grapes and remember to check dog treats and recipes for the cream of tartar because it is often used as a raising agent and flavour enhancer in dog biscuits. And if you love your Palvolva, you’d often use cream of tartar to achieve extra fluffy meringue and super voluminous whipped cream, so remember to never let your dog pinch those either.

what treats are best and worst for dogs? how much and many treats to give a dog a day? simple tips about dog diet from canine nutritionist / perfect cocker spaniel (C) english cocker spaniel dog blog, puppy tips, health, grooming, nutrition and healthy eating advice
by Natalia

Treats: the best, the worst, and the know how

I cannot imagine a pup parent who would not give their dog a treat. Unless it is absolutely forbidden due to medical reasons or spartan lifestyle (which, let’s be honest, is not really common among cocker spaniel families), all dogs get a little something special every day to express love, improve training, bribe them (again, I am simply keeping it real) or simply because they absolutely nailed the sad look.

To treat or not to treat? That is the question. And if you do choose to indulge your pooch, the list of questions turns into a puzzle…

What treats to give? Which ones to avoid? How many? How often? When? What if? And suddenly a simple moment of pleasure becomes a nightmare… So today we are going to talk about making this experience a joy for both you and your spaniel, just to make life easier…

The good news is that treats can be definitely on a menu for most dogs, and you should not feel guilty about including them in your spaniel’s diet. I personally think my boys would become depressed if I suddenly stopped making dog biscuits, or refused a little bit of yoghurt that they love to the point of ecstasy.

On the other hand I am fully aware of what I can and cannot do when it comes to treats to keep things in balance and avoid potential problems. And here are a few important pointers…

… keep the quantities of all treats under 10% of your dog’s daily calorie amount. You can count the calories yourself, but it is easier and more precise to contact customer care of the pet food company you buy the main food from. They will give you calories per 100g of dog food, so you can then calculate your daily total and what the 10% number would be.

… remember that just because your dog can have 10% of calories in treats does not meat you must meet this amount or put it all into a single type of treat. For example, an average raw carrot or massive cucumber can generously fit into 10% but feeding so much carrot or cucumber in addition to main diet may cause fermentation in the gut, bloating and upset tummy. Feeding almost 100g of natural yoghurt (which is also about 10%) may either tip over the balance of fat or lactose, and cause either weight gain (in first instance) or tummy problems (with the latter). So it is best to create a range of treats to include a variety of food groups – a handful of regular kibble, a couple of biscuits, 1-2 tsp of natural yoghurt, a slice of cucumber or carrot and a slice of fruit or a few blueberries, for example.

… if you feed over 10% you are likely to face a few issues from excess weight, changes in appetite, skeletal problems due to faster development or bloating or diarrhoea because of the higher volume of food, specific ingredients or excess of certain nutrients.

… be very cautious when giving treats to a growing puppy. This is such a crucial stage that reducing main food can lead to imbalance of vital vitamins and minerals, and imbalance of proteins, fats and carbs can affect his weight, bones, cause runny tummy or make your pup gassy, or may even alter his behaviour. It is always best to use main food as food and training or stuffing treats with a couple of extra special high value rewards (think puppy biscuits or carrot slice etc) thrown in when/if needed.

… if you choose to give raw or dehydrated treats, you potentially put your dog at risk of serious, very serious health problems.

… know your ingredients by checking the label on every treat you get for your cocker, and checking every company to ensure they are PFMA-registered.

… store the treats correctly. Biscuits would normally last for a week or so in a beautiful pet treat jar, and any chopped raw veg, eggs, chicken pieces or occasional desserts should be refrigerated and eaten within 2-3 days.


Image credit: photo taken by me