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Introduction to the seminar with Sally Askew. & "Is your dog running on the right fuel?" Article by Sally Askew.
The life of the average pet-dog in the 21st century is not an easy one. Society has changed and life is more stressful and run at a faster pace. Many people now realise that our dogs are paying a price for this change, and are looking for a greater knowledge and understanding of their pet in order to live successfully with them. In this enlightening seminar Sally Askew presents a recipe for a happy and healthy dog. Sally will, through a series of illustrated lectures and video exercises, highlight how every aspect of a dog’s life is affected by how we deal with them on a day-to-day basis. Sally will look at new ways to a healthier and happier life for your dog:-
Anyone attending this seminar is invited to have the food they feed analysed by Sally. Along with your booking form please send a list of the ingredients and typical analysis from your dog's food bag / can or pouch to Annika or Minna a minimum of one month before the course date. Sally will give some feedback on the quality and balance of the food being fed.
Sally believes that many dogs are being put through unnecessary behavioural modification programmes when what they really need is a healthier lifestyle or better diet. This seminar will guide you through the maze of helping your dog and provide you with one of your best investments towards your dog's health, and may even promote better behaviour! These days are for anyone who wants to find out more - whether you are a pet owner, vet, trainer or behaviourist
Sally Askew is the Founder and Chief Instructor of Rainbow Pet Dog Training School in Suffolk, England. As a Full Member of the Pet Dog Trainers of Europe, Sally has lectured both in England and in other European countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Iceland on the holistic approach to living with a dog, canine nutrition, and the use of complementary therapies in maintaining the dog’s optimum health.
Since qualifying in the Bowen Technique, a human light-touch therapy, Sally, together with her husband Ron, has been developing this technique for the welfare of dogs - see www.caninebowentechnique.com. In 2002, Sally qualified as an Essential Oil Therapist for Animals with the Guild of Essential Oil Therapists for Animals. She is also a human Nutritionist and is one of the few people in the United Kingdom outside the veterinary profession to hold a post-graduate qualification in Small Animal Nutrition.
Is your dog running on the right fuel? by Sally Askew
From before they were born all the way into old age, food isn’t just about survival for dogs – it is their strength, their size, their short and long-term health, and length and quality of life. Every time you feed food to your dog you are making a decision that affects their body in a positive or negative way. Food isn’t just a vital fuel but also a vital medicine and it is time we started to pay more attention to the quality and type of fuel we feed our dogs.
When food is metabolised by the dog, this process affects all cells of the dog’s body. If the dog doesn’t get the vitamins and minerals it needs in order to help support its body through trauma and stress, periods of growth or aging, or simply to meet its activity level and needs of daily life, then mineral imbalances can arise within the dog’s body. If uncorrected these imbalances may show up as physical or behavioural problems. Mineral patterns in the tissues of a dog’s hair can therefore reflect mental and emotional patterns as well as giving indicators of overall health of the dog and behavioural problems. Take for example dogs with high levels of manganese in their hair tissue – these tend to be rescue dogs showing apprehension, fearful aggression and exhaustion perhaps through being placed for too long in situations they can’t cope with. Or dogs with excess lead - these dogs can be hyper-excitable, compulsive barkers, they can be so touch sensitive they will bite or growl if touched. Or dogs with high sodium levels – these are dogs that tend to have been placed for too long in situations of acute stress. Now ask yourself, will a behavioural/training programme solve these dogs’ problems without first of all correcting the underlying mineral imbalance in the body? In other words, how many dogs are being subjected to unnecessary training programmes because the trainers don’t understand these essential facts?
Take for example the following three hair tissue mineral analyses for three different dogs:
Dog A is currently being fed a Barf diet, Dog B is currently being fed a home-cooked diet and Dog C is currently being fed a commercial brand dried food. If you have the ‘perfect’ dog in optimum health then the mineral levels shown should all be in the middle of the reference zone of the graphs. So, ask yourself, are any of these dogs being fed a diet that currently contains the right combination of vitamins and minerals?
Take the case of the dog C above. The owner did need advice and training in how to best help her dogs from a trainer/behaviourist but that advice had had limited success until the underlying health problems had been ameliorated. A change of dog C’s diet plus taking nutritional supplements for a period of three months under the supervision of the owner’s vet resulted in dog C stopping attacking its two dog companions. This dog still has a way to go to reach optimum health but the results the owner has seen so far have encouraged her to continue with the recommended programme for her dogs.
Although I myself started off many years ago concentrating on the training/behaviour side - using reward-based training methods - I now work more as a Canine Therapist, using an holistic approach incorporating other therapies when necessary - Canine Bowen Technique, Essential Oil and Hydrosol Therapy for animals, and Nutritional Therapy. I’m currently undertaking a study of diet related to the hair tissue mineral balance of the dog and its behaviour. If you would like to know more about the link between nutrition and behaviour, and a guided tour through the nutritional maze then come to the summer camp being organised by Annika Petren and Minna Vadsager 26th-28th September 2005 for details of other courses contact me by e-mail: rainbowdogschool@btinternet.com
Sally Askew B.Sc(Hons), C&G Cert SAN, GEOTA Cert , MBTER,.MEGCBT PDTE Joint Membership Secretary APDT 0398, Suffolk
Copyright © 2004 Sally Askew
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