Fasting
For Health and Healing Dogs

I have often read its a good practice to make our dogs fast a day a week or so. I just can't seem to do it since I have never fasted myself during health - and I'm a sucker for those big brown eyes!

However when my dogs are sick, I feed them little or no solids at all. It just feels right.

As Dr. Pitcairn writes, generally its good to encourage fasting the first day or two of an illness, especially if there is a fever. A good rule of thumb is to fast your pet until its temperature returns to normal - one or two days, or as long as four to five, if the animal is reasonably healthy to start with.

Fasting is one of the oldest and most natural methods of healing.

Normally, the body constantly eliminates waste products, along with any tainted or toxic materials that were consumed. Fasting greatly reduces the body's usual assimilation and elimination load, allowing it to break down and expel older wastes that may have accumulated in the liver and fatty tissues. The body also gets a chance to unload the products of inflammation, tumors, and abscesses. Once the body has cleaned itself, the overworked glands, organs and cells can repair and restore themselves.

If your dog has a fever and is still hungry, feed a light meal the first day and fast the next.

Liquids When Fasting For Health

• Offer plenty of pure water. Either spring, filtered or distilled. There are too many contaminants in tap water, including chlorine.
• If you have a juicer, offer fresh vegetable juices made daily since nutrients decrease rapidly. (My dogs love carrot juice.)
• If you can't make fresh juice, you can chop, grate or use a food processor till mushy. Soak in pure water for several minutes so vitamins and minerals leach into the water. Strain out veggies and give veggie water.
• Another choice is vegetable broth for dogs. This must be made fresh by chopping and simmering for 30 minutes using any combination of the following vegetables for dogs. You may add meat or bone to flavor the stock but only serve the liquid.

  Dr. Pitcairn offers vegetables considered beneficial to the kidneys and liver: Broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, dandelion greens, squash, spinach, corn, potatoes, cucumbers, parsley, carrots, tomatoes, and beets and turnips with tops.

  I use the same healing broth for my dogs as I do myself, which is simple. Two potatoes, two large carrots, two stalks celery and two cloves garlic. I simmer it for an hour and drink it warm. I also add onion for people and use this recipe as a soup stock.

Fasting for Health - The End

Reintroduce food slowly. If the fast has been just a day or two, the following day feed half liquid and half a light meal. If longer than two days, reintroduce food a little slower.

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