Fasting and Feeding of the Dog
Part of a dog’s natural feeding process is food. The timing of meals is another component and will by definition, include fasting. In the wild, dogs do not eat every day, nor do they spend their time wiling away the hours around the food dish. Canine digestive systems are stimulated when food is available. They hunt when they find an immediate need to alleviate hunger. Substantial meals may not be available on a regular basis. So, when food is available, they eat their fill, probably to the point of gorging themselves. Dogs have evolved a rather sophisticated system of eating, based upon feast and fast. Essentially, in the wild, dogs hunt, kill, gorge, and then may not eat again for several days.
The digestive system and organs of the canine are designed to handle large amounts of food followed by stretches of time wherein there is not any nourishment available. During the fasting times, the digestive tract is able to cleanse itself and rest. In canines, this resting period performs a detoxification cycle.
Fasting is nature’s most perfect medicine, since the body works to rid itself of the debris, or harmful toxic matter, first, thereby affecting a most marvelous housecleaning of cells. Cells drowning in toxic waste have no room to absorb nutrients. They must first rid themselves of this obstructing waste. The process by which the body feeds upon and digests the debris is called autolysis. Some types of tumors or cysts can enjoy re-absorption into the body through this gradual, natural purification process.
As in humans, the remnants of a high meat diet can be toxic, and perhaps even carcinogenic. Consequently, periods of cleansing and rest are essential in the dog. Carnivore digestive systems are not accustomed to the presence of constant stomach acids that occur when there is food present on a consistent basis. The fasting that takes place between bouts of feasting in the wild is necessary so that good health is maintained.
If you suspect ill health in your pet, do not continue to feed him, hoping that he will regain strength. You will actually be further depleting his impaired vitality. Withholding food for a day or so will cause a revitalization of the body, because the body will have a chance to fight the impairment without the continuing added burden of processing food. This applies whether the food is wholesome or second-rate, but even more strongly when it is of poor quality. Then the digestive organs are not working in the processing of food; they have an opportunity to apply themselves to the digestion of debris in the body.
If you have an older dog, chances are that through years of dietary indiscretions, his enzymes have become somewhat depleted. Whatever sturdy stock remains can be reinforced by adding pancreatic enzymes to the diet. This will serve to bolster the forces of protein, fat, and carbohydrate digestion, and you will be augmenting the metabolizing of your animal’s food. Pancreatic enzymes can help boost sluggish digestion, enabling the digestive process to perform with much increased efficiency. This will provide a most harmonious relationship within the digestive tract. The surplus enzymes can now undertake a cleansing process by breaking up the toxic debris stored throughout the body.
Our canine companions are programmed to understand that they do not need massive amounts of food on a consistent basis. Rather they know instinctively when to eat and how to manage their digestive systems. Dogs seem to have an innate sense that the binge-purge cycle that is a sickness in humans, is the best way for them to maximize their health. It is the imposition of human needs to feed the animals in their lives that causes many of our dogs to become ill as a result of allowing them to grow used to food that is not healthy and to a way of eating that is less than natural for them, as canines.
