Ballyhara Irish Wolfhound's Diet & Nutrition

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 My Nutritional Discussion is meant as a companion article to “Why Should You Naturally Rear Your Dog.”

Similar to the topics of politics, religion and sex, the subject of dog food is one of those few that can cause great discord among a group of purebred dog fanciers.

I can assure you that there is vast disagreement on diets; raw, natural or commercial, and as for the latter, more divisive are what brands or manufacturers of dog food are the best. Ballyhara Irish Wolfhounds are ‘Naturally Reared,’ a term coined by Juliette de Baïracli Levy, a pioneer in the field of holistic, herbal and natural rearing. More specifically, my hound's natural diet consists of ONLY human grade foodstuffs sourced through the local Health Food Store, on-line retailers and a nearby USDA Meat Packing Facility. Ballyhara Hounds have been fed a raw, natural diet for approximately 30 plus years, mostly adhering to The Complete Herbal Handbook For The Dog And Cat by Juliette de Baïracli Levy. Many years ago I made small adjustments to my natural diet and refer to the weight and measurements found in the Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog by Wendy Volhard and Kerry Brown, D.V.M..

Ms. Volhard and Dr. Brown’s diet is a fine tuned version on the acclaimed Levy natural diet. However, tweaks and refining of the Volhard diet were also necessary such as removing Groats. I found that the groats were defecated in their whole form. Though cooking them softens the whole grain and eases the digestion, I decided to remove them from the hound’s diet as cooking is too time consuming particularly if you are a Breeder or have multiple dogs. Another tweak is that I do not fast my wolfhounds one day or even a half day per week. One more important adjustment is that I feed raw chicken drumsticks or wings instead of ground beef which consequently eliminates any need for calcium supplementation.

Another excellent reference book is Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health For Dogs & Cats. This book offers extensive details on natural rearing such as significant differences between calcium ratios in various bone meal products. Certainly relevant because a number of products have different ratios of calcium to phosphorus.

On the topic of calcium, both books recommend a calcium supplement in the form of Bone Meal for their natural rearing diets. But, if you feed fresh chicken wings or drumsticks in lieu of the beef, then there is no need for any bone meal supplement as the raw, meaty chicken bones provide the natural calcium.

Similarly, if your dog or hound is fed a commercial dry or frozen balanced dog food then I strongly advise NOT to supplement with calcium supplements. DO NOT use any calcium supplement products such as Tums for a healthy wolfhound.

Overview of Natural Rearing Ingredients

Over 12 months and Adults:

Ballyhara natural diet ingredients are in descending order by wet weight and ALL ingredients are RAW, nothing is cooked:

Chicken drumsticks or 80/20 beef meat, thick rolled oats, yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese, beef liver, vegetables, eggs, mackerel, apple cider vinegar, herbs, molasses, wheat bran, wheat germ, safflower oil, *wild salmon oil or unrefined cod liver oil or unrefined Flaxseed oil, Kelp, eggshell, Nutritional or de-bittered Brewers yeast, garlic, raw honey, Diatomaceous Earth, Vitamins and Sweet Potatoes.

*An alternative to Wild Salmon Oil is the Wholistic Pet Organics unrefined, organic flaxseed oil, or unrefined Wild Cod Liver Oil, particularly for those dogs with allergens to fish-based oils. However, if you have a breed predisposed to heart failure or a dog who has been diagnosed with Cardiac Disease then Tufts University does not recommend using Flaxseed or Cod Liver Oil. Read more below and “Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation for Dogs and Cats with Heart Disease.”

Puppies up to 12 months of age:

Ballyhara puppies natural diet ingredients are in descending order by wet weight and ALL ingredients are RAW, nothing is cooked:

80-percent lean ground beef, thick rolled oats, chicken wings, yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese, beef liver, vegetables, eggs, mackerel, apple cider vinegar, herbs, molasses, wheat bran, wheat germ, safflower oil, cod-liver oil, kelp, eggshell, nutritional or de-bittered brewers yeast, garlic, raw honey, Diatomaceous Earth, Vitamins C, sweet potatoes.

An 80/20 ratio of bone to meat is required for dogs who are not being supplemented with bone meal. Fat is very important for dogs as well. Lean meat is not appropriate for a carnivore as they need the fat for survival. When using beef, I purchase beef cheek meat from a nearby USDA Meat Packing Facility in bulk quantities and then I prepare it for the hounds. We have a wonderful, powerful 2 hp Weston Pro-Series meat grinder that grinds 12-18 pounds of beef per minute. This unit is unique as it is warranted to also grind small, soft animal bones such as chicken and rabbit for home pet food preparation. See side bar below for a photo of the Weston #32 Pro-Series meat grinder.

How Many Meals Per Day?

The answer will be dependent on the Breeder, and or if you have one or more dogs. Some breeders feed twice daily and others feed three times daily. On no occasion do I recommend feeding only once per day. These are carnivores who have much different digestive systems than humans. Canines eating a raw meat diet digest their foods within two to four hours. Only feeding once daily in the amount advised for their weight and age impacts and burdens their stomach and intestines which in certain breeds can increase the risk of deadly Gastric Torsion. Read more in my Health Concerns page.

The ideal digestive process is fresh, raw meat which is significantly faster than a dog who is fed commercial dry food that is usually high calories and carbohydrate-heavy. Note that the typical digestive or processing time for a dog eating commercial dry food is over the course of eight to twelve hours because canines do not have the same enzymes as humans. Thus, they can only process carbohydrates very, very slowly.

There is a vicious cycle that occurs when feeding commercial dog food to giant breeds. Because of a wolfhound’s size, he needs more food and nutrition than does a large or small dog. As a result, the amount of food that he requires will be more considerable and when dealing with carbohydrate-heavy foods, this can be very risky due to the potential for Gastric Torsion. A wolfhound consuming commercial dry dog food should be fed a minimum of twice daily, not once daily, so as to minimize the substantial quantity of food sitting in his stomach cavity.

Consider the following questions: Do you eat only once a day and how do you feel if and when that happens? Weak, tired -even more so if you are a 150 or 175 pound adult?

IW Puppies up to 6 months:

After complete weaning from their dam at approximately 6 weeks of age, Ballyhara Irish Wolfhound puppies are fed 4 times daily with very specific quantities on a particular schedule until they are at least six to seven months of age.

IWs 6 months of age and older & Yearlings up to 24 months of age:

They are fed 3 times daily also with specific quantities. I do this for a number of reasons that I will expound on further down.

Examples of Adult Natural Rearing Meals

Natural Rearing meals include but are not limited to the following: (I do not provide any weights or measurements here because the amounts will depend on the weight of each dog):

• Breakfast: Thick rolled oats, expeller-pressed safflower oil, Blackstrap Unsulphered molasses or raw, pure honey with a puree containing yogurt, whole eggs with shell, a fruit (either bananas, apples or pears), and a vegetable (either butternut squash, kale, parsley, yellow corn, green beans, or carrots) along with Vitamin C and Diatomaceous Earth. Please note that I do NOT use any Nightshade vegetables nor gaseous vegetables such as broccoli. I only occasionally use spinach as it reportedly leaches calcium from a dog's body.

• Lunch: Several raw, chicken drumsticks weighed out. NOTE: if you are feeding only one or two hounds I advise using chicken wings instead of drumsticks.

• Dinner: Raw ground beef cheek meat or ground bone-in chicken, minced garlic, raw beef liver, apple cider vinegar, wheat bran, wheat germ, Nutritional or Brewers yeast, herbs, *Salmon oil, (occasionally unrefined wheat germ oil for stud dogs) organic sea kelp, Vitamin C, B-100 Complex, Natural Vitamin E 400 I.U, Vitamin A 10,000 I.U., Nusentia probiotic (see Enzymes below), Diatomaceous Earth, and warm water.

  *NOTE: All Sighthound breeds (as well other breeds such as Doberman Pinschers, Boxers etc.) that are predisposed to Cardiac Disease and or heart failure; I use a high level of Omega fats recommended by Tufts University. Omega-3 fatty acids have a number of potential benefits in dogs and cats with heart disease, such as reducing inflammation and helping to protect against abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia). Read more in their 2020 updated article:

  “Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation for Dogs and Cats with Heart Disease”

Recommendations for Starting Out with the Natural Rearing diet

Purchase and read the recommended reference diet books I listed above. Set about purchasing the necessary ingredients of which many are already provided here on this lengthy page. Just click on the links provided. Transition your dog’s diet as instructed in the Volhard book.

For those who will feed chicken on the bone instead of beef you may logically wonder how much chicken to provide as the Holistic Guide by Volhard does not list chicken as a meat source. When feeding 3 meals daily you have breakfast then meat for lunch & dinner. Simply, you take the total weight of the meat that the Diet Table suggests for your dogs weight and divide this amount of food in half. Feed half for lunch and then set aside the other half of the bone-in chicken for dinner. An indispensable kitchen tool is a food scale that measures both in ounces, grams and pounds. See my sidebar Amazon recommendation below. Our hounds LOVE chicken on the bone (preferably wings) for the crunch factor! Foremost, it cleans the teeth removing tartar but also is a perfect source of natural calcium as I do not use Bone Meal.

If you are a multiple dog home and cannot feed 3-times daily and are feeding poultry then I strongly recommend that you invest in a Weston Meat Grinder to grind your own fresh, bone-in poultry. This Weston meat grinder is warranted for grinding poultry and meaty rabbit bones as their bones are softer than beef. On the occasions that we ourselves cannot feed 3x daily —- then we feed breakfast and then grind their bone-in chicken for dinner.

It is important to note here that when feeding giant breeds or any breed predisposed to Gastric Torsion or Bloat, I do not recommend feeding the dog the entire suggested amount of raw, bone-in chicken (without grinding) at one meal.

Here are the important reasons why:

1. Vomiting and or Regurgitation: Over the years, our IWs have occasionally vomited their full dinner of ‘on the bone’ chicken shortly afterward. Sometimes the full amount of the chicken and bone recommended for that individual hound’s weight size was too excessive for them to digest all at once. Some individual dogs have varying sensitivities. Or, they may have had an upset stomach prior after eating some irritant in the pasture or yards and then went on to eat dinner only to retch it all back up.

2. If you have a multi-dog household and other dogs are nearby they will jump in to eat up the regurgitation thereby overeating and overtaxing their own digestive systems. That is a danger for breeds predisposed to Gastric Torsion.

3. If you have a multi-dog household, regurgitation occurs, and the other dogs or hounds jump in then it can result in a dangerous dog fight. The vomiting action can incite primal instincts in a multi-dog pack. Understand that all dog packs or multi-dog groups have a hierarchy and can react strongly to changes in smell, appearance, and behavior of other dogs. The pack, perceiving the vomiting dog as sick, may attack it to put it out of its misery. Indeed, this has occurred involving several of our females who attacked another bitch who had vomited causing serious injuries to her.

At dinner, I take the remaining half set aside from lunch and grind the chicken on the bone. You can also use beef for dinner. For example: the diet recommends that a 150-lb dog be fed 28 ounces of beef meat and 5.7 ounces of beef liver. So, I fed 12 ounces of chicken for lunch, therefore, I will weigh out and feed only 16 ounces or 1 pound of ground chicken or beef meat (28 -12 = 16) for their dinner and add the 5.7 ounces of liver.

Our Veteran Wolfhound's (age 9 years and above) are fed a modified diet from the above. They too receive chicken at lunchtime but smaller quantities and often bananas and homemade peanut butter biscuits. Dinner consists of fresh beef cheek meat with the beef liver and all the additional vitamins & supplements. Please understand that my overview of my Natural Rearing diet is by no means an opportunity for the Reader to create a free-for-all, throwing in any amounts of the previously mentioned ingredients. In fact, weights and measures are necessary to ensure proper levels of minerals and nutrients. You must purchase the books and read thoroughly to know how to proceed.

Non-Meat Days

Two consecutive days a week the hounds are not fed meat to rest their kidneys. On these days, one meat meal is replaced with cottage cheese, an essential source of nitrogen and all the aforementioned supplements. The second-day replacement meal is thick rolled oats, mackerel, and supplements. Every other week I will replace the mackerel with baked sweet potatoes. Lunch on these meatless days is homemade peanut butter cookies and bananas.

Safe Bone Choices

If you have areas to separate your dogs so that they can chew in peace, then I also suggest giving meaty, beef neck bones once per week to keep their teeth in excellent condition. Separate your dogs for proper management as ALL dogs will fight over a bone, especially when you least expect it.

Beef neck bones are preferable as they contain more meat and are a flat bone which is easier on the teeth. NOTE: you can and most likely will have a dog crack a canine tooth on beef marrow bones. Notably any marrow bones from the grocery store are from old cows and are much harder and denser. Moreover, unless organic these bones will contain pesticides, chemicals that are stored in the marrow of the old animals from grazing.

Herbs

There are several herbs I use year-round in my Natural Rearing diet. To understand the use of herbs along with the appropriate selections of such you need to read the books I reference above. Just throwing in any herb can be harmful, such as Comfrey, which is cautioned against using in dogs with kidney disease. From Volhard's book you will learn which are the seasonal (winter, spring, autumn, and summer) herbs and when to add them to your annual herb mix. It is a simple matter of rotating so that your dog does not receive the same herb mix every week, thereby losing their efficacy. Here are several herbs that I have used from a particular company in California and have been satisfied with the quality and pricing. 

Supplements

Vitamins

To begin, I supplement the hounds daily with Vitamin A 400 IU, Vitamin B-100 Complex, Natural Vitamin E (avoid dl-alpha-tocopherol which is the synthetic version), and 3,000 mg of Vitamin C daily. Please review my Vitamin Ingredient Warning Blog Post for important details on which varieties of these vitamins you should be using. Know that all the brands and varieties are NOT the same.

Also, Vitamin C comes in several forms which I discuss in the aforementioned Blog article and more importantly, you should be aware that according to numerous investigative sources, 90% of the world's Vitamin C supply is made in China. For this reason, I highly recommend The Wholistic Pet Organics, who offers numerous supplement solutions for Joints, Coats, MSM, Kelp, Green Lipped Mussels and all supplemental additives for your hounds, horses, felines and dogs, especially their Ester-C which according to the Wholistic Pet Organics company, "Ester-C® patented form of Vitamin C is “body-ready” and found to be four times more readily available to body tissue than basic Vitamin C." NOTE: The company has renamed their Ester-C product and in January 2023, when supplies run out, this product will now be called Immune Boost.

Let me point out that the amount of information on the Internet as to the pros and cons of Vitamin C is overwhelming. You could spend days and nights researching various debates and resistance--some stating deleterious effects and others claiming supplementation is useless--and you would walk away more confused than ever before.

Why do I administer such high doses of Vitamin C? Well, first, normally a dog's body (liver) will create vitamin C to conserve his health by producing approximately 18 milligrams of Vitamin C per pound of dog weight. In our giants who experience metamorphoses in their first 18-24 months of age, this is not enough Vitamin C. Vita C -Ascorbic Acid which is the most common form, has been used by old-time breeders for decades on giant breeds who are subjected to accelerated growth rates and are predisposed to Panosteitis (Pano) and or Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD). These conditions are essentially bone inflammation affecting the long bones of young, growing dogs. Pano, seen not just in giant but smaller breeds as well is typically observed between the ages of 4 to 20 months of age and is nicknamed, "growing pains."

HOD is primarily seen in giant and large breeds between 3 to 6 months of age and can be serious. Large doses of Vitamin C given over the course of a day but not exceeding the amount the dog can tolerate (overdosing results in diarrhea) though not based on solid scientific data, has been used by countless veteran breeders to alleviate growing pains but also a condition known as "easty-westy." This commonly occurs during growth stages when the forelegs, as viewed from the front, are not straight up and down. Instead, the distal or lower proximity of the forelegs, usually at the wrist or Carpal Joint, are turned outwards, either slightly or very so, suggestive of an east and west direction.

I continuously supplement Vitamin C throughout my wolfhound's lives as it is serves as a chondroprotective which is defined as delaying progressive joint space narrowing typically of arthritis and improves biomechanics of articular joints. Vitamin C is also an ideal anti-inflammatory substance, and is highly beneficial for the immune system. Other uses are ideal before and after surgeries.

Systemic Enzymes

Additionally, during these occasions I also administer proteolytic enzymes also known as Systemic Enzyme Therapy to reduce inflammation and soreness (Read more on this further down.) I, along with many other seasoned breeders, have successfully used Vitamin C during these explosive growth stages to aid in building strong bones and maintaining strong bone tissue. Moreover, infusions of high doses of vitamin C is highly recommended for dogs with cancer resulting in numerous benefits, mainly longer survival times to name just one.

Diatomaceous Earth FOOD GRADE (D.E.)

I use this as a natural dewormer in our hound’s food. Previously, I was purchasing this product from The Wholistic Pet Organics but they overhauled their product offerings and are discontinuing selling D.E.. For adults, I use approximately 1 Tablespoon per dog, twice daily.

Probiotics

If a Wolfhound owner does not feed a natural diet, I will implore of them, at the very least, to supplement their hounds with probiotics and the recommended systemic enzymes below.

Understand that all probiotics (good bacteria) and any natural enzymes are killed in the heating or cooking (manufacturing) process of commercial dog food, if any existed in the first place due to highly dubious quality of ingredients. So, both must be added back into the dog’s food.

pH balance is essential to a healthy gut and is achieved through quality human grade foodstuffs, digestive enzymes, and probiotics. In my considered opinion, these are especially critical concerning Gastric Torsion which is discussed on my Health Concerns page and is a must-read.

If you are feeding fresh meat or chicken from a grocery store and not from an organic farm then I strongly suggest supplementing with a Probiotic that contains Prebiotics.

Probiotics are defined as “a substance which stimulates the growth of microorganisms, especially those with beneficial properties (such as those of the intestinal flora).”

Prebiotics are defined as “a nondigestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon and thus improves host health.”

Both of these essential ingredients are found in the following two recommended products:

1. Jarrow Formula's Pet Dophilus Powder that contains Enterococcus faecium, a strain that is native to dogs and is considered essential to health by many canine nutritional experts. The powder also contains inulin (prebiotic).

2. Nusentia Probiotic Miracle containing inulin (prebiotic). I regularly use this particular brand, especially if Jarrow’s formula is out-of-stock.

Enzymes

If a Wolfhound owner does not feed a natural diet, I will implore of them, at the very least, to also supplement with systemic enzymes.

Giant breeds benefit from metabolic or proteolytic enzyme therapy, also called Systemic Enzyme therapy, especially Irish Wolfhound puppies and yearlings. It is theorized that systemic enzymes work by breaking down proteins in the bloodstream that causes inflammation and soreness. I regularly use it on my puppies that have an enormous bone mass to ease their occasional growth pain but also for a sustained period any time a yearling is lame. ALL systemic oral enzymes, such as Wobenzyme, MUST be given on an empty stomach one hour before food. Systemic enzyme therapy works when the enzymes enter the body and are used for healing rather than for digestion. Proponents say that systemic enzyme therapy promotes health in every part of the body by reducing pain and inflammation, speeding healing, supporting a healthy immune system, shrinking tumors, and preventing metastasis from cancer.

Enzymes are also very helpful for any wolfhound with a weakened immune system, either from genetic predisposition, e.g., Leaky Gut Syndrome or one who is battling cancer. Leaky Gut Syndrome or Intestinal Permeability is a very serious disease and seems to be occurring in higher frequency nowadays. I am not a scientist but I believe that Leaky Gut Syndrome is interconnected with genetic predisposition Autoimmune Diseases. I have been contacted several times now by people seeking advice and they are all describing the same issues with their wolfhounds, and it is tragic.

One supplement that has been touted by canine nutrition consultants with outstanding results is Seacure. This product is made of hydrolyzed white fish protein and is beneficial for dogs presenting symptoms varying from ear infections; seasonal or respiratory allergies; itchy skin; hair and coat problems; diarrhea; inability to gain weight which the consultant asserts all stem from DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS and inflamed intestinal tracts. I agree and go further to state, in my opinion, that all of such are hereditory. See the link for Seacure below. Read the very informative article further for more details

Non-Meat Days

Two consecutive days a week the hounds are not fed meat to rest their kidneys. On these days, one meat meal is replaced with cottage cheese, an essential source of nitrogen and all the aforementioned supplements. The second-day replacement meal is thick rolled oats, mackerel, and supplements. Every other week I will replace the mackerel with baked sweet potatoes. Lunch on these meatless days is homemade peanut butter cookies and bananas.

Comfortable Feeding Positions and Stands

For decades I have fed my hounds on elevated food stands. This is important, in my opinion, for the comfort of the hound as they are not eating in the wild tearing open carcasses. However, even if they were eating in the wild --- they mostly eat lying down. Please see my Health page for photographs of my feed stands and dimensions.

Tips

For those who are reluctant to feed raw chicken on the bone, this animal protein is quickly replaced with beef muscle meat which, in fact, is the preferred meat source from the Volhard/Brown natural diet. Specifically, 80/20 ground beef is the substitute being 80% muscle meat and 20% fat which is the same ground beef found in your local grocery store. Or, as an alternative I recommend Beef Cheeks as a high-quality source of beef meat that can be purchased at a butcher or a USDA meat packing facility. Do not forget though that Offal in the form of beef liver is vital to the hound's diet, regardless if you feed chicken or beef. Do not omit Offal.

If one does not feed chicken wings or drumsticks then the addition of a high-quality bone meal is necessary to replace Mother Nature’s calcium. Make absolutely sure that the bone meal you are using is as natural, even better organic, as possible. I strongly suggest that you only purchase human-grade bone meal from a Natural Health Food Store. Nothing is easier than placing a measured amount of raw beef and liver in a bowl and adding the necessary supplements taking all of five minutes! Of course, the nutrition level is significantly superior to commercially manufactured processed dog food. In fact, even when traveling the natural diet is simple and portable. We use the ground beef method and prepare their food in the form of meatballs that are easily kept cool or frozen. We also bring along homemade dog biscuits, bananas, and yogurt.

One Final Option

One final option for those people who refuse to or remain reluctant to feed naturally is Ms. Volhard’s dehydrated version of the natural rearing diet in the form of a dry porridge that can be purchased directly through her website. As a disclaimer, I have not used her dehydrated version myself, however, I have reviewed the ingredients and those listed are one and the same elements used in the Natural Rearing diet. The convenience is that both dehydrated versions will appeal to those who simply do not have the inclination or wherewithal to collect the ingredients separately. For the dehydrated AM Porridge one only has to add vegetables, yogurt, and water. As for the PM Crumble -- add ground beef and water. Please visit the link to investigate prices and to order directly.