Which food would you choose and why?

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

The plasma acts like colostrum and gives the newborn immunities towards illnesses.

So, the plasma in the dog food could potentially have the same effect as feeding colostrum to the dogs? Good immune stuff?

Good immune stuff for the GI track, but probably not for much of anything else. Still, its nothing to throw stones at... pretty exciting stuff actually.

As far as Nature's Logic, I'm going to try it for Gingerbread. I'm hoping that he won't have a problem with the brewer's yeast. The food is good enough that it's worth a try. I also wrote to the company and Scott Freeman wrote me back on a Sunday offering to send me samples. They should be arriving soon hopefully...

Also, I have no problem whatsoever that they didn't have AAFCO approval right away. Reading the ingredients I can tell that the food is a lot healthier than some corn based foods, full of artificial preservatives that ARE approved. [:-] I'm sure the only reason that they did the AAFCO trial is that it's important to some people to see that seal of approval.

those AAFCO feeding trials are a joke. If it wasn't for the millet I'd happily try Nature's Logic.  If you feed a variety of foods, you'll hopefully correct for any minor deficiencies or over-supplementation from any one brand-- no one food can be "perfect" as the sole source of nutrients for the entire life of a dog.

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

... If it wasn't for the millet I'd happily try Nature's Logic...

What's wrong with millet?  It's gluten-free, not a very common food ingredient, good source of carbs.

my dogs have been entirely grain-free for over two years, and I'm so pleased with the results I'm not about to "go back" to grain. But other than that, I have no real concerns about millet.

We feed IgA supplements to colostrum-deprived lambs to try to counteract the lack of immunity. Unlike most mammals, lambs get NO immunity from mama apart from colostrum and that window closes very fast. Mammals can't absorb antibodies after a certain window after birth - it's a function of how porous the small intestines are to this material. The "holes" close quickly after the neonate starts feeding to protect the animal from invasion. Thus as Misskiwi mentioned colostrum or other antibody supplements administered orally are good for helping the GI but not much else.

However, coincidentally, my friend who works at NIH is working on this exact question. They've uncovered some exciting evidence that some of these proteins DO survive into the bloodstream. This would be marvelous news for both neonates and hemophiliacs, for whom a single needle prick is a life-threatening situation.

So, back to the old vet standby reply on the subject of animal plasma. "Can't hurt!" LOL. And who knows, science may find out that it DOES do some good? [sm=wink2.gif]

Mammals can't absorb antibodies after a certain window after birth - it's a function of how porous the small intestines are to this material. The "holes" close quickly after the neonate starts feeding to protect the animal from invasion. Thus as Misskiwi mentioned colostrum or other antibody supplements administered orally are good for helping the GI but not much else.

 
  Becca, I'm continually amazed at how much you know about nutrition. I was giving Jessie an immunoglobulin supplement made from bovine serum ( it has more IgG than colostrum) to boost her immune system because she was having allergy flare ups this summer. I've had to stop giving it the last few months because of the elimination diet she's been on; looks like it's not good for much besides helping with digestion anyway.

Read the studies... all of them are on spray-dried plasma, the exact same thing as what is found in pet foods...

 
What studies are you reffering to?  I'm talking about fresh plasma giving immunities to newborn puppies and Jean Dodd at Hemopet certainly does not sell spray dried plasma for this purpose. 
 
Are you trying to say that spray dried bovine and porcine plasma in pet food can rovide the same coagulation properties and immunities as fresh canine plasma??
 
 

Nope, haven't figured out how to give oral immunoglobulins yet If you could bottle those you would be rich rich rich!!!

Fresh frozen plasma can be defrosted, warmed and given orally during the first two hours of life to provide a puppy with immunities, much the same as colostrum would give.
 
 

ORIGINAL: starsenchis

What studies are you reffering to?  I'm talking about fresh plasma giving immunities to newborn puppies and Jean Dodd at Hemopet certainly does not sell spray dried plasma for this purpose.

The studies I posted on the previous page. Weanling pigs fed spray-dried porcine plasma were found to have lower levels of enterotoxic bacteria. I think they showed the same things in dogs and calves, but I don't remember what exactly I posted.