Dr Bruce Syme

The feeding guidelines is at the upper end of the scale. Almost everyone ends up feeding less, as they see their dogs respond very well to it. There is no need to add veggies. That's the great thing about Complete Mix, with meat and bones it makes up a total diet. The 'output' is certainly more than a dog fed dry food, but that is for a reason, the expansion of the sphincter muscle and emptying of the anal glands. What you will find that they disintegrate very quickly.

That's great. Bruce will be a happy man if he can get more dogs onto raw feeding. In the very first post Bruce's article gives his recommended recipe for a home made raw diet. Even if people made 95% of it up themselves and used the Health Booster to cover all vitamins/minerals.

Hi Juice, Certainly start using the Omega Oil. Bruce, in his skin protocol, starts the dogs off on the Omega Oil and then once the skin is settled either weans them off completely or changes over to the cheaper Flax Seed Oil.

I will find out for you noisymina if the levels have ever changed? The ingredients are listed in order from highest percentage to lowest percentage. The actual amount is not listed on the packet. Do you know how much was in the packet? Bruce is in surgery at the moment, but I will confirm with him if there has ever been a change in garlic levels for anyone interested.

Hi MonElite. I know Sydney Pet Foods (now Paringa Pet Foods) will sell at reduced prices to registered breeders. $2 home delivery fee from memory.

The free treats Juice are in the Puppy Packs, you get them directly from our head office. I can have a pack sent to you, or if you come next Sunday there will be a Puppy Pack with your name on it :) Looking at your location you would have visited the Bella Vista store? My own dog is on Complete Mix and I usually use different types of meat. At the moment it is beef and chicken. Even though Bruce loves kangaroo its been in short supply so my dog is getting the greyhound low fat beef. Every month I buy bulk meat and soak some Complete Mix, I then package it up into lunch bags and freeze. 2 hours work (including going to buy the meat) and I have a months worth of food. Granted we do have a beat up old fridge in the garage. Feeding raw is always more work than pre prepared. The emergence of tin and dry dog food was at the same time as the emergence of pre packaged human food. Convenience sometimes wins out.

Hi Yellowgirl You are correct, raw food keeps the stomach pH at around 2, and when feeding cooked food the pH rises. Dry food is cooked food. The temperatures needed to firstly make 'meat meal' are incredibly high, and then the food is cooked again to dehydrate it. You have seen what happens to protein when it is cooked (boil an egg, BBQ a steak). It's not just protein that is affected by heat either, most organic substances can be changed with heat. Many people don't realise that Omega 3 is extremely heat sensitive, and government regulations only state that the ingredients prior to cooking are to be listed as ingredients. A huge step forward for processed food would be for the active ingredients to be listed post cooking. The digestive system of a dog has evolved to have a pH of around 2. At 2 bones dissolve, salmonella cannot survive, along with parasites not coping. Dogs which vomit up bones are often fed on a cooked diet, the body rejects something it cant digest. For anyone feeding cooked food and bones they should think about adding some raw meat to their dogs diet. Lower their dogs stomach pH so bones break down quicker. It reduces the chance of undigested bone causing obstructions. Here is some more info if you are interested http://www.vetsallnatural.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107&Itemid=113 With processed food often fillers are added, people say VAN has too many carbs, yet the digestible carbs in Complete Mix when made up is around 7%, compare that to many dry foods. As far as fillers go Bruce thinks the Premium Dry Foods have improved vastly in their use of fillers, cutting out the useless cereal byproducts. When there are too many cereal byproducts the actual location of digestion within the dog changes, making the body work harder than usual.

Juice, you are more than welcome to come down to Petstock Camperdown next Sunday (29th January) and have a chat directly with Dr Bruce Syme. Some dogs do have food sensitivities. He will be there between 10am and 3pm. Bring your Bully for Bruce to look at. Bruce does prefer lamb over chicken, but if your dog does well on chicken you should stick with it.

Bruce just really likes Roo because it is low in fat, grazes on a varied diet, is killed with minimal stress and could be a likely source of prey for wild dogs. Lamb is good, as it is raised on pasture and for dogs who might need help keeping weight on it has a higher fat content. Animals which are fed an artificial diet he is not a fan of (not surprisingly...that's what VAN is all about, keeping animals on a close to as possible natural diet) Grain fed beef, intensively farmed chicken and also pork are fed on unnatural diet themselves. They also lead stress filled lives. Lamb is a good option.

If your in a rush you can soak it in warm water for 30 minutes. However for maximum nutrient release soaking at room temperature for around 12 hours in summer and around 24 hours in winter is advised. We want most of the fermentation to take place outside of the dog, not inside because fermentation releases gases. Dog flatulence is never nice!

Can I just say that Dr Bruce Syme is happy to talk to people about anything. If your curious about acupuncture, or to see if he thinks your dog could benefit from it. If your curious about Flower Essences and their benefits, homeopathy, combining chinese with western medicine etc come down and have a chat with him. Bruce is passionate about anything natural and holistic.

Thankyou English Ivy. I think I requested for genuine questions only a few pages back! Back to normal programming :) Thanks to everyone for your feedback and sharing your experiences.

We sure do Puppy Packs RallyValley http://www.vetsallnatural.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=85 If you want to order more than one you will see the email on the above link. We encourage breeders to let as know soon after whelping so we can have the packs to you before the pups leave for their homes. They come with samples, treats, reading information etc.

Thanks for the feedback Juice, I have looked on the website and we do give more detailed instructions on the packet. Something for us to look at. When you make up the Complete Mix, after it has soaked, just pop it in the fridge with the meat. It will last longer that way. The Premium Choice was designed with smaller dogs in mind and for people who needed to buy a short supply quickly. The Complete Mix is available so people can source/select their own meat. Buying in bulk can reduce cost. The name Complete Mix was chosen as it represented for people worried about a balanced diet, a way of making their raw meat a complete diet. By also labeling it as a complete diet it could encourage people to think about the benefits of an all natural, unprocessed, non heat treated diet. Loyalty plans and other similar offers are in the pipeline :)

Why are you so interested Sheena? On your own website as a distributor for Black Hawk you even go to the trouble of stating you don't like Vets All Natural. Again, more than happy to answer questions from people with a genuine interest.

Hi mushka, The Premium Choice is an 'all in one food'. There is no mixing required. It is raw, preservative free kangaroo, grains and vegetables. Basically the Complete Mix with the meat already added. The suggested feeding amount for a mature 20kg dog is 550g/day. If I were to feed this to my two BC's @ 20 kilos each @ 550g/day what would that work out at, cost wise, per dog??? When I was feeding the standard one, I was feeding 1/3 cup soaked in water, not sure what that was in grams, but 550 grams dry mix sounds a lot. One of the problems I had with VAN was, that I would make the mix up with water & let it stand for 24 hours as per instructions, but in Summer time on a hot day it would develop a furry fungus & I would have to toss it to the chooks & find the dogs something else for dinner. It would worry me further if the mix had meat in it. I was told it had to ferment, like the gut of a freshly dead animal, but the furry bit was a bit off putting. I used to pay $49 for 5 kilos at Petstock, so using over 1kg a day for two dogs would be quite unaffordable. We are happy to answer any questions, however I will start ignoring questions from people who have made it clear that they have ulterior motives. Firstly though, I was answering mushka's question regarding Premium Choice, not Complete Mix. The feeding guidelines was for 550g of premixed meat. Yes, feeding over a kilo of straight grain mix would prove expensive ;) I don't wish for this to turn into a VAN vs Black Hawk attacking match. We have our product that we 100% stand behind and you have yours. Please, we don't come looking for an argument in the Black Hawk thread so we would appreciate the same. I would like to avoid this http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/232758-dr-bruce-syme-in-sydney/ All genuine questions we are happy to answer. Oh, the 'furry fungus' is not fungus, it is the seed fermenting.

If the demand is there we can send Bruce anywhere! Especially local dog clubs who might want to organize an evening. Often we can make the nights bigger by working in conjunction with other providers, such as Chiro's, Bowen therapists etc.

Hi mushka, The Premium Choice is an 'all in one food'. There is no mixing required. It is raw, preservative free kangaroo, grains and vegetables. Basically the Complete Mix with the meat already added. The suggested feeding amount for a mature 20kg dog is 550g/day.

Yes, some stockists have samples, both of the Complete Mix, and the Premium Choice. You can go to the website and request a Puppy Pack to be sent to you, which has information and samples.

Only once I've battened down the hatches :laugh:

We are keeping relevant discussion within our thread. This is something that might interest members. We are paid advertisers, and two threads is hardly bombarding DOL.

Not sure how to reply to you Sheridan. Dr Bruce Syme is a passionate vet who is happy to share his opinion. You asked for his opinion on fish and were given it. Vets All Natural is a paid advertiser, like many other advertisers who start a thread. We are not bombarding every thread with an evanglistical attitude. You are correct, each and every dog is different and with the information provided people can research and educate themselves further.

Dr Bruce Syme from Vets All Natural & Vets All Natural Animal Health Center will be in Sydney for anyone who would like to discuss natural health care directly with him, be it dogs, cats or horses. Sunday 29th January 10 am to 3 pm Petstock Camperdown 78 Pyrmont Bridge Rd Camperdown Pets more than welcome too (maybe not the horses!), if there is something in particular you would like to discuss. Samples and giveaway's. Dr Bruce Syme is a certified veterinary acupuncturist and has extensively studied nutrition, herbal medicine and homeopathy. Bruce has a wide range of interests in veterinary medicine, including both small and large animals. Bruce enjoys using natural therapies, combined with traditional orthodox medicine, and has a special interest in nutrition and the links to chronic disease in dogs and cats, particularly in treating skin disease.

We believe feeding raw is so beneficial for dogs (and cats), so if it becomes too price prohibitive try mixing half the roo with half chicken mince. Often its finding that cheap, good supplier of meat. There is a great thread on here where people recommend these places. Its pinned at the top of the Health section. Also, when feeding raw the feeding guidelines really are just guidelines. The best way to gauge the amount needed is your dogs body condition. Many dogs probably do a little too well on VAN :) you might find in a few weeks you have cut back the amount your feeding quite a bit.

Were they used to eating raw meat? We find some dogs resist for that reason. Fish meat is a very good source of protein, low in fat, and high in vitamins and minerals – when it is first caught. If you were to buy fresh fish and lightly cook it for your pets, it would be very good. Cost and effort may prove to be prohibitive to this practice. One must also be aware of the environment in which the fish is caught – levels of toxic heavy metals, like mercury etc, can be quite high in some parts of the world. It is also worthy of note that freshwater fish do contain levels of thiaminase, which can cause vitamin B1 deficiency if used exclusively as a diet. In the wild dogs may make the occasional attempts at catching fish in fresh water streams, but the only true fisherman are their close relatives, the bears.