05-16-2003, 08:17 PM
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Dogs and chocolate
Here's the story: My dad's hobby is bodybuilding. He takes a lot of supplement protein drinks. Lately he has taken to giving about 2 ounces of a chocolate whey protein drink to our dog every night in spite of my protests. My dog has chronic recurring stiffness/soreness in his rear legs and hips. The pads of his feet are also very sensitive and susceptible to bad cuts.
Lately his problems seem worse than usual and he is also very easily fatigued. He is only 5 years old, but acts a lot older. My question is, how can I explain, to a non-macrobiotic person like my dad, that the drink is not helping and could be causing some of our dog's problems. He knows about theobromine and how it is toxic in large enough quanities, but insists that such a small amount is harmless. I counter that substances accumulate in the blood. Also, our dog eats a mostly processed dog food diet with very little vegetable matter. It seems like the extremely yang quality of his diet would make it harder for him to discharge a toxin like theobromine. Am I right to worry? Can anyone give me some facts to help convince my dad I am right? Thanks for your help. Mara     
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05-17-2003, 07:55 AM
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You have to solve this one yourself as well. Dogs' main diet in the wild is @ 80 meat and whatever else they can forage or scavenge during harsh weather. No chocolate or protein drinks
exist there. Human food should be close to 80% grain and vegetables (land and sea) and the remainder animal food and some fruit (quantity depends on season and region). You can tell by the number of grinding teeth in comparison to canine-type pointed teeth. Chocolate and high protein is too yin and will aggrivate your dog's condition. Still you have to find your own way to approach this problem. Maybe you can bring the dog to the vet and tell him this and get his opinion. If he/she is a good vet he will tell you that the stuff your dad is giving the dog is slowly killing him. You can probably go to Karre Bursell's Alcehmical website and ask him to write a letter to your dad condeming this practice. Bursell is both a macrobiotic and a veteranarian doctor. Someone here can probably give you his URL. Tell him I sent you. I hope this helps. In peace, Roy
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05-17-2003, 01:30 PM
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Thanks, Roy, I am familiar with Kaare Bursell's site. I'll be going one or both of these routes...That dog is a good friend of mine! Next step...convince my dad to stop drinking the junk! He's a good friend, too. I wonder... are there any macho, macrobiotic strength trainers/bodybuilders out there who support their hobbies on some version of a macro diet?
Mara
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05-18-2003, 08:14 AM
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No problem, Mara. Macro equates to balance and therefore there
are no extreme macho supplements or remedies for what your father wants to achieve. His dream and yours are quite different and you can't preach who's right and who's wrong because we all have the right to choose our destinies. But your dog friend can't choose so can use a little help. Usually a letter from an authority in the medical field can solve the problem. My wife recently resorted to this tactic when the elementary school principal made it a rule that students couldn't have rolling backs in the school but had to carry heavy books in their arms or on their backs. My wife, who works at the federal VA hospital got a letter from one the doctors stating that continued use of heavy back packs by school children caused spinal injury. She brought the letter to the principal and the principal asked how heavy could a back pack be. My wife rolled my son's back pack into the office and asked the petit, aging, female principal to lift it and judge for herself. The principal could barely lift it off the floor! The rolling back pack rule was revoked the same day. I seriously doubt if your father can show a burden of proof that protein shakes and chocolate are beneficial to your dog. Good luck. Are there any others in your house that side with you? Maybe they should speak up too. In peace, Roy
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05-19-2003, 10:45 PM
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Hey, good news. Yesterday he came out and said to me "Mara, I'm not going to feed Leo any more chocolate, because you don't want me to." All by himself! We had been arguing about it pretty regularly the past couple days, but he's been so stubborn, I didn't think he was going to come around.
But I do worry about him sometimes. Dad's diet is...eggs and mostly white bread...coffee & soymilk...tofu and occasional broccoli... tons of protein drinks and artificially sweetened "low-carb" bars. Ma Huang/ephedra diet pills. Long days in front of the computer and hard workouts to wind down. He thinks he's going to stay young forever this way, I think!! (turns 60 this year) I just can't imagine someone can keep up a pace like this without really crashing hard at some point. Should I worry? Mucho gusto...  Last edited by MJS; 05-21-2003 at 01:32 PM.
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05-21-2003, 06:24 AM
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De nada. No problemo!
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