I began to learn about Eastern Veterinary Medicine back in the late 90s and on from classmates and veterinary colleague. During this time, patients began asking me about it as well, and I felt like I really needed to begin studying it.

So, for the last two years, I have been privileged to study Eastern Veterinary Medicine at The Chi Institute in Reddick, Florida. Eastern veterinary medicine is also called Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM). Eastern Veterinary Medicine is holistic and emphasizes the five branches of TCVM, which include food therapy, herbal therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic/massage (also called Tui-na) and Qi-gong.

The Chi Institute is widely considered the leading Continuing Education provider of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine study and training. Veterinarians and animal science workers from all over the world attend school there. Most of the teachers at Chi are related in some form or fashion to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, which is also a top school. Here is a link to The Chi Institute: www.tcvm.com.

The Chief Instructor at The Chi Institute is Dr. Shen Huisheng Xie (his last name is pronounced “Shay”). Dr. Xie, from China, is an excellent teacher and veterinarian and is greatly respected around the world as one of the foremost Eastern Veterinary Medicine and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine practitioners.

I and my fellow classmates at The Chi Institute have been fortunate to learn and study TCVM and its powerful, proven animal care theories and disciplines. My training in Eastern medicine has greatly enhanced my ability to diagnose, treat and provide optimal care for my patients, and my fellow classmates have said the same thing about their practices.

You can learn more about TCVM on The Chi Institute website as well as on the web. A good place to learn more is on the TCVm wikipedia page here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_Veterinary_Medicine

I was trained in veterinary school at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Science in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was a great experience, one that changed my life for sure. I am fortunate to have attended school there, where there are so many gifted and outstanding professors and teachers. Here is a link to the school’s website: vet.utk.edu.

Back to my training in TCVM. My friend and colleague Dr. Casey Damron and I studied at The Chi Institute together. Casey and I knew each other for years because we had both practiced veterinary medicine for large and small  animals here in middle Tennessee.

We both learned a tremendous amount at The Chi Institute. It was during our time at Chi that we began to explore the idea of creating an integrated pet food combining Western and Eastern veterinary medicine.

Specifically, the class we took on Food Therapy taught by Dr. Xie was one of the classes that really motivated us to begin the journey of creating what later became Pet-Tao Pet Food.

At some point I will post a more detailed history and background of Pet-Tao. To summarize, we spent two years formulating and developing the Pet-Tao pet food formulas. Pet-Tao is the only all-natural, integrated pet food combining the science of Western nutrition with Eastern Food Therapy principles.

From our facility here in Tennessee, Pet-Tao is being shipped to pet-owners and pets all over the nation. It is available directly or through our nationwide network of veterinarians. One of the primary ways we are offering Pet-Tao is through veterinarians who can become part of our Preferred Partner Program, which we launched last month.

You can learn more about Pet-Tao and order pet food at  www.pettao.com.

Well, thank you for reading! I am hoping the best for you and pets!

First, I am going to comment on what grains are: Grains are plants, specifically grasses, grown and cultivated for the edible component of the plant. The edible component is called the fruit and consists of three parts: 1) the bran 2) the germ and 3) the endosperm. Examples of commonly cultivated grains include soybeans, barley, oats, and wheat. After grains are harvested, they are either kept in their natural state as whole grains or refined by removing  the germ and the bran component. Whole grains are healthful and packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  Refined grains are devoid of vitamins and minerals and loaded with carbohydrates.

Since we now know what grains are and what happens to them after harvest, we can better answer the question, “Why are people marketing the no-grain theory?”  The no-grain marketing scheme highlights two controversial dog-related issues. 1) The belief that dogs are carnivores and should only eat meat, no grain, and  2) That all grains whether refined or not are unhealthy for dogs to eat. Concerning the first issue, I agree dogs are carnivores, not omnivores. Claiming a dog is an omnivore is irrelevant to the fact that a dog can survive on an omnivorous diet . Yes, a dog can survive on a mixture of different food products and do quite well. However,  dogs have evolved as meat eaters and clinically, at least in my practice, the dogs on a primarily meat based diet appear healthier with less disease than their counterparts consuming a more omnivorous diet. Remember, by definition, a carnivore is an animal that primarily consumes the flesh of another mammal not necessarily always. Dogs, however, are not obligate carnivores as some claim. Cats are obligate carnivores as evidenced by science and their particular requirement for taurine in the diet.

Concerning the second issue, in the past and even today, refined grains have been an integral component of most dry commercial based pet foods. As opposed to whole grains, these refined grains are virtually devoid of vitamins, minerals, and fiber while being  loaded with energy. This overabundance of energy is  primarily responsible for the obesity we see in both pets and people. For health, dogs should consume minimal to none of the refined grains.  However, whole grains as long as they are by weight less than 15% of the diet are actually healthful. Whole grains provide vitamins, minerals, fats, and protein in the diet. Some of these vitamins and minerals are not procured through meat only diets.

So the grain-free marketing scheme is, in reality,a misnomer and a play on words. On the one hand, its great that grain-free foods are available however, the term refined grain-free would be much more appropriate. On the other hand, grain-free concerning the whole grains is unfortunate, as dogs gain a variety of health benefits when consuming a modest amount of whole grains in the diet.