Real dogs, real outcomes
Five stories. Two are dogs we cared for at the ranch. Three come from owners who found us, tried this at home, and wrote to tell us what happened.
Before you read them. These are five dogs. They aren't a study, and we won't dress them up as one — the research is a different kind of evidence, and it's on our Resources page. What these do show is what this looks like in a real household, on a real Tuesday, which no paper can tell you.
You'll also notice the owners talk about raw keto. That's what they fed, and those are their words. Our own position has shifted since. For cancer and seizures, a stricter ketogenic diet may help, planned with your veterinarian. For most other dogs, far less carbohydrate is enough. With allergies, the benefit usually comes from a new protein and simpler ingredients; with weight and joints, most of the gain comes from losing weight.
Cali
Hungarian Vizsla · hemangiosarcoma
Found during an ultrasound meant to show a litter of puppies. One puppy, and a large tumor. She came through surgery with a six-week prognosis.
Cali was the first dog through the KetoPet program, and the reason there was a second. She lived for years beyond that prognosis, and has since passed.
Read Cali's story →
Blazer
Staffordshire mix · Grade II mast cell tumor
Rescued after his diagnosis. Scanned on arrival, scanned again sixty days later. The second scan showed no evidence of disease.
When his story was written, he was back to destroying rubber toys, at length. He has since passed.
Read Blazer's story →If your dog has just been diagnosed with cancer, our guide explains what a ketogenic or low-carbohydrate diet is, what the research shows and doesn't, and how to start safely with your veterinarian.
Ketogenic Diet for Dogs with Cancer →
Sasha
Grand mal seizures following a brain injury
Josh and Victoria watched the medication work, and watched what it cost her. She lost her hair. Her skin darkened. She stopped being herself.
Ketogenic feeding was a human epilepsy therapy decades before anyone tried it for cancer. Of everything on this site, Sasha is the clearest story that isn't about cancer.
If your dog is on seizure medication, never stop or lower it on your own. Change it slowly, with your veterinarian, once the diet is in place.
Queen
Australian Shepherd
Sarah competes with Aussies and lives with ten of them. Queen's coat was going, and her skin had scarred.
Several veterinarians. One useful suggestion. Then she found our calculator.
Her hair came back. So did pigment in skin Sarah thought was permanently marked.
Allergies often improve with a new protein and simpler ingredients, which a change of diet like Queen's also brings. Your veterinarian can help you run an elimination diet to find the cause.
Eva
Miniature Pinscher · luxating patella
Sohana adopted Eva in South Africa at five months old. A veterinarian she'd used for sixteen years spent under a minute with the dog and recommended two knee surgeries, anal gland surgery, and anti-inflammatories.
She went looking for another option first.
Luxating patella is graded one to four, and grade matters. Read Sohana's account, then have that conversation with your own veterinarian.
Your dog isn't here
Four conditions and five dogs doesn't cover much. If yours is something else — diabetes, cognitive decline, weight that won't shift, something nobody has named yet — write to us.
We read every message, though it can take us a few days to reply. It costs nothing, and we'll tell you plainly if we haven't seen your situation before.
Write to us →