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I receive emails regularly from pet parents who want to use food energetics to tackle food allergies and other health issues with their dogs - this blog post shares more about warming and cooling foods and why I think it's a bad idea to go down this route with no experience/knowledge.

Food energetics is a concept borrowed from traditional Chinese medicine, which holds that everything in the universe—including food—has its unique energy. This is largely based on the concept of Qi, or life energy, and the ancient belief that food can increase and decrease our own Qi depending on what we eat.

Proponents of food energetics believe that health problems can be better managed by consuming foods with different energetic properties; for instance, cooling, warming, stimulating, or sedating qualities. Ultimately, food energetics encourages us to tune into the body’s natural cues regarding what it needs and how certain foods may benefit us more than others.

Hot and Cold Dogs

Before diving deeper into food energetics, I would have classified most of our dogs as neutral. However, as I learned more, I found that my dogs leaned more toward cool or warm.

Neutral Dogs (Yin and Yang)

Neutral dogs have a chill, confident temperament because their Yin and Yang are in balance. To maintain this balance, it's suggested that we feed neutral foods. However, our dogs aren't limited to only neutral foods.

Cool Dogs (Yin)

Cool dogs are snugglers and can be found sleeping in front of a heater or fireplace or buried beneath the covers in our beds. Other signs that a dog may be a “cool” dog include:

  • inactivity or fatigue
  • poor appetite
  • digestive issues
  • weight loss

These symptoms can be serious, and a veterinarian should be consulted to rule out any health issues. Once you know your dog is healthy, these issues can be addressed by feeding warming foods. When a dog's energetic nature isn't addressed, a dog that is too cold can develop kidney disease, incontinence, anemia, and chronic digestive issues.

Hot Dogs (Yang)

Hot dogs seek out cool places to sleep and won't cuddle (or not for long) because they get overheated easily. Other signs that a dog may be a “hot” dog include:

  • panting, even on cool days (not due to excessive exercise)
  • drinks a lot of water
  • becomes restless, especially at night
  • has dry skin
  • inflammatory conditions

These symptoms can be serious, and a veterinarian should be consulted to rule out any health issues. Once you know your dog is healthy, these issues can be addressed by feeding cooling foods. When a dog's energetic nature isn't addressed, a dog that is too hot can develop pancreatitis, arthritis, hot spots, skin rashes, and digestive issues.

Warming & Cooling Foods for Dogs

There are several charts online and after a lot of reading, I created the following classifications for various foods. Some foods fall into two categories based on how the animal was raised.

Cooling Foods

  • Proteins: alligator, duck, duck eggs, wild goose, herring, mussels, oysters, pork, rabbit, whitefish
  • Vegetables: alfalfa, asparagus, broccoli, celery, cucumber, mushroom, spinach*

Neutral Foods

  • Proteins: beef, beef liver, beef tripe, bison, carp, cheese, chicken eggs (pasture-raised), mackerel, pork, quail, sardines, wild salmon, wild turkey
  • Vegetables: cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, Shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, yams
  • Fruits: apple, banana, blueberries, honey, pear, persimmons, strawberry, watermelon

Warming Foods

  • Proteins: chicken, goat's milk, pheasant, turkey (farmed)
  • Vegetables: garlic, kale, oysters mushroom, pumpkin, squash
  • Fruits: raspberries

Hot Foods

  • Proteins: emu, lamb, shrimp, trout, venison
  • Vegetables: garlic, ginger

*I feed store-bought mushrooms to my dogs (brown, Portobello, Reiki, Shiitake); not mushrooms picked in our yard.  If a dog is prone to stones, high oxalate foods, like spinach, should be limited (or removed) from the diet.  And, some of the foods are labeled with two energies; so I noted them both.

My Thoughts on Food Energetics

If you are trying to heal your dog through food energetics, I suggest working with a holistic veterinarian who practices Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Food energetics is more than feeding warming/cooling foods. Through TCM, I've learned how to prevent or resolve stagnation in the system, why it's important to feed food at room temperature, and what to do to cool down hot foods so I can still feed a variety of proteins to my dogs. A veterinarian experienced with TCM will direct you on this path while also ensuring that series health issues aren't ignored.

If you don't have a veterinarian in your area, look for someone in another town or state who can collaborate with your veterinarian and consult with you on health and nutrition.

You can find a vet through the AHVMA.

Resources on Food Energetics

My favorite resource is Yin & Yang Nutrition for Dogs by Dr. Judy Morgan, available on Amazon. I also have a food energetics chart in my kitchen that I reference.

I receive emails regularly from pet parents who want to use food energetics to tackle food allergies and other health issues with their dogs - this blog post shares more about warming and cooling foods and why I think it's a bad idea to go down this route with no experience/knowledge.

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