Brittany Ippolito
October 29, 2026
You do not have to become an expert to learn how to care for your dog.
Recently, I was convinced that my dog was struggling with a significant Yin Deficiency. He was panting constantly. He seemed anxious. He wasn't particularly interested in playing with his toys, and he kept asking to be put on the bed. Naturally, I started wondering whether he was also experiencing some degree of Qi Deficiency.
It would turn out that he was just hot.
My dog has a very dense coat that I let grow very long because it makes him look like a cute little woolly bear, but in the middle of October here in Florida, temperatures still reach 86°F. He wasn't asking to go on the bed because he was tired, weak or Qi Deficient. He was asking to go on the bed because he knows the cold air from the AC blows down directly onto him.
A haircut later, and much of what I had been worrying about had resolved. The panting stopped, the anxiety faded, he played again, and stopped asking to go on the bed. He had figured out how to make himself comfortable long before I figured out what was bothering him.
Because sometimes we become so preoccupied with finding a sophisticated explanation that we overlook the most ordinary one. Not every symptom is evidence of a deeply rooted imbalance. Not every behavior needs to be interpreted through the lens of a constitution, pattern, or diagnosis.
Sometimes a dog is simply hot.
I think that's an important thing to remember, especially as Traditional Chinese Medicine becomes increasingly popular in the canine health and nutrition space, but before I go any further, let me be clear about something.
I love TCM.
It has helped both my dog and myself in ways I didn’t even know were possible. It has changed the way I understand health, disease, food, and the relationships between seemingly unrelated symptoms.
It remains an important part of how I approach nutrition, both for my own dog and for the dogs I work with, but as TCM becomes more popular, I have two growing concerns.
1. We may become too reliant on it.
One thing I've noticed, both in myself and in other dog owners, is an increasing hesitation around conventional veterinary treatment. Sometimes even shame.
We become so committed to addressing the underlying imbalance, supporting the constitution, or treating the root of a problem that we begin to view conventional interventions as some kind of failure.
Antibiotics save lives. Allergy medications can keep a miserable dog comfortable. Anesthetic dental procedures are sometimes necessary, and yes, sometimes we need synthetic vitamins and minerals to make a homemade diet nutritionally complete.
These things aren't at odds with TCM or a holistic lifestyle. We can appreciate those approaches to health while also recognizing the value of modern medicine.
Sometimes a dog needs medication. Sometimes they need a dietary adjustment. Sometimes they need both, and sometimes, apparently, they need a haircut.
The ability to recognize which intervention is appropriate is far more valuable than an unwavering commitment to any particular philosophy.
2. We may mistake complexity for necessity.
This is the one I particularly want to talk about. You do not have to become a TCM wizard to learn how to feed or care for your dog.
Social media is a difficult place to navigate, especially when you're worried about your dog's health. Everyone seems to have an answer. A method. A philosophy. A course. A piece of information that promises to change everything, and of course, everyone is trying to sell you something.
Even the people claiming they aren't selling you something are often selling you something, and I can't pretend to be exempt from that. DogFoodTherapy is a business, and I sell my knowledge and services. There's nothing wrong with that.
What I do find worth examining is the way knowledge is sometimes marketed, particularly to people who are already frightened, overwhelmed, or desperate to help an animal they love.
In order to sell expertise, you have to establish that you know something your audience doesn't. That's reasonable. It's why people seek out professionals in the first place, but there's a difference between offering someone knowledge and convincing them that they're incapable without it, and when the subject is the health of a beloved dog, that distinction matters.
I never want someone to walk away from my content feeling as though they've been given another hundred things to worry about, another complicated system they need to master, or another reason to question whether they're doing enough.
You can learn how to feed and care for your dog simply by paying attention to them.
My mom is a perfect example of this. She has very little formal knowledge of TCM, yet she has learned an incredible amount about what works for her own dog.
She knows zucchini gives him diarrhea, sweet potato aggravates his yeast, he tolerates beef the best, he needs more fat to maintain weight, he needs cucumber during the summer, and his stools are better when there’s grain in the bowl.
She didn't need to study Spleen Qi Deficiency, Dampness, Yin, Yang, or the thermal properties of food to discover any of this. She learned through observation, experimentation, experience, and maybe a little guidance from me ;)
Largely though, she watched her dog. She noticed what happened when she made changes, and over time, she developed an understanding of what his body responds well to. That knowledge has value, even when it isn't accompanied by an elaborate explanation of why something works or doesn’t work.
You can do this, too.
Because I think it's remarkable.
TCM offers a different framework for understanding the body, and for many of us who have struggled with chronic or complicated health problems in our dogs, that framework has been incredibly useful.
It encourages us to look at relationships between symptoms, consider the condition of the whole animal, and think about how food might influence the body's internal environment.
Sometimes it helps us recognize patterns we hadn't considered before. Sometimes it gives us new directions to explore when our previous approaches haven't been successful.
I've experienced that with my own dog, and I've watched it happen with others. That's worth sharing, but lately, I've been asking myself some questions about the information I put into the world.
Is it understandable? Is it usable? Does it encourage people to become more confident in their ability to care for their dogs or does it make everything feel more complicated?
I’m still learning how to organize and deliver the knowledge I have accumulated, but I never want to use my platform to demonstrate how much I know. There's little value in sharing an impressive amount of information if the person reading it walks away feeling more confused than when they arrived.
I will admit that I feel like I sometimes lean a little too heavily into TCM. Not because there's anything wrong with that, but because these are complex topics, and complexity has a way of making us feel as though there's always something else to uncover.
Another deficiency to correct.
Another imbalance to address.
Another sign that something isn't quite right.
Another food we shouldn't feed because it's constitutionally contraindicated for our dog.
Eventually, you can find yourself analyzing every stool, every behavior, every change in appetite, every movement of the tongue, wondering what it all means. I know because I've done it myself.
Sometimes the pursuit of better health can become an exhausting pursuit of perfection. I don't want that for your dog, and I don't want that for you.
If you're struggling with your dog's health, I want to encourage you to start with what you can actually observe.
You don't need an elaborate theory before you can begin learning. You need a starting point, some consistency, and the willingness to pay attention.
1. Start simple.
Find a small collection of foods your dog reliably tolerates.
For example, when developing a homemade diet, I often like to begin with a simple ingredient framework: one protein, one green vegetable, and one root vegetable.
That doesn't constitute a complete diet on its own. A homemade recipe still needs to be properly formulated to meet your dog's nutritional requirements, and mine are, but keeping the ingredient selection simple can make it much easier to understand how your dog responds to what they're eating.
You're establishing a baseline. A foundation you can build upon. You don't need ten different vegetables, five different proteins, and an elaborate collection of herbs to begin learning what works, and you don't have to choose ingredients based on their TCM properties.
You can begin with foods that are nutritionally appropriate, accessible, and well tolerated.
2. Observe.
Pay attention to what happens when your dog eats.
Are their stools loose, firm, dry, or inconsistent?
Are they nauseous? Burping? Vomiting?
Does their itching improve or worsen?
Are they maintaining weight?
Do they seem comfortable and settled after meals?
How is their appetite, energy, and overall behavior?
You don't have to assign a TCM pattern to every observation. Sometimes it's enough to recognize that your dog consistently feels better eating one food than another.
That's useful information.
3. Make thoughtful adjustments.
If something doesn't seem right, examine what you're feeding and how you're feeding it.
Depending on the problem, I may look at the amount of food, the proportions of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, the fiber content, meal timing, or even how the ingredients are prepared.
You don't necessarily need to overhaul the entire diet, and in fact, I would encourage you not to.
Change one thing at a time.
Give the adjustment enough time to evaluate its effects. Some issues respond within several days, while others may take considerably longer. During this time, don't keep adding and removing ingredients every time something changes. Constant adjustments muddy your data. If you change five things and your dog improves, how will you know which one helped?
Consistency gives you something to compare against.
4. Introduce variety.
Once you've established a reliable, nutritionally complete foundation, you can begin exploring.
Try a different protein.
Introduce another green or root vegetable.
Experiment with appropriate amounts of grains, legumes, fruits, broths, fish, organ meats, or eggs.
You may discover that some foods work well together while others don't. You may discover that your dog needs more dietary fat than you expected, or that certain fibers improve their stools. You may even discover that an ingredient everyone recommends simply doesn't agree with your particular dog.
That's okay.
Go slowly, preserve the nutritional balance of the diet, and let your dog's responses guide your decisions.
There will absolutely be times when observation and simple dietary adjustments aren't enough.
Those are all perfectly good reasons to seek professional guidance.
Sometimes that means your veterinarian. Sometimes it means a qualified nutrition professional, and sometimes incorporating TCM into that care offers an additional perspective worth exploring.
There's no shame in asking for help, and there's no requirement that you become an expert before doing so.
That's part of why I do what I do. I love teaching people about TCM. I love discussing food energetics, physiology, nutrition, and the incredibly complex ways that different systems in the body influence one another, but I also want you to know that you can feed your dog well without understanding all of those things.
You can learn from experience. You can trust what you've consistently observed. You can use the knowledge that serves your dog and leave behind what doesn't.
You can understand TCM, appreciate its depth, recognize its applications, and still decide that the best intervention for your dog is a haircut.
There is a time to look deeper. There is also a time to look at the dog standing right in front of you. Sometimes that dog is telling you everything you need to know.
Looking for advice and help with your dog's diet and nutritional needs?
Book a one on one call with me where we'll go through your dog's history, habits and any current health concerns. You'll receive tailored recipes and food/herbal therapy guidance on what will best meet their needs. I am also available to chat if you have questions along the way!
