Raw/Natural Diet

[prolibertate]

Raw food diets take a lot of research and time to prepare to ensure your dog is getting the proper nutrition. A better bet is a food made by places such as Fromm, Solid Gold, Wellness, etc. These are all natural, have no fillers, pesticides, or junk in them, and they're not that much more expensive than an Iams, Science Diet, Eukanuba, etc. brand, but they're much better for your dog. I put my 5 month old Shih-Tzu on a mix of Solid Gold Wee Bit and Fromm Duck and Sweet Potato and he loves it. Not only is he getting great nutrition, his stools are also smaller because he's absorbing much more of the nutrients from this food than the Eukanuba he was on.

Considering the garbage they're putting in our human food today, such as BHT, preservatives, pesticides, hormones, etc. I feel it's much safer to feel my puppy something like Fromm over most any other human foods. While he may get some occasional chicken or the inner part of an apple, too many other human foods aren't pure so I won't let him eat those.

[kuritsa18]

I totally agree with prolibertate!

I think it is pointless feeding a dog a home cooked meal for the purpose of nutrition and health when you are feeding your dog human food which has been modified in some way or the other. to be truly healthier you need to feed it all organic or natural all of the time. this is expensive and time consuming. There are so many dog foods like proliberate said that are healthy with out having to cook a meal for your dog. Adding the extra tid bits in once and a while will give your dog the extra nutrition they need as well without going overboard!

[samaria]

Originally Posted by ericpotter

I stopped feeding my dog, Bruno, on supermarket brand pet food and started him on Science Diet on the recommendation of my vet. He had a really sensitive stomach and was pooping blood and stuff like that - it was pretty bad - so I took the vet's advice and started him on the SD food for sensitive stomachs, and - after a bit of mucking about with the canned food (which was WAY too expensive for me) he settled into the kibble and he's absolutely fine and completely healthy. This was a couple years ago and the problem's never returned - so I'd say that not ALL commercial food is bad.
I read that book too, the Dog Bible, and it says that even Science Diet is bad food for dogs. Well I'd have to disagree with that, because Bruno is living proof that it actually does work: not only prevents disease occurring, but actually cured a condition (and a pretty bad one too! Pooping blood is no joke) that already existed.
So if you don't want to muck around cooking your dog three meals a day or whatever, maybe you should try Science Diet, it can't possibly more expensive or time-consuming than a "human food" diet.

I am agree with ericpotter....I also do so...I think its right....

[Belle Anna]

Hi Guys. I'm new here, and posted an intro, but for some reason it didn't post. After typing it all out, I didn't have the patience to go over it again, but will soon - I promise! I'm in Ontario and have two dogs: 8yr old Bichon/Poodle mix (Zoey) and a 6mos old Great Pyrenees (Belle Anna).

Certainly a valid argument is to be had for both sides of the coin.

Here is a little unbaised primer on the topic on Wikipedia.
Raw feeding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My mother in law used to feed her dogs raw. Now, she cooks for them, but is still an advocate of raw feeding. I honestly used to think it was silly. With three kids of my own - I haven't the time to cook for my dogs. Afterall, aren't "good quality" kibbles nutritionally balanced? I realize there are some good foods out there, but for myself... my initial opinion on the topic was admittedly based on ignorance.

2 mos ago we got Belle Anna from a breeder who fed raw. I intended to transition her to kibble, but didn't want to do it quickly. So, I had to feed her raw for a while. In the interm, I did quite a lot of research and decided to keep her on raw, as well as switch Zoey.

Zoey has joint issues. Her knee causes her much grief and the doctor is unable to help us aside from offer anti-inflammatories and pain relief. Her teeth were gross, despite my semi-regular brushing (okay, so I didn't brush as often as I should have, but how many of us really do?) and giving her bones to chew on. I thought her fur was nice, but honestly - she is a new dog since being fed raw. Her teeth went from being caked with tartar and red gums to completely white and shiny. Her gums are nice and pink. She is off anti-inflammatories and pain relief, and is no longer limping. Her fur is so much shinier and fluffier. The pads of her feet were previously rough and calloused. Now, they are soft and smooth. Both of my dogs' eliminate less often, and their stools are small, firm and practically odor free. My breeder used to have a lot of problems with ear infections and hot spots, but since going RAW, neither are a problem at all.

The idea of "people food" is a concept that confuses me a bit. Mother nature did not intend for dogs to eat tiny bits of over processed, poor quality meat and grain. Their digestive systems were made to digest flesh, partially digested organic matter, meat and bones from the animals they kill. I know our world is fast-paced and we all want to do well by our dogs. I'm not suggesting anyone isn't, but it really is worth thinking about how much we want to interfere with nature. Food, is food where nature is concerned. Species matters not.

Here is what my dogs are fed based on the principals of the BARF diet.

8 lbs chicken or lamb necks
2 lbs chopped vegetables (very red or green: lettuce, spinach, carrots, cauliflower, celery, beets, etc)
1.5 lbs internal organ meat. Double the liver than the others
11 oz very ripe fruit
6 oz powdered flaxseed
2 oz powdered kelp
6 oz natural yogurt
1 oz minced garlic
5 eggs, shell and all

I put all in the food processor and package in labeled containers that I store in the freezer. With two dogs, I have to make food roughly every 3-4wks. I give them the above recipe in the morning, and in the evening, Belle Anna gets a raw lamb neck or chicken leg/back attached. Zoey gets a raw chicken wing. When I forget to thaw something for their dinner, they get some canned mackerel or sardines.

Another advantage is that if you have a large breed that is prone to bloat, they are forced to eat the raw, intact meat slowly, which reduces the risk of bloat. They have to work for it! Plus, it's really rather inexpensive if you go to a butcher and get their cut offs. My grocer has an in-store butcher, and they save me chicken necks for free!

I know RAW feeding isn't for all of us, and that's fine. I don't mean to put anyone down for their decisions. However, maybe it's worth looking into? There's no harm in giving it a try! If you are not comfortable or convinced about trying RAW, you can always get periodic blood tests and/or give them multivitamins.

PS. Always raw bones - never cooked. Cooked bones can splinter and choke our furry friends.

PSS. Most of the nutritional training vets receive are by food companies. My sister is a vet tech and wasn't taught a thing about anything other than kibble. Kibble didn't exist until 60yrs ago or so. Dogs have been around and thriving for a lot longer than that!

[Belle Anna]

Hi Guys. I'm new here, and posted an intro, but for some reason it didn't post. After typing it all out, I didn't have the patience to go over it again, but will soon - I promise! I'm in Ontario and have two dogs: 8yr old Bichon/Poodle mix (Zoey) and a 6mos old Great Pyrenees (Belle Anna).

Certainly a valid argument is to be had for both sides of the coin.

Here is a little unbaised primer on the topic on Wikipedia.
Raw feeding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My mother in law used to feed her dogs raw. Now, she cooks for them, but is still an advocate of raw feeding. I honestly used to think it was silly. With three kids of my own - I haven't the time to cook for my dogs. Afterall, aren't "good quality" kibbles nutritionally balanced? I realize there are some good foods out there, but for myself... my initial opinion on the topic was admittedly based on ignorance.

2 mos ago we got Belle Anna from a breeder who fed raw. I intended to transition her to kibble, but didn't want to do it quickly. So, I had to feed her raw for a while. In the interm, I did quite a lot of research on the pros and cons from a good dozen books or so, and decided to keep her on raw, as well as switch Zoey.

Zoey has joint issues. Her knee causes her much grief and the doctor is unable to help us aside from offer anti-inflammatories and pain relief. Her teeth were gross, despite my semi-regular brushing (okay, so I didn't brush as often as I should have, but how many of us really do?) and giving her bones to chew on. I thought her fur was nice, but honestly - she is a new dog since being fed raw. Her teeth went from being caked with tartar and red gums to completely white and shiny. Her gums are nice and pink. She is off anti-inflammatories and pain relief, and is no longer limping. Her fur is so much shinier and fluffier. The pads of her feet were previously rough and calloused. Now, they are soft and smooth. Both of my dogs' eliminate less often, and their stools are small, firm and practically odor free. My breeder used to have a lot of problems with ear infections and hot spots, but since going RAW, neither are a problem at all.

The idea of "people food" is a concept that confuses me a bit. Mother nature did not intend for dogs to eat tiny bits of over processed, poor quality meat and grain. Their digestive systems were made to digest flesh, partially digested organic matter, meat and bones from the animals they kill. I know our world is fast-paced and we all want to do well by our dogs. I'm not suggesting anyone isn't, but it really is worth thinking about how much we want to interfere with nature. Food, is food where nature is concerned. Species matters not.

Here is what my dogs are fed based on the principals of the BARF diet.

8 lbs chicken or lamb necks
2 lbs chopped vegetables (very red or green: lettuce, spinach, carrots, cauliflower, celery, beets, etc)
1.5 lbs internal organ meat. Double the liver than the others
11 oz very ripe fruit
6 oz powdered flaxseed
2 oz powdered kelp
6 oz natural yogurt
1 oz minced garlic
5 eggs, shell and all

I put all in the food processor and package in labeled containers that I store in the freezer. With two dogs, I have to make food roughly every 3-4wks. I give them the above recipe in the morning, and in the evening, Belle Anna gets a raw lamb neck or chicken leg/back attached. Zoey gets a raw chicken wing. When I forget to thaw something for their dinner, they get some canned mackerel or sardines.

Another advantage is that if you have a large breed that is prone to bloat, they are forced to eat the raw, intact meat slowly, which reduces the risk of bloat. They have to work for it! Plus, it's really rather inexpensive if you go to a butcher and get their cut offs. My grocer has an in-store butcher, and they save me chicken necks for free!

I know RAW feeding isn't for all of us, and that's fine. I don't mean to put anyone down for their decisions. However, maybe it's worth looking into? There's no harm in giving it a try! If you are not comfortable or convinced about trying RAW, you can always get periodic blood tests and/or give them multivitamins.

PS. Always raw bones - never cooked. Cooked bones can splinter and choke our furry friends.

PSS. Most of the nutritional training vets receive are by food companies. My sister is a vet tech and wasn't taught a thing about anything other than kibble. Kibble didn't exist until 60yrs ago or so. Dogs have been around and thriving for a lot longer than that!

[Mary]

hi belle anna! thanks for sharing this. i will see how our dog likes it (chihuahua). i just have a question--aren't chicken bones supposed to be really bad as they may cause internal bleeding? or are you saying chicken bones are okay if they're raw but not if they're cooked? appreciate your guidance on this one, thanks again!