By Guest Blogger Linda Zurich
Is the concept of raw pet food a little too out of the box for you? Have you been incorporating raw unprocessed foods into your own diet and that of your children to improve health, vitality, and immunity but are still buying store pet food for your furry friends?
If so, consider that Dr. Weston A. Price’s groundbreaking research on diet and its connection to human health has profound implications not just for our own health but for our pets’ oral and systemic health as well!
gum disease epidemic in pets fed store pet food
Just as with human beings, one of the biggest health issues today in pets is that of poor oral health. The sad truth is that the majority of domestic cats and dogs fed a diet of commercial pet food these days develop either gingivitis or full blown periodontal disease by the age of 3.
This is due in large part to the fact that all commercially available pet food is highly processed, and as such is extremely unnatural for our beloved animal companions to eat.
Also, cans and bags of pet food usually contain large amounts of soy, grains and/or other starchy plant based foods that are neither nutrient dense, nor are they natural fare for carnivores. So whatever nourishment these products may contain is not well assimilated by the animals consuming them.
the form of the food we feed our pets is crucial
Another factor is that the form of the food our carnivorous pets eat is critical to their oral health. And unfortunately, neither extruded, cereal-like kibble, nor mushy, ground, cooked canned pet food are the natural form of food for a carnivorous canine or feline to consume.
Here are some graphic photos demonstrating the difference between the oral health of conventionally fed pets as compared to that of properly raw fed pets:
http://rawfed.com/dental/dental.html
http://rawfeddogs.net/Term/Meat-Grinder/Photos/
http://rense.com/dentt/pics.htm
degenerative disease rampant in conventionally fed pets
Once we begin to understand how inferior and downright damaging these highly processed diets of commercial pet food can be, their potential connection to the dramatic rise of chronic ailments in pets we’re seeing today becomes abundantly evident.
Such health issues include things like obesity, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, respiratory infectinons, ear infections, skin rashes, digestive issues like IBD, IBS, food allergies, constipation, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, urinary issues including cystitis, struvite crystals (common in cats) and CRF (chronic renal failure), among others.
In contrast, many people who feed their pets a diet of whole raw foods, which includes raw meaty bones, hunks of raw meat, and raw organs, often notice a variety of benefits and improvements to their pets’ health.
** It’s important to note here that although I wholeheartedly support and promote raw feeding for dogs and cats, in no way am I suggesting here that raw diets for pets are a panacea, or that feeding your pet raw will assuage or resolve any or all maladies. **
Here are just a few of the many great benefits reported by people who feed their pets a diet of whole raw foods:
#1: stronger, healthier gums
When carnivores eat hunks of raw muscle meat and raw meaty bones, including attached sinew, tendons, cartilage, and other connective tissues, the ripping, tearing and gnawing they’re compelled to do with their teeth and jaws provides these animals’ mouths with a naturally beneficial scrubbing and flossing action.
The consumption of the proper, natural form of food for carnivores, along with all its scrubbing benefits, as well as the bioavailable nutrients such minimally processed foods contain, all help to promote both superior gum health as well as excellent overall oral health.
#2: clean white teeth
The plaque and tartar that develop on the teeth of most conventionally fed domestic pets is due largely to the starchy, carb-rich ingredients found in most all kibble, and/or the unnatural (for carnivores) mushy texture of canned pet food. Conversely, the consumption of whole, minimally processed raw foods does wonders to keep a carnivore’s teeth clean,healthy and white.
No more expensive pet teeth cleaning bills at the vet!
#3: improved nutrient assimilation
Since the digestive systems of carnivores like cats and dogs are specifically designed to digest and derive their nourishment from the raw meat, bones and organs of other animals, it’s this food which supplies them with the most ideal, bioavailable, and easily assimilated nutrients.
#4: weight control
Overweight and even obesity in pets, especially those that eat mostly kibble, is an increasing problem. But most all pets that are started on raw very early in life as puppies or kittens have no problems with their weight, and many overweight animals that are transitioned to raw tend to lose excess ounces and pounds with time.
#5: less stinky stools
The stools that come out of dogs and cats fed commercial pet food are usually unnaturally large and extremely foul smelling. They also seem to take forever to break down. By comparison, a raw fed pet’s poop is much smaller, has very little odor, and rapidly crumbles to ash, quickly and easily biodegrading back into the earth – just like the natural scat of a wild carnivore.
#6: fresher breath
Most dogs and cats that eat nothing but junk pet food day after day have notoriously and often seriously nasty “doggy/kitty breath.” However just about anyone who has a totally raw fed dog or cat will tell you that their pet’s breath is MUCH less offensive than that of pets that eat nothing but conventional pet food.
#7: reduction in yeasty ear gunk/infections
When carnivorous canines and felines eat starch-filled kibble day after day, this can often trigger the accumulation of dark, rank smelling gunk in the ears, or perhaps even contribute to chronic ear infections. Starting pets on raw early in life as puppies or kittens can often prevent such conditions outright, and switching adult pets to a raw has been known to help mitigate or even heal them.
#8: softer, shinier coats
Many people whose pets are conventionally fed are unaware that their animals’ coats actually have a slightly greasy feel to them, and may even be somewhat dull in appearance. By contrast, most everyone who switches their pets to raw is amazed at how much softer and cleaner feeling and glossier their pets’ fur becomes.
#9: friendlier, more affectionate demeanor
Many folks who switch their pets are pleasantly surprised to discover that their animals suddenly seem to get friendlier and more interactive, and some even become more sociable and affectionate!
#10: healthy mental, psychological and physical stimulation
When a dog or cat eats some whole raw food, they’re compelled to use their minds, psyches and bodies in ways they never would just mindlessly lapping up a bowl of kibble or canned food. Feeding our pets raw puts them in touch with their natural, innate, dynamic instincts in a way that feeding them junk pet food simply never can.
If you’ve only ever watched cats and dogs eat kibble or canned pet food, and have never seen one dive into and enthusiastically tackle a meal of whole raw foods, please check out the videos and photos below.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well once you’ve seen these pictures, I think you’ll agree that witnessing these animals eat first hand the way nature intended them to, truly does say it all – infinitely better than any words ever could!
Raw Fed Puppies:
Raw Fed Kitten:
Raw Fed Dogs (and some cats too!)
http://rawfeddogs.net/Recipes/
about the author
Compelled by a passion for both learning as well as sharing about the most effective and natural holistic paths to healing and wellness, Linda Zurich is an ardent independent researcher with a deeply curious mind.
A prodigious writer, herbalist, foodie, educator and perpetual student of health, she is the author of Detoxification: 70 Ways to Cleanse, Clear & Purify Your Body, Space & Life. She has also written an ebook called Raw Fed Cats: Feeding Cats a Diet of Whole Raw Foods Based on Nature’s Model, and is the creator and author of the website http://rawfedcats.org where her ebook is available for sale.
Linda is devoted to empowering people with the knowledge that our bodies are imbued with a profoundly intelligent, natural healing wisdom – a capacity which is actuated by nourishing our bodies deeply and being proactive about detoxification, thereby exponentially strengthening our ability to regain and maintain vibrant health.
Linda’s book along with details on her upcoming speaking engagements can be found by clicking here. She can be contacted at linzurich (at)yahoo.com
|
|
{ 93 comments… read them below or add one }
When we switched from processed foods to traditional foods we decided to do the same for our dogs. Raw food has improved our dogs’ health, also.
Im so glad to see you post this topic. It is soooo taboo for pet owners today to even wrap their heads around the fact that dogs and cats are carnivores and were NOT designed to eat the manufactured crap in a bag! No matter how hard you try to humanize your beloved pet, you can never take what nature designed out of them. The more people that are educated the less we will see cancer/pancreas/kidney failure amongst many other disease riddle our pets health. Raw is what they were biologically made to eat. Its just common sense.
Ive never seen a dog or a cat stop somewhere in the woods to pick up a bag of Purina One
Oh my gosh I love this response !
I have really enjoyed these posts. A practical guide to making dog food would be very helpful!
I feed my schnoodle pup raw . . . it’s funny but her poops truly do not stink! And no, that’s not just a mom’s love. I’ve tried to find kibbles that she will tolerate (for when we travel) but anytime she eats it she starts to produce large, mucousy stools that stink! Her coat is gorgeous too – very soft and doesn’t have that “doggy” feel.
My parents fed raw to their outdoor dogs. I have tried but the mess from raw meat is a lot to deal with. I cook wholesome dog food to supplement.
I have fed raw for about 3 years. It is definitely what’s best, and it makes backyard cleanup SO much easier as their stools are much smaller and not so stinky!
We feed Dog raw meat from whole foods packaged for dogs and cats. But I think they put to much ground bone. She gets 1-2 meals a week raw. The rest is grain free but not raw.
Cat need raw more than dogs, dogs can do well on cooked meat (though better on raw). Cats need taurine which is very heat sensitive. Some of the best sources of taurine are heart and mackerel.
We switched all our dogs and cats since the original post a few weeks ago. They’ve all trimmed down to their appropriate weights and their coats are a.ma.zing! Thanks for these articles.
Maybe this is silly, but my one fear with feeding my pets raw food is that their saliva will contain some kind of bacteria that could then sicken one of my kids. Would it possible for a child to get salmonella or Ecoli from being licked on the hands or mouth by a raw-fed pet?
While I suppose anything’s possible, frankly I don’t believe the scenario you describe here is at all a very likely one.
Here’s an excellent article addressing this very subject:
http://rawfed.com/myths/zoonotic.html
And a snippet from the above article:
“…bacteria does not persist in the mouth of a raw-fed canine. Canine saliva contains lysozyme, an enzyme that lyses and destroys bacteria, but more importantly, the absence of plaque means the dog’s mouth is no longer a hospitable place for bacteria to inhabit. A kibble-fed dog’s mouth, however, provides the perfect environment for bacteria growth: plaque-covered teeth with sugary and starchy complexes provide both food and shelter for bacteria. The bacteria thrive in the mouth of a kibble-fed dog because it provides both a perfect atmosphere and a good food source (Lonsdale, T. 2001. Raw Meaty Bones.).”
Another consideration is that any number of commercial pet foods have been recalled in recent years due to contamination with salmonella, (among other things) which have caused sickness in thousands of pets, and even death in some cases.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_pet_food_recalls
I’d strongly suggest doing a search on “pet food recall+salmonella” to see what a terrible problem this has become.
This can help anyone who has questions:
http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
My cat comes running when she smells me taking raw meat out of the fridge to cook. I give her a couole of pieces raw and she.gobbles.it up. After its cooked,.she is not as interested in eating it anymore and.will usually sniff it and walk away. My dogs are different in that they will eat anything. Another raw food they love is milk….will not even go near the pasteurized crap…lol. Guess I spoiled them…lol
Thank you for this article. It’s great. We had our dogs on a raw diet for about a week. Before that they were on a home cooked diet. It’s true about their stools on raw. But I just couldn’t afford to feed three Siberian Huskies raw. I realized that the money I save by putting them on the best kibble I could find (grain-free) could be spent on our food budget. Healthy eating for us is so much more important because we are hoping to try to conceive next year. My dogs’ health is certainly important, but our health and our future baby come first.
I’m wondering if the author could share ways to feed dogs raw more inexpensively. Every time I feed them kibble, I feel so guilty. They are always SO thirsty now. They get constipated more often and are often eating grass. This was never the case on raw or home cooked. One of my dogs has completely turned up her nose at the kibble now. It’s getting frustrating.
Once a dog’s had a taste of raw, they often don’t want to go back.
Do you have a local farmers’ market? Ask one of the vendors about their chicken or beef hearts, livers, feet, etc. – the parts that don’t sell well. They may give you a discount, especially if you buy from them consistently. If you don’t have a farmers’ market, find a farmer in your area. They’re out there!
Cristina @ An Organic Wife\’s last post: Recipe: Small Batch Spicy Salsa
I would try supplementing their kibble with some good, raw meaty bones or something. It doesn’t cost to pick up a few raw bones from the butcher, and I think it’s a good compromise to ensure your dogs get some raw meat. Ideally I guess our pets would all be raw food, but I don’t think it has to be everything or nothing!
I am trying to get my cats to eat raw at the moment, but they prefer the grain free kibble I give them. I believe grain free kibble is superior to the regular stuff (certainly costs more), but I’d love it if they’d happily nom on some chicken legs or something! I’ve thought of witholding their kibble and giving them say, a chicken wing… but the fear is if they take ages to get to the wing it will start to go off (and we all know how raw chicken can go bad!).
Please be on the lookout for my next guest post, which will be published here next month, and will address ways to feed raw as economically as possible.
In the mean time, something to ponder is that many pets that are fed a lifetime of commercial pet food end up suffering from chronic illnesses, which can make for some very hefty vet bills.
Many people who feed their pets raw consider doing so as a long term investment in their pets’ health.
Thank you for your reply. Yes, I understand I save money on vet bills, etc. in the long run, but unfortunately it’s the upfront cost I cannot afford. I am very much looking forward to your next post.
Would you recommend starting raw with a 14 yr. old dog? I have had her for 4 years. She was a mess when we got her. She has digestive problems so I have to be careful what I feed her. When I get liver for us, I cut off little bits to feed her raw with her regular meal. She does well with that. When I tried to do the same with raw beef heart she had diarrhea. I have been feeding her canned mackerel with veggies which she handles well, but maybe isn’t the healthiest. I worry that changing over will cause more diarrhea.
Linda,
It is possible that switching her completely to raw would make her have diarrhea but it is not likely in my experience. Organ meats by themselves are pretty rich and can cause diarrhea with a sensitive animal. Buy the cheapest chicken you can find and try feeding her that. The chicken in the 10# bags is very inexpensive but I would trim some of the fat until you see how she handles it. I suspect she will dive right in and not look back
Feeding canned fish is fine and is good for her too. If your family or friends go fishing you can try her on whole raw fish as well. Some dogs love it (once they figure it out! LOL) and some dogs don’t. Raw or lightly cooked eggs, raw ground meat, and yogurt or kefir are also good things to add once in a while. If you begin feeding her raw now you probably see a healthier “younger” dog emerge.
Thank you. I’m glad to know the fish is alright for her. She does get a raw egg daily with her meal, with a little homemade yogurt and kefir as well. Sounds like I’m on the right track. Now to find chicken.
I would definitely recommend transitioning your dog to a raw prey model diet!
If you’re interesting in doing this, IMO the very best thing for you to do first is to get educated and informed about both why and how to do this by reading and researching as much good information on the subject as you can find.
When I first came across information on raw feeding, I was like most people in that I’d been programmed and conditioned my whole life to think that feeding my pets commercial pet food was the best way to go. But once I began to realize that feeding raw was a MUCH better way, I still didn’t have a clue how to get started. I had lots of questions and there were many things I needed to get clear in my mind, and like most everyone I even had some fears and apprehensions. So before I even started giving my cats any raw food, I did lots and lots of homework so that I had a good foundation of knowledge, which gave me the confidence and know-how to help my pets make the transition to raw with a minimum of doubts, fears or trepidations on my part.
This is why I originally created my website over 6 years ago, because at the time there was no good resource like it, and I knew others could benefit from what I had learned along the way.
So I really think that doing our own research, getting well informed, and learning as much as we can about raw feeding BEFORE starting to help our pets make the transition to raw is one of the most important steps any of us can take on behalf of our furry friends. Getting our minds right and deprogrammed first, is an invaluable step which without a doubt makes switching our pets to raw much easier and smoother all around, both for them as well as for us.
Here’s a great site to start with:
http://rawfeddogs.org/
This is a fantastic online forum where you can learn just about anything you need to know about transitioning your dog to raw:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/
Reading the book “Raw Meaty Bones” by Dr. Tom Lonsdale is another good place to start:
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/
You can also check the links section of my website here:
http://www.rawfedcats.org/links.htm
Please feel free to contact me directly if you’d like more information on feeding raw to dogs specifically, as I have a collection of good resources that are not on my site.
My pets eat raw, but to be fair they are rabbits and they eat raw veggies
I switched a year ago and I’ll never go back. My dog has never been healthier
We do all homemade with some raw since that is what my dog seems to do best on. We have moved several times in the last few years and I have learned NOT to tell the vet this when I bring her in for her rabies shot each year, or I will get a long lecture on how I’m probably not meeting her nutritional needs. If I am vague about it and don’t admit to the raw/homemade diet they will ALWAYS tell me how incredibly healthy she is for her age, and comment that she obviously gets regular teeth cleanings, which she had never had. I just smile and nod, smile and nod….
Your post made me laugh Tina! I have had the same type of experience as you. I’ve been feeding raw for about 15 years now. When we moved I got lectured from the new vet. He accusingly questioned, ” Do you send your dog’s diet to the lab to make sure it contains all of the nutrients it needs like bought food???” My thoughts we, “Gosh, I don’t send my family’s meals to the lab either!” Unbelievably this was from a holistic vet! Needless to say we don’t see this vet anymore. Actually we haven’t had a dog to a vet in probably more than 6 years.
Love these comments!
I didn’t notice my #1 reason for feeding raw… no ticks! When we used to feed our dogs conventional dog food I was constantly on the lookout for ticks. Gross!! With raw feeding, no ticks.
Starlene @ GAPS Diet Journey\’s last post: Recipe: Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream Dairy-Free
We’ve been feeding raw for six months. I’ve heard about no ticks, but our dog does get a few ticks and several fleas. She’s in the woods every day, and she plays with our neighbor’s dog, which is kibble-fed and evidently flea-ridden. I do give our dog garlic once a week and a tea tree oil rub, but it isn’t working 100% against fleas and ticks. Any ideas for me?
Funny you should mention this today. Since our family began following WAPF recommendations, our 12 year old dog has gotten more spunky. She’s walking stairs for the first time in years. Why you ask? She gets to lick bacon grease and eat leftover omlette from my 7 year old and other real food scraps.
I know this is the best way to feed dogs as I’ve done tons of research on it, but there are hurdles. As the poster above stated, it is far more important for myself and my family to eat healthy than my dogs- my dogs are a part of this family, but I won’t even mince words about it, they are not my kids. I have never considered them my kids. And I never will. I love and respect them, but in a different way. But I can’t let them take food out of my kids’ mouth, and feeding them raw would be EX.PENS.IVE. It makes me wish I had one small dog instead of one medium and one MONSTROUS dog, who is still a puppy technically. I have toyed with the idea of feeding them raw once the puppy is grown, since puppies need to eat 10% or more of their body weight on a raw diet (hello 8lbs of meat a day…) whereas adults only eat like 1-2%, so even if he hits 100lbs he’ll only need a lb or two a day. And I’m toying with the idea of asking my dad, who raises cattle, what he does with his cows once they’re too old to bear calves- if he says he sells them for dogfood (or something similar) I may buy one from him and have it very crudely processed (not crude as in bad, crude as in not carefully cut into steaks and the like). Depending on what he wants me to pay him I may be able to get a whole cow for like $400… that sounds like a lot, but that would feed my dogs for over a year (estimated) and actually cost less than kibble. But I would need to buy a second freezer just for their food…
My other hurdle is my medium dog… she won’t touch raw meat. She’s a really super picky eater no matter what, although she loves anything she’s not supposed to eat (table scraps, chicken feed….). And while I’m fine with feeding my dogs raw, I will not cook for them every day. I have enough to do!
Brandis\’s last post: Real Food on a Budget #4: Grow Stuff
Unlike cats, which should never be forced into switching to raw, (due to their risk of contracting a dangerous liver ailment called hepatic lipidosis) dogs *can* be ‘cold-turkeyed’ into making the transition from pet food to raw.
Many experienced raw feeders actually say this is the best way to go about it.
There’s some good info on how to do this here:
http://www.rawfeddogs.net/FAQs/
and here:
http://preymodelraw.com/how-to-get-started/
My cat acts ravenous all of the time now! I feel like I feed her enough; will she ever tone out down?
Depends on what you are feeding her Sara R. One of our cats weighs 15# (his normal weight) and he generally eats 2-3 pieces of chicken per day. A smaller more typical cat would need to be fed at least twice a day. A possible day for one of our other cats might be a chicken leg or thigh in the morning and then canned tuna, mackerel or salmon in the evening, Or just another piece of chicken, a good sized handful of ground meat or a plate of 2-3 lightly cooked eggs. Some cats do better being fed smaller amounts 3-4 times a day.
She is a bengal; maybe I’m just not feeding her enough, then. Thanks for the reply!
How old is your bengal?
Is she raw fed?
What are you feeding her and how much?
Excellent article! Thank you for putting this info out there! I have fed my cocker Spaniel an all raw diet for the past 6 yrs. His health is amazing – no allergies, no gum disease. The Vet comments on his yrly check up that I must brush his teeth as they have no tartar, no gum disease. Ha! He is no longer overweight & compared with dogs his age (9) he looks & acts younger and has no health issues or arthritis. His shedding has decreased to almost none, no bad breath or stinky poo. I recently adopted a stray cat that was completely carb addicted – it took some doing but she has converted nicely to eating chicken necks & rabbit. Her teeth & health are remarkable too.
Fantastic! Congratulations.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Your story is a living testament to so much of what I’ve written in the above post!
Keep up the good work!
My dogs have been on raw food for the last 2 years and they are super healthy! One of my dogs had a hard time losing weight (even with daily walks) before raw…she had lost some weight with a high quality grain free kibble, but stalled out. With raw food she had no trouble losing weight and maintaining her appropriate weight. I also give my dogs coconut oil every day and I just started giving them kefir this week.
You should have heard the “discussion” with my vet when I decided to change their food…he was very much against it. If anyone is considering changing their pet’s diet, be prepared for your traditional vet to give you a hard time about it. Remember, just like physicians for people, they get very little nutritional training. And what they do get is provided by the pet food manufacturer of the prescription pet food they sell in their clinics. Do your own research…raw comes out ahead every time!
Vets make a ton of money on the garbage pet food they sell for premium prices in their offices.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Top 10 Reasons to Feed Your Pet Raw
Yes, they do! I also have 2 cats (17 and 18 years old) with CRF and he was pushing the kidney diet relentlessly. I basically ignored everything he advised (except for the sub-q fluids) and over a year later they are both doing fantastic! No weight loss and both are as energetic as they ever were. Gotta love real food!
Absolutely true about the vets!! I mistakenly mentioned feeding my pets raw (for the week that I did) to my vet and she flipped out.
My dogs also love kefir and coconut oil. Kefir is probably one of their favorite treats!
Amazing what a difference raw can make!
When it comes to vets and discussing the merits of feeding raw, I say ‘don’t ask don’t tell’.
My 15 month old German Shepherd Dog has been eating a raw diet since he was about 5 months old and the improvements on his health are phenomenal. On kibble and canned foods his coat was straw-like and his health was only OK. He was also a poor eater while on foods that came in a bag or cans, but now he loves mealtime! He is now the epitome of health and beauty.
Thanks so much for these posts on pets…please, keep them coming! I rescued a litter of 4- day old puppies and their mom last year. We found homes for all of them except for one little male who no one wanted because of a bad tremor/shaking – almost like those with Parkinson’s. The vet told us it was most likely a birth injury and wouldn’t get any better. I started giving him raw food along with a very high quality kibble, and he made a full recovery. The vet was astounded
Are chicken bones safe for dogs?
It is my understanding that they’re not. I think it is okay to give cats raw chicken bones, but not dogs. However, someone with more experience than I may chime in. (I think it’s the way the animals chew the bones, the dogs can do it in such a way that the bones are more likely to splinter and lodge in their throats than cats).
Fiona, raw bones are softer and do not splinter as dry, cooked bones do Also, after about a week of raw feeding dogs begin to produce more stomach acid than kibble fed dogs and can digest edible (non weight bearing) bones. They do not really chew as their jaws move only up and down (not side to side) so they chomp to break the bone up and also rip meat from the bone with their teeth so both bone and meat are small enough to swallow then the stomach does the rest. It is rip, chomp, chomp, swallow.
RAW chicken bones are perfectly safe for dogs & cats. Even puppies & kitten cans chew them up.
Yes RAW chicken bones are great for dogs. Just not cooked ones.
Yes, you can definitely feed chicken bones to dogs, as long as they’re raw.
Check out all these photos of dogs and cats eating raw meaty chicken bones!
http://www.rawfeddogs.net/Recipe/Chicken/Photos/
Our dog gets raw chicken every night, bones included and we’ve never had a problem. It’s the cooked chicken bones that can splinter.
Here here! My dog gets raw bison liver, ground up grass fed organ mix, pastured eggs and salmon either fresh or canned. He is super healthy at 5 and we hope he lives as long and as healthy as possible.
On cost, as others mentioned, you can get chicken livers for pretty cheap. Adding in canned salmon or other good fish is pretty cheap too. He also loves coconut oil, fruit like bananas etc. My vet said to get some veg into him, guess what, he loves cauliflower! Who knew? Thanks for this!
If you can get raw milk they love that too. Not only the milk but when I clabber some my dog is right there begging for some of the whey. I think she may like the whey even more than the milk. Now I not only have to ration it out for fermenting, I have to split it with the dogs and garden plants too!
My pup, Zeke whines for a sample when I am straining my home made raw milk kefir.
I give my lab plenty of veg and a little fruit in addition to raw bones/organ meats, etc. I basically feed him whatever I can get locally in season, and he loves it all! One of his favorite treats is cantaloupe!
Cristina @ An Organic Wife\’s last post: Recipe: Small Batch Spicy Salsa
oh and bison and beef marrow bones, his favorite
deb\’s last post: Wise Traditions Part 2: The One Where I Meet Sally And Geoffrey Morell
deb, I’d strongly suggest bypassing any large marrow bones for your dog, especially weight bearing ones like femurs or knucklebones from large animals like bison or steer, and instead feed him smaller, non-weight bearing bones.
The reason is that those big weight bearing marrow bones are so dense and strong (because they’re made to support animals that can weigh a half ton or more) that they’re actually harder than a dog’s teeth. So these kinds of bones have the potential to chip or even break a dog’s teeth.
Better to stick with ribs and similar smaller bones to prevent the risk of tooth damage.
Thanks Linda! I did not realize that! I will stick to raw chicken and ribs!
I read a great book called Give A Dog A Bone by an Australian Vet and never looked back. I blame all the problems my dogs and cats had before on the food that I was buying. Now I do 70% raw meaty bones that a lot of them I can get for cheap from the butcher. I also make chicken stock by WAPF guidelines and mix that with rice and mixed veggies. It costs me approximately $2 a day to feed 2 big dogs. And everything is so healthy on them. Their teeth are so white you would think they were puppies!
Jennifer, if you skip the rice, (which is a plant based, very carb-rich food that carnivores are not designed to consume in any quantity) there’ll be much more room in your dogs’ diet for the nourishing, meaty, animal based foods on which canines are meant to thrive.
Another suggestion, if you’re not already, is to regularly include some raw organ meats in your dogs’ diet – particularly liver, which contains essential nutrients that not found in either raw meaty bones, rice or veggies.
Great post! I wish I would have had this knowledge long ago. Thanks!
I have really enjoyed these posts. A practical guide to making dog food would be very helpful!
Every person must have to feed their pets a diet of whole raw foods:
How To Deal With\’s last post: How to deal with anger issues with a boyfriend
In a future post I’ll outline how to assemble a raw prey model diet for dogs and cats.
In the meantime, check out these websites for some excellent information on feeding dogs a diet of whole raw foods:
http://www.rawfeddogs.net/
http://rawfeddogs.org/
What a great article! I have a question, which meat is the most digestible for small-medium sized dogs? I have a miniature poodle and when I have tried him exclusively on grass-fed lamb or beef mince he gets very constipated and terrible breath… It makes no sense to me as obviously meat is what he is designed to eat, so I am hoping you can shed some light here.
I’d love to convert him to a 100% natural, ancestral diet (like his mumma!), so any advice on how to do this without slowing his digestion down so much would be much appreciated. I’m currently supplementing his food with grass-fed egg yolks, raw jersey milk, and homemade beef bone broth (no vegetables, just bones).
Thanks! x
Eliza\’s last post: Chocolate cherry slice – gluten free, grain free, sugar free.
Eliza, try adding a little pureed pumpkin to his food. Up to a tablespoon or so with each meal should get things moving like they should (start with a teaspoon). I feed mine mostly chicken and turkey, sometimes lamb. And once a week they get a meal of eggs with pumpkin and a meal of sardines with pumpkin and a small amount of green vegetables. I also supplement with coconut oil and kefir. And no bad breath!
Eliza,
I’d suggest feeding your boy WHOLE raw foods, that require him to use his teeth and jaws to rip and tear apart, instead of feeding him anything minced/ground.
Here’s an explanation on my website about why (just substitute the word dog for the word cat):
http://www.rawfedcats.org/nogrinders.htm
Also, the best thing to counteract constipation is to increase the amount of raw ‘squidgy’ organs you’re feeding, such as liver, kidney, spleen, etc. Feeding more raw eggs, including the whites, are also very effective for helping to get things moving.
The kibble companies must have made a substantial donation to AVMA this year…
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/very-bad-news-for-raw-feeders.html
For the record, we had a raw-fed GSD with bad hips make it past age 15, and a chow mix who lasted 51 weeks after a metatstatic pheochromocytoma diagnosis (typical prognosis: 8 weeks) and was called a “walking miracle” by his vet. We switched the dogs to raw because of that diagnosis, so the helpful effects begin immediately. AVMA can stuff their opinion!
This has been on my mind forever with feeding our cat. He gets Origin. YUCK! I am nervous bec. we are on a health journey to reverse autoimmune. We are currently aggressively treating for Parasites. We have tapeworm, thread worm, pin worm etc…
My question is, when I am making chicken for instance, can I just cut off a chunk, put it in a bowl and give it to my cat? OR when I am making burgers, just give him a chunk of beef?
Then he eats it, and the raw meat is on his mouth, and then he licks us. Are we not effected? Just trying to process this all and do what is best for all of us. Very nervous to take this step yet I know its the best for HIM but is it the best for US, who are sick, and trying to reverse our illnesses?
Jeni,
Please check my response above, along with some relevant links, to a previous comment on this same subject.
It’s important to bear in mind here that many kibbles are already contaminated with varying degrees of bacteria. Due to such contamination, many of these products have caused sickness and even death in animals, and some have even caused people to get sick:
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/05/qa-on-the-diamond-pet-foods-recall-and-salmonella-outbreak/
There really are no guarantees in life, are there?
I honestly don’t believe that if you’re ok with handling raw meat when preparing it for your own meals, that there would be any more risk of contamination to you or your family by being licked by a pet that has eaten that same raw meat.
Hey Linda, I meant to ask.. my dog has a small marble sized fatty lump on his side. Doc says it will grow and that it has to be removed at some point. Do you have any idea how I can keep it from growing? I am hoping that upping all his raw liver etc will help. I did let him eat kibble, high quality grain free for a while and now, he has this lump.
Any ideas?
Deb
I wish I knew more about what caused the lump on your dog’s side and how to keep it from growing, but I’m sorry I’m not familiar with that condition.
The only suggestions I would make would be in terms of tweaking your boy’s diet a somewhat by relying less on fish and including more large hunks of boneless red meat on his menu.
Remember that anatomically and physiologically speaking, domestic dogs are essentially gray wolves on the inside. This means they’re really made to thrive primarily on the flesh and bones of large ungulates.
When feeding prey model raw, the approximate percentages of body parts to aim for feeding over the course of time (ie not necessarily the same at every meal) are about:
80-85% raw boneless meaty meat
10% raw meaty bones
5-10% raw organ meat (with around half that amount being liver)
From your description of your dog’s diet, it sounds as if it might be a good idea to up the meaty (red) meat portion, and as I say, do your best to see if you can find a way to begin relying less on fish as a staple.
Not sure if this will have any effect on that lump, but you never know!
Those puppies are so cute! They reminded me of a wolf pack eating a deer, only they are too tiny for that! So adorable.
Renee N – How can you say you can’t afford it? I find that feeding my dogs with food I make is MUCH MUCH cheaper. And I have big dogs! Course as Linda will point out, it would be better if it was all raw and I didn’t mix in rice with the chicken and veggies but we aren’t talking about filet mignon here. I buy meat on sale when no one else wants it for super cheap and store it in my freezer until they are ready for it. If it’s steaks I can freeze them during these hot summer months and give them to them as a cool treat to gnaw on. Also meat and bones are a high energy food so you will find that you have to feed them a lot less that if you were feeding them kibble. If you don’t cut back in fact you will find yourself with a very overweight dog!
Absolutely! It is less expensive in many ways (see the top ten reasons alone). I have noticed our cats sleep more, though – I take it as a good sign. The stool is a major difference. A major difference in smell and visits to the toilet (they are trained to do it there).
Here is the link to the post: http://rojerthat.com/2012/08/01/no-really-our-cats-are-toilet-trained/
Megan of RojerThat.com\’s last post: No, Really. Our Cats Are Toilet Trained
I’d love to start our 3 cats on a raw food diet. We’re lucky in that our farmer from which we buy grass-fed beef and pastured poultry also makes pet food from (I’m assuming) the by-products of their chickens or lambs when they slaughter. It’s not prohibitively expensive, either. So I picked up a quart of it and showed it to our cats’ vet and asked him if he had reservations. The only thing he brought up was the possibility of some deficiencies in taurine and…one other trace element, don’t remember what it was. But he thought I’d probably be able to buy a supplement and mix it in with the ground chicken. Does Linda have any evidence to support or debunk the idea that feeding my cats raw chicken or lamb will lead to taurine or other deficiencies? My vet said that deficiency would cause blindness long-term. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
My understanding is that virtually all muscle from land animals meat contains taurine.
Essentially the more a muscle is used, the more taurine it contains. So for example chicken thighs and drumsticks are better sources of taurine than breast meat.
Heart, because it’s a muscle that’s in constant use, is an excellent source of taurine.
So as long as you’re feeding plenty of muscle meat, and perhaps some heart now and again, IMO there’s no reason whatsoever for adding any supplemental taurine to a well rounded diet of whole raw foods.
Just bear in mind when looking at how that quart of raw pet food is made that it’s best to feed whole raw foods as opposed to those that are ground. Also remember that some raw meaty bones must also be a part of the diet, as feeding just muscle meats and organs alone will not provide the calcium and other minerals necessary for proper nourishment.
Angela,
Raw food should supply all the Taurine your cats need. I have four kittens right now that have been fed raw since I got their mom halfway though her pregnancy. They are the healthiest kittens I’ve ever seen or had.
Here is a quote (w/ link) that might ease your fears – Sources of Taurine –
If you want to get more taurine through your diet, think protein-rich foods. The amino acid is found naturally in meats such as beef and lamb, fish, eggs, dairy products and brewer’s yeast.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/409702-natural-sources-of-taurine/#ixzz22JvzX9sM
Wikipedia has this to say – Taurine occurs naturally in food, especially in seafood and meat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurine
Please, consider giving them raw chicken, etc. with bones intact. They can chew easily through raw chicken bones and the minerals they get will be very beneficial.
Thanks for sharing this kind of information on raw feeding. I was wondering where a good resource is for finding out what fruits and vegetables are and are note good for your dog. There is so much conflicting info out there. Thank you.
Dogs are carnivorous animals. This means their bodies were made to thrive on a diet consisting primarily of raw animal parts – essentially meaty meat, raw meaty bones, vital organs and connective tissues.
Unlike that of an herbivorous animal, a carnivore’s digestive system is not designed to effectively break down the cellulose contained in plant matter. Therefore although you can probably feed a bit of fruits and vegetables now and then (for instance in the form of table scraps) the truth is that a dog’s body just isn’t very well adapted for extracting and assimilating the nutrients found in these kinds of foods.
Bearing this in mind, it’s easy to see why the more plant based (fruits and veggies) foods you feed your dog, the less room there will be on his menu for raw animal based foods, which contain the most assimilable form of nutriments for his body, and are truly the most nourishing and natural foods for him.
Check out this website, which has a list of all of the kinds of raw foods your dog can and should be eating to thrive!
http://www.rawfeddogs.net/Recipes/
Oh, and my understanding is that grapes should never be fed to dogs.
Although I can’t vouch for its accuracy, here’s a website I found with a list of plant foods that are toxic to dogs:
http://www.acreaturecomfort.com/toxic.htm
Can you feed dogs raw ground beef from a grassfed source? I want to start my dogs on some raw but was curious to know if it is safe for the ground since they grind the fat into it.
Great article. I got my now-1-year-old dog as a puppy from a rescue; they were feeding him a very popular grocery store kibble at the time. His stools were always runny and he went A LOT so I decided to change up his diet a bit while he was young. After much trial and error I discovered grain and chicken were the cause of his gastric issues. I put him on a premium grain-free non-poultry kibble and his gastric issues disappeared after only 2 days. After much reading on raw diets, I decided to add in a pre-packaged frozen raw food; he now gets mostly kibble with about 3oz frozen raw on top and he LOVES it. Since adding the raw he has only improved; his coat and eyes have never been more vibrant, his energy level has increased and his GI tract is running perfectly. I’m so glad I made the choice to do the work to find the best diet for my dog. Health benefits aside, going with frozen raw hasn’t been a hassle at all; the only additional work I do is make sure I thoroughly clean the dog dishes every day. Even that isn’t so bad. After all, I eat off a clean dish every time, why shouldn’t my dog?
Thank you very much for sharing your experience.
I would like to point out here however, that ALL KIBBLE – no matter how “premium quality” – it may be marketed as being – is in fact a highly processed, factory produced product of manufacturing. In other words kibble is not REAL FOOD.
Because dogs are carnivores whose bodies are specifically made to consume, digest and thrive on a diet of *real food* consisting of whole, unground hunks of raw meat, raw meaty bones and raw organs, feeding them a steady diet of dried, extruded kibble products is extremely unnatural for them.
Also, raw food is digested very quickly by a carnivore’s body while kibble, being cooked, is digested at a different rate than raw. Therefore for this reason, among others, it is not at all advisable to combine raw food and kibble in the same meal and feed it to a dog.
One of the major health issues that arises in the vast majority of kibble fed pets by around the age of 3 is gum disease. On the other hand, dogs and cats that are exclusively fed a diet of whole raw foods (including hunks of raw meat and raw meaty bones, complete with sinew, cartilage and other tough connective tissues) are much more likely to be spared the pain as well as the other more serious systemic health implications that often result from poor oral health. This is due to the natural scrubbing, flossing, stimulative and cleaning action that occurs in the mouth when these animals rip, tear, gnaw and crunch apart their whole, unground raw food.
The improvements you’ve seen in your dog’s health notwithstanding, and with all due respect to you, I would humbly submit that your dog would do MUCH better healthwise – particularly in the long term over the course of his entire life – if you were to ditch the kibble entirely once and for all, and switch him asap to a diet consisting of 100% whole raw foods.
There’s some excellent information on how and why to go about doing so at this link:
http://preymodelraw.com/how-to-get-started/
I’d be more than happy to provide you with other resources on this subject if you or others are interested in learning more.
I started supplementing the premium kibble that I feed my chocolate lab with ground bison meat about 3 years ago and although it is more expensive my rugs have been the better for it. Pete always had a very tender stomach and he routinely vomited on a diet of kibble alone. Since then he has not had any more vomiting episodes and we are happy as can be. His coat is beautiful. Unfortunately, bones do not really agree with him but if they did he would get those on a routine basis as well. I concur with the comments that the vets make — I avoid the topic. My vet was not in favor of feeding raw. Sorry….but I think I know what is best and when you think about the fact that dogs are kin to wolves and wolves feed wild–why wouldn’t raw simply make more sense?
I really like your internet site. The data on the site We enjoyed. We have saved that to see my pals. I prefer searching the world wide web and searching pertaining to info on animals and also animals. Let me come back quickly with regard to updates.
Thank you, Linda for this very timely post and fir bringing awareness to raw food for pets! We just adopted two lab mix puppies from a rescue and I am picking up my first raw food bulk order from a local co-op. I’m very happy to be able to feed them the way nature intended.
How exciting! TWO puppies at once! Wow, you’re a braver woman than I, Sarah.
Congratulations on your adoption, and on making the decision to feed your new furry friends raw. Enjoy those those young pups!
My daughters have fostered dogs a few times and when we get them they always have rough feeling coats, are somewhat overweight, and lack energy. Shortly after switching them to a higher quality grain free kibble those conditions reversed pretty quickly. They were like a whole different dog when they went to their new home. Bright eyed, lots of energy, soft coats, and thinner. I’m sure raw would be even better if you can afford it but just switching to a higher quality kibble made a world of difference.
When vets receive their training pet food companies come to the schools and indoctrinate them into believing the foods they sell are good for the pets. So that’s why vets sell unhealthy food. Just like most people doctors vets don’t know much about nutrition.
I strongly reccomend K9 Kravings dog food for anyone considering raw, it is what we feed both of our dogs and people are always commenting about how great their teeth and coat are. This is the ONLY raw diet approved by the FDA
Michelle\’s last post: Pizza Chili
Great article! I’m a fan of raw feeding and have seen its results on my cat and I was amazed. Unfortunately, my family couldn’t give me the money needed to continue feeding my cat a raw diet. Here in Albania, meat is really expensive and there is no other form of getting it cheaper or when it is close to being out-of-date. I will feed him raw again as soon as I get a job of my own and can have the money to do so. Even my cousin’s Golden Retriever seriously needs to get on a raw diet, but unfortunately, they can’t pay that much either :/
{ 1 trackback }