Raw Diet
Puppy eating a chicken wing.
Here at ANDISA we have been feeding all our dogs a Raw Natural Diet for several years now. Our dogs in the past had their share of health problems and when I researched what caused their problems I was amazed that most things pointed towards Diet. After a good 12 months I did get the courage to change their diets over completely. I was totally impressed with the difference that a natural diet made for my sick pets. It was much better than I ever expected. For this reason alone I chose to keep all future pets on a Raw Natural Diet.
Piper was raised on this Raw Diet. Lizzy and the Rottweiler puppies are being raised on a Raw Diet. They are very capable of chomping through Chicken wings, neck and frames. They enjoy the challenge of a Lamb neck from time to time. They will eat more lamb when they are older.
I have had a few concerned new puppy owners worried about possibly choking on the bones. Being told by vets that it is dangerous to feed bones. I know this fear, I went through it all myself. I have heard the scare tactics about being irresponsible feeding my dogs bones. The vets are quick to warn about the dangers of bone. Yes there are risks involved, I will not tell you other wise, however there are risks with everything that a dog puts into it's mouth. Many dogs have choked on kibble. I am more worried about all the unnatural objects that goes down my dogs throat than what I am about them eating a bone. I am only talking about RAW BONES here. I DO NOT FEED ANY COOKED BONES - EVER. If for any reason a bone has caused a problem, it is more than likely to have been a cooked bone. Simple - never feed cooked bones.
If a dog is like a vacuum when eating bones I would feed a meaty meal first or a bigger meaty bone than what he/she can handle to start him/her off with. When your confident that the dog is fine eating bones then try others. Your dog will thank you so much if your only just discovering that dogs are in fact designed to eat bones.
I am not referring to the big bare bones at all. They are the bones that can / do wear down and break the dogs teeth. There are so many different types of bones that dogs are able to eat, so don't waste your time or more importantly don't risk your dogs teeth with those big jaw breakers. They are just not worth it. I know many people who feed big marrow bones and never have a problem with them. Just be warned they are the bones that can damage the dogs teeth. You want meat on the bones. Some people feed very meaty bones, but I find this an expensive way to feed them.
I would recommend having a freezer for the dog food if possible especially if your are feeding a large dog or are a multiple dog family. This is the best way of saving so much money and the freezer will pay for itself in no time at all. I have 2 freezers for dog food alone. I am a Barf Dog Food Distributor so I also have a 6 basket ice cream freezer to stock the Barf Dog food. I feed my Rottweilers 1 - 2 patties and 3-5 wings a day, or I will alternate the wings with 1-2 frames or a lamb neck or lamb off cuts. or a roo tail. Lizzy has 1/2 patty and a wing or 2 chicken necks. Feeding raw doesn't need to be hard and once you get into it you will be amazed just how quick and easy it is to feed a raw natural diet. Better still is the difference that you see in the dogs is amazing. Their coat and skin is the first change that you will notice. Clean skin and a soft coat. Teeth stay clean, so no need to have them cleaned by the vet anymore saving hundreds of dollars every couple of years. The chicken bones won't clean the teeth very well, if you feed a lamb neck 3-4 times a week or lamb off cuts then this will keep the teeth pearly white.
Next time your in the butchers why not ask what bones to give to your dog, just remember, no big marrow bones - you can do better than that. Look around and you will see pork trotters, lamb flaps, shanks. You may even be game enough to bring home a pig head for you very lucky pooch. Just a note here. Piper would not eat her pig head. She protected it, licked it, slept with it, but she would not eat it. But there are many, many dogs out there who would have loved to have wrapped their jaws around a pigs head, she just didn't know what she was supposed to do with it. I threw it out. What a waste.
Check out where the Chicken processors are, you may have one nice and close. It is handy to know if you have a good source of Chicken close to home. If you do then you may not need that extra freezer. I live in Narre Warren, in Victoria and have heaps of great places where I get great bargains. If you live in the area I could let you know where I shop, you may have a better deal than me and I would be very interested to know where.
A good way to save on freezer space is to stuff the chicken frames with meat / minced fruit/veg / chicken necks or organs - what ever you like really and freeze separately, the frame is full of goodness and as long as you stuff it right if can be a complete meal - just thaw and feed or on a hot day give it to the dogs frozen. If you are only feding one or two dogs or small dogs if you allow some extra time to prepare the bones in meal size portions and freeze then it makes raw feeding so much easier. Or for several dogs store the food in containers or bags that will feed them all. I have a fridge for the dogs food and as I am feeding them I take the next meal from the freezer so it is thawing for their next feed. For safety reasons treat the dogs meat and bones as you would your own - never leave it laying around to go off. If they have not eaten with in 15 minutes take it away and put it back in the fridge until their next meal time and give it back to them - they won't be letting it sit around once they realize they are going to lose it if they don't eat it when they are being fed. It is not worth risking their health leaving food in the bowl for hours on a hot day. One of the many advantages of feeding a raw natural diet is that as long as there are no health issues with the dogs they can all eat the same foods - just keep the portions suitable to the size of the dogs. If I fed only dry food I would be using foods suitable for small and large dogs in bags that are labeled for the different stages of their lives and breeds - for some people that would be a lot of bags of food to buy, store and feed and that too me would be more difficult or manage than raw feeding - not forgetting the size / quantity of poo to be picked up afterwards - yukk - no thanks I would rather pick up after raw fed dogs than dogs who are fed dry or canned foods any day.
I usually stock up on about 20 kg of Chicken wings. 10 kgs of Chicken Frames. 10 kg of Chicken necks. Lamb necks, Shanks, off cuts and flaps in bulk when they are all on sale. I don't feed much of the fatty RMB's simply for the extra weight that the dogs will gain if over fed on fatty bones. If your thrifty you will be able to source out the best and cheapest places in your area to stock up on RMB's. No doubt if you become a regular you will be given really good deals from your supplier. Don't be shy, ask about buying in bulk and what discount they will offer if you place a regular order with them. It has worked for me quite often. Keep an eye out for extra special deals, and talk to others, you never know just what you will be feeding your dogs and you can feed as expensive or cheap as you make it. Some people think it is too expensive to feed a Raw Diet, I think those people are not shopping in the right places. When I make my own mix I buy 10 kg of Minced Chicken Frames, this forms the base of the patties I then add all the extras like fruit/veggies, hearts/kidneys/giblets, kelp, eggs, yogurt and cottage cheese, fish oil & garlic. You can also add the Vets all Natural health booster to this mix, just leave out some of the extras that you added because it is already in the health booster.
The Vets all Natural makes it easy to make up your own raw food saving on time. All you need to do is soak the amount you need over night. I soak 1 cup of VaN with 1 cup of tepid water and leave it over night. I add this to the minced Chicken frames, mince organs and mix well. You can add what ever minced meat/bones that you can get. Why not alternate between chicken, lamb, beef, pork, roo and rabbit. If your able to get venison to give to your dogs, I am sure they will be very thankful.
Dr Ian Billinghurst produces the Barf Patties. They are sold on packs of 12 patties or in a Box of 4 packs. Dr Billinghurst has written 3 books to date and he explains the benefit of feeding our Dogs & Cats a Raw Diet. Once you start feeding Raw, I doubt that you will ever feed anything else again. I know I wont. This is great to get started out on a Raw Diet, easy to follow and gives you a quick easy intro in Raw feeding. Then you will become quite adventurous. There are many companies who make Barf, please look in to them properly and find out what they are putting in to it and more to the point what the company history has been if they have or are using preservaties in their products. Big Dog Pet Foods used to manufacture the Billinghurst Barf but there have been some changes and now Big Dog Pet Foods no long make it and have since been producing their own line of Big Dog Barf which I am happy to feed my dogs and sell it.
If you are feeding Dry dog food, please pay the extra and only buy the premium organic dry. Look for a product that is without all the chemicals and as grain free as possible. The saying "you get what you pay for" is so very true with dog food. The cheap stuff really is nasty. It really should not be fed to your loved pet. Look for the top of the range product, read what is on the label, learn what your reading and understand how harmful some products really are to your dogs health. You can mix the organic dry with minced meats or barf (bought or homemade). Feed a nice meaty bone every day if possible to keep your dogs mouth/gums/teeth in great condition. If your dog has rotting teeth, he/she is on the way to poor health. You may need to get the dogs teeth cleaned or some extracted before they are able to eat bones properly, if so, please get this done, you will then see the benefit of a healthy mouth will do for your pet. Take the time to look in to your dogs mouth and give it a good sniff, if the teeth are bad and the dog has bad breath, the dog may already have some health issues happening. A dog will get sick because of rotten teeth, they are being poisoned through their mouths causing organ damage. Please get their teeth cleaned/removed if need, this will make a huge difference to the health of your pet.
Sadly many Vets will tell you that it is dangerous to feed our pets a Raw Diet. This is usually due to possible loss in income and lack of Nutritional education. I am not a vet and don't pretend to be one nor am I a nutritionist. But I am smart enough to l know that Dogs and Cats were thriving with less health issues when they were living on the very foods that Mother Nature intended for them to eat.
Do a google search about the nasties that are put into dog and cat foods. This will shock the daylights out of you when you see the poisons that are being pushed down your dogs throat. I know I was.
Like any diet there are many ways to feed a Raw Diet. Many raw feeders do not feed minced foods or add fruit and veggies, I do. There is the Vets all Natural which adds grains to diet, which many raw feeders do not feed too. There is also prey model diet as well. That is the whole prey animal. Chicken, rabbit, deer, pig, roo. You get the idea, but not processed at all. It is fed in it's natural state. I agree that this is the most natural method of feeding, not very practical for suburban pets though.
The way I think of it is Billinghusrt is minced meat/bone, fruit and veggies & supplements fed with raw meaty bones. Vets all Natural is air dried veggies & supplements mixed with grains that are sprouted over 12 - 24 hrs before feeding mixed with minced meat/bones and fed with raw meaty bones. Then there is the Lonsdale method of whole prey foods - no mince anything no fruit/veggies no supplements unless of medical conditions then the supplements may be of benefit. You can feed a variety of ways alternating between all if you like.
|
