Dogs Diet, Raw Meat.

[Dave]

I wanted to share this, as its worked out great for us.
We have a Labrador. He's a big fella. Not fat. But 40kg.
We fed him on Burns, at £40 a bag, lasting a month, as it was supposed to be the best stuff, from the research I did.

Anyway, about 6 months ago, I took him to the vets, as he was getting really bad dandruff. Like snow, mainly down his back.
Vet gave me some antibiotics, and Sebomild P shampoo.

Didnt do any good. So Ive taken him off Burns, and for the last few months have been feeding him a Raw meat diet, a bag of beef HERE from petsathome. That one bag, costs £6.49, and lasts about 9-10 days. Its basically halved the cost of dog food. I'll also add a few defrosted veg, and a spoonful of flax oil, and he's in absolutely fantastic condition. You can see a real difference. Shiny coat, excellent health.

I rang the vet, and asked about worming more regularly, they said I dont have to, but I have taken to worming him every two months now.

Some interesting vet data here:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...e-quality-of-pet-food-ingredients-part-2.aspx

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/04/01/raw-food-diet-part-1.aspx

 

[Mesquite]

Yup... we raw feed all our pets and they're a lot healthier for it. The wife manages the various meats, I just give them the required amounts when she's not around

They like it so much they're starting to find their own food now

 

[Dave]

Haha, nice one.

 

[santaman2000]

Plus 1 on the raw meat. However the veg should be at least partially cooked. I know, that sounds backwards right? There's a reason though. Canines do need veg in their diet and they get it in the wild as well. However their digestive systems (being primarily carnivores) aren't adapted to digest it as well as herbivores. In the wild this is compensated for by their veg intake being already partially digested for them as the main supply is from the stomach contents of their prey. Since that's not available in the home environment, we need to compensate by cooking the veg instead; just leave out all spices and herbs as they might not be compatible with canine diets.

 

[Dave]

Good tip Santa, thanks. [It doesnt seem to have had any negative effect on ours though]

 

[mrcharly]

Dogs in the wild eat a lot more than just meat . . . I'm glad to hear Dave is adding some veg to his dog's diet.

I 'inherited' a black and tan terrier, terribly overweight, very bad temperament. Dog had hardly been taken outside. teeth in terrible shape, vet thought we'd need dental work and a general anaesthetic
Made him a kennel on the riverside, put him on a 30ft chain. He ate all sorts of vegetation, chewed up all sorts of muck, wood, etc. Within a couple of months he was lean and fit, bouncing around. Shining white teeth and no stinky breath.
Dogs are pretty good at self medicating if we give them a chance.

 

[santaman2000]

Dogs in the wild eat a lot more than just meat . . . I'm glad to hear Dave is adding some veg to his dog's diet.

I 'inherited' a black and tan terrier, terribly overweight, very bad temperament. Dog had hardly been taken outside. teeth in terrible shape, vet thought we'd need dental work and a general anaesthetic
Made him a kennel on the riverside, put him on a 30ft chain. He ate all sorts of vegetation, chewed up all sorts of muck, wood, etc. Within a couple of months he was lean and fit, bouncing around. Shining white teeth and no stinky breath.
Dogs are pretty good at self medicating if we give them a chance.

Agreed; my comment was a generalization, not an overriding imperative.

 

[Robson Valley]

I've never been convinced that "dog food" is anything near complete nutrition. I've watched them nibble long grass outdoors for more than a decade.
So, early on, I decided that they each got 3 leaves of Romaine lettuce with every evening meal, maybe some fresh cucumber/tomato/etc scraps, bits of cheese.
Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, 35-40kg, their vet visits are few and far between. But, their overall health, joints & coats, are deteriorating with age.
Just like me.

 

[santaman2000]

Often (not always, but often) it's been my experience that when dogs nibble grass, they induce vomiting. The question is whether this is an instinctive behavior when they have an upset stomach or coincidence? I was taught the former from my childhood by laymen with lots of dog experience.

 

[Goatboy]

BARF (Bones And Raw Flesh) is really good diet wise for lots of reasons. Health, less poo, cheaper and most mutts seem to prefer it. On the veg front if you grate it or very finely chop it their short gut handles it better, though cooking will also help as said.
Will get the address from a friend who has stuff delivered. Not too expensive and comes in insulated boxes. They have four dogs so buy in bulk. It does mean they have a big dedicated freezer in the garage. Comes in premixed sausage like plastic wrap; meat, veg and bone all together. They also get big bags of frozen duck necks which the dogs get after their main meal and seems to be the favourite thing.
I used to get chicken necks and the likes from the local butcher for next to nothing and again my mutt loved them.
When you look at the "fillers" and bulking agents in some dog food; ash being a major one, it's no wonder that some don't agree with them and they produce so much foul smelling poop.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Goatboy]

Agreed; my comment was a generalization, not an overriding imperative.

One of the first things a lot of dogs go for on killing a herbivore is the stomach. They know theres part digested veg matter in there that's easy to digest.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[santaman2000]

BARF (Bones And Raw Flesh) is really good diet wise for lots of reasons. Health, less poo.....

I might add here that to avoid undue stomach upset whatever you feed should be consistent. Any change should be made gradually. The normal recommendation for dry kibble would be to mix the new kibble 1/4 new to 3/4 old for the first day or two---moving to an even mix the next day or two---moving to 1/4 old to 3/4 new the final day or two before switching to all new. The same principle would be well to apply to a natural diet as well.

In other words, if you've been feeding raw chicken (as an example) but want to switch to beef tripe (as an example) do it gradually.

 

[bearbait]

My dogs like a bit of sheep poo occasionally. They can walk past tons of the stuff then they suddenly find a bit that's got just what they want. I guess they're getting some partially digested vegetation from that.

There is also a particular grass growing in ponds on the moors nearby that they like to eat...in preference to playing ball so it must be good!

 

[Mesquite]

In other words, if you've been feeding raw chicken (as an example) but want to switch to beef tripe (as an example) do it gradually.

That would hold true when you're first starting out introducing raw feeding but once the animal is established on it it's not necessary. We swap and change the feed of our dogs all the time so they get variety and don't get bored with one meat at a time. Same goes for everyone I know who raw feeds their animals.

After all in the wild a fox one day might catch a pheasant and the next a rabbit and think he's got to swap over gradually between the two.

 

[Adze]

Mercola? You have to be kidding Dave... that's guy's tin foil hat has a chinstrap fer Pete's sake!

 

[santaman2000]

......After all in the wild a fox one day might catch a pheasant and the next a rabbit and think he's got to swap over gradually between the two.

True, but a fox in the wild isn't going to poo on your carpet.

 

[Dave]

You must know something I dont about mercola then?

 

[Adze]

Here's just a wee taster...

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/18/history-vaccination.aspx

 

[Robson Valley]

Coprophagy is not uncommon across many species. It affords them the chance to extract more nutrient, particularly species such as rabbits.
I do agree, with the Chesapeakes as my only example over several dogs and 20 years, consistency in diet seems valuable. Sure, they eat long grass.
Sure, they barf. Some days I think they do it just for fun.

Predators and scavengers in the wild have to be opportunists = they cannot afford to pass up road-kill, no matter what it is.
Consequently, you will find that their digestive systems are set up for hair and feathers, etc. That versatility is their life-saver.
The Raven, Corvus corvax, is the largest of the Corvid birds along with crows, rooks and others. They are omnivorous.

 

[bearbait]

When I gave my dogs raw meat (lamb or mutton) they would gulp it down. Occasionally they would then throw up after 3/4 minutes, along with some digestive juices. They'd leave it 5 mins or so then eat it again. I always felt they were using partial "external" digestion before eating it all again and giving it another single chew on the way down for the second time. Or perhaps they thought it so good they wanted to eat it all over again!

Yup - they had no problem eating critters: fur, bone and all.