Raw food diet for Dog - Vegetarian needs help!

[Arya]

My dog, soon to be 13 years old, has always been fed meat and scraps instead of dry food. She had really bad allergic reactions to dry food, but have never had a problem since the dry food was replaced.
Veterinarians have always asked me how I keep her teeth in such good condition, no tartar during her lifetime or any other problems. No AD or HD, only arthritis now due to her age.
She is in a very good condition for her age, and I am convinced it is not not only due to good genes.
As others already have written, there is a big difference in the stool of a dry fed dog and a "raw" fed dog. It can really seem like more of the nutrients are absorbed with the raw food diet, than dry. Dry fed dogs have this disgusting, bloated, foul smelling anaconda! You get the feeling that all the food you just put in your dog came right out again...
Raw fed dogs have a very small, compact and dry stool. Just the shear difference of the stool have made my mind up on what´s the most heathy alternative for the dog.

I have alwas taken blood samples of my dogs, on a regular basis, to check if there has been any deficiency due to their diet, but the result has always been good.

Good luck at the butcher!

 

[Arya]

The result of 12 years of raw food and dinner scraps:

Choice Steel Red Bonita by Lykketrollet, on Flickr

 

[Goatboy]

Lovely looking dog Arya. Looks fit as a fiddle. (Though not keen on the ear mods though that's a cultural thing).
When I rescued my last dog he was a bit of a mess psychologically and food was one of his things. Was very hard to get him to eat anything. Was only one dog food that he'd eat and even then reluctantly. He did prosper on a BARF diet though he was suspicious of it at first. Once he was sorted out mentally he really enjoyed his food, though never stole any. Folk used to be amazed that I could leave food within reach in a room while I wasn't there and he wouldn't touch it. As well as the BARF he did eat human food too, and he went mad for pasta with pesto and parmesan cheese. When folk came into the shop with parmesan from the deli next door he'd rush straight over and be very attentive, loved the stuff.
Reckon his diet kept him healthy as he was never at the vets ill until the end when he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. The vet did say that he was in very good condition despite his bad start to life which was pretty awful.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Arya]

I totally respect and understand people not being a fan of cropped ears This dog is from Italy, and it was normal to crop there at that time.

 

[santaman2000]

My dog, soon to be 13 years old, has always been fed meat and scraps instead of dry food....

When I was a kid we also fed table scraps, and our dogs (the pets anyway) usually lived to about 14 to 15 years (barring accidents) The working dogs , not so much. However the dogs I've had for the last few decades have been living on average 3 years longer The malamute/wolf mix was over 17 when I finally had to put her down and had been healthy most of her life (just a single bout with bronchitis and an ear infection) There're pros and cons to both diets.

 

[Bowlander]

Our butcher does dog mince for 25p/lb, far superior stuff to the pre-packed frozen stuff from pet shops. He also gives us knuckle bones for nothing.

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[Arya]

When I was a kid we also fed table scraps, and our dogs (the pets anyway) usually lived to about 14 to 15 years (barring accidents) The working dogs , not so much. However the dogs I've had for the last few decades have been living on average 3 years longer The malamute/wolf mix was over 17 when I finally had to put her down and had been healthy most of her life (just a single bout with bronchitis and an ear infection) There're pros and cons to both diets.

17?! That´s impressive for such a large dog!

 

[santaman2000]

17?! That´s impressive for such a large dog!

She was a bit small for the breed but she was indeed an impressive dog. I still miss her and it's been over ten years since I had her put down. She was totally convinced that the only reason she existed was to be by my side.

 

[Magentus]

A week into her new raw diet Bonnie sems to be doing really well. She is itching a lot less and is only pooing once a day and it's much easier to pick up! The pooing wasn't the reason for the diet - the itching was. She seems happy and energetic and we've discovered that along with most meat she also likes carrots, apples, turnips, banana and cucumber (all shredded/grated) but NOT BROCOLLI.

We're going to continue with it as she seems so happy, so thanks all of you for your good advice. Cheers!
Here she is in my office with me. I'm the one with glasses on.

 

[Macaroon]

Well now, she looks a fine girl!!! It's great that you seem to have found the right regime for her and I hope she'll continue to thrive............Wouldn't it be good if more folk paid this much attention to the welfare of their animals?

Enjoy each other

 

[Arya]

Wonderful!

 

[Chiseller]

bit late to thread and not yet read it all.
i used to feed my lurchers on halal chicken carcasses. A friend used to swap them latex type gloves for the chicken carcasses. the meat left on was plentiful and the bones obviously helped. ( just for those that dont know...raw chicken bones are ok ) . my dogs never looked or felt better as it showed in their temperament and gait.

he would get bin bag of chickens every week and shared between us was plenty.
i did give them a teaspoon of cod oil every feed aswell. i used to feed them 3 days on two off depending on how much running theyd do or be asked to do.


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