Raw Food? Are you serious? By Maryellen Errigo
Posted by: Dave@HDDCo | 02-16-10 | There are (1) Comments
For those of you that don’t want to feed a commercial kibble/canned to your dogs/cats, there is always raw food. Some folks think, “Oh gross, raw food! Won’t my dog get salmonella poisoning? How can this be good for them?” Since dogs/cats have been eating commercial kibble/canned for generations now, feeding a healthy raw diet sounds a little weird.
There are numerous raw/whole prey groups on http://www.yahoo.com, just type in “raw” or “barf” and your area and it will bring up a list of groups that feed a raw diet. Some groups still feed vegetables in raw, some don’t. You have to find the group that works for you. Everyone has their own opinion on raw diets, so see what works for your pet and go from there.
Normally on a raw diet you don’t have to supplement. Some folks do; it’s all up to your personal preference. Some good supplements are salmon oil, manuka honey, raw honey from farmers, virgin coconut oil, and vitamins.
Normally dogs are fed anywhere from 1-2% of their body weight when you start out. Puppies need more since they are growing, and must get the proper calcium/phosphorus ratio to help growing joints. Most people start out with either chicken or turkey, and feed that for a few weeks then start adding different meats in. Some options include beef, bison, venison, pork, emu, ostrich, rabbit, etc. Organs are VERY important, as they contain numerous vitamins the dogs/cats will need. If you don’t like handling hearts (which is a muscle meat) or liver or kidneys you can always buy ground up organs from pre-made raw distributors (list is below). Tripe is an essential part of the raw diet—- green tripe, not the white bleached tripe you get at the supermarket. Green Tripe can be found at http://www.greentripe.com.
Bones are very important as well, as they provide the calcium needed. If you don’t want to feed bones you can feed raw eggs with the shells, or go out and buy bone meal powder and add that to the food.
Can dogs/cats get salmonella? Possibly. Most animals’ stomachs are tougher than humans’, and their digestive tract handles bacteria differently then ours. Proper handling of raw food for humans is a must. Wipe down areas with distilled white vinegar and always wash dog/cat bowls after every meal.
Dogs/cats on a proper raw diet retain more of the nutrients then on kibble/canned, so your pet’s output (poops) will be considerably less than when on kibble.
Too much bone = hard white poops. Too little bone = loose poops. Just the right amount of bone = good solid small firm poops.
Most dogs can handle raw fine and don’t have any issues, but there are some dogs that can’t (my Ruby can’t handle raw. Her kidney functions go thru the roof). Make sure you do blood work before you start raw and then again while on it to monitor the organ functions to make sure your pet can handle a raw diet. It’s not the end of the world if your pet can’t handle a raw diet, as you can either home cook for them or find a good quality kibble that agrees with them.
If you do decide to go raw, try to find a Co-op in your area to buy meats from as that will save you a ton of money. Get a stand alone freezer, or a chest freezer. When you buy from a Co-Op you buy in bulk to get the cheapest deals, so you will need a space to store a hundred pounds of meat or more. Contact hunters too, and see if during hunting season you can score some venison or other game meats.
Here is a compiled list of books, websites, etc. for those wanting to go to BARF diets with their dogs. Since the melamine scare in dry dog food last year some folks have switched to a natural raw diet. My crew has been eating raw for over 4 years now, and their health is proof it does work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/illonahaus/sets/872344/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rottnbully/sets/72057594091327450/show/
Websites:
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm
http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
http://www.sundaysaver.com/
Books:
The BARF Diet by Ian Billinghurst, DVM
Home-Prepared Dog & Cat Diets: the Healthful Alternative
by Donald R. Strombeck
Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Schultze
Work Wonders by Tom Lonsdale, DVM
The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog by Wendy Volhard
Switching To Raw by Susan K. Johnson
The New Natural Cat by Anitra Frazier
Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard Pitcairn, DVM and Susan Hubble Pitcarin
The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat by Juliette de Bairacli Levy
Raw Dog Food by Carina Beth McDonald
Articles:
What’s Best, Cooked or Raw?
Do Dogs and Cats Need Grains?
The Importance of Feeding a Natural Diet
Natural Diet for Dogs and Cats by Jeff Levy DVM
Why Raw?
Is A Raw Diet Dangerous? by Dr. Wysong
Why Cats Shouldn’t Eat Dry Food
Raw Diet Lists:
The RawFeeding List (The biggest raw diet list - Start here if new to raw)
The RawDiet List
The RawPaws List
The RawChat List
The BARFWorld List (Hosted by veterinarian, Dr. Ian Billinghurst)
The advBARF List (For advanced discussions - no beginners, please)
The Basic Raw List (The Lonsdale/whole carcass approach)
The BARFLite List (for those who feed cooked meat or kibble in addition to raw)
General Health Lists:
WellPet (The original pet health list)
The NaturalPet List
The HolisticPet List
The Pets4Homeopathy List
Canine Lists:
The K9NutritionStudyGroup List
The RawPup List (Great for learning to feed puppies raw)
The RawBreeder List
The NaturalRawDog List
The SeniorRawFeeding List
BARF websites & books:
http://www.barfworld.com/
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm
http://www.barfers.com/
http://www.rawdogranch.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/fro…awFed.html
http://www.b-naturals.com/default.php
http://www.ipindex.com/
http://www.caberfeidh.com/index.htm
http://www.bowchow.com/
http://www.forums.doghobbyist.com/fo…p?catid=29
http://www.rawfeddogs.net/
http://rawfed.com/
http://www.rawlearning.com/
Premade raw:
http://www.omaspride.com
http://www.bravodiet.com
http://www.naturesvariety.com
http://www.primalpetfoods.com
http://www.barfproducts.com
http://www.amorepetfoods.com
http://pepperdogz.com
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com
