Should You Feed Your dog a Raw Diet?
I started writing about feeding my mutt Ace a raw diet in 2011.
Today, there is a lot more information available (good and bad) on feeding raw, and dog owners are a lot more likely to know someone who feeds raw.
To feed your dog a “raw diet” indicates to feed her a diet of raw meat, raw bones, raw organ meat and often raw veggies.
In this article I am featuring four members of That Mutt’s community who feed their dogs raw.
I thought it would be interesting to see what others are feeding, why they feed raw and the benefits they’ve seen in their dogs.
These dog owners are not vets or nutrition experts. This is just a fun way to see what others are doing and to help you decide if you must feed your own dog a raw diet.
This post is sponsored by Darwin’s natural Pet Products.
Should you feed your dog a raw diet?
Here are four examples of dog owners who are delighted feeding their family pets raw and the benefits they have noticed.
Rik Rehman and Baxter the pitbull
Bailey, Colorado
Baxter has been eating a raw diet considering that he was 8 weeks old, and his owner Rik Rehman says his dog has always been very healthy.
Besides steaming some veggies, he feeds Baxter a 100% raw diet made from scratch each month.
“Our vet says he’s one of the healthiest dog he’s ever seen,” Rik said.
Some of the benefits Rik has personally observed with Baxter include:
• No allergies• A terrific coat• Fresh breath• clear eyes• clean ears• A strong immune system• energy that “won’t quit!”• terrific musculature development
“I’m just feeding him what they have been eating for thousands of years,” he said.
Rik feeds Baxter a variety of meats, organs, vegetables, fruits, oils and all-natural supplements to achieve a complete diet.
He said he gets almost all of this at a local grocery store and it has taken him years to understand the nutritional values of the ingredients and the quantities of each to use.
“I am a substantial supporter of variation of ingredients,” he said. “After all, who wants to eat the same thing day after day and night after night?”
Rik also stressed how crucial it is to make sure your dog’s raw diet is appropriately balanced.
“I just don’t want people to think that they can just throw a few pieces of chicken, a porkchop or a steak in a food dish and call it good,” he said.
“Complete nutrition needs to be the paramount topic of discussion referring to feeding a raw diet.”
He believes it is crucial to put forth the effort to make certain our family pets have the best possible nutrition available because that indicates “giving them the best possibility for a long, healthy and delighted life.”
Joanne and Xena the German shepherd
Oregon
Joanne has been feeding her German shepherd Xena a raw diet for about a year.
Xena eats Darwin’s raw dog food because the pre-made food is balanced and convenient to serve. The brand has also been around a long time without lots of recalls.
The positive changes Joanne has observed in Xena include healthier skin and a healthier coat. Plus, she said Xena is a happier dog and relatively healthy with no allergies or gut issues.
“I want to keep it that way,” she said.
“I feel feeding kibble for the life of the dog is like us eating dry cereal every day. It has taken me a lot of years and three previous German shepherd dogs to get away from kibble, though the others were fed kibble and added raw food.”
Joanne said she worries about the recalls related to kibble and dogs getting sick and even dying from dry dog food.
“I want to keep this dog as healthy as long as possible, hopefully avoiding cancer,” she said.
“I believe now, that dogs are indicated to eat raw.”
She points out that dogs were eating raw food before kibble was even invented.
“Those dogs were mostly relatively healthy and lived longer than our dogs do now.”
If your dog would like to try Darwin’s raw food, the company has a trial going on where you can get 10 pounds of raw food delivered to your door for just $14.95 and complimentary shipping. Aflați mai multe.
Jessica and major the German shepherd
Jessica Schwimmer started feeding her 4-year-old dog major a homemade raw diet two years ago. She made the switch to raw because no dry dog food would agree with Major’s digestive system.
The changes she’s observed in her dog include a “super, shiny coat,” less poop, no bad breath and remarkable teeth.
“I don’t have to shell out $300 for a dental cleaning at the vet,” she said.
Jessica believes a “prey model” raw diet of raw meat, organ meat and bones is the healthiest because you know what’s in your dog’s food.
“With kibble, it’s a guessing game what’s in those little brown pieces. and the ingredients list … half the stuff I can’t even pronounce!”
Major eats 90% diy raw and 10% premix “grinds.” He’s tried nine different proteins so far including chicken, beef, pork, turkey, camel, goat, lamb, rabbit and venison. He also gets salmon, pollock and sardines.
“ElNu a avut niciodată o reacție sau o intoleranță la proteine, așa cum a făcut -o cu Kibble ”, a spus Jessica.
Când am întrebat -o ce crede că alții trebuie să știe despre hrănirea unei diete crude, a spus că recomandarea comună de 80/10/10 (80% carne musculară, 10% carne de organe și 10% os) nu este alb -negru. Unii câini, precum Major, pot necesita un pic mai mult os, deoarece ajută să -și păstreze cocoșul mult mai solid.
„Și auzirea lor crunch pe un os este un sunet satisfăcător!” ea a spus.
Major are doi congelatori dedicați lui și mâncării sale. Una pentru mesele sale preparate și una pentru depozitare.
„Primesc o mulțime de carne de la congelatorul„ Cleanouts ”, a spus Jessica. „Mulți oameni apreciază că va folosi, mai degrabă decât coșul de gunoi.”
Timothy Grisack și Diesel
Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada
Timothy și -a adoptat câinele Diesel în urmă cu aproximativ 5 luni și imediat a început să -i hrănească o dietă crudă.
Există o mulțime de mărci diferite de mâncare pentru câini crude, de la proaspăt, congelat crud până la îngheț crud uscat. Diesel mănâncă un brand pre-fabricat din magazinul făcut cu carne, carne de organe, legume și os.
Decizia lui Timothy de a hrăni Diesel Raw a venit după cercetări severe, vorbind cu doi medici veterinari și verificând referințele recomandate.
„Dovezile convingătoare pe care le -am găsit consecvente au fost facturile veterinare mai mici și longevitatea vieții câinelui meu”, a spus el.
După ce a schimbat motorina la Raw, Timothy a observat că câinele său are mult mai multă energie în timpul vizitelor parcului câinilor.
El oferă Diesel un supliment zilnic pentru a se asigura că câinele său primește zilnic enzime, vitamine și fibre.
Când l -am întrebat ce sfaturi va da altora și a spus că, în timp ce mulți proprietari cu experiență de câini creează de la zero mese crude, nu recomandă acest lucru fără să se consulte mai întâi cu veterinarul tău.
„Cel mai bun mod de a -ți iubi câinele este să faci ceea ce este necesar pentru a -i menține sănătoși”, a spus el. „Mâncarea pe care le hrăniți este numărul prioritar 1.”
Vă mulțumim Rik, Joanne, Jessica și Timothy pentru că ați împărtășit cum vă hrăniți câinii!
Aveți întrebări cu privire la hrănirea unei diete brute?
Anunță -mă în comentarii!
Pentru elementele de bază ale hrănirii crude, consultați postarea mea: DIY COW COW FOOD pentru începători
Vedeți toate articolele noastre de hrănire brută aici.
– Lindsay