Myths of RAW Feeding Bones of Contention What's Really in Pet Food Joints & Arthritis
Raw is what carnivores eat. Dogs are not herbivores, they are not omnivores, though the dog food industry and many diet critics would have you believe otherwise. A carnivore gets optimal and appropriate nutrition from its species appropriate diet. The best source of this diet is a prey animal. If this is not possible, then a variety of body parts from a variety of prey-type animals works just fine. Brilliantly, in fact. UNLESS your dog has an orthopedic issue, such as Hip Dysplasia, Degenerative Myelopathy, Elbow Dysplasia, there is no need to supplement their raw diet. The only time they could benefit from supplements is for these health issues and I use Grizzly or Kronch's Salmon Oil and Ester-C vitamins daily.
There's nothing wrong with including vegetables in a dog's diet, but there is nothing essential about them, either. And there is NO point to feeding grains, whole, cracked, ground or otherwise. Supplemental carbs are superfluous in a good species appropriate diet for our domestic wolves.
Dogs jaws are designed to rip, tear, pull and crush, they move up and down only, they do not move side to side so they are unable to chew their food as a cow, horse, bear, etc. would. Their teeth are all pointed, none of them are flat which would allow the breaking down of plant matter and grains until they become of nutritional value. Dogs are also not designed to digest grains and carbs, their digestive tract is too short (6 feet as opposed to our 30 feet) for the amount of time it takes for those foods to digest so the dogs eliminate more than is necessary to rid their bodies of foods they do not need nor can absorb. Grains and carbs also turn to sugar during the process of digestion- which is the process of fermentation.
Kibble is, at least, 40% grain (or some other starch) simply to make the product stick together for extrusion. The vitamins and minerals are sprayed on the pellets after they've been baked, fried, roasted, toasted or whatever cooking process. There is minimal if any intrinsic nutrition remaining in the pellet itself.
It is instinct, by Nature, for all wild animals to know how their species should eat, it is man that has tried to change that. The US Government designed kibble in World War II to be able to send food to the dogs serving overseas in the armed forces without spoiling. Before that all dogs, for thousands of years, ate table scraps and raw food.
ALL dogs evolved from wolves, wolves are wild and get their own meals from the prey they kill. They may be observed eating berries or some grasses, etc, but it is usually for medicinal purposes- again instinct by Nature....
I would not feed my dogs any foods or treats that can be purchased at a grocery store (unless it is specific to a raw food diet), a department store, a pet department store or a vet's office. The quality of foods purchased in any of those places would be the equivalent of us eating at McDonald's every day for the rest of our lives, sooner or later the poor diet would catch up with us. Nutrition is an elective course, not mandatory, during veterinary school. As in the human world, if you had an issue with your diet your medical doctor would probably send you to a nutritionist. My vet is very supportive and there are many that are becoming more aware of this way of feeding.
My dogs all eat their food partially to fully frozen- slows them down and it keeps them from swallowing it whole!
Raw feeding- this means literally RAW INCLUDING bones- not cooked:
not smoked, not microwaved, not boiled, not grilled, not fried, not baked, not broiled, not dehydrated
All dogs should start on one protein source for the first two weeks, I usually suggest chicken. After that add one meat source at a time for one meal per day for one week, then a new source the third week, etc., etc. My staple is chicken because of cost- out of 14 meals a week they probably have chicken 8 times, turkey 2 times, pork 4 times.
ie:
I feed chicken on:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday
I feed pork on:
Wednesday & Friday
I feed turkey on:
Sunday
The following are treats that I give them- certainly not all of these daily!
beef liver, beef kidney, chicken livers, chicken giblets, pork liver, pork kidney, lamb kidney, etc for organ meat and muscle meat. I don't feed beef, except beef heart, liver and kidney, because of density of a bone that holds the weight of such a large animal. I am concerned with our dog's teeth breaking.
Based on 1 lb meals, 2 times a day:
8- 3/4 lb to 1 lb meals/week in chicken
2- 3/4 lb to 1 lb turkey meals/week
4- 3/4 lb to 1 lb pork meals/week
1 lb total organ (OM)(treats)
4 whole raw eggs/week including shell (treats)
3-4 frozen smelts 3-4 x/week
Formula to decide on the amount of raw food to feed:
for a puppy up to 3-4 months- 10%/day of their current weight OR 20% of expected adult size:
20 lb puppy x 16 oz = 320 oz x .10% = 32 oz / 16 oz = 2 lbs/day
over 4 months of age and for adults 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% or 3%/day of their ideal adult weight- this % will depend on whether or not your dog is too heavy, too thin, active or inactive, you can measure their food in oz. or lbs.:
There's enough meat on chicken leg quarters and turkey drumsticks and thighs to be considered RMBs (raw meaty bones) AND MM (muscle meat) so it would be unnecessary to worry about making sure there is enough muscle meat being fed when feeding those kinds of meat sources.
I never give organ meat OM or muscle meat MM as a whole meal- I give it as treats 2-3 times every day. I also give them whole raw eggs with shells 4-5 times a week- I just hand it to them and they go outside, drop it on the ground and lick it up! They love frozen smelts and get them 3-4 times a week as treats.
Meat sources:
chicken backs (includes liver) usually has to be purchased in bulk
chicken leg quarters
chicken wings/chicken drumsticks for smaller dogs or puppies, until they are comfortable with larger pieces
pork bones are pork shoulder blades according to Market Basket butchers!
necks
spareribs
pork hocks- NOT smoked
pig's feet - NOT smoked
pig's ears- NOT smoked
pig's tails- NOT smoked
ground chicken- MM
chicken livers- OM & T
chicken giblets- OM & T
ground turkey- MM
turkey livers- OM & T
turkey giblets- OM & T
ground beef- MM
beef liver- OM & T
beef kidney- OM & T
pork liver- OM & T
pork kidney- OM & T
lamb kidney- OM & T
I DO NOT give beef marrow bones, beef soup bones or beef knuckle bones for recreational use- they are bones that bear the weight of an animal weighing over 1000 lbs- a dental accident waiting to happen....I also do not feel that bones should be used for recreational chewing if they are fed a raw diet- these food sources should be kept separate from their "toys".