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Leading a Healthy Life
While growing up and up and up, Panda was
plagued with gastrointestinal problems. She constantly had loose
stools, often diarrhea. She also had a gurgly, gassy tummy and no
appetite. Several days a week she wouldn't want to eat at all and
she rarely finished her food. I tried her on Eagle Pack, Innova,
California Natural. We were at the vet at least monthly. She was
diagnosed with colitis, IBD, worms, giarddia, coccidia, you name
it. It never got better. Finally, I found that the only thing that
kept her stools at least formed was Eukanuba--but that ruined her
coat.
A Strange Yet Logical Concept
So I started investigating other diet alternatives.
Some of the information out there disgusted me, some saddened me,
some confused me. I looked and read and searched. I lurked on several
e-mail lists. I totally rethought everything I'd learned about dog
food and diets. Then I came across information on a diet that is
deliberately structured to mimic the diet of a wild wolf. It doesn't
match it specifically but generally contains the same type of foodstuff.
It was called a biologically appropriate raw food (BARF) diet. But--it
was all raw meat! Could I handle that? What a scary concept!
It took me months of research and thought and vet
bills before I finally tried it. Panda started out on BARF in March
of 2000 and hasn't been back to the vet for GI problems since. After
a slow start--she did NOT want to eat it at first--Panda loved her
new diet! She eats all of her dinner and sometimes looks for more.
She doesn't have tummy problems anymore and she hasn't had loose
stool or the runs at all since she went on this diet. When I adopted
Tonka in June, I fasted him for 1 day and started him on it right
away too. They both look healthy and muscular. Read
a great article about BARF>>
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Note: If you're interested in this diet, I urge you
to research and lurk before jumping right in. Read Billinghurst
and Schultze. Go to the BARF list and lurk for a while. Do your
homework. This diet does have its dangers. Dogs can choke on
bones--but they can also choke on kibble. Make an informed decision.
Typical Week's Menu
I feed my dogs once a day. The sample menu below is
for one dog, one meal a day (average consumption). I supplement
with Flax Seed Oil or fish oil every day.
M - 2.25 LB chicken backs
T - 2.25 LB chicken backs
W - 2.25 LB chicken backs
TH - 2.5 LB Veggie mix
F - 2.25 LB chicken backs
S - 2.25 LB chicken backs
S - 2.25 LB turkey necks
M - veggie mix
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Warning: DO NOT feed your dog COOKED BONES of any kind--cooked
bones can splinter into sharp fragments and seriously injure
your dog. Raw bones are softer and break more easily.
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Note: PLEASE, PLEASE research this diet. You must understand
the proper meat/bone ratio, how to include and which vit/min
are needed, and more. This is not the diet to try if you don't
want to be involved in your dog's health and take steps to truly
understand what you're doing and how to do it. BUT it is, I
believe, the BEST way to feed your dogs.
Veggie Mix consists of:
I mix this up in the Cuisenarte and juicer so that
it is very mushy and almost juice-like. The mix should mimic the
consistency and content of the inside of a prey animal's stomach.
Dogs can't break down the walls of regular veggies to get to minerals
and vitamins and so the veggies must be run through a food processor/blender.
- leafy green veggies (1/2 of mix)
- carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, peppers, etc.
- ground beef
- chicken liver or gizzards or beef heart
- eggs
- cod liver oil (winter only)
- apple cider vinegar
- alfalfa, kelp
- garlic, brewer's yeast
- cottage cheese/ yogurt
About Dog Food
I'm not big into scare or shock tactics
but the articles and info below had a huge impact on me when I was
deciding whether to switch to raw food. I switched over in 2000
so things are a little better in terms of ingredients but this type
of info remains a concern for me.
Resources
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