Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A thread here encouraged me to do more investigating and I got convinced to start giving my two old dogs raw meat and bones.
Started with small amounts and worked up to it being a major share of their diet.
Within one short week there were noticable improvements in their skin and coat.
Unexpected benefits were huge decrease in the amount of shedding and loss of the 'doggie' smell from my Shepherd.
Shouldn't be surprised when you stop and think how important overall good health is when it comes to human conditions like hair and skin.
I do feel guilty about all the years and previous dogs that I now feel I was making survive on a "Twinkies" diet.
If Noah and Trooper could , they'd be giving big THANKS! to all who were encouraging it
I, too, appreciate the encouragement from everyone. I've started looking into it, and discussed raw with my vet, who said the only raw diet he feels is safe is BARF. He said if we wanted to go raw, to stick to that. He's very concerned about the bacteria found in most store bought meats as he has seen a lot of problems due to that.
If your worried about store bought, rinse the meat off first and then grind it yourself.
With older dogs, I would go for chicken or rabbit and grind the meat pretty good to break down the bone. I bought a grinder years ago. My dog is so old now that she only eats cooked chicken breast and white rice with broth. I add bone meal and go with a daily vitamin. She still has trouble keeping even that down.
I'm never eating fast-food again. After reading this post, I checked to see what exactly is in store-bought dog food. Class-D meat. What is "D"? Urban Legends -- Grade D Meat (All Lies) If you like hot dogs and drive-through restraunts, don't read this. In other words, the meat you buy in a store and then prepare for your dog, whether medium-well or steak tartar, is of better quality, but not well-balanced. I'd check with a vet on supplements with raw food.
I'm never eating fast-food again. After reading this post, I checked to see what exactly is in store-bought dog food. Class-D meat. What is "D"? Urban Legends -- Grade D Meat (All Lies) If you like hot dogs and drive-through restraunts, don't read this. In other words, the meat you buy in a store and then prepare for your dog, whether medium-well or steak tartar, is of better quality, but not well-balanced. I'd check with a vet on supplements with raw food.
My dogs eat store bought meat. If i can eat it, they can.
Key to raw is a variety of meat/bone/fish that you give, especially for a younger dog.
Don't just feed one thing every day, you need different sources of meat to accommodate dogs nutritional intake. Bone must be at 60% of the daily diet, the rest are muscle and organ meat. You can add anything that your dog might enjoy, eggs, yogurt, mushed veggies or fruit.
Keep at it, it's good for you and your dog.
As far as bacteria goes, dogs have very strong stomach acid where bacteria has very little chance to survive.
Congratulations on making the switch! I don't worry too much about buying meat from the grocery store. I'm also located close to a poultry plant, and during deer hunting season, we're able to go to the processor to pick through the remains on our own, for free. Kinda gross, but I got used to it. In addition to the coat and breath improvements, you'll find that the waste is very small and without much odor. In fact it will kinda disintegrate in the yard after a day or two, so we rarely have to pick up the yard. Of course, we still pick up when they go during a walk
I give my dog cooked meat, egg, veggies, whatever. Occasionally she gets liver or some 'offal' as they say but mainly it's turkey or chicken or burger meat, veggies along with quality kibble.
No more canned for her and she's doing better and definitely shedding less. I didn't like the idea of her getting all these 'crappy bits' in the canned food.
I found that she wasted the canned food and it was just sort of gross. I am the only meat eater in my house so half the food I can't save or don't like left over (like tuna fish) goes to my dog. I give her a can of sardines a week.
Raw meat and bones gave my sheltie a whole new life! Best thing I could have done for her!
I got my sheltie, Scarlett, from the county shelter. Actually, the rescue I was volunteering for rescued her and brought her to me to foster. She was a MESS! Poor little girl was one massive infection. Her ears, skin, paws, and losing hair. The vet couldn't even figure out her problem until all was under control. Her bloodwork was all over the place. Took a few weeks to get her to a point to where she was stabilized enough to determine her main problem is allergies... to who knows what.
In reaction to her allergies, her ears has growths inside the ear canal, and her ear flaps. Ears were constantly infected, as the ears had pretty much grown shut. Both ear canals were removed in surgery, down to the eardrums. She's now 100% deaf. No more ear infections. A change to better kibble and supplements helped her coat, but it was still flaky. She constantly licked her paw pads raw, and they were horribly swollen. She still stunk, but not as bad, as the ear problem was alleviated. She only stunk up a room, instead of the whole house.
She still needed "something more" to help her feel better. I started looking for better food, and stumbled upon the raw diet. I researched it for a couple of months and figured since she needed me to go the extra mile for her, I should try it. It's been 3 months now since I started the raw diet, and it's been great. Her hair is growing back beautifully, she barely has any odor, and she has stopped licking her paw pads. They're all healed up, and her nails are not the flaky, cracked nails she had before.
She's a different dog now. She used to stay in her crate 23 hrs. a day, now she spends a lot of time with my other 2 dogs (now also on raw), she's much more sociable, and will now sleep on my bed with me. So now that she's no longer in pain, and generally feels better, she's a much happier, and more normal dog. Her teeth are cleaner, too. No more bad breath. My guess is that she's probably allergic to the additives, preservatives, and who knows what else in processed dog food. The meat I buy contains no enhancements at all. No broth, flavorings, NOTHING. Just the residual water needed for processing.
She's about 7 years old, and I've had her for one year. I have adopted her. I hate to think what her life was like for the first 6 years of her life.
Raw meat and bones gave my sheltie a whole new life! Best thing I could have done for her!
I got my sheltie, Scarlett, from the county shelter. Actually, the rescue I was volunteering for rescued her and brought her to me to foster. She was a MESS! Poor little girl was one massive infection. Her ears, skin, paws, and losing hair. The vet couldn't even figure out her problem until all was under control. Her bloodwork was all over the place. Took a few weeks to get her to a point to where she was stabilized enough to determine her main problem is allergies... to who knows what.
In reaction to her allergies, her ears has growths inside the ear canal, and her ear flaps. Ears were constantly infected, as the ears had pretty much grown shut. Both ear canals were removed in surgery, down to the eardrums. She's now 100% deaf. No more ear infections. A change to better kibble and supplements helped her coat, but it was still flaky. She constantly licked her paw pads raw, and they were horribly swollen. She still stunk, but not as bad, as the ear problem was alleviated. She only stunk up a room, instead of the whole house.
She still needed "something more" to help her feel better. I started looking for better food, and stumbled upon the raw diet. I researched it for a couple of months and figured since she needed me to go the extra mile for her, I should try it. It's been 3 months now since I started the raw diet, and it's been great. Her hair is growing back beautifully, she barely has any odor, and she has stopped licking her paw pads. They're all healed up, and her nails are not the flaky, cracked nails she had before.
She's a different dog now. She used to stay in her crate 23 hrs. a day, now she spends a lot of time with my other 2 dogs (now also on raw), she's much more sociable, and will now sleep on my bed with me. So now that she's no longer in pain, and generally feels better, she's a much happier, and more normal dog. Her teeth are cleaner, too. No more bad breath. My guess is that she's probably allergic to the additives, preservatives, and who knows what else in processed dog food. The meat I buy contains no enhancements at all. No broth, flavorings, NOTHING. Just the residual water needed for processing.
She's about 7 years old, and I've had her for one year. I have adopted her. I hate to think what her life was like for the first 6 years of her life.
Her she is:
Scarlett is beautiful, thanks to your love and care. What a heartwarming success story! Bless you!
I also feed raw and can't be happier. The bacteria thing is a myth. Dogs actually get sicker from kibble than they ever do on raw meat. I won't go into the "why's" right now but suffice it to say their digestion process is radically different than ours.
I have a 9yo Great Dane that thinks he's a puppy. I have no joint problems or heart problems and his teeth are sparkly white! Mine get no plant material ever at all. I don't see the need for it since they can't digest it and it has about 20% bioavailability.
Just remember to keep it simple and varied and you'll do fine....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
