Raw Dog Food - The Natural Dog Diet, or BARF
We hear all the time to “avoid processed and modified food, opt for whole natural foods” and as a society, we are finally asking the question; why isn’t this true for our beloved pets?
About 100 years ago “dog food” was invented, along with processed “convenience” human foods. We are now seeing the detrimental results of both, and realizing the consequences of consuming these “food” items. 75 years ago dog food in a bag became the convenient, easy way to feed pets, yet pets have been around for thousands and thousands of years.
The Background of Commercial Dog Food
Let’s go back 100 years again. What did dogs eat? It was pretty simple, dogs ate and scavenged raw meat, live prey and plenty of dead prey including rats, mice, and birds of all shapes and sizes. When you butchered a chicken, a portion was given to the dog, RAW.
In the past 100 years, dogs nutritional needs have not changed; they have not “adapted” to this unnatural “food” in a bag. It takes millennia upon millennia for a specie’s dietary needs to change, not a few decades.
Common Mistakes in Natural Dog Feeding
In the past few years I’ve spoken to hundreds of dog owners who wanted a better diet for their dog. They tried to provide a more natural approach, from what they’d concluded from the never ending, often conflicting, information available on the Internet.
Here is a list of a few commonly miss-understood recipes for natural or raw dog feeding: (please note, these are NOT recommended if this is all you intend to read!!!)
1. Feeding raw chicken carcasses and feet, from the butcher.
2. Feeding raw chicken thighs with a little liver and heart on the side.
3. Feeding boiled rice and raw ground beef.
So let’s have a look at the problem with these three attempts at a natural dog diet.
- Raw chicken carcasses and feet, fresh from the butcher. These are absolutely fine to give to your dog, but the bone content in a natural dog diet should be around 10-15% and since chicken carcasses are around 90% bone, as with the feet; this is not a complete diet to be fed on the daily. Meat content should be around 80% of a natural canine diet.
- Raw chicken legs with a little liver and heart. This is really close to proper raw dog feeding, and would be fine for several months. But a successful natural diet is composed of a variety of meat sources and a variety of organs.
- Rice and ground beef. Well, the ground beef is fine, but again, where is the variety? Would you only eat apples as your soul source of fruit? (I hope the answer is no) Rice (for most part) was invented by humans, and must be cooked in order to be eaten. It is not possible for ANY species of animal (other then humans) to pick and cook rice. Therefore logic would tell you it is not a natural item to use in an animal’s diet.
I support anyone who wants to provide the healthiest, most natural diet possible for their beloved pets. But it must be done properly, and I can help you do it properly.
If we look at the teeth of any dog (or a wild African dog, or wild South American dog, or coyote, or jackal, or a fox, or a wolf) they are not even capable of chewing rice, since all their teeth are pointed, and their jaws are interlocking. Their jaws are not capable of moving side-to-side, which is an ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY tool for omnivores and herbivores. Carnivores jaws only move up and down, to rip and tear meat.
The Benefits of a Natural Raw Dog & Cat Feeding
Here is a short list, of just a few of the benefits you and your dog will enjoy, from a natural diet:
- Aliviation of most common allergies
- Significantly smaller and less smelly stool, and a 99% reduction in flagellation
- Better breath, cleaner teeth, and healthier gums
- Shinier, softer coat, with less itchy skin
- Most importantly, reduce the possibility of degenerative diseases and systemic cancers, which now plague one in two dogs
