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| Spring 2007 Newsletter |
| The "Raw Deal" - a look at raw feeding |
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| fatty acid supplement) capsule -alternating them, one day, the other the next. When the need arises, Wendy and Victor use probiotics and Vitamin C to balance the immune system in times of stress. Renee and Evan make sure their puppies get some Vitamin C to support ligament growth, and are �more vigilant on adding extras to a bitch about to be bred, in whelp, or nursing a litter.�
ON THE ROAD Whether it is traveling for vacation, showing, or performance trials these owners try and carry out the same regiment that they would when their dogs are dining from home. Jill takes a cooler full of frozen chicken when boarding � she says, �It makes all the other dogs jealous!� Wendy and Victor take a lot of camping trips and find it easy to pack a cooler full of meaty beef bones and raw chicken. When traveling from Canada to the U.S, Larry and Michelle buy the raw meat in the supermarkets and pre-pack most of the supplements. They are still hoping that Customs won�t be too curious as to what the bags of dry herbs and white powders are. Chris tries to bring her own water from home or buy bottled water for the dogs. Being on well water, without all the added chemicals of city water, she finds it easier on the dogs to have their own water. To help out a nervous traveler, she also packs some slippery elm and/or yogurt in case they get a loose stool. Cathey travels with a plug-in �refrigerator,� which she can plug in to the van, or at the motel to keep everything cold. When sending a bitch to be bred, Renee and Evan will send frozen raw food to the stud dog owners - if they don�t feed raw themselves. They believe it is tremendously important to their overall health and is one area they won�t bend on. VET SUPPORT Finding a vet that you are comfortable with and who is willing to work with you can be very beneficial. However, not all veterinarians are supportive of individuals who make the decision to go raw. Renee and Evan found themselves switching veterinarians. They found that their previous vet immediately blamed the diet for anything. They �mostly see the vet in the case of injuries or health testing for breeding and that�s it.� When Wendy and Victor lived in Colorado their vet was open to the idea of feeding raw, and in time he converted. Since moving to Minnesota they have found it more difficult to locate a good vet that supports raw but find it less necessary since they are comfortable with their choices and natural rearing philosophies. Michelle and Larry actively sought out a holistic vet who has been great working with them to keep their Canaans �natural�. They also do annual titer testing to make sure of their immunity and to monitor any problems with their diet. Although Jill�s vet says he doesn�t� like the bones - he would prefer that she ground them up � he hasn�t given her grief about the overall diet. He also says that her Canaans teeth are �picture perfect and clean as a whistle�. Chris�s vet in the Sstates was very open to her decision to feed a natural diet. Seeing the improvement in the overall wellbeing of her dogs motivated her vet to switch her own dogs and now recommends a natural diet to some of her clients! Cathey says she has two vets: one is the �scientific vet� and the other is the �holistic vet.� Neither vet has a problem with the raw food diet. She also freely states that the area she lives in is �very much into the natural and organic lifestyle and philosophy for themselves and their dogs (but of course not raw food, as in raw meat for humans!)� �YOUR DOG EATS RAW MEAT?� - Reactions from the community and Family When the supermarkets in Georgia had a sale on meat, Chris was there to stock up! The usual comment was �Gee, when is the party?� When Chris replied that it was for the dogs people either rolled their eyes or were genuinely curious. Since moving to Australia, Chris says that raw feeding is a natural way of life: �Every butcher has their own �pet section� with a variety of meat and bones. Many of the vets don�t even stock kibble in their practices. There are companies that will deliver fresh meat to your door for the pets. The kibble section in the grocery store is about � the size of what you would see in the states. It�s very refreshing to see a non-kibble driven pet society.� Like Chris, other raw feeders have found people�s curiosity peeked, especially when they see the shape and condition of their dogs. At first, Michelle and Larry felt a need to justify their decision to go raw to others: �Since most people take the �tried and true� method of feeding kibble we thought we needed to show both why we were doing it and how well the dogs were responding. Now 3 years later, it really doesn�t matter what people think. We have a high level of confidence in our decision and the proof is in the dogs. Both are happy, lively and very fit.� 1 2 3 4 |
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| "Maccabee" Photo courtesy of the CCO |