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| Spring 2007 Newsletter |
| The "Raw Deal" - a look at raw feeding By CCO Contributing Editor: Michelle Harrington |
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| Christina Miller (originally from Georgia, U.S.A, now rooted in Australia for a couple of years) River Rock Canaan Dogs http://www.rivroc.com/ Have you always had your dogs on raw? If not, what inspired you to move away from a commercial to a raw diet? Please be as detailed as possible. For many years I had always fed a high quality kibble. In the early �90�s I had toyed with the idea of home prepared meals and went back and forth between home prepared and kibble. �Spock� was the catalyst that drew me to a natural diet. As many of you know �Spock� was diagnosed with Lymphosarcoma early in his life. I wasn�t going to go the chemo therapy route, as Lymphosarcoma had a very high reoccurrence rate after treatment. I couldn�t change the diagnosis, but I could change the way I looked at a lot of my animal husbandry. This was the point that I completely changed the dogs� diet to a raw meat based diet. I also became more firm on my stand of limited vaccinations for puppies and basically no vaccinations for adult dogs � only titer testing. �Spock�s� life expectancy after diagnosis was 2 to 3 months. With just the change in diet and a few herbs to help boost his immune system we had him with us for 5 months after diagnosis. It was also amazing to see the change in my healthy dogs. Their coats improved, their teeth were clean, they had more energy and were just plain happier. I still kick myself for not doing the switch in the early �90�s, but I sure as heck wouldn�t go back now. What was your starting point with information? Did you have a mentor? Was there a book(s), an article(s), seminar, that prompted you to research the raw alternative? I started with the Vollhard diet, as I had had her book for years. I consulted many sources and the Internet. Renee Kent and I talked a lot about natural feeding and diet. I joined a few natural diet message boards on the Internet. I basically gleaned a lot of information from multiple sources and worked out what worked best for me and the dogs.. The raw diet is centred on different philosophies. For example, some people follow the �BARF� diet and some follow other raw practitioners. Is there a specific diet that you follow or have you adapted your own diet after digesting other sources? Please be as detailed as possible. I don�t follow a specific diet or practice. I do what works best for me and the dogs. My basis for feeding meat and bones is no less than 50% meat to bone ratio. I prefer a 70% meat to 30% bone ratio, but that doesn�t happen at every meal. And if I�m in the mood to puree fruit & veg, then they get fruit & veg. I do try to implement offal at least 4 times a week into their diet. And I do keep the meat sources as varied as possible. What were the top three things ( name more if desired) that you noticed overall after implementing the raw diet? 1. Improved coat and muscle tone. 2. Less lethargy. 3. Nice clean pearly white teeth. Other things were less intake of water during the day, hardly any external parasites, less waste to pick up, better smelling breath, larger litter size and larger puppy birth weight and just an overall better wellbeing. Are there any supplements, if any, that you use to enhance your Canaan�s diet? What do you feel are the most significant supplements that your dog should not do without? I do add a holistic canine multi-vitamin to their diet. As I don�t always feed fruit & veg, I feel this is important. I don�t do this at every meal, but they do get it at least 4 times a week. I do always give cold water fish oil. The Omegas are wonderful for coat, skin and natural absorption of many minerals. When traveling ( on vacation, showing, performance trials) do you modify their diet? Or do carry out the same regiment that they would when dining at home? I do not modify their diet when traveling. My vet in the states was very open to my decision to feed a natural diet. As she has seen the improvement in the overall wellbeing of my dogs, she has even switched her own dogs and now recommends a natural diet to some of her clients.There are grocery stores where ever we go; it�s just a trip to the meat department. I do try to bring our own water from home or buy bottled water for the dogs. Being on well water, without all the added chemicals of city water, I do find it easier on the dogs to have their own water. If I have a nervous traveler, I will bring along some slippery elm and/or yogurt in case they get a loose stool. Do you change your Canaan�s diet according to season? Fall in the South indicates deer hunting season, so naturally the dogs get more venison in the Fall. Now that we are in Australia, they do get more lamb in the Spring, but other than that I don�t really change their diet. They will get larger portions in the Winter and they choose to not eat as much in the heat of summer. I do feed earlier in the morning and later in the evening in the heat of summer. Do you have a veterinarian that supports your decision to go �raw� or did you have to convince them? Did you have to switch veterinarians? My vet in the states was very open to my decision to feed a natural diet. As she has seen the improvement in the overall wellbeing of my dogs, she has even switched her own dogs and now recommends a natural diet to some of her clients. How do people react when you mention that your dog(s) is on a raw diet? Curious? Leary? Supportive? In the states we were always questioned about a natural diet. My favorite would be when one of the super markets would have a sale on meat that I couldn�t pass up and I�d stock up. The usual comment would be �Gee, when is the party?� to which I would reply that it was for the dogs� Some people would just roll their eyes and some would actually be curious and want to know more. Then our town got a local butcher and he thought I was �crazy� for wanting 80 pounds of chicken backs, 40 pounds of pork necks and 30 pounds of beef brisket bones all at one time. Once I explained to him what it was for he had my standing order ready for me every 3 weeks. He has since gone on to supply other local natural feeders and is more than happy to order bulk meat for dogs. In Australia, it�s 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. What advice would you give to someone who is contemplating the �raw way�? Are there ways to modify a commercial diet to receive some of the benefits of a raw diet. My first advice would be to just do it! It�s better for your dogs and easier on your wallet. With the recent rash of contaminated pet kibble, now is the best time to switch. Granted, there are some precautions you need to take. Buy meat that�s suitable for human consumption and handle it properly. Buy organic meat if you can. If you are switching a young puppy or an ill adult to a raw diet, please take a little extra caution. Start them off gradually and I would suggest searing their meat and/or washing their meat in grapefruit seed extract. There are times when a dog�s digestive tract can�t handle the natural bacteria present in raw food. A little extra caution to lessen the exposure to those bacteria won�t hurt. A normal healthy adult dog should be able to handle the switch without any problems. When I went to a natural diet it was kibble one day and then the total switch to raw meat the next. The only problem I had was a few of them didn�t know how to chew their meat and bones and it came back up as fast as it went down. Their next meal they received larger pieces that were frozen � forcing them to actually chew it. Once they realized the joys of chewing meat and bones I no longer had that problem. I can�t say that I see anyways of modifying a commercial diet to receive the benefits of a natural one. It�s not wise to feed commercial food and raw food together as they are digested at different rates and can give the pancreas fits. If you feel compelled to feed commercial food and raw food � don�t do it at the same meal and I would suggest not doing it on the same day. I would feed raw one day and commercial the next. (then wait and see which day they are more eager to eat J) If you watch and �listen� your dog will tell you what they need in their diet. If mine need some fruit & veg I can usually observe them nibbling grass or digging for roots in the yard. If I have forgotten their vitamin for a few days, I usually see them getting their meat pieces dirty before eating them (it�s amazing how much good stuff is in dirt). If you have children, how do they feel about the raw diet? Ethan has no problems with the natural diet for the dogs. From a young age, if we spot a deer outside he always comment �dog food�. He was a little upset a few years ago when �Guinan� raided our chicken coop to bring back a fresh kill for her litter of puppies. But once I explained that�s a natural Canaan Dog, he accepted the loss of the chicken. How many meals do your Canaan(s) get on a daily basis? Can you provide a sample of what a typical daily �raw diet� consists of for your Canaan(s). Please be specific as possible. During the summer months, I only feed one meal a day. In the cooler months they will usually get 2 meals a day. Of course, if there are puppies around and they are getting 3 meals, the adults usually get 2 snacks and a meal. A usually meal for the River Rock Clan would be: A meaty bone piece � chicken leg quarter, chicken frame, lamb neck, pork neck, beef brisket bone, beef neck, chicken neck Meat chunks � if I was feeding a pork, beef or lamb neck I would add meat chunks to even out the bone to meat ratio Pureed fruit & veg � If I have felt like it. This would usually consist of carrots, apple, kale, sweet potato, broccoli Eggs � not with every meal Fish � sometimes as a snack � I have some that go nuts for fish, and some that would rather eat dirt. One holistic canine multi vitamin Fish Oil Cottage Cheese � if I feel like it. Plain Yogurt � if I feel like it And what ever is left on our dinner plates for the �pre-washers� Please feel free to list resource links that you think would be helpful for others learning about the raw diet. Check the yahoo groups section out on www.yahoogroups.com � there are many natural feeding lists. Do you do anything different to the bitch's diet during and after the pregnancy (while still weaning the pups)? Yes, I do change a bitch�s diet when I know she�s going to be bred. About 2 months before she is due to come in season, I increase her food. Renee Kent and I have both surmised that a �fat� bitch increases litter size. If the bitch feels that life is good and food is plentiful, we believe she will ovulate more fruitfully. I also increase her intake of fruit & veg and dairy. Once she has been bred I do give her more offal, bones, eggs and dairy. Once she has whelped, I am sure she has access to water 24/7 and feed her a higher quantity of food. I basically keep her on the same diet as when she was pregnant. I usually start the puppies off with cottage cheese, plain yogurt and cooked egg. As their teeth start to come in, I start to introduce small meaty bones � chicken wings, chicken necks, lamb chops, etc. Puppies are the only ones I will give grains to and consistently give fruit & veg. They will usually get one cooked meal a day until around 3 months old. That meal would consist of cooked brown rice or cooked whole grain pasta or cooked oats with cottage cheese, yoghurt, fruit & veg and sometimes fish. BACK |
| Chris's "Z" enjoys a savoury bone |
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