| WHAT WE FEED OUR DOGS Our feeding regime is based mainly on the Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF) diet. The idea being that raw food has the most amount of nutrients available to your pet. Dog food, even the good kind, has been enormously processed with a lot of the nutrients baked out of it. Then, to replace the loss, vitamins and minerals have been added back in. So why not just serve fresh food. Would you eat dog food? If the answer is an emphatic, ‘no,’ then why feed it to your beloved pet. This diet does not take much time because it is raw and is not more expensive if you buy a high priced dog food. In fact, it is cheaper than the high priced dog food if you are a good shopper. If you must feed dog food or want to use it as a supplement when you are in a rush, you want a brand that has NO animal by products, no wheat and no corn. The only one we recommend is a brand called, Wellness. Look below for the web site address. It will let you know what stores carry it near you. WE FEED OUR PUPS: Morning: A mixture of meat/fish.* Feed raw, never cooked and we add to this an equal amount of raw vegetables which is best to grind and then mix in with the meat. The meat is kept frozen and thawed overnight in the fridge for the next day feeding. We feed about 2 cups of this and as the pup grows, we increase it until our dogs are eating 3 cups by maturity. We add to this, one Tbsp of plain yogurt and one Tbsp of Healthy Mix (see below) and a ½ scoop of Nu-Pro joint support, (also see below). Evening: Large, raw meaty bones. Our puppies begin eating chicken wings at 6 weeks of age. At six months of age, we give our dogs raw chicken quarters, (leg and thigh). Remember, everything raw. Never cooked bones. You may also feed turkey wings and backs, pork neck bones, lamb breast, veal bones, outcuts (much cheaper), not marrow bones. The younger the farm animal, the more nutrition in the bones. If the bones are purchased fresh, they should be frozen before feeding and thawed in the fridge. We feed these bone meals outside but if that is not possible, then feed it to your pet in a confined area such as a crate, garage or porch with easily cleaned floor etc. Areas where the dog pushes the bones around to chew should be disinfected after meals. This is a safety measure for the humans who are susceptible to salmonella, which dogs are not. We thaw our chicken in water before serving because salmonella can be washed off. If our dog gets too heavy, we cut back on the ground meat and increase the vegetables. We also give fewer bones. We adjust this as our dog grows. We cannot tell you a definite amount because a 90 lb dog at maturity may require more food when growing than a 75 lb female at maturity. The idea is to keep your dog on the thin side and let them mature SLOWLY. Canned Mackerel, Tuna, or any fresh fish, ground turkey, heart, liver, tripe, buffalo, deer, rabbit, etc. DO NOT FEED BEEF. The best vegetables are fresh washed kale, spinach, broccoli, carrots, swiss chard, green beans, squash, etc. We grind them in a cuisinart or chop finely. We vary this with some fruit, the more ripe the better. Our dogs have their favorites just like us and there will be some foods they won’t like but if mixed with the ground meat, they usually eat it. We also add raw egg shells to the ground vegetable mix as well as garlic (1/2 tsp) and a tsp of cod liver oil or olive oil. HEALTHY MIXTURE 2 cups of nutritional yeast 1 cup of lecithin granules ¼ cup of kelp powder ¼ cup of bone meal, (only if not giving bones on a regular basis) 1000 mgs of Vitamin C Mix together in a quart container and refrigerate. You can make larger amounts at one time if desired. Feed a Tbsp. a day or every other day until 6 months then increase to 2 Tbsp. If you are really following the diet, you can go easy with this mixture. Twice to three times a week. You will notice that some bodily functions will be different from what you are accustomed to with dog food. Don’t be alarmed, these are good things and here’s why: 1. Smaller, much firmer stools and sometimes only one movement a day. This is because the dog gets much more nutrition from this diet. His body uses almost all of it, leaving very little residue. 2. The stools may be white. This is due to the high bone content, and it is perfectly OK. 3. The stools may take longer to pass due to the firmness. This too is good as it causes the dog to naturally express anal glands. 4. Eating raw bones will keep their teeth sparkling white and cavity free. IF YOU ARE SWITCHING OVER: If you decide to switch your dog from dog food to this diet, please do it very slowly so their bowels stay constant. Take at least 2 weeks to do it. Start by adding a little bit of meat to their usual food. Then add more. If well tolerated, reduce the dog food slowly and then add vegetables. Continue slowly, adding new food and reducing old until your dog is switched over. The following are places to source the diet supplies: Nu-Pro with joint support formula: 1-800-360-3300 or www.nuprosupplements.com A 20 lb. Tub costs $120.00 plus shipping. This is the most economical, but it comes in smaller amounts. KV Vet supply 1-800-432-8211: Cod liver oil by the gallon item number 40216 $17.90 plus shipping. Ester C in Healthy Mixture can also be bought here. If you want to buy this food ready ground and mixed with vegetables as well as fish, bones and fruit and vegetables for those days you are in a rush: Oma’s Pride 1-800-678-OMAS or http://www.omaspride.com/index. html Ingredients for Healthy Mixture can be found in any Health Food Store or Supermarket. To learn more about this diet, go to www.barfworld.com and order the book, The Barf Diet. This should answer any questions that may arise. Another good read is Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy R. Schultze, available at most book stores or Amazon. This diet allows for lots of freedom. If you have just gotten a puppy, they will be on a feeding schedule but as he/she grows, you should change him/her to a more random feeding schedule. And sometimes it is good to fast him/her. |