Why
You Should Feed Your Dog or Cat a Biologically Appropriate Diet
This
diet is sometimes referred to as BARF (Bones and Raw food OR Biological
Appropriate Raw Food). There are many benefits of raw feeding and we believe in
a diet that makes sense, promotes health and encourage all dog owners to do the
same. Proper nutrition is vital to good health. In nature, it is live foods
that truly nourish animals. If your animals are to thrive, they need the live
enzymes, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and unadulterated amino acids, vitamins
and minerals that only raw food can provide. While commercial pet foods are
convenient, most contain sub-standard or condemned meats. And because they are
also highly processed at extreme temperatures, they are devoid of many of the
building blocks of good health, and often full of questionable preservatives.
So, commercial pet foods may sustain life, but unlike raw diets, they do not
contain the life-enhancing nutrition that promotes health.
The
philosophy behind using BARF, or the hypothesis on which it is based is that
the diet a dog evolved to eat - over many millions of years of evolution - is
the best way to feed it. This is the hypothesis accepted by most modern zoos or
any zoologist concerned with preserving a species of endangered animal. It is
not the theory endorsed by pet food companies or the people they train - and
that includes unfortunately - most vets.
Dogs
and Cats Are Carnivores
Cats
and dogs are carnivores, or meat-eaters. Raw diets simulate the menu that
nature intended carnivores to eat. When a carnivore eats an herbivore like
a rabbit, the carnivore eats some meat,
some bone, some organ meats (liver, heart, kidney, etc.), and some green
vegetation contained in the herbivore's digestive tract. That's nature's
perfect meal - the meal that raw diets replicate.
Reduced
"doggy" odor. The odor of
breath and stool will be greatly reduced. Reduced volume of stool. WHY? Because
the food they eat is almost all used (absorbed) by their systems.
Teeth will be
whiter. The tooth-cleaning action of
chewing on bones is fabulous.
Reduced Vet bills. Most dogs that are on a natural diet are more
healthy. They have stronger immune systems and are not over weight like more
kibble fed dogs are. These all add up to less visits to the vet and over all less medical costs.
Less hyper. Some dog owners have reported that after switching
their dogs to a raw diet, their dogs seem to be less hyper and more calm.
Less yeast build-up. Yeast infections in the ears have been known to
disappear in dogs that have this problem.
Decrease in skin
irritations and hot spots.
Greater ease in
getting to and maintaining a healthy weight.
Variety. The dogs absolutely love it in all its myriad forms.
Increased muscle
mass and improved energy level.
Dogs will love and
enjoy eating again.
Reduced flea
activity. Why? because the garlic
that most raw feeders use is a natural anti flea / anti tick remedy.
Anal glands are
usually expressed naturally by forming firmer stools.
Many pet allergies,
such as skin scratching, redness etc. go away when a raw diet is fed.
Dogs with various
digestive problems often have their problems resolved, or at least controlled.
Why Raw Diets Are Safe
Dogs and cats are NOT
humans. They have a very different digestive tract and process. For example, we
can eat all the onion we want without harm, but some dogs can get anemic from a
single, small portion of them. We can eat a pound of baker's chocolate and
merely get fat or nauseous, while dogs can die from even a lesser amount. We
can get very sick from raw meat, while dogs thrive on it as their natural diet.
Again, they are NOT human. Compared to us, dogs and cats have a very short
digestive system, which means that foods are processed quickly -- before
harmful bacteria have a chance to multiply and cause problems. Also, carnivores
have a very high level of acidity in their digestive systems. This high
acidity, which allows them to break down the nutrients in raw meats and bones,
is also hostile to bacteria. We've all seen dogs eat true garbage (rotten
foods, decaying squirrel carcasses, etc.) without any ill effects. Nature did
not evolve carnivores to eat a diet that would kill them. And remember, we
aren't suggesting you feed spoiled, contaminate foods. A raw food diet consists
of good quality, USDA-inspected and approved meats and bones.
Why Vets Are Not Promoting the Benefits of a Raw Diet
However, finding a vet
that supports or understands the raw diet is very hard as most vets only have
the limited amount of knowledge they have been taught in veterinary school
about dog nutrition. Most veterinary schools employ nutrition educators that
work for or are supported by commercial pet food companies.
If you want to know
and understand more about commercial pet foods you will be shocked by the
information you read. Be careful when doing your own research as many sites and
vets will say that feeding a raw meat diet is bad and dangerous. They may have
their own interests in mind, such as selling their own brand of a
processed/rendered food or may just be unknowing of this way of feeding and
scared
of something new or
different.
Adapted from http://drianbillinghurst.com/barf_philosophy.html
and http://k9joy.com/education/feedyourdog.php
Recommended Reading
Natural Nutrition
for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Schultz, C.C.N., A.H.I. (A very easy read!)
The Barf Diet: Raw
Feeding for Dogs and Cats and Give
Your Dog A Bone by Dr. Ian Billinghurst
Also:
http://www.primalpetfoods.com
http://www.drianbillinghurst.com
http://www.K9joy.com
Final Thought
When we came across
the natural way of feeding: the BARF diet I was a sceptic and only agreed to
feed fresh meat cooked and raw vegetables. As I learned more I cooked the meat
less and less and eventually added raw bone. I was so amazed at the results
that I have only fed my own dogs biologically appropriate raw foods for the
past 4 years or so. Gone are the days when I had to slide a kibble across the
floor as if playing a game to get them to eat. Gone is the majority of itching.
Gone is the stinky breath.
The BARF diet is not
just raw meat, but raw meat, raw bones (NEVER feed a dog cooked
bones of any kind) and raw crushed vegetables. These things together with some supplements make up the
foundation of a biologically appropriate diet.
Feed raw food in a stainless steel container
Never cook
bones!
Never feed
SALMON RAW!