Raw Feeding & Tom Lonsdale

I went to a very interesting talk on Raw Feeding for Cats & Dogs the other night. It now makes a lot more sense to me. After learning more about anatomy and the stomach & bowel functions of these animals, I can see why it is so important that they eat the food that is right for them. It's like the difference between us eating fried food all the time or eating healthy food. Your little Benji might love the taste of his chicken & liver kibble, but it's just not good for him.

Most commercial cat & dog food is bulked up primarily with soy or wheat. Dogs & cats are carnivores, they are not supposed to eat plant matter all the time. In the wild, they will only eat plant matter if they cannot find a meat source. Not to mention their jaws & teeth are built to rip & tear their food apart & this just is not possible with commercial foods. Over 80% of dogs in New Zealand have tooth and gum disease. This leads to large amounts of bacteria & an immune system that is constantly fighting to stay balanced. This is generally because they are not using their teeth in the way they should be used. When dogs rip & tear their food they clean their teeth at the same time. Dog's do not chew their food in the wild; it's just rip, tear & swallow. When they just eat kibble and wet food, they don't even get to use their jaw muscles, they just swallow their food. This food then sits in the stomach, unable to be broken down and very sluggishly moves through the intestines and out the other end...eventually. But along the way it can be the cause of all sorts of skin problems, stomach problems, an inefficient bowel & even worms.. So that's just a quick round-up of some persuasive reasonings on why we should all be moving our dogs and cats on to the kind of food they should eat.

For info on Tom Lonsdale's Raw Food ideas, research & more persuasive arguments to switch, go to http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

Rayden

A dog that has made a lasting impression on me in the past few years is an 85% timber/arctic wolf X husky by the name of Rayden.. He is a stunningly elegant dog that can leap with grace out of any situation - no matter how high the fence! His owner has put a lot of time in to making sure he had consistent training from the beginning as you have to when you have a dog that's a little more 'wild' than the rest. That's not to say he's without his behavioural quirks, but in general, he is the wolf/dog you want beside you when there's tension in the air between other dogs. With just a lift of his upper lip he reveals his sparkly, white, HUGE fangs & that usually settles any dispute without a noise...

Not long ago I had the pleasure of listening to Geoff Bowers share his vast knowledge of wolf behaviour, how it relates to your dog (a.k.a wolf) & how to use this knowledge in training. His talk was so interesting and relevant that I feel it should get a mention. Bowers is from the U.K but now lives in New Zealand where he has developed his own dog food brand K9 Natural Dog Food with the catch phrase "Feed Your Dog's Inner Wolf". Check out his website http://www.k9natural.co.nz/ for product information, some very useful dog training & care tips, and some fascinating reading sources for those who want to learn more about the wolfiness of our dogs.

The Right Food For Your Dog

If you aren't convinced that raw food is the go for your dog, or you're not sure how to do it right, make sure to read this article which covers alternatives when choosing the right food for your dog. This is courtesy of Cesar Millan's website from his 'Ask The Vet' specialist, Dr Sherry Weaver:
'The decision on what to feed our canine children is a complex one. There are pet food companies shouting at you that, if you don’t feed their food, you don’t love your dog, and well-meaning others who want to convince you that anything commercial is taking the lazy way out. There are foods that are “all-natural” and foods with tasty bits to convince your finicky dog to eat. Just like feeding ourselves, it is very hard to sort out the truth from the marketing.' Read on

Make the Switch to a Raw Food Diet

Here's a fantastic list of reasons to switch your dog to the food he's built to eat. This is courtesy of Jane Anderson's website http://www.rawlearning.com/

"A raw diet provides a range of benefits that commercial dog diets can never hope to even closely match.

These benefits include:

• no doggy odour
• naturally cleans teeth - no need for toothbrushes, de-scaling jobs, or gum disease
• the time it takes for a dog to chew a raw meaty bones give their stomach adequate time to get the acids moving
• much less stools produced - and they are firm, and turn chalky after a couple of days
• decreased or non-existant vet bills (your dogs are healthier!)
• less cost for dog food - commercial dog foods are ludicriously expensive
• mirrors what a dog would be getting in the wild - and certainly even the modern day dog has a digestive tract exactly the same as a wolf
• puppies develop at a more appropriate rate - and quick growth spurts are avoided. A GOOD breeder will want to stop fast growth in any pup.
• the ripping and chewing involved in eating raw meaty bones develops the jaw, neck, and shoulder muscles of the dog. Commercial dog foods will never assist in this important muscle development. "

So what are you waiting for? Make the switch!!