Bacteria and Bones

Raw chicken with the bones?? What the heck am I thinking, right?

Let me start with the issue of bacteria. Dogs are not humans. I am sure that we can all agree on this one. Dogs are built a little differently. Being carnivourous, they have digestive tracts that are short and also more acidic than some other animals. They also have immune systems that are designed to break down all of the lovely bacteria that coats things (like raw chicken). Now if you have a dog that was ill, or for whatever reason may have a weakened immune system you might not want to feed raw. If bacteria is still a concern for you ( I know some people are just plain freaked out by what could be crawling around on a piece of raw chicken) you could always blanch the meat, in boiling water, for about 60 seconds. You could also soak it in distilled white vinager and have the same bacteria killing effect.

Ok, now onto the next concern. Chicken bones. All of those scary things you here about dogs eating chicken bones are true. However, these stories are about dogs eating cooked chicken bones. NEVER FEED COOKED CHICKEN BONES TO YOUR DOG. When bones are cooked they become brittle and can splinter. This is when they could become potentially dangerous to your dog. Raw bones are actually easily digested by dogs. Remember dogs digestive systems are different than our own.

Dogs are basically the same as wolves. Wolves eat raw meat (bones and all) all of the time. Anything from bambi to thumper, and anything else that is available. Yes dogs have been domesticated for a very long time, but evolution is a very slow process. Not to mention, that in reality dogs have only been eating "dog food" for the past 50 years or so.

Day Three

Breakfast:

• 1 1/2 cups of kibble
• 1 whole raw egg (shell and all)
• 1/2 lb of raw lamb neck

Dinner:

• 1/2 lb raw bone in, skinless chicken thigh
• 1/2 lb raw chicken hearts and gizzards

Day Two

Breakfast:

• 1 1/2 cups of kibble
• 1/2 lb of raw chicken breast
• 1 egg (shell and all, just crushed it up and mixed it in)
• 1 tsp of garlic powder (safe in small amounts, helps against fleas)

Dakota enjoyed her breakfast so much that when I brought her back from her walk, she went over to where her dish was and licked the floor. No lie.

Dinner:

• 1/2 lb of raw chicken thighs (bone in, skinless)
• 1/2 lb of lamb neck
• drizzle of olive oil

This was Dakota's first entirely raw meal. She looked at it funny for a few seconds and then dove in. This was also the first bone in meal that she has had. The lamb neck took her a few minutes to get through, but this is a good thing. One of the major benefits that people find with feeding a raw diet is the overall health of their dogs teeth. The reason that I gave her skinless chicken, is because she is new to the diet. Sometimes the fat in the skin can upset their bellys a bit. I also intend to continue feeding the oil atleast everyother day, but I will be switching to salmon oil.

I think that I will continue on the 1/2 kibble, 1/2 raw in the morning and the full raw at night until I finish up what I have left of her dry dog food. It should be gone in about a week. So far I have not seen where this switch has upset her stomach at all. One thing I can say is that for the first time since Dakota was about 6 months old (she is now 5 1/2 years old) she is absolutely estatic at meal time. She has the same look on her face as I do when someone brings me something like carrot cake =)

Day One

My mom and I took her puppy to a new vet today. He specializes in holistic medicine (I will provide a few links concerning the controversies of vaccines). Anyways, he was very supportive of homemade diets, and at the very least canned dog food. He also personally knows people that feed raw diets, and he said their dogs do wonderfully. This was the final push I needed. This afternoon I went to my local market and bought me some chicken hearts and gizzards, cottage cheese, and eggs. And for those of you that are worried that this may be an expensive alternative to dog food, think again. I got a pound of gizzards and hearts for a buck.

Tonight for dinner Dakota got:

• 1 ½ cups of her kibble (I still have a little left)
  
• 1/3 of a lb of the hearts and gizzards
  
• ¼ cup of cottage cheese

The verdict so far? She gobbled it up! I haven’t seen her eat with that much enthusiasm since she was a puppy! So far so good…

And as promised a couple links concerning the issues with vaccines. One that I found to be particularly interesting on rabies:

http://naturalrearing.com/coda/a_rabies_the_big_scam.html

http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/health/articles/puppy-shots-and-dog-vaccinations.html

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm

a little background info on me

I love all things furry and feathered, and as I am sure many of you can relate I am especially attached to my dog. She is my best friend. My love affair started early and even when I was little I always wanted what I thought was best for my four legged friends. Growing up I remember always trying to convince my parents to by the best food for our dogs. At the time I am pretty sure that I was convinced that Pedigree was the Holy Grail of dog food (for those of you who are not aware this is ABSOLUTELY not the case).

When I was old enough, it was only natural that I would wind up working in a pet store. In the beginning, I was wonderfully ignorant. I was in awe, at all the different types of dog food available. I talked to all of the vendors I could, soaking up all of the wonderful things they had to tell me about their foods and what dogs need in their diets. After six years of working in the pet retail industry, I can honestly say that my dog has sampled just about every dog food on the market. I can also honestly say that what most dog food companies tell you is a big fat lie. Don’t get me wrong, there are some foods out there that aren’t bad foods. Unfortunately, I have found that the more I learn the less even the best foods appeal to me. I can find something I don’t like in 99% of the bags of food I pick up. Not to mention that my dog hasn’t actually LOVED a single one of them. She’ll eat her kibble, but she doesn’t really enjoy it.

During my quest to find a better way to feed my dog I stumbled upon raw diets. For me this concept makes perfect sense. I truly believe that our animals deserve better than the processed kibble that has become the standard for our dog’s nutrition. I also believe that converting to a raw diet is scary stuff. It is difficult to find anything that tells you exactly what to feed and when to feed it. So after browsing through numerous websites and reading my recently acquired book called Raw Dog Food by Carina Beth MacDonald, I have decided to stop worrying so much about the what, and when, and how much and just give it a whirl. I think this idea is something that can be intimidating, and so I have also decided to blog about this new journey my dog and I are embarking on. As I go I will post links various websites that I find to be interesting. On top of the things that I post here, you can also Google “raw diets for dogs” and get lots of sites on the pros and cons of this alternative method.