RAW AND HOME COOKED DIETS - WHAT TO FEED PART 3

I started feeding raw and home cooked foods to my pets shortly after I adopted my dog, Tailey. She suffered horribly from food allergies, ear infections and regular hematomas in her ears and I was spending a fortune at the vet clinic, but nothing was fixing the problem. A friend of mine suggested I try feeding a raw diet and I thought she was crazy. I had cooked for my pets in the past, here and there, but I had never fed raw meat. I decided to try a premade raw venison diet and low and behold within just a few weeks, I had a new dog. Six months later, she was barely affected by anything she ate, as long as we stayed clear of chicken. Tailey only ever had one more hematoma and only a couple of ear infections over the following eight years before she passed away in December 2010.

Tailey June 2010

What I saw happen with Tailey by simply changing her diet, opened my eyes to the importance of nutrition and what an enormous role it plays in the health of our pets. Like most people, I thought I was doing the right thing by going to the grocery store, buying the kibble that was advertised on television and never changing my pets' food. After I changed all of my pets over to a natural diet, I began to see the changes. My cats hardly shed at all anymore, none of my pets drink excessive amounts of water and my cats have not thrown up their food in years.

When I began learning about and selling natural pet foods I dealt with countless people just like me, who were feeding their pets poor quality kibble and they were watching their pets suffer from allergies, immune dysfunction and other health problems. One of the most rewarding parts of my job was hearing them come back after switching their pets onto a better quality diet, whether it was just a better quality kibble with some canned food or a raw or home cooked diet, and hearing about the changes. In the seven years I worked in that store I never had a customer come back and tell me their pet got worse after changing to a better quality diet.

Raw or Home Cooked? 

Although there are no official studies regarding the feeding of raw and home cooked diets for companion animals, common sense should tell us that from the countless studies conducted on the effects of processed foods on humans, the same can be said for their effect on our pets' health. 

Arthur eating a raw meaty bone

Whether you choose to feed raw or home cooked really depends on your comfort level and what your pet does best on. You may not want to switch entirely to a raw or home cooked diet and maybe just want to supplement your pet's diet with one or the other. All of these options are fine and whatever works for you and your pet should be what you base your decision on.

Some dogs do better on home cooked rather than raw and visa versa. It is difficult to get most cats onto a new diet, especially a raw one, but I find they do best on raw. Because cats require specific amino acids and other nutrients, which they get from meat and bone, cooking their food may mean you need to add more supplements to ensure they are getting everything they require. 

Switching your pets to a raw or home cooked diet can be an overwhelming task. It is a very controversial issue and there are so many varying opinions on how to feed, what percentages to feed and how much, many people don't know where to begin. A lot of people end up jumping into feeding these types of diets blind and because there is so much bad information out there, I would caution anyone going this route to do your research!

I am not going to get into recipes and percentages here as my goal is to simply provide information and resources that will help anyone who wants to learn more about feeding a more natural diet. I feed on a variety basis because that is what works for my pets and it makes the most sense to me. So, I do not feed just raw or just home cooked, I switch back and forth or I do a mixture of both. Sometimes I add vegetables and sometimes I don't. I always add organ meat, fish oil, kelp and occasionally tripe. I use variations of proteins as well and I also feed raw meaty bones instead of bone meal.

What I will say, feeding chicken backs and organ meat is not enough and don't let anyone tell you it is. The calcium/phosphorus ratios are extremely important when you are feeding a natural diet and too much of either can be just as dangerous as not enough. Be very careful where you get your information.

I will list some really good resources at the end of this post for anyone who wants to do more research.

Myths About Feeding Raw and Home Cooked Diets

Salmonella is always a concern for people when feeding raw meat is concerned. Although it is not a myth, as clearly salmonella and other bacteria exist, the fear involved in contamination is, in my opinion, over exaggerated. First of all, dogs and cats were designed to handle bacteria. Salmonella is commonly present in gastrointestinal tract of healthy animals. Humans are exposed to salmonella more often than they realize, but our bodies deal with it. Bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli become dangerous when compromised immune systems are involved; with that being said, I have fed raw diets to four sick animals, two with cancer, and I have never had a problem with salmonella or E. coli. That's not to say it could never happen, but with all the recent food recalls, human and pet, with non-raw product, it seems to me the salmonella issue is a crap shoot regardless what you feed your pets or what you eat, yourself. 

There is some really good information on this site regarding salmonella and other bacteria, if you scroll down http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade1.html

Another myth is the issue of variety. For years people have been told they should not change their pets' diet. The problem with this, as mentioned in my post about commercial dry foods, is that when an animal is fed one thing day after day for long periods of time, they are not getting a complete and balanced diet. Animals fed this way are not getting the variety of nutrients that would otherwise be available to them. I have always said that the issue of changing a pets' diet can be compared to a situation where someone eats salads every day for several years and then one day decides to try a steak. It's likely that person is going to experience some gastrointestinal discomfort, but because we are conditioned from the time we are babies to eat a variety of foods, most people are able to handle all kinds of food products. Of course there are situations in people and animals where food intolerances and allergies play a role, and this is something that has to be kept in mind when feeding our pets. For the most part however, dogs and cats benefit from variety in their diet as much as we do.

It is also okay, for most pets to add a bit of fresh foods to kibble. Although it's a common myth that this is bad many people mix different whole foods to their pets' kibble without difficulty.

As mentioned previously, there are so many opinions about feeding pets it is a lot to take in. There is a great deal of good information out there though, so educating yourself is very important.

Start slow and do not overwhelm yourself or your pet when beginning a raw or home cooked diet. The same applies if you are only planning on supplementing with these foods.

Cost

Many people are afraid to go the raw/home cooked route because of cost. This is understandable if you are purchasing premade raw foods from pet supply stores. It can cost you upwards of $200 a month, or more, to feed one medium to large size dog. There are butchers who sell products for pets, which cost less and this option allows you to purchase foods locally. More and more private sellers of raw food products for pets are popping up as well. These individuals purchase raw meats directly from meat plants and provide buyers with a large variety of meat proteins, with or without bone, organ meat and treats. When purchasing from these types of business, make sure they are getting their products from federally inspected plants, ask questions about their products and their safety handling methods etc.

I encourage anyone with pets to feed as much fresh whole foods as possible, to their pets. That being said, make sure you do your research. There is so much information out there and if it is done properly your pets will benefit from the variety and nutrients fresh foods provide. 

Some excellent resources for anyone looking to enhance their pets' diet:

Mary Straus is a researcher and columnist for The Whole Dog Journal. The information on her site is very well researched and valuable: http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade1.html

The Whole Dog Journal is an excellent resource for anyone looking for unbiased information on anything to do with pets: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/

Monica Segal is certified in Animal Health Care through the University of Guelph. She has a couple of really good books with recipes and loads of information, as well as DVDs and E-books for a variety of conditions and feeding guidelines: http://www.monicasegal.com/about-us.html

B-Naturals is an online newsletter filled with oodles of information from supplements, raw and home cooked diets and so much more: http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/


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