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Natural Feeding - Part 2
By Nick Thompson
My dogs overheat on dry foods and I'm told that a natural diet may help - what benefits will this change of diet result in?
A natural diet involving raw bones, meat, vegetables and raw fruit will have innumerable benefits. My own dog has lost weight and changed shape and now looks much fitter since changing to a raw food diet. His coat has improved and the mild itch he had every summer has disappeared. He now has no scurf and the coat is less greasy. The stools are firmer and he now actually enjoys eating!
My dogs seem very energetic and tear around the garden and house - I do feed him tit bits and a high protein chicken and rice diet, can diet effect behaviour ?
Very much so - dogs need about 30% of their diet as fleshy meat. The rest should be bones, fruit and veg. You may find this makes a great difference to your dog.
I want to feed a natural diet and have seen pre-mixed and pre-minced meats. Are these as good as chunks as I want something easy to use and store ?
There is no difference nutritionally between minces and chunks of meat. The important thing is to vary the type of meat fed, so that the animal can benefit from the mix of amino acids and fats in the meats. Both minces and chunks can be stored in the freezer and so are as convenient as each other. Chunks or free-flow minces are more convenient for feeding smaller animals as the appropriate quantity can be taken from the freezer each day.
My dogs have itchy flaky skin - what are the causes of this and how can I help my dogs ?
The three major causes of itch in dogs are parasites (fleas, mites, infection, bacteria, fungi, yeast) or allergy. Your vet would be able to conduct tests to help rule out the cause of the itchy skin. Help depends on what is causing the problem. If there are parasites, then these need to be eliminated - your vet will be able to advise you the best way to do this. If there is infection then a shampoo or even an antimicrobial drug may be necessary. If the problem is an allergy, then it could be due to pollen, house dust, food or any number of things. Your vet can do specific tests to establish the cause of the allergy. Changing to a raw food diet involving raw bones, meat, veg and fruit can help a lot in all aspects of canine health so can directly or indirectly help with all three causes of itch in dogs.
My cats seem to prefer cooked breast meat and minced beef but I'm concerned that I should be feeding a proper cat food to make sure that they get a complete diet - is this ok ?
No - they do need something to help balance the diet as it is important to ensure calcium intake. There is an excellent product called Pet Plus (ring 08700 111 340 for orders) that will balance a meat diet. Also you could consider getting some fruit and veg and pureeing it. Then put the puree into ice cube holders in the freezer and take one out at a time to de-frost before adding at a 9:1 ratio meat to veg to the minced meat. The Natures Menu vegetable & vitamin supplement will also give you the same results.
For years I've been told to buy expensive foods and now my friends are reverting back to traditional feeding methods - why is this ?
Dogs have been eating processed food for about 100 years and for the previous 300,000 they were eating a natural diet involving raw bones, meat, fruit and veg. Dogs have evolved to eat this diet, so why feed them anything else? They are more healthy and suffer less from common modern diseases such as chronic colitis, atropy and periodontal disease on this diet.
I fed a raw meaty diet and my cat was sick immediately - should I continue or revert back to the canned food that I have fed for years ?
Try introducing the raw meat more gradually. Also, she may have a problem with one meat more than another, so vary what you give her.
I am told that dogs and cats are immune to salmonella and bacteria - I am worried that a raw diet including chicken wings will make my dogs ill - is this so ?
Cats and dogs are no more immune to Salmonella than people. I do not consider Salmonella to be a significant risk factor in feeding small animals raw food. They will, for example, go out and walk around in all sorts of things, then come in and lick their feet. I think that we shouldn't be too worried what comes out of a quality modern meat plant with strict hygiene rules and bacteriological testing as long as our four legged friends continue to prefer to perambulate in bare feet. As for chicken wings - I've never had a problem with chicken wings. On the other hand I have seen thousands of dogs having problems with their teeth necessitating general anaesthesia and surgery.
Cats will often get kidney disease as a result of bacteria that build up in tartar then break off into the blood stream. These things, I feel, are a real and present danger to animals. Much more so than chicken wings fed as part of a raw food diet under the supervision of a veterinary practitioner.
When can puppies and kittens eat a BARF diet ?
They can be weaned onto a raw food diet - this is, after all, what they did for 300,000 years before 'puppy and kitten' diets came along.
