# Anyone feed a raw diet here?



## Nick Segrue (Jun 8, 2006)

What are your experiences with it?


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## Selena van Leeuwen (Mar 29, 2006)

Mike and Connie does.

Im on a dutch board for raw feeding, i think it´s fascinating..but to expensive for all my adult dogs. Im planning to whean (sp?) my next litter on raw food.


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

I feed commercial diets made out of raw foods, Connie feeds actual raw... I mix in some stuff like chicken wings n gizzards etc though. I will never go back to regular generic foods or kibble... I was feeding The Honest Kitchen www.TheHonestKitchen.com food for a while, the Embark formula to be specific, mixed with ground beef and some other raw add-ins, but am currently trying Natures Variety www.NaturesVariety.com meat patties because it contains the raw meats and the bones that I would ordinarily have to add in seperately.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

Stacia fed raw while in Germany, and I did for a while, but there are no places to get cheap meat in my area, so I had to switch back to kibble (Canidae), but my dogs still get raw occasionally. I'm one of the people who believes that dogs do not have a need for fruits and veggies, and when I fed raw, I fed only raw meat and bone. I was very happy with the results (especially the poo factor - after a day or two it turned dry and chalky; I never had to clean up the yard when I fed raw! :lol: )


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Nick Segrue said:


> What are your experiences with it?


One of the first polls this board did was on feeding. At that time, over 60% of the members fed raw. (Of course, there are many more members now.) 

I had a dog (a rescue) once with who tested positive for over 30 severe allergies. She was already deaf from repeated secondary ear infections. There was not one commercial food that didn't have at least one of her allergens. She was an itchy and infected mess of misery and ear pain. 

Sink or swim! So I read everything I could find on raw.

Although many of her allergies were environmental, the raw diet changed her life. 

Of course, it allowed me to remove all the food allergens. 

But I believe that eating fresh food also helped her immune system to deal far better with the other allergies. 

At any rate, my own experiences have been 100% positive. 

There are good options these days, though, for those who want them..... there are commercial foods these days that dogs can thrive on. Mike, for example, feeds a dehydrated raw (dehydrated at low temps). It's great, because RMBs can be added to it. I too buy that food for travel and for any time I have an empty freezer or no time to thaw. The Honest Kitchen has two no-grain versions, and I keep one of those on hand all the time now; I would have no problem using it all the time with add-ins if I couldn't do raw.

I feed modified b.a.r.f. -- I don't think dogs need a lot of produce, but I belong to the school that thinks they would eat fallen ripe fruit and the contents of the prey's stomach in nature, and I would rather err on the side of abundance. We have total control; I don't want to leave out foods that they apparently did/do eat if allowed to. But there's a big spectrum between b.a.r.f. and prey model. 

And again, it's not a religion........ as long as the dog is NOT getting a cheapo commercial food with a lot of grains (the biggest problem, IMO), then there are choices a-plenty. 

For dogs with allergies, though -- fresh food is an enormous help (IMO).


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Oh, I just read the other posts....... that new food that Mike just started has a really good ingredient list. That's another food I would have no problem buying if I wanted to stop feeding raw.


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## Nick Segrue (Jun 8, 2006)

Mike, I like the look of those frozen patties they look good!

It's nice to see people feeding raw, we have done it for the past 4 yeas and the changes in our dog were simply astounding. I am always undecided on the acids in stomach of the pry debate, some say it spills out when the animal is caught and killed some say it should be fed, we give some fruits and vegetables but the mainstay is raw organic chicken wings and legs and raw minced organic beef,, would never go backi to a grain type diet now its just so unnatural for dogs.

I was doing regularly vegetables and fruits and some nuts and seeds in a blender but wasn't convinced of its value, might try it again it is just quite time consuming.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Connie, I'm getting a new shipment of raw on Friday. The gal is including some Green Tripe as a freebie. Now, I always heard that the problem with GT is you need to keep it in a seperate freezer, or the smell will get into everything else. My dealer is telling me that is not true, and that if you keep it in it's own well wrapped container in the freezer, everything else should be safe. What has your experience been?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Nick Segrue said:


> Mike, I like the look of those frozen patties they look good!
> 
> It's nice to see people feeding raw, we have done it for the past 4 yeas and the changes in our dog were simply astounding. I am always undecided on the acids in stomach of the pry debate, some say it spills out when the animal is caught and killed some say it should be fed, we give some fruits and vegetables but the mainstay is raw organic chicken wings and legs and raw minced organic beef,, would never go backi to a grain type diet now its just so unnatural for dogs.
> 
> I was doing regularly vegetables and fruits and some nuts and seeds in a blender but wasn't convinced of its value, might try it again it is just quite time consuming.


Aha! You didn't need swaying to fresh food..... you were checking up on us! :lol: 

Now that I know that, yes, it is astounding. Coat, skin, eyes (no gunk in the mornings), vet bills......... all better, IME, with fresh food. 

Several vegetables are fine with no processing. The problem with many is that dogs don't produce the salivary enzymes that would allow them to break down the outer cell wall of something like broccoli. But the produce that would be in a prey animal's stomach is pretty easy to simulate with young greens or any thin-walled green vegetable that you steam enough to soften. You don't have to do the thick-walled choices that need processing or grinding or blender-ing, IMO. And, of course, the ripe fruits that the animal would eat (and I really especially like a few blueberries for that: low in sugar and filled with antioxidants..... not to mention easily purchased frozen) need no processing. I just keep them few, and low in sugar, which is as unnecessary to dogs as grains are, IMO.

I'm fussy about the meat: organic, grain-fed, pasture-raised. But the produce can be streamlined with frozen organic from Trader Joe's (balanced for freezing, and cheap!)...... and you could use a little flax oil - always with Vitamin E in the same meal - instead of the nuts and seeds for the Omega 3 EFAs.

There's ways and ways!


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

susan tuck said:


> Connie, I'm getting a new shipment of raw on Friday. The gal is including some Green Tripe as a freebie. Now, I always heard that the problem with GT is you need to keep it in a seperate freezer, or the smell will get into everything else. My dealer is telling me that is not true, and that if you keep it in it's own well wrapped container in the freezer, everything else should be safe. What has your experience been?


That it stinks like hell........... I keep it in its own private Tupperware-type container and then bag that in a double-wall freezer baggy! :lol:


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## Nick Segrue (Jun 8, 2006)

Hi Connie, yes already feed it wanted to find out who does here and get some more tips, can always improve on what we are doing! That's one thing I haven't added flaxssed oil, I did it for short while but the girl said it goes rotten quite quick. I am always half and half about supplements, I am not a great believer in them for humans so not sure for dogs.

One thing my dog does love is bananas, I got my parents to stop feeding them bu its like a ritual for them to give one a day!


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Quoting myself:

But the produce can be streamlined with frozen organic from Trader Joe's (balanced for freezing, and cheap!).



That was supposed to be BLANCHED for freezing...


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## Woody Taylor (Mar 28, 2006)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Quoting myself:
> 
> But the produce can be streamlined with frozen organic from Trader Joe's (balanced for freezing, and cheap!).
> 
> ...


I thought you were gonna apologize for being an Californian and just assuming EVERYBODY on this board has access to Trader Joe's!!!  

(We finally got one in Minneapolis two weeks ago or so.)


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Here is a thread from a while back about an article attacking raw feeding, and you'll see by the replies what several members here think about fresh food for dogs:
http://www.workingdogforum.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=446


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## Nick Segrue (Jun 8, 2006)

Connie, interesting thread, those vetinary science professors always promote commercial foos they get funding and free food for the students, its awful, I don't buy those reasons not to feed BARF.

You can't compare wild dogs to domesticated either as supply of food in wild is far less continuous, competition for survivival etc, that article has slightly madd me fume as you cna guess LOL!


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Woody Taylor said:


> Connie Sutherland said:
> 
> 
> > Quoting myself:
> ...


I thought everyone did. I know all my family in the New England area has them.  

Can't beat their frozen organic produce prices! Frozen salmon... tons of stuff that they sell cheaper organic than supermarkets do for regular.


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## Stacia Porter (Apr 8, 2006)

Nick Segrue said:


> What are your experiences with it?


As Kristen said, I did feed raw in Germany with EXCELLENT results. My GSD had some issues with it (never could get his stools to firm up) but my beagle did a 180. She was a 50 lb footstool who shed nonstop, had no energy, and couldn't be bothered to do anything. I switched to raw and I kid you not: that dog was down to 36 lbs in a matter of 2 months. She blew her nasty coat and grew in a gorgeous, shiny one with better pigment. Her breath didn't smell. She was jumpin gand running around my house, seeking us out for attention. A different dog. I was amazed.

I currently feed Canidae. Raw is hard in this area...we dont' have butchers and meat prices are through the roof. I feed the Canidae and supplement with bones, some fruits and veggies, eggs. My newest rescue, an approximately 2 year old AmBred bitch, was a mess when I got her. Her coat was actually GREY from bad nutrition -- we thought she was a sable! I started her immediately on the "good stuff" and she blew that ENTIRE coat (I mean it, I was Swiffering about 3 times a day) and got in the most gorgeous black and tan one instead. Turns out this girl is a traditional saddle B&T...now that's change. SHe's also dysplastic and I've seen some improvement with the Canidae, and she has tons of energy on it.

I'm a firm believer in nurition. I just can't see how the manufactured monstrosities in grocery stores can compare with natural food. You and I wouldn't spend our lives eating little nuggets of food at every meal, always the same, with not so great ingredients. Why sentence our dogs to a lifetime of that?

However, I should say that my vet is against my raw feeding. SHe says that it's not "adequate from a holistic standpoint." I asked her about proof of that and she didn't answer me (that would be b/c there isn't any). Now to her credit, she didn't ask me about Science Diet, but rather asked if I knew that the grooming store up the street sells the Canidae my dogs are on along with other all natural kibbles that she highly recommends. I think that leaves her on a "break even" status in my eyes :wink:


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