An Interesting Read on the effects of Junk Pet Food

[DanielBMe]

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/articles/Nexus07_pub_articletext.pdf

Although it promotes raw meaty bones, for those that don't feed raw it's still an interesting read.

I also bought this book on natural health for your pets. Very good book.

http://www.amazon.ca/Pitcairns-Complete-Guide-Natural-Health/dp/157954973X/ref=pd_bowtega_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211462984&sr=1-1

[mellowbo]

Thanks, interesting.

[marjrc]

Daniel, I love that book too. I think it's almost a bible in pet alternative health care. They have two used copies at the store where I work, so I've read quite a bit of it.

I am in the middle of reading that article. I'd seen similar info on their site and agree with much of what it says. Thanks for pointing it out. :)

[marjrc]

You know, we pay $$$$$$$ for chew toys, the ones that are 'dental' and supposedly help clean teeth, when if we only gave more soft, raw meaty bones to our dogs, we'd get them dinner AND a natural dental cleaning! Interesting......

[tikaboo]

My eyes are slowly being open to the reality that we are causing most of our pets health issues with what we feed them.
thank you for all the good information.

[mckennasedona]

Question for the raw feeders on the list. I used to feed my dogs a prepared raw and they did quite well on it. I only stopped because of the distance we had to go to get it. Anyway, I do beleive in raw feeding BUT how do you give your dogs their raw meaty bones and keep your floors clean?? I have three dogs. If I give them a bone, they each want to go to a separate corner to chew on it and that usually means they are on the carpet. I don't want RMB's on my carpet. I'm not too thrilled about having them on my tile either because I really hate to have to mop after every feeding especially when I have to leave for work by 5:45 AM. If I put down a blanket, that means they all have to sit near each other and I'm not sure how that would work, nor do I particularly want to do a load of laundry each night. I could put them all out back but what happens in rainy or cold weather. How do you do it??

[Beamer]

Hi Susan,

Beamer eats his bones on a large beach blanket which is washed once a week or so..
Obviously with 3 dogs thats going to be more difficult! How about crating them while they eat their bones? That might work....?

Ryan

[DanielBMe]

Here's how I do it. For the RMB I only feed those in the evening. My guys getting raw patties in the mornings. Those are home made. The RMB I feed in the evening. Now that it's summer I put out a blanket on my balcony and give it to them out there.

If I feed them in the home, I put the blanet (really an old bedsheet) out in the kitchen and feed them there. I make sure they don't leave the blanket until the bone is sufficiently chewed that it can no longer make a mess. Then they are able to take it to their cushions and finish them off.

Brando is really the only one who likes to run around with the food in his mouth looking for a private spot. Bogart just eats wherever I feed him. Funny thing is Brando doesn't usually last too long by himself. He will always come back to where Bogart is eating. I think he wants to make sure he's not missing out on anything lol

[Eva]

Great resources..thanks for the links.
I'm planning on feeding Todd Raw at least one meal a day in the future.
He's already tried a little and LOVES IT!
My cats were on a raw diet for several months and I was amazed with how silky their coats became and how little their litterbox smelled. :)
My Ragdoll has a sensitive tummy and wouldn't touch raw after I tried to feed him some NV beef medallions and he got sick on it or else I would still be feeding it.
I also used to feed our Lab raw bones a couple of times a week and he had the prettiest teeth...no tarter build up at 7 1/2 yrs old!

[tikaboo]

Thank you for all the great info on BARF feeding. I want to switch to the raw diet for Tika. I am trying to read everything. I am learning so much. My husband and son are hunters so i am looking forward to fresh meat in the near future, it works out perfect. As you can see in the picture, Tika had no problem wanting to get at that fresh moose, poor thing I didn't know she could.

http://www.havaneseforum.com/photopost531/watermark.php?file=2250

[Me&2Girls]

Fabulous info. Thank you so much. I looked into raw feeding about 18 months ago and joined the yahoo groups, but the tone was so strident, that it was a real turn off. I've made the decision that once I finish this bag of kibble that all three of mine are going to get treated to the world's best canine diet. Thanks again Ryan and Daniel.

[DanielBMe]

There are definitely groups that are very strident about raw feeding. I think it's just best to find something that works best for you.

I started out feeding the packaged stuff but afterwhile the costs becames prohibitive feeding two dogs. I figured I could do just as well as job or better, so I now make my own. My recipe is in the alternate feeding thread, http://www.havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=4799 I find it works best for my guys. But every dog is different and not everyone wants to go through the same amount of work that I do.