Info on Raw Diets

ORIGINAL: belgmal_girl

Will post  more later. but PLEASE read why NOT to feed pre-made raw:


[linkhttp://www.rawlearning.com/premaderaw]http://www.rawlearning.com/premaderaw[/link]

This woman has terrific info on raw feeding. I also feed my cats, dogs, servals, and ferrets raw, so feel free to PM with any questions.

Sorry, but I read the link you gave and it's just one person's opinion. Nothing she said indicates that YOU should not feed premade raw, but why SHE doesn't feed premade raw. And frankly, at least one reson - that dogs need raw in their most natural state - is pure speculation and has little to do with reality. What is the difference between a chicken thigh and a chicken thigh ground into a patty that makes the latter less acceptable?

Another admonition about dogs getting ill because a gob of raw hits their stomachs before being digested; digested where exactly? First of all in humans saliva has salivary amylase that starts breaking down starch in the mouth. Dog saliva does not have salivary amylase, and salivary amylase does not digest proteins - so I don't know what digestion she might be referring to that occurs before the stomach that makes premade patties a hazard.

Just my two cents.
Paula

It IS a lot of work.  It takes me longer to prepare their meat meal than it does for my husband to make pasta for dinner.  *sigh*  I do feel good about it and they really seem to enjoy it - so that makes it worthwhile.
 
I'm also feeding a diet that has been around a while and I like the rigid structure it provides. 

ORIGINAL: belgmal_girl

The point is to make sure you don't[color=#000000]  balance it everday.. In the wild, feral dogs don't plan out meals or supplements to make sure they get a balanced diet.

[color=#CC6699]Feral dogs also die of malnutrition.

because they don't eat food everyday, as they don't have access to traps, spears, nets, snares and other great tools humans use to trap and eat animals. Try catching and eating deers, elk, rabbits, birds...etc. with only great speed, claws and fangs.

Dogs also die from lyme disease, CV, lepto, giardia and all the other diseases we over-vaccinate for.

you both are arguing good points.

because they don't eat food everyday, as they don't have access to traps, spears, nets, snares and other great tools humans use to trap and eat animals. Try catching and eating deers, elk, rabbits, birds...etc. with only great speed, claws and fangs.

Dogs also die from lyme disease, CV, lepto, giardia and all the other diseases we over-vaccinate for.

 
 
    I don't understand the reasoning behind the idea that because feral dogs, ( do you mean jackals, dingos, wolves or the like), don't get a daily balanced diet in the wild (there's probably times when they don't get a balanced diet in weeks) domestic dogs shouldn't get one either.
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
  
 
  

We want them to have a more balanced diet than wolves, because our dogs are in more optimal conditions and we want them to be in optimal health.

Domesticated dogs only differ from feral dogs (yes, wolves, dingoes, jackals....) by .3%. All domesticated dogs, including chihuahuas, and poodles. Unless you count domesticated hybrids. The only time wolves would get a balanced diet is if they eat whole prey like rabbits or rats. You have to remember that they eat mostly large ungulates like moose, elk and deer. When they kill large prey, they can't be like a boa constrictor and unhinge their jaws and swallow it all at once. Scavengers, birds and other animals may eat the prey.

Here's another example comparing humans and dogs with balanced diets. Every day when you make breakfast, lunch, dinner or various meals, do you pull out that food pyramid (old or updated) and make sure it is perfectly balanced? When you go out to restraunts, do you make sure it is mostly carbs, a little meat, veggies and fruits? No! I hope not! Balance is achieved over time. What about that that nice, juicy filet mignon you ate with dinner and with a side of wild rice, served with wine, finished up with creme brulee? Would you consider that a balanced meal? How about some scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and milk for breakfast?

"Although the subject continues to be controversial, most authorities now agree that all dogs, from chihuahuas to dobermans are descended from wolves which were tamed in the Near East ten or twelve thousand years ago". Wolves, C. Savage, Sierra Club Book, ISBN 0-87156-689-3

"Herre and his colleagues at the institute had come to the firm conclusion on the basis of a large number of skull measurements and examinations of the size and structure of the brain, blood factors, and numbers of chromosomes that all dogs, whether Pekingese, bulldogs or Alsatians, were descended solely from the wolf and not, as has often been assumed, from the wolf and the jackal. "The domesticated wolf is the dog". The Wolf, a Species in Danger, Dr. Erik Zimen, Delacorte Press, NY, ISBN 0-440-09619-7

Silver Wlf:  I immediately perke up when I sw that you used the Volhards diet.  I attempted to feed this diet, but honestly it seemed like to much work for not enough results.  Maybe I did not give it enough time.  Do you follow all of the guidelines or do you alter them to suit your needs?