Whilst checking on the ears the vet and I talked about feeding raw. She is a huge advocate of it and I told her that I am feeding completely raw now and she gave me a recipe that includes a couple things I didn't. She wants to make sure they are getting some vitamins, minerals and calcium that doesn't come with just meat and veggies.
The calcium can come from raw bones and I do give the dogs chicken wings and drumsticks but not often enough.
If you are interested, here is the recipe:
*quite a few years ago (around 20) I started reading and researching raw and bought Dr. Pitcairn's book "Healthy Eating for Dogs and Cats" I have to revisit it.
I generally don't like to use grains but will add potatoes (preferably sweet) instead. My dogs do need some carbs as they have lost too much weight. Rice is pretty easily digestible and oats are soluble fiber which can be good...I stay away from corn, any wheat or soy, these can be allergens for some dogs and in dry food products, are added as fillers to keep the cost of the product down. If your dog's weight is changing up or down, change the amount of carbs. Basically I use this recipe as a guideline and will also give dinner leftovers, cooked or uncooked, salad makings, ground flax seed, salmon oil, etc. Good stuff. Raw chicken wings and drums are good for teeth cleaning, bleach free bully sticks and trachea are a nice treat, too, and help with keeping teeth clean.
I add water to the meal as dogs often do not get enough and this helps with hydration but also, and very importantly, with flushing and moving the food along so that crystals or stones do not come into play.
these measurements are based on per day for a 15 pound dog, so adjust accordingly:
1/2 c. meat (beef, turkey, chicken or venison ground or cubed)
1/4 c. ground veggies (carrots, broccoli, kale, squash, etc.)
1/4 c. cooked rice or pasta or oatmeal
1/2 tsp. bone meal
1/2 tsp. nutritional yeast or 3 Brewer's Yeast Tablets (this gives B vitamins)
1 raw egg (for essential fatty acids)
1/8 tsp. cod liver oil or 1" cube of liver (for vitamins A & D)
1/8 scant tsp. kelp powder (for iodine & trace minerals)
1 vitamin E capsule, 100 i.u. or 2 tbls. wheat germ
My vet has started to recommend raw diets to his clients. He was talking about it at our last meeting and was welcoming any new info.
ReplyDeleteI also follow this blog: http://doggiechef.blogspot.com/
and she's trying her best to feed her dog the best way possible. You might like her blog.
Personally, I have begun to believe that mass-produced dog food is the same as the crap I eat that comes to me through a drive-through window. Convenient but not really healthy. Meaning some choices are better than others.
I think about how dogs years ago, just got their Rabies vax and ate table scraps and lived for a long time...but then when you think about it, those "table scraps" were probably a whole lot healthier back then! LOL!
By the way, what did they treat the ear-mites with?
:) - Cindi
Hey Cindi, the mites are being treated with Mita-Clear®. I'll check out the blog you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a good analogy of dog food vs. human food and that back when the dogs got scraps, it was 'real' food, food from the earth.
Where do you find bleach-free bully sticks or trachea?
ReplyDeleteTo find the Bravo Raw Diet or bully sticks / trachea you can go to their website at www.bravorawdiet.com and click on find a retailer, put in your zip and see if there is one near you. I just called for this info. as it is a local company in CT about a 1/2 hour from me and was told that there are 1600 stores nationwide that carry their products. If you have difficulty in finding one close, I'd be willing to make a trip to pick some up and send them out. Just email me privately for arrangements.
ReplyDelete