I stumbled upon the following question at Yahoo Answers and left my own “answer”. You can see my reply and what others had to say by clicking here.

“So, can I go shopping in the grocery store for ingredients? If so, what do I need? She’s a 40lb dog, very active. How much will this cost monthly? What are the pros and cons?“

One particular reply by a “Top Contributor” (TC) really illustrates (a) the lack of knowledge about canine nutrition, (b) the purposeful spread of misinformation and disinformation with regards to feeding raw foods to our carnivorous canine companions. Either way I was compelled enough to spend 4 plus hours writing this blog post.

TC’s response to the Yahoo Questions asker.

TC: does it not concern you that when you google it, there is only controversy ??? the raw diet is a fad diet that is losing momentum as more studies are being done … i fed my dog who has major allergies the prey model diet and after about 8 months she had bloodwork for another reason and it was discovered she was malnourished !!!

i know that vets are not trained specifically in pet nutrition but clearly that diet was not healthy for my dog and my vet said get her off that diet … and when i did more research, i found out that many other dogs on the prey model diet had bloodwork out of whack too !!!

it is suggested to have bloodwork done before the raw diet is started and during just to make sure everything is okay … i do not need bloodwork to feed my dog a high quality kibble … and to do the raw diet right, you need to add other things … such as a prepared raw diet with supplements and vegetables … but that is super expensive to do … you would be spending more on food for your dog than food for you … dogs can not eat just meats, bones and organs and be healthy, that has been proven … dogs have been domesticated thousands of years and bred for ages and no longer have to eat like a wolf … in what way does a chihuahua resemble a wolf ??? it does not and should not be feed as one, which goes for all domesticated dogs … and unless you are feeding organic meat (super expensive) you are just pumping your dog full of hormones, steroids, and antibiotics that most commercial meat is full of … so unless you are rich or have an excessive time on your hands to research and to the diet properly, you should just stick to a high quality kibble … if you want to feed a raw treat, give them a bone …

“Blockages, intestinal perforations, cracked and broken teeth, parasites, and food contamination are all real life concerns that many Raw food advocates gloss over.”

“Few studies have been done to prove or disprove the numerous beneficial claims of a raw diet.”

“Myth 1: Dogs and cats are carnivores and evolved to eat uncooked whole prey.

Myth 2: Uncooked food is more nutritious than cooked commercial diets.

Myth 3: Raw diets are safer than commercial foods.

Myth 4: Raw diets are healthier than processed commercial diets.

As already pointed out, eating raw diets increases the risk of intestinal parasites and infections. Such diets are often not nutritionally adequate or balanced and this can lead to diseases of malnutrition. Despite the claims of many proponents, there is no reason to believe BARF diets are healthier, or even as healthy, as conventional cooked diets.”

you decide …

A Convenient Controversy

TC: “Does it not concern you that when you Google it (raw feeding for dogs), there is only controversy?“

Me: The only controversy surrounding the feeding of raw meaty bones and offal to our captive carnivores, stem from the following;

• commercial pet food companies bent on selling poisonous kibble to brainwashed pet owners

• veterinarians in bed with commercial junk pet food companies bent on selling poisonous kibble to brainwashed pet owners that then treating avoidable ailments in pets, caused by owners feeding them commercial junk pet food.

• pet owners who are malleable and often times uneducated about the nutritional requirements of the carnivorous canine and feline pets under their care

Raw Fed and Malnourished?

TC: “I fed my dog who has major allergies the prey model diet and after about 8 months she had blood work for another reason and it was discovered she was malnourished!!!“

Me: Now I have no idea what this person was feeding, the breed of their dog, or if the dog had pre-existing health problems prior to being fed according to the “prey model”. Nor am I a canid biologist, but I do have some questions about this statement.

We know that the dog had “major allergies” preceding the switch from kibble to the prey model diet. Could these allergies have perhaps been caused by grain containing, cooked, processed, dead kibble having been fed over several years? Could the damage caused by years of eating poisonous commercial junk pet food have had a negative impact on nutrient absorption that continued through the PM diet trial?

TC: “I know that vets are not trained specifically in pet nutrition but clearly that diet was not healthy for my dog and my vet said get her off that diet.“

Me: To me, the above statement reads as rather contradictory. One the one hand, our YA “Top Contributor” establishes that most veterinarians are not well educated when it comes to pet nutrition but then presumably follows her vet’s advice, to remove his or her pet from the “raw diet”?

TC: “It is suggested to have blood work done before the raw diet is started and during just to make sure everything is okay“

Me: I’ve never come across this “suggestion” in any of my reading, blogging, talking with other RMB feeders, or veterinarians during the 6 years of feeding RMBs to my dogs.

I’m sure anti-raw feeders and veterinarian scaremongers have indeed suggested to pet owners (considering taking their pets off commercial junk pet food) that they have blood work done on their pet before doing so. However illogical sounding this may be to a thinking person, I can understand how in using such a tactic, anti-raw feeders might see success in scaring the pants off of those gullible pet owners, and thereby keep them towing the kibble line.

To be honest, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of having blood work done on kibble fed dogs, before switching them to an appropriate RMB diet. In many cases the blood test results would reveal health problems caused by years of being force fed commercial junk pet food. Hmm?

TC: “I do not need blood work to feed my dog a high quality kibble“

Me: I did not need blood work to feed any of my four dogs raw meaty bones and offal.

TC: “I did more research, I found out that many other dogs on the prey model diet had blood work out of whack too!!!“

Me: I’d be interested in seeing this “research” and even more interested in who paid for it.

TC: “to do the raw diet right, you need to add other things … such as a prepared raw diet with supplements and vegetables … but that is super expensive to do“

Me: In actuality, when feeding a healthy dog a varied diet of raw meaty bones and offal, no supplementation or vegetable matter is needed.

Providing a varied diet of a variety of nutrients in a variety of levels is the best way to ensure deficiencies or excesses don’t occur. Mother Nature hard programmed the ability of carnivores to adjust their prey targets to match availability thus ensuring the likelihood of survival. Had MN programmed animals to eat only one prey item (or one brand of kibble), I’d hazard a guess to say that life on earth would be much less diverse.

As for a diet of RMB and offal being “super expensive”. It can be as expensive as you like it to be, but for somebody who takes the tie to do a little bit of research, it quickly becomes clear that feeding RMB can be cheaper than even a “premium kibble”.

Just for Kicks

The other day I asked someone how much in the way of carbohydrate a dog needs to be healthy. Her answer was that 40% of the diet should come from carbohydrate (i.e. vegetables). When I told her the answer was actually 0% of carbohydrates are required in a canine’s diet, she looked at me like I had nine heads, but I explained that dogs and cats derive their energy from protein and fat, not carbohydrate, and that if that were not the case, my dogs would have been dead or diseased long ago.

The fact is that I have a still healthy and active 15 year old Border Collie and a super amped Pit Bull. Neither one eats carbohydrates ever, save for whatever they consume along with their green tripe that they get once a week.

TC: “dogs can not eat just meats, bones and organs and be healthy, that has been proven“

Me: Of course they can, and there are thousands, if not millions of domesticated dogs in North America (including my own) doing just that. Proof to the contrary? Squashed!

TC: “in what way does a chihuahua resemble a wolf???“

Me: In the way of it’s digestive anatomy. Sharp teeth, a dog’s tools of trade, are designed for ripping, tearing and cutting raw flesh (not for eating corn chips and cupcakes). A stomach pH of between 1 and 2 which is extremely acidic, designed to digest raw meat and bone. A short GI tract for maximizing the speed of transit of food through the gut, minimizes the risk of infection from bacteria and other pathogens.

Aesthetically? Correct, a Chihuahua hardly resembles a wolf, but from a digestive standpoint, they are virtually identical.

TC: “unless you are feeding organic meat (super expensive) you are just pumping your dog full of hormones, steroids, and antibiotics that most commercial meat is full of“

Me: This one REALLY gets me, almost puts me in fits of laughter. What an idiotic, yet common statement made often by anti-raw feeders and the uninformed.

Let’s be real, 95% of all human food that we consume is not organic (expense dampens demand), and yet most of us eat those foods every day and we survive and thrive. Somehow feeding our pets the same foods (raw meats) that we eat ourselves, is baaaaaaad for our pets? C’mon!

What’s even more humorous is that nearly all pet food companies get the ingredients for their pet food products from the by-products of human food processing. The source starts out the same, 95% non-organic, hormone and antibiotic treated meats and vegetables.

. . . and what does organic mean anyway?

“Natural” is not the same as “organic.” The latter term refers to the conditions under which the plants were grown or animals were raised. There are no official rules governing the labeling of organic foods for pets at this time, but the United States Department of Agriculture is developing regulations dictating what types of synthetic additives, such as vitamins and purified amino acids, may be used in pet foods labeled as organic.” - FDA Website

TC: “so unless you are rich or have an excessive time on your hands to research and to the diet properly, you should just stick to a high quality kibble“

Me: I can’t speak for TC or other pet owners, but I can tell you one thing, I sure as hell did MY research (and continue to do so) with respect to feeding my dogs. Isn’t that just responsible guardianship?

TC: “if you want to feed a raw treat, give them a bone“

Me: Sage advice? Only if that bone is a completely edible raw MEATY bone.

TC: “Blockages, intestinal perforations, cracked and broken teeth, parasites, and food contamination are all real life concerns that many Raw food advocates gloss over.”

Me: For blockages, see Owners: Dog treats killed out pets.

Cracked and broken teeth can be avoided by feeding only completely edible raw bones, and not giving a dog meatless wreckreational bones like femur bones and smoked bones, you know, the ones that are sold in pet food stores.

Parasites – how many non-raw feeders do you know that buy de-worming, flea and tick medications? I’m just sayin’.

Food contamination – sigh, repeat after me. “After handling raw food, my own or my dog’s, I will wash my hands and food preparation area.” Let’s say it one more time folks, “After handling raw food, my own or my dog’s, I will wash my hands and food preparation area.” Oh, and a quick Google Search on “pet food recalls” might be interesting.

Busting Myths

TC: “Few studies have been done to prove or disprove the numerous beneficial claims of a raw diet.“

Me: I guess we’re at an impasse then.

TC: “Myth 1: Dogs and cats are carnivores and evolved to eat uncooked whole prey.

Me: This one makes me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Dogs and cats evolved to eat cooked whole prey?

TC: Myth 2: Uncooked food is more nutritious than cooked commercial diets.

Me: So, enzyme teeming whole raw foods are  less nutritious than dead, fragmented, cooked commercial foods?

TC: Myth 3: Raw diets are safer than commercial foods.

Me: I’m guessing that the message here is that raw meat diets contain higher levels of bacteria than cooked, dead, commercial junk pet foods? If that is what is being said, then I would agree. However it’s sort of a moot point since above we agreed to wash our hands and clean food preparation areas after handling raw food.

TC: Myth 4: Raw diets are healthier than processed commercial diets.

Me: Are we talking about people or animals here? If we’re talking about animals, yes, species appropriate raw diets are ALWAYS healthier than processed commercial diets. Sort of a no brainer – no?

TC: “Despite the claims of many proponents, there is no reason to believe BARF diets are healthier, or even as healthy, as conventional cooked diets.”

Me: I’m in 95% agreement with this statement. While even BARF diets are healthier than conventional cooked diets, they do not provide a canine’s food in a form that requires tearing, ripping and crunching which is required for the maintenance of periodontal health and ultimately overall health. Providing a varied diet of raw meaty bones and offal to our captive canines IS however without question, healthier than ANY commercial cooked diet.

TC: “you decide“

Me: Yes, do that, but only if “you are rich or have an excessive time on your hands to research and to the diet properly“. Otherwise forget it, after all she’s just a dog, right?

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Related posts:

1. 9 Low Cost Foods You Can Buy to Start Your Dog on a Raw Diet
2. Book Review: Real Dogs Don’t Eat Kibble
3. A Pet Food Company Dressed in Sheep’s Clothing?

Secret Tip: Look down at the tool bar at the bottom of the page. In the lower right you’ll see a little man next to the Twitter logo. Click on the little man.

The following text has been taken from Dr. Lonsdale’s RMB Newsletter Vol 6:2 Barfmania: The junk raw pet-food scam, originally published in 2006.

————————————————————-

We humans are an odd lot. We can put a man on the moon but we can’t agree
on how to feed a dog. How crazy is that?

Having lived with this conundrum for a few years now, I still find it
disturbing. And in my opinion both the problem and the solution lies with
the veterinary profession.

Where understanding and certainty exists the room for debate and chatter
shrinks almost to zero. That’s how it is regarding the moon’s orbit,
rocket propulsion, electrical conduction and differential calculus, the
necessary building blocks of a successful moon landing. Experts agree
about these things. Universities teach the subjects and the population at
large is satisfied that genuine experts are in control.

When it comes to feeding pets, the community can have no such confidence.
The self-appointed but non-genuine experts in this field, veterinarians,
are variously cowed, incompetent and in notable instances corrupt. It’s
largely by default that veterinarians have been given authority over pet
diets. Vets are supposed to know about health and disease and an
assumption is made they will be trained to put prevention first –- in
keeping with the first rule of medicine ‘First do no harm’.

In reality young vets start their induction in kindergarten. They watch
their parents feeding pets out of the can and packet; watch the TV ads
and the celebrity vets feeding junk food too. By the time they have come
top of their class, passed their exams and been admitted to vet school
the young vet students are filled with misplaced assumptions about the
world, their position in it and that pets should be raised and maintained
on junk food. Doing harm for most budding vets is a way of life.

Nothing at vet school tells them otherwise. In fact nutrition courses are
frequently taught by pet-food company guest lecturers and the text book,
if there is one, will likely have been supplied by a pet-food company.
Courses in medicine and surgery are taught by lecturers receiving pet-
food company research money, or by lecturers eyeing the money and hoping
their turn will soon come.

In the final years at vet school diagnosis and treatment of disease is
the priority focus. Assumptions about diet continue and little or no time
is spent thinking about preventive medicine. A raw diet, where it is
discussed, is used as an object of ridicule to warn the students of the
alleged risks of bacterial disease, parasitic disease, broken teeth, and
choked, obstructed and constipated dogs. With the preventive benefits of
natural feeding upended and replaced with scaremongering the students
dutifully absorb the diagnosis and treatment options in readiness for the
final exams.

I pity the new graduates. I was one once. The first weeks in practice
are, for many young vets, a nightmare experience. Attempting to recall
diagnosis and treatment options from the textbooks and fit them to real
life patients is a scary business with pitfalls at every turn. Small
wonder prevention never gets a moment’s consideration. And thus the scene
is set for a professional life spent treating animals that are fed the
canned and packet junk food displayed in the vet’s waiting room.

There are other nuances, but you get the idea. Vets live in a culture
that puts them in charge of pet health care, but they generally know
nothing and care little about the benefits of a natural diet. Governments
innocently bequeath self-regulatory status on the veterinary profession
meaning that vets themselves decide what is and what isn’t good practice.
The veterinary leadership, veterinary schools and veterinary research
establishments decided long ago to accept junk food as the norm –- it’s
what defines the culture. (You and I know it also makes the vets a lot of
money treating the diet-affected animals.)

Once a culture is established it’s real hard to divert or change it.
Where vets are put in charge of identifying, researching and
communicating good preventive options, but where they abrogate their
responsibilities a vacuum develops. And as the saying goes: ‘Nature
abhors a vacuum.’ This brings us to the predicament we now face –- a
cacophony of voices filling the vacuum with their pronouncements about
the dog’s bowl and what should go in it.

It’s a free for all where the well-meaning jostle with the naïve and the
devious — where those with nothing to sell spread confusion and others
exploit the confusion to sell junk raw food and bottled supplements.
Major aspects of the junk pet-food fraud amounting to 95 % of the issues
we face don’t get a mention.
http://secureshop.rawmeatybones.com/newsletter/view.epl?id=37
Worse still, self-styled experts in natural nutrition seek to stifle
discussion of the wider issues.

Principal among the junk raw food merchants are the barfers who contend
that dogs are omnivores not carnivores. Without protection from a
competent veterinary profession many people fall victim to the barf
absurdity. Trouble is the victims all too often become victimizers. They
victimize their own pets and then seek to spread the barf nonsense to
other defenceless pet owners who get caught in a web of confusion as
illustrated by this quote:
——————————————————-
“I decided when I started this the best thing for us was to follow some
kind of recipe and grind it together in some sort of patty and go that
route until we all were more experienced. I followed Dr.Billinghurst’s
recipe in his book for canine patties. The last time we made it we made a
huge batch and if you don’t mind me going on and on here’s what we put in
it:

• 80 lbs chicken necks and backs
• 40 lbs chicken wings
• 10 lbs beef liver
• 10 lbs beef heart and kidney
• 30 lbs various veggies
• 10 lbs various fruits
• 6 lbs yogurt
• 6 lbs ground flax seed
• 30 oz Kelp and 16oz garlic.

We grind this all together and freeze it in daily amounts. I guess my
question is…is this adequate? Does it sound like a fairly good recipe
to be feeding daily? We do occasionally give [our two dogs] chicken wings
whole; beef rib bones and larger beef bones they can’t totally eat. The
pup eats everything. [Our 2 year old dog] is not eating this new batch
very well at all. Is garlic necessary, it makes the mixture smell
horrible? Any suggestions?”
————————————————–
In reaction to barfmania a new strand of thought says that instead of a
recipe for minced meat, vegetables and supplements pet owners need a
recipe for different organs. ‘Prey-model’ is the term applied and imposes
strictures on the amount of meat, bone and certain organs that should be
fed to a pet. Head, hide and guts are left out of the reckoning. To my
way of thinking, although well meaning, ‘prey model’ is another piece of
jargon and best avoided.

What we can be sure of is that Nature has had lots of practice and
practice makes perfect. If we feed our pets according to Nature’s model
we’ll get the best available health, vitality and longevity. Whole
carcasses of other animals set the standard in canine cuisine. Next, I
suggest, comes a diet based on raw meaty bones. It’s the physical side of
ripping, tearing and chewing meat from bone that is central to the needs
of a carnivore diet. By all means include whole carcasses as often as
possible; include meaty bones and offal from a range of fish, mammals and
birds. For fuller practical details on feeding dogs please see
Work Wonders: Feed your dog raw meaty bones. For a fuller exposition on
diet disease and the five facets of the pet-food fraud please see Raw
Meaty Bones: Promote Health. www.rawmeatybones.com

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Mother Nature has perfected the food of carnivores. Remember, she’s had lots of practice and you know what that means.

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Image Credit

Related posts:

1. The 3 Pillars vs BARF
2. What is BARF?
3. Dr. Tom Lonsdale on Feeding Your Modified House Wolf

Boxer Enjoying a Raw Meaty Bone

One little email changed the course of history tonight. Well, maybe it didn’t quite change the course of history, but it did change what I had in mind for today’s post. Oh well, Monday’s post is written then . . . as long as I don’t get any more emails that put a rift in the blogging space/time continuum.

Survey Says

The following video by Dr. Karen Becker DVM a self described ‘ proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian’, lists the 13 best pet foods from best to worst, as she sees it.

Before you watch the video, have a look at some of Dr. Becker’s statements from the beginning of her video – followed by some commentary by yours truly.

Dr. Becker says;

• diet obviously is the foundation of health
• foods have the ability to heal or foods have the ability to harm
• your pets need species-appropriate foods
• denying dogs and cats adequate moisture leads to a whole host of biological problems particularly
• dogs and cats (fed commercial kibble) live in a state of chronic mild dehydration that ultimately can cause organ stress.
• corn, wheat, rice and soy are all carbohydrates that are not biologically necessary for dogs and cats to consume
• it’s very important that you feed your pets a balanced diet

Great stuff, all very logical sounding to me.

What is the best pet food?

Dr. Becker says,

“Here we go. No. 1 on the list – the best food you can ever pick for your dog and cat is a balanced, raw, homemade diet. Balanced meaning nutritionally complete and you know that to be true because you’re following a recipe that is proven to be nutritionally complete such as the recipe book you can buy at MercolaHealthyPets.com.”

Let’s take a look at point number 3, ”Your pets need species-appropriate foods“.

I agree, yes dogs and cats DO require species appropriate foods, but unfortunately this is where I have to get off the Becker train.

A species appropriate diet for dogs and cats consists of the whole carcasses of animals. If feeding whole carcasses is not do-able as it isn’t for most of us in our urban environments, the next best thing is to feed large pieces of raw meaty bones (in variety) and offal.

So Dr. Becker got it partly right, but she omitted (intentionally??) excluded raw bone (a source of calcium, fats, fiber and other nutrients) and offal. She says that the diet must be “balanced” (I hate that term by the way), and that you can’t just guess what “balanced” means, but buying her recipe book will presumably take the guesswork out of it for you.

The Bottom Line

Raw meaty bones and organ meats are an ABSOLUTE MUST if you wish to provide a healthy diet for your carnivorous pet. If you feed them them in sufficient quantity, variety and in the proportions set forth by Mother Nature, you WILL have a “balanced” diet and will be feeding “the best” dog food which is, raw meaty bones and offal.

The only recipe you need or should follow, is nature’s recipe.

Image Credit

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Related posts:

1. 9 Low Cost Foods You Can Buy to Start Your Dog on a Raw Diet
2. Does Your Dog Eat Offal Awefully Often?
3. Science Diet: Few Foods Have Claimed So Much & Offered So Little

PetKind Green Beef & Lamb Tripe Treats

This past Thursday there was an email in my inbox from a PR person named Jennifer who works for a company called PetKind, it read;

“PetKind has recently been releasing many great new products that pet magazines & a few select online blogs will be showcasing/reviewing. Would you be interested in reviewing our quality pet care shampoo & conditioners in your Doggy Bytes blog if we sent you samples?”

I have to say that I was quite flattered to be considered as one of the few blogs asked to review the product, but because Doggy Bytes is a blog that focuses on canine health and nutrition, I had to decline Jennifer’s invitation to review PetKind’s new shampoos and conditioners.

I’m sure Jennifer did her due diligence before contacting me and probably knew that I’d written about PetKind in the past, and that a Google search for “tripe treats” would reveal my post, on the second page of the resulting Google search results (Google.ca). Maybe she didn’t know that, but I pointed it out anyway.

I also let Jennifer know that PetKind’s Green Beef Tripe Treats for dogs, were in fact my dogs’ absolute favourite treat, and that I’d be happy to review that product. She shot an email back asking me if my dogs had tried their new Green Lamb Tripe Treats (we/they had not) and said she’d ship some to me for my dogs to taste test.

On Friday I heard again from Jennifer, she said that I should “receive the package shortly“,which I expected to mean sometime next week. This morning (Sunday) there was a white box on my steps, it must have been delivered on Saturday but I hadn’t noticed, and no I wasn’t drunk. :/ Very impressed with the speed that Jennifer got my samples out to me. Thanks Jennifer.

Single Ingredient Treats Get My Vote

I’m all about simple treats for my dogs, meaning whenever possible those treats contain just one single natural ingredient.

Green Beef Tripe

What is green tripe? It is;

“Unwashed (or “green”) tripe includes some of the stomach’s last content, giving it an unpleasant odor and causing it to be considered unfit for human consumption. However, this content is desirable to dogs and many other carnivores and is often used in pet food. Though it is called “green” because it has a high chlorophyll content, in reality it is often greyish brown as a result of other undigested compounds.” – Wikipedia

PetKind Green Beef Tripe Treats

PetKind Green Beef Tripe Treats for Dogs are a 100% fit for my “single ingredient” requirement with respect to the treats I give my dogs.

The only ingredient in this product is, green beef tripe. There are no fillers, no rice, no corn, no propylene glycol, no added anything, just real beef, real green beef tripe and the taste that dogs love – nothing else!

Green Beef Tripe Treats are dehydrated and quite fibrous so they’re also great for helping to keep teeth clean, which is one of the most important benefits of feeding a raw meaty bones diet.




The Verdict: Green Beef Tripe Treats are the perfect dog treat, so 8 paws and two thumbs up. That’s a 10 out of 10!

Lamb Tripe with Chicken (NEW)

PetKind Green Lamb Tripe Treats

I’m not as crazy about these treats as I am about the the beef tripe treats, because they’re not single ingredient treats. The ingredient list reads like this;

• Green Lamb Tripe
• Chicken
• Soy Grits
• Beef Syrup
• Pure Vegetable Glycerin
• Sea Salt
• Natural Smoke Flavor
• Potassium Sorbate
• Garlic

The packaging says that the product consists of 80% Green Lamb Tripe. To be honest I was expecting it to consist of 100% lamb tripe, making it identical to the beef tripe treats, only with the tripe coming from lamb instead. On the upside, for the rare dog with beef allergies, the lamb tripe treats provide another treat alternative. They’re quite soft too, so they would make good training treats.

The Verdict: Green Lamb Tripe Treats still get 8 paws up (my dogs love these treats too), but by virtue of not being a single ingredient treat, I can’t give them the same rating as the green beef tripe treats.

I’d love to see an expanded line of single ingredient green tripe treats sourced from sheep, elk, venison, moose, bison etc. Of course demand and availability I’m guessing, would play a big part in whether or not we ever see these kinds of healthy treats on the market.

To learn more about PetKind and their products, visit www.petkind.com.

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Related posts:

1. The Only Two Dog Treats I Give to My Dogs
2. Real Dogs Eat S.I.T.
3. How to Make Your Own Liver Jerky Dog Treats

A super simple and easy way to get your dog to take her medicine.

guest post by Mary Lou Hardy

If you buy or make dried liver treats, you may have noticed there is usually a pile of crumbs left over once the last treat is gone. Being a frugal “CentHound”, I collect these crumbs in on a on-going basis and store them in a jar. I then use the crumbs in a variety of ways.

Here’s one useful way to use those crumbs.  If your pup is like mine, it is difficult to give her medicine on it’s own.  I use a spoonful of the liver crumbs to help -as Mary Poppins once said -make the medicine go down, in a most delightful way.  Just a spoonful of liver crumbs makes the medicine go down, the medicine go down……

Ah hem,  so here’s what you do:

1. Place your pup’s medicine pill between two table spoons.

2. Press the spoons together to grind the pill into a powder

3. Add a couple of pinches of the liver crumbs to the powder and mix so that there is ample liver coverage.

4. Let your dog lick up the powder mix off the spoon.

Works every time for my pup.  She hasn’t had to take any liquid medications yet, but I’d be willing to bet the crumbs would help make that type of medication go down more delightfully as well.

For other ideas for using liver crumb, see http://centhound.com/cool-treat

Mary Lou Hardy is a Vancouver-based social media marketer who has grown up loving dogs. She is always on the hunt for dog-related things that help with the cost and management of caring for her rescue coonhound, Dawn, described by the shelter where she spent much of her early puppy life as “A LOT of dog”.

Mary Lou decided to share her finds to help others through her blog CentHound.com as a source for great deals, cool finds and fun stuff about dogs –Cents-ibile and non-Cents –for anyone who loves dogs.

CentHound prioritizes products that have both economical and ecological considerations along with sources that ship to both the US and Canada. CentHound was chosen as the only pet blog in ShoeString Magazine’s Top 25 Eco-2 Blogs.

Related posts:

1. How to Make Your Own Liver Jerky Dog Treats

I hope you were able to find the time to read Monday’s post and watch the embedded CBC Documentary, “A Dog’s Breakfast“. If you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend that you do. It’s 42 minutes long, which is an impossible length of time to stay on any blog I know, but I can almost guarantee you that if you make the 42 minute investment, you’ll never look at another bag of dog food the same way again.

Veterinarians Going “Against the Grain”

Australian veterinarian Dr. Tom Lonsdale was one of the first, if not the first veterinarian in modern times to challenge the still prevailing commercial pet food dogma by recommending to his clients that they feed their pet carnivores a diet of raw meaty bones and offal. Such heresy found Dr. Lonsdale ejected from the Australian Veterinary Association.

For veterinarians today the same risks exist for those that ” buck the system”, but day by day and year by year, more and more veterinarians are coming to their moral senses and advocating a diet of RMBs. Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins and Dr. Marion Smart are two veterinarians that have rocked the apple cart by expressing their not-so-positive views about the commercial pet food industry.

It’ll come as  no surprise to my regular readers (hi there ), that I’m in near complete agreement with Dr. Smart and Dr. Hodgkins, almost.

It’s Not Only Cats That Need Meat

“Pet owners should not be feeding one food, one form of food, or one brand, or exclusively commercial food over the entire life of their pet. In fact vary the type of food and certainly add fresh whole ingredients in the case of cats, meat to the diet.

“No cat should be fed dry cat food, the cat is an obligatory carnivore.”

I completely agree with Dr. Hodgkins’ above statements that cats should not be fed dry kibble and that they should be fed raw meat since they are obligate carnivores.

However, she doesn’t discuss the need for dogs (I’m betting she’s a cat person) to consume a raw meat diet, which I feel could leave people with the impression that “cats need meat, but dogs don’t”. For optimal health, cats and dogs must consume not only raw meat, but raw meaty bones and offal as the basis of their diets.

CBC’s Ann-Marie MacDonald says “Hodgkins feeds her own pets a raw food diet. It’s high quality, but expensive and less convenient“.

Imagine over hearing a young couple talking about having a baby and the husband says, “Honey, I’d love to have a baby, but I think we should only consider it if we can find a really cheap and convenient food to feed her until she leaves home. I don’t want her food requirements cutting into my Friday night beer fund. You know how important it is for me to be able to hang with the guys at the pub after work.” Wife replies; “Oh honey, you worry too much! Kraft Dinner is 3 for $5 at Walmart, it’s fortified with riboflavin too, and only takes 8 minutes to boil.”

A conversation like that would be ridiculous right . . . . RIGHT?!

Quality vs Price & Convenience

If you’re grinding meat and bone, and juicing veggies (veggies are not a required food for dogs or cats) for your pets, yeah, ok, I’d agree that is inconvenient, but feeding a diet of raw meaty bones is as easy as taking a chicken (whole, back or whatever) and throwing it out in the back yard. As for expensive, if you’re smart about it, feeding raw meaty bones and offal should be no more expensive than the price of a perceived high quality kibble.

So yes, for optimal health cats and dogs need to eat a diet of raw meaty bones,and neither has to be inconvenient or expensive unless you want it to be. That is the convenient truth.

Most Vets Know Jack About Nutrition

“Veterinarians themselves have had limited training in nutrition and so basically the training they get is from the companies themselves, and what the companies are telling them that the products are doing for them.”

“There is a gap between what the consumer thinks the veterinarian knows and what the veterinarian actually knows.”

The preceding two quotes by Dr. Marion Smart made my year!

I’ve been saying for a long time now that unless a veterinarian has sought to educate themselves separate and apart from what the pet food companies tell them, pet owners shouldn’t look to as authorities on small animal nutrition.

For me, the best part of this documentary was hearing Dr. Smart,  a veterinarian and professor of small animal nutrition, confirming what I’ve known for a long time, that most vets know Jack about small animal nutrition.

C’mon, get smart!

Related posts:

1. Pet Food: A Dog’s Breakfast (CBC Doc Zone)
2. Is Your Dog’s Health Worth More Than a Starbucks Latte?
3. Going Rawr

In this post, A Dog’s Breakfast, the 2008 Canadian Broadcast Network (CBC) documentary takes a look at the pet food industry shortly after the Menu Foods fiasco, the biggest pet food recall in North American history.

The documentary is 45 minutes long (sorry), but it is an eye opener. If you haven’t seen it and you own a dog or a cat, you owe it to them to watch the video in its entirety.

The Stars of the Show

Two women from within the veterinary community share their knowledge and opinions about the commercial pet food industry and the products produced for our pets.

Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins DVM runs a veterinary clinic in southern California, and Dr. Marion Smart DVM is a Professor of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan.

I’ve highlighted a few quotes from throughout the documentary made by Drs Hodgkins and Smart, along with the timestamps of when they were mentioned in the video -  in case you’re interested in jumping right to a specific quote in that I’ve listed.

Quotes by Dr. Hodgkins;

5:53 “We have no effective regulation of the pet food industry, the fox is guarding the hen house, there is no other way to put it.”

6:57 “Unfortunately the pet food industry is cutting corners, is not doing testing says it is, is not using the quality ingredients it wants pet owners to believe are in that bag and can and is not being forthcoming with pet owners about those facts. It is NOT a truthful industry.”

24:06 “There isn’t any need to do animal testing to come up with good quality animal foods. For example if we want to now how best to nourish a cat, we look at what cats have been eating for millenia, small mammals, birds. we can instantly understand with subjecting a single animal to any invasive or confining testing , what we should be feeding cats.”

31:13 “No cat should be fed dry cat food, the cat is an obligatory carnivore.”

31:28 “Everything that is used in the batter that becomes dry dog and cat food is preprocessed, processed again, we lose a tremendous amount of the quality of the nutrients in this batter throughout that process.”

32:00 “I liken commercial pet food to convenience foods for ourselves . . . pizza, particularly if you vary the toppings on the pizza would represent fresher, more wholesome natural ingredients, because pizza is typically not nearly as processed as the canned and bagged pet food that we feed our pets.”

34:38 Pet owners should not be feeding one food, one form of food or one brand or, exclusively commercial food over the entire life of their pet, in fact vary the type of food . . .”

FACT: 04/07 Dr. Hodgkins testified before a US senate sub committee investigating the pet food recall. (Download PDF here)

Premium Food Implies Quality but is it?

Quotes by Dr. Smart;

26:15 “People are paying more money thinking that they are getting a better quality food and there’s marginal differences between the qualities of the food, it’s just the marketing strategies by the companies.”

Veterinarians are a Good Resource for Nutritional Advice

26:35 “Veterinarians themselves have had limited training in nutrition and so basically the training they get is from the companies themselves, and what the companies are telling them that the products are doing for them.”

29:02 “There is a gap between what the consumer thinks the veterinarian knows and what the veterinarian actually knows.”

Hopefully the above quotes have piqued your interest enough to get you to watch the entire documentary, so pour yourself a cup of tea and listen intently for the next 45 minutes.

On Wednesday, I’ll give my take on what I think about what Drs Hodgkins and Smart opine about the topics they discuss in A Dog’s Breakfast.

In the meantime, what did you think? Are you comfortable with the nutrition that you’re feeding your cat or dog? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Image Credit

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Related posts:

1. Go Back in Time & Make a 42 Minute Investment in Your Dog’s Health
2. Killing Our Pets With Kibble
3. Commercial Dog Food Ingredients: I Counted 18, You?

I spent a lot of time on Facebook today, TOO much time actually. But, while I was there, I visited The Benefits of Raw Feeding Group where a link to the Personal Dog Feeding Guide spreadsheet below was posted.

Not so much a secret I guess, as a tool to help you figure out how much to feed your dog with respect to raw meaty bones.




The spreadsheet here on the blog is not editable so don’t get your knickers in a bunch, but you can scroll to see how the fields populate with the 50 lb value I’ve input.

Clicking on this link however will prompt the download of the Excel spreadsheet file to your own computer.

Once downloaded, you can plug in your dog’s weight to get an estimate of the amount of raw meaty bones you should be feeding your little (or big) carnivore.

Note: AVG Antivirus found no viruses when I downloaded the file, but for your own safety and peace of mind, I’d recommend that you virus scan the file before opening.

It’s Really Not That Difficult, Really!

This spreadsheet might be a good tool in determining how much to feed your dog if you’re just starting out feeding a RMB diet. I’m just worried that some people might come to the conclusion that, “if I need a spreadsheet to feed my dog, this is way to much hassle for me“, when in fact it’s really easy to figure out how much to feed your dog.

Monitor your dog’s weight, if he looks like he’s getting fat, cut it back. If his ribs are a little bit too prominent, feed a little bit more.

Here’s a quote (quesion and answer) that I found at PetEducation.com;

Q. “… I asked her what her secret was that allowed her to feed her dogs in such a way that they were always the perfect weight.”

A. “when they are skinny I feed ‘em more and when they get fat I feed ‘em less.”

Pretty basic stuff eh?

What Does Jim Do?

I’ve always used the 2-3% of RMBs per pound of body weight (for adult dogs) as guideline for feeding my guys.

Zeus is about 50 lbs, so I know that I have to feed him roughly 1 – 1 1/2 lbs of food per day. I either eyeball it, or in most cases the foods that I buy for my dogs have the weight printed right on the package, since I buy their meaty bones and offal from the same super market that I buy my own food from.

Honestly, don’t get too caught up in needing exact numbers. We don’t eat that way, we don’t feed our kids that way, and we don’t have to worry about whether or dogs get 1 lb of food per day, or 1 1/4 lbs of food per day. Balance over time.

If you’re new to raw feeding, do you think this spreadsheet will be useful for you just starting out?

If you’re an experienced raw feeder, do you just eyeball it like me, or do you weigh out your dog’s portions?

Related posts:

1. How to Feed a Shih-Tzu Maltese Mix Raw Meaty Bones
2. 8 Steps for Feeding a Raw Meaty Bones Diet
3. How to Feed 4 Dogs Simultaneously in Under 5 Minutes

Yesterday I checked into Twitter and saw that I’d been mentioned in a tweet by @FangShuiCanines and @918Bo.

The following three tweets were part of a tweet stream with the two aforementioned tweeters talking about whether or not raw eggs are harmful to dogs.

BTW @918Bo, Doggy Bytes is a he.

Eggs the “Gold Standard”

Back in my early bodybuilding days, I was a HUGE fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course. I read his Bodybuilding Encyclopedia from front to back and back to front dozens of times, to the point where the pages were falling out of the book. I read everything I could about Arnold and many other bodybuilders at the time with regards to training and nutrition.

Back then it wasn’t uncommon for bodybuilders to suck back a dozen raw eggs either on their own, or in a protein shake, and I followed right along with the big boys. After a while, I stopped drinking raw eggs and started using weight gainer powders and later whey protein powders, which were much more tasty compared to slimey gross raw eggs.

Egg protein was the protein of choice for bodybuilders of yesteryear and still is for many professional bodybuilders today. Why? It’s considered the “gold standard” for protein quality. If you recall my discussion of the different methods used to determine protein quality, rating proteins by biological values is one common method used. According to this method, egg protein scores a perfect 100. The reason for the perfect score is because all of the protein in an egg is used by the body and it’s readily digested and absorbed. Egg protein is also a lactose-free protein source. Egg protein has all the essential amino acids the body needs and high levels of total amino acids – especially important sulfur-containing amino acids which are essential to various hormonal pathways in the body. – Men’s Total Fitness

DYI: Whey protein actually scores higher (1.14) on the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAA).

Son, Raw Eggs are Bad For You

I want to say that it was my mom who first informed me that drinking raw eggs might not be the healthiest thing to do. The potential for Salmonella poisoning notwithstanding, there’s a protein in raw egg whites called avidin which is very effective at binding to biotin (one of the B Vitamins), preventing it from being absorbed, which could potentially lead to a biotin deficiency. I was never overly concerned.

More on that . . . .

Egg Whites and Yolks

Raw eggs are a health concern because egg whites contain avidin, a protein that interferes with the body’s absorption of biotin, a B-complex vitamin. Because cooking neutralizes avidin, many pet nutritionists recommend cooking eggs before serving them to animals. However, foxes, coyotes, and wild dogs and cats are fond of raiding bird nests or chicken coops and eating raw eggs, shell and all. In the study that showed avidin’s adverse effect on biotin, laboratory rats were fed excessive quantities of raw egg white. A growing number of veterinarians and other experts recommend feeding raw egg, although opinions differ as to whether the whites should be fed. Pets with strong digestive systems can eat the whole egg and its shell; others (except for those with a serious sensitivity or allergy) can eat the yolk by itself. As Dr. Pottenger proved in his poultry feeding experiments, eggs from naturally raised, free-range chickens are more nutritious (and, no doubt, less allergenic) than from chickens confined to indoor coops. – The Weston A Price Foundation

The Verdict

I’ve been feeding my 15 year old raw eggs periodically for as long as I can remember and she’s well, fifteen years old! I’m no genius, but I’d have to conclude that the raw eggs I’ve fed her over the years has not had a negative impact her health.

And let’s be realistic, raw eggs are not going to make up a large proportion of any dog’s diet, but they are a great source of quality protein and fats, and feeding a couple eggs per week probably isn’t going to cause any problems.

If you recognize the good nutrition that eggs provide and would like to feed your dog a raw egg on occasion but are concerned about the potential for them to develop a biotin deficiency, ditch the white and feed the yolk. You can probably guess what I’m going to continue to do.

So, do you feed your dog’s raw eggs on occasion?

Image Credit

Related posts:

1. But My Vet Says Too Much Protein is Hard on My Dog’s Kidneys
2. Does Your Dog Eat Offal Awefully Often?
3. No Sushi Tonight Doggy!

Murphy II

On Saturday morning when I fired up Facebook, I had message from Jeff Alexander, one of my new Facebook friends. That message contained the following questions from Jeff about the best diet to feed his four month old Shih-Tzu/ Maltese mix – Murphy.

With Jeff’s permission, I wrote this blog post around his questions, and hopefully I’ve answered them.

Hello and thank you for adding me as a friend on FB. I am brand new to this Raw Feeding idea and am still learning about it, but I find it to be a bit confusing. Some articles I have read say to add vegetables and fruit to my dog’s diet and others say it’s not necessary. Some say to add Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Flax Seed Oil and so many other ingredients. I just want to feed my pup the best possible diet. Can you help me to know what exactly that would consist of? I would very much appreciate it.

Also, is buying pre-made BARF a bad idea?

- Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for you questions.

You’re definitely not alone with your confusion about how to go about feeding Murphy a raw diet. Big pet food, veterinarians and even some raw feeders have made the feeding of our pet carnivores out to be something so complicated that we can’t possibly do it ourselves. We can feed our children with no problem, but according to pet food companies and most in the veterinary community, we’re not smart enough to feed our own pets.

For the tens of thousands of years preceding the advent of commercial junk pet food, domesticated dogs ate whatever they hunted and killed, and probably some human food scraps. I would think that the former occurred more often as food was not always as abundant for humans until relatively recently.

In order to understand what dogs should eat, we have to look at what their closest relative the Gray Wolf eats. So what does a wolf eat? Well, it will vary by region and season, but generally speaking the wolf’s favourite prey are elk, deer and other large herbivorous ruminants.

FACT: Descendants of wolves, dogs are carnivores designed to eat raw meat, raw bone and the raw internal organs of their prey.

Wolves will consume all but the stomach contents (but will eat the stomach lining aka tripe) and weight bearing bones of their ruminant prey. When times are tough, and the wolf’s favourite prey are not available they will turn to smaller prey animals (consumed whole), fish, bird’s eggs, insects and fermenting fruits if they can find them. This is a short term survival strategy during periods where they’re preferred prey is unavailable.

“Yeah, but dogs aren’t wolves“, is one of the popular arguments against feeding dogs raw meaty bones. When comparing the outside appearances, brain size and behaviour of wolves and dogs, I completely agree. However, from teeth to anus, digestively speaking – dogs are wolves!

Tools of the Trade

Adult wolves and adult dogs all have 42 teeth with each jaw outfitted with 6 incisors, 2 canines and 8 premolars. Additionally, the lower jaw has 6 molars and the upper jaw has 4 molars.

The dog’s canine teeth are made for grabbing, holding on to and killing their prey. Their incisors are used for pulling, ripping, and tearing flesh off bone, and their serrated molars are used for cutting flesh and connective tissue (scissor like), and crunching bone. I think it’s quite clear that a dog’s teeth are not made for eating pureed bok choy or romaine lettuce.

Dogs like their wild cousins have highly corrosive stomach acids and a relatively short (compared to omnivores and herbivores) digestive tract designed for the quick transit of meat and bone through it.

Omnivores and herbivores both consume carbohydrates as food, and thus require a longer digestive tract and additional enzymes (not present in a canine’s digestive system), in order to process and assimilate the harder to digest carbohydrates and cellulose.

Most of us are not able to feed our dogs an elk carcass in our backyard, so feeding raw meaty bones in large pieces as well as offal, gets us as close as possible to the diet that a canine not only prefers, but requires for optimal health. And that’s a hell of a lot closer to a canine’s natural diet than a bag of cooked, enzyme devoid, dehydrated, periodontal disease causing kibble!

What Does Feeding RMBs Look Like in Practice?

As laid out in his book Work Wonders: Feed Raw Meaty Bones, Dr. Lonsdale lists 3 key principals for feeding raw meaty bones;

1. Feed meaty bones raw.

2. Feed meaty bones in large pieces to ensure maximum cleaning of teeth and gums. <—- this is a HUGE part of why dogs need meaty bones. Upwards of 85% of all domestic pets older than 2 years old have periodontal disease. As much as they (pet food companies) try to spin it, kibble does not clean teeth!

3. Feed meaty bones from a variety of animals — for instance chicken, lamb and rabbit — thus ensuring good balance of nutrients.

Murphy’s Menu

So for small dogs like Murphy, the menu could include, whole chicken or chicken parts, rabbit, fish, Cornish game hen, even rats & mice if you’re not squeamish and can find a source.

Offal in the form of beef liver, heart, kidney, spleen; pork liver, heart, kidney, spleen; green tripe, lung, stomachs, pancreas can be fed. Liver can be fed once every couple of weeks as one large meal. Table scraps like cooked vegetables and bits of grisly steak (sans seasoning) can be offered up periodically as well. Vegetables are not a required part of a dog’s healthy diet however, a small amount of cooked, pureed or minced veggies will do no harm.

How Much and How Often Should You Feed Murphy?

As a rule of thumb, the average adult dog will require 2 – 3% of its body weight per day from raw meaty bones. Growing puppies may require more depending on breed and activity level.

For the next two months Jeff, you can split Murhpy’s daily food requirement into two meals. At 6 months or so you can probably reduce that to once per day.

Don’t get caught up in feeding exactly 2 – 3% every day, as long as over the course of the week he receives his calculated requirement. “Complete and balanced” is achieved over time, not at every meal.

My own dogs usually eat once per day with a couple of snacks (chicken feet or whatever) throughout the day – most days. I rarely feed them the same food two days running, nor do they always eat at the same time each day. I also fast them one day per week. These feeding methods simulate how wild canine’s eat.

Note: Puppies, sick dogs and old dogs should not be fasted without the supervision of a veterinarian.

Cottage Cheese?

This is an easy one. Dogs eating a diet of raw meaty bones and offal receive all the protein and calcium they require – and anyway, dairy has no place in a canine diet.

Flax Seed Oil?

I actually wrote about fish oil vs flax seed oil in this recent post, that I summed up like this, “in a nutshell, dogs can immediately utilize ingested omega-3s from fish sources, but are probably unable to convert flaxseed oil to a bioavailable form. So at best flaxseed oil is just an expensive source of fat.”

B.A.R.F?

B.A.R.F stands for either “bones and raw food” or “biologically appropriate raw food” depending on who you talk to. The acronym seems to have become synonymous with packaged raw dog foods. If the pre-packaged food is ground, it would not contain whole bone, essential for cleaning teeth and gums, nor would it be biologically appropriate since the “appropriate” part of B.A.R.F would need to include whole bone wrapped in generous amounts of meat.

So unless you also feed large pieces of raw meaty bones in addition to pre-packaged raw dog foods or, you are only occassionally feeding one of these ground products for variety, I would say yes, buying them would be a bad idea.

I also recommend that you pick up a copy of each of Tom Lonsdale’s books, Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health and Work Wonders: Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones. As well, check out the Raw Meaty Bones Yahoo group for more information on how to feed Murphy a diet of raw meaty bones.

Jeff, I commend you for seeking out information about how to feed Murphy the best possible diet, thank you for your question and I hope I’ve made things less confusing for you. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the comments below, email me, or message me on Facebook.

Good luck!

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Related posts:

1. Raw Meaty Bones: The Secret to Knowing How Much to Feed Fido
2. Veggies: A Place in the Raw Meaty Bones Diet For Dogs?
3. 8 Steps for Feeding a Raw Meaty Bones Diet