I have a diet question and am hoping you can help. I own four dogs from one year to seven years old. All are very active. Some of them have food allergies and after years of trying to find a natural food that they will eat, I have decided to try a raw diet, of sorts. They have a third of their daily food in the morning which consists of either puffed rice or a wholemeal mixer with manuka honey and live yoghurt. Then, the rest in the evening is meat and supplements, most of which are by Dorwest Herbs and recommended for natural feeding. Below, is their diet sheet showing the rough amounts that are altered for each dog:
1oz-2lb body weight daily
Ruby 6kg = 13lbs = 6.5oz total daily
Barney 9kg = 19.5lbs = 9.75oz total daily
Pearl 27kg = 59.5lbs = 29.75oz total daily
Jasper 27kg = 59.5lbs = 29.75oz total daily
Ruby 60g dry & 122g meat
Barney 91g dry & 182g meat
Pearl 277g dry & 556g meat
Jasper 277g dry & 556g meat
Total: 705gm dry, 1,416g meat daily
Mon: Fish, Tue: Lamb, Wed: Banquet nuggets, Thur: Tripe, Fri: Beef, Sat: Chicken,
Sun: Offal
Supplements: Plaque Off, Easy Green, Keepers Mix, Tree Barks Powder, Cod Liver Oil in the Winter, Garlic Granules, Wheat Germ Oil in the Summer and Glucosamine & Chondroitin (not Ruby).
The meat is all from Natures Menu frozen range. They have natural treats and chews to exercise their teeth and gums with the added Plaque Off. I really don’t want to add bones to the diet and was wondering if maybe a bone-meal supplement would be needed? They also have a small amount of the Natures Menu fruit and veg frozen nuggets added to their meat.
Mrs Sam Gallie
Can anyone steer Sam in the right direction? Any comments about this diet?
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I also have 4 dogs all are fed a natural diet and supplements, I feed prize choice raw mince (from the same company that do Natures Menu). They have mince and mixer biscuit in the morning and mince and veg in the evening. I make my own veg just by blending it all with a little water (all raw veg) I use carrots, broccoli, watercress, cabbage, you name it they eat it, they also have fruit, nuts and seeds. The supplement I use is Almost Human SuperDog Ultimate Nutrition by Higher Nature. I do sometimes give my dogs raw bones, but if you buy prize choice raw mince it has got some bone in it. Hope this helps
ReplyDeleteMy Sussex spaniel has been on the Ian Billinghurst version of the raw (BARF) diet for nearly 11 years now (he's 12 and a half).
ReplyDeleteMy advice would be to go the whole hog and feed your dogs bones, simply because I am convinced by Dr B's arguments about how important this is for their immune system and health generally but it's vital to get his book, Give Your Dog a Bone, so you know what not to do.
I also wouldn't feed them the wheat-based mixer, or the rice, because I believe Dr B may be right about these not being good for dogs, although I do make exception when it comes to his lunch, when he has the odd marrow bone roll, biscroc or bonio.
Nor would I give the honey, except as a medicine and then very rarely, as I would be afraid for his teeth and also of encouraging a sweet tooth.
The problem with the diet outlined in the first post is that those blocks of frozen meat are expensive, ditto all the supplements, although I do keep a small stock of them in my freezer (including the fish, which he loves).
I have laid off the bones now because my dog has had a hernia operation but instead I am giving him bone-meal for dogs with his meat. He still has his bowl of ground-up veggies with various things to make them palateable, such as bio-yoghurt, cottage cheese, raw egg and odd bits of meat/fish. Tonight he has had a raw lamb's heart with the veg and some other meat.
His health has been quite amazing since we converted to raw and he seems to have developed a cast-iron stomach - nothing upsets him. For years we only saw the vet once a year, when it was time for his boosters.
He is now getting on and has succumbed to one or two hereditary problems but still looks better than dogs half his age. His teeth are excellent and his coat gleams.
just wanted to say I only sent that last post anonymously because it told me I did it wrong when I tried to put my URL!
ReplyDeleteI considered feeding a natural diet for a long time (inspired largely by contributers to Dogs Today) before finally taking the plunge. My main reservation was probably the feeding of bones. I worked as a vet nurse for ten years and was led to believe that bones should NEVER be fed! I highly recommend reading 'Work Wonders, Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones' by Tom Lonsdale (I bought my copy from Amazon)and joining Canine Health Concern. Tom Lonsdale's book is comprehensive but concise and easy to read and understand. It came as a pleasant surprise to learn that the rules associated with feeding a raw diet are actually relatively small in number and easy to learn! Unfortunately though, I found feeding raw meaty bones too expensive and so changed to feeding Naturediet instead. This contains a minimum of 60% meat and also ground bone and vegetables. The meat isn't cooked; just sterilised. I add Prodent and Dorwest Herbs' garlic tablets and Keeper's mix.
ReplyDeleteDo you know what your dogs are allergic to?
ReplyDeleteI have a dog with so many allergies I had a lot of problems finding a food he could eat, he is even allergic to raw meat. I also know a dog that was fed BARF when still with his mum and he is now allergic to raw meat.