RAW Diet Basics

Brenda Hagel © 2003

The most important thing you need is a supply of raw meat and meaty bones. These form the foundation of the diet. Many people utilize chicken, turkey or fowl wings, necks, backs or carcasses. Whole rabbit or parts of rabbit also provide for good edible meaty bones. Lamb, goat, ostrich, beef or bison ... ribs, necks, brisket or shanks can be utilized from larger animal sources. The optimal RMB for pups is about 50% meat to 50% bone and about 10 to 15% fat. Adult dogs can safely consume a slightly higher meat ratio which can be fed on the bone, as a separate pure meat meal or combined with vegetables. Meaty bone sources should be evaluated for a balance of these components but also according to the needs of the dog being fed. It is important to try and feed variety, so try to incorporate meats and meaty bones from as many animal sources as possible. Raw meaty bones can be fed to all sizes, shapes and ages of dogs. Its only a matter of matching the right size of RMB to the dog so it can be completely eaten.Bones are your dog’s most important source for balanced minerals. They provide quality protein, fats, fat soluable vitamins and cartilage.

Are bones dangerous? The potential for problems exists. However, dogs have evolved to eat bones and it is rare that a problem might arise. Although some dogs have had obstructions or died consuming bones, dogs have also died from the ingestion of tennis balls, ropes, sticks, socks, plastic bags, rocks, toys, gloves, belts, cooked bones and processed foods. Most of the deaths that have occured from consuming raw bones have be related to competitive eating, possessiveness and excessive hunger.

Many dogs display ravenous eating behaviors because they have never been fed anything that even closely resembles "real food". If in doubt, present the first RMB to your dog after s/he has already had some food, and then supervise the RMB feeding. If fed raw, meaty bones are soft and chewable. It is NOT recommended that cooked bones be fed, as they become brittle and do have the potential to splinter. If you prefer to NOT feed whole RMB, have a dog that is missing teeth, who does not eat carefully, or has difficulty digesting whole bones, then it is recommended that the RMB be ground. Most of the benefits of whole RMB will be obtained.

Meat & Fish

Any muscle meat fed ground or in chunks, is acceptable such as beef, lamb, rabbit, deer... An all meat and “no bone” diet has the potential for disaster, however a meal of pure meat is fine now and again. Fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) can also form a part of the weekly diet. If a lot of fish is fed, then the whole fish should be used and vitamin E must be supplemented.

Offal

Organ meats are a small but important part of a raw diet, about 10 - 15%. Offal should be fresh, raw and include liver, kidney, heart, brain, tripe[stomach]... In its raw state it is nutritionally valuable food with first class protein, essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. Yum!

Vegetables

Vegetables should form a small part of the overall diet. Use any vegetable (with the exception of onions) such as dark green leafy, beet, broccoli, spinach, celery, cabbage family, capsicum, and/or fruits such as tomato, apple, oranges, pears, mangoes and banana.The wider the variety the better, as each contributes to a full spectrum of nutrients. Besides vitamins and “health protective” nutrients, the indigestible fiber in vegetables also helps to mimic hide and hair that would be consumed in a evolutionary diet.Fruits should be fed when over-ripened where they provide non-complex carbohydrates or simple sugars as opposed to the slow releasing energy from the complex carbohydrates. The bulk of the vegies used should consist of “low glycemic,” green leafy vegetables and ripe fruit. “Low glycemics” are foods, which do not cause a rapid rise in blood glucose levels. Homes with one or two dogs can utilize scraps and peelings along with other vegetables and fruits. Vegetables must be processed before they become nutritionally beneficial to your dog. This does not involve cooking, but does require a food processor, blender or grinder that will be able to totally crush the vegetable and fruit matter. Once prepared it can be fed as a “soup”, “patty” or “cake”, depending on the amount of juice and pulp content of the mix.

Healthy Oils

With a raw diet, health promoting oils can be included as a source of essential fatty acids. These oils are valuable for your dog’s health. Flax oil/ground flax seed or preferably fish BODY oils can be fed almost every day. You may also feed cod liver oil several times per week. Amounts of these healthy oils will vary with an individual’s requirements.When feeding these oils, appropriate antioxidants should also be used - such as vitamin E. Oils must be kept refrigerated or frozen in order to maintain their integrity.Ordinary vegetable oils from the supermarket are not recommended.

Yogurt - Eggs

Dairy foods are not required by the dog in an evolutionay sense, however, high quality yogurt or kefir contains essential bacteria for bowel health and for general health which would be found in evolutionary foods such as feces or prey gut content. You will need to find a sugarless brand from the health store or make your own. Eggs are an inexpensive source of top quality protein, vitamin A, minerals and if free range they also contain good amounts of fatty acids. The entire egg shell and all is fed. Egg yolks are excellent “skin food”.

An optional requirement - Grain?

The short and simple answer is that grains did NOT figure as part of the dog’s evolutionary diet. On that basis, grain is not biologically appropriate for our pets.The only way grains may be used in the diet is when they are freshly sprouted and then processed along with the other vegetable matter.

Vitamins...

Are extra vitamins essential? No...but to move your dog into the optimal health category. Green foods such as kelp and alfalfa are excellent “supplemental foods” that supply a vast array of quality vitamins and minerals. With the exception of vitamin E, these vitamins can be frozen.

How Much To Feed?

The amounts required will depend on the age, activity level and metabolism of your dog. The average dog can be fed approximately 60% raw meaty bones- the widest variety of sources possible. The other 40% of the diet would consist of pure meat meals, fish, small amounts of fruit/vegetables, eggs, offal, supplements and a very small percentage of table scraps - because we have a hard time saying "no".

To calculate feeding amounts, take your dog’s *ideal* weight and multiply that by 16 ( to arrive at ounces ). Then multiply the answer by 3% ( to arrive at 3% of body weight ). Finally, take this answer and multiply it by 60% and the total is the amount of RMBs you’ll feed.

About Bacteria...

A dog’s immune system is designed to handle bacteria such as Samolella, E.Coli and Campylobacter jejuni. It is much more adept at this than the human body. While cooking foods may kill bacteria, it does not eliminate the endotoxins that result from the bacteria. If dogs are fed nothing but heat sterilized food, you are depriving them of the opportunity to develop an immune response to these and many other organisms. Handling raw foods for your dog requires the same care as your “human” food does. Raw food will spoil if left unrefrigerated for an extended period of time, so excess food not eaten, should be refigerated for the next feeding or discarded. Keep raw meat separate from other foods; wash working surfaces, utensils and hands with hot soapy water after each feeding. Simple!

How to make the switch?

Some owners just go “cold turkey” and never look back. Some dog’s may have a looser stool for a day or so...some just blend into the change like they’ve always eaten this way... others are so excited about eating now, they will follow you around begging for more. Depending on the history of your dog, you may have to make a more gradual change or simply make the switch and go with what ever comes from it -literally! When you are ready to begin, take it slowly. Try to keep the diet simple at first. This is particularly important for older/middle aged dogs that have been eating a cooked diet for most of their life. Depending on the size and health of your dog, start with ground or whole chicken necks or backs or turkey necks only for the first couple of days and remove any excess fat.Keep meals small to begin with and don’t over-feed. Once the dog is digesting the raw meaty bones, add some veggies with a bit of lean ground meat. After a week or two, you can start adding other foods like eggs and offal (leaving a little bit more fat on the raw meaty bones if necessary) and then start adding supplements if you want to include these in the diet. Don’t do it all at once. I would also suggest that with dogs new to a raw diet that you stay away from the harder or fattier bones for awhile. Give them time to develop their digestive abilities for raw food first.

Special Considerations

If you have a dog that is on medications, has a compromised immune system, autoimmune disease or is a senior, you must take extra precautions when introducing and feeding a raw diet. The job of some medications such as steroids is to actually stop the immune system from functioning. Other medications may lower immunity, even on a temporary basis. Older dogs that have spent a lifetime eating cooked foods may not have the ability to deal with even small amounts of bacteria despite the species physiological capabilities. These dogs need to undergo thoughtful transitions to a raw diet.

It is essential that the owner follow safe food handling procedures diligently in order to make a fresh raw diet successful. Dogs with serious health issues should always undergo a gradual transition beginning with completely cooking the diet. From this point a combination of cooked meats with small additions of raw meats can be introduced and then eventually graduated to a totally raw diet. Where meat is not ground, you can be reasonably certain that bacteria are destroyed by cooking the outer portion only. With ground meats this is not the case. Partially cooking ground meat actually increases the potential for bacteria.

For immune compromised dogs, making a transition to a raw diet may take several weeks to several months depending on the health status of the individual but allows the dog’s body to adjust to minute “inoculations� of bacteria over time. Extra care must be taken to ensure all meats are from uncontaminated sources. If you purchase fresh frozen pet food products, they must come from reputable human-quality facilities that follow exacting standards for manufacturing and transportation of frozen foods. Even then, there is no absolute assurance that raw meat will have acceptable levels of bacteria for immune compromised dogs. At no time should ground meat be thawed and refrozen as bacteria grow more quickly at warm temperatures.

You can do it!

Lots of people watch their dog deteriorate on heat processed foods simply because they don’t know what else to feed or how to feed it. When dogs are switched to wholesome, fresh raw foods, health problems either improve or disappear. By making such a remarkably simple but profound change in your dog’s diet you will quickly discover what so many other dog owners on Raw Dog Canada and around the world already know. Think preventative - and give your dog a long, quality life.

For permission to reproduce this article email bhagel@quadrant.net