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| Meadowlawn Australian Shepherds Sarah & Kim Patterson * Cologne, MN USA * 612.554.2291 * meadowlawnkennels@hotmail.com (emails preferred) |
The old saying goes, "you are what you eat." And when it comes to canines, it only makes sense to feed what nature
intended for them: Raw Meat, Organs & Bones!
I first began feeding my dogs raw in July of 2004, but my introduction to the idea of raw feeding came well before that. I had heard of a
few people who were feeding raw and initially I didn't think much of it. Quite honestly, I thought they were crazy
and were a little "out there." But, as it has gone with the majority of people who now feed raw, as time went on, I
became more and more interested in the background of raw feeding and started seeking as much information as I
could. At the same time, a bunch of my dog show friends transitioned their dogs to raw and I was seeing first hand
how amazing this diet was. I was eager to throw the bag of "dog food" in the trash and introduce my crew to the
wonderful world of Raw food!
But before I begin telling you the wonderful tales of raw feeding, let's discuss commercial foods. Reiterating the
fact that canines are carnivores, there is no justification to feeding them overly processed, cooked, commercial food.
First of all, the anatomy of a dog only proves that they are designed to eat large pieces of raw meat. Their mouth is
lined with 42 large, sharp teeth (yes, even their molars are sharp, much like our incisors) to enable them to tear & rip
their prey apart. Their stomach is filled with much stronger acids than a human to handle any bad bacteria that
enters their system. And their digestive tract is short (up to a third shorter than a human) to speed the digesting
process. Raw food is full of vitamins, enzymes & minerals and cooking the meat (as it is in commercial foods)
destroys many of these vital nutrients. And even though the ingredients on a bag of dog food list various vitamins,
it's only a fraction of what is found in fresh raw food. Commercial food, even the higher end brands, are filled with
carbohydrates such as potatoes, oatmeal, grains and corn (to name a few). Canines have a very hard time breaking
down complex carbohydrates, so much so that a canine on commercial food takes roughly 14 hours to digest their
meal versus a canine on raw who takes generally 6-7 hours. Carnivores have no use for grains and as a result, their
stools are large & smelly and most often the dogs are fatter than they should be. Because a dog on commercial
food is essentially eating "cereal" day in, day out, their teeth more often than not become full of tarter and their
breath is rancid. In short, commercial food is the complete opposite of what a canine is designed to thrive on.
Besides, would you want to eat the same boring, processed food every single day of your life? I sure wouldn't!
So, what's this raw diet all about? It's quite simple. Our dogs are fed anything & everything raw. This includes, but
is not limited to, Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, Beef, Pork, Bison, Venison, Rabbit, Elk & Beaver. In following the Prey
Model style of feeding raw, our dogs primarily eat Raw Meaty Bones (RMB's) which are large pieces of meat/bone.
For instance, a Chicken Leg Quarter, Pork Ribs or a Lamb shank is considered RMB's. For some of the more hard to
find types of meats (like Beaver & Elk), they're fed ground. But again, their mouth is designed to rip & tear large
pieces of meat, so for oral health, RMB's are ideal. Bone is an essential part of the raw diet, therefore even when we
feed ground, the bone is also included. An additional must with the raw diet is feeding organ meats. Our dogs eat
mostly beef liver, heart or kidney for the organ portion of the diet. Because our dogs eat a wide variety of meat
sources, we minimally supplement. A must have is salmon oil as it is rich in Omega 3's, something a dog cannot
produce on it's own. This is vital for optimal skin & coat health. In addition, we also give 200 IU's of Vitamin E as it
aids in the proper absorbtion of the Omega 3's. And that's all there is to it!
Aside from the many health benefits of feeding raw, there are few neat perks that I still find amazing to this day.
First & foremost, their stools! I never thought I'd get this excited over such a topic as stools, but it's really rather
amazing! The volume of their stool is minute, it's hard & will crumble like sand, and it's virtually odorless. It turns
white in a day or two and completely disintegrates. I have not cleaned up poop in almost five years and we have
*no* poop in our yard. In addition, our dogs teeth are emaculate. Even our old boy, who was kibble fed for the first
6 years of his life and had the absolute worst teeth, has shiny, tarter free teeth! At the most, I scale off our dogs
canines every once in a while because I admit, they do enjoy training treats on a regular basis and it does build up
over time. <wink> Also, our dogs coats are gorgeous and healthy. When I fed kibble, it seemed that every time a
dog would come into full coat, they'd loose it in a matter of weeks. They never could hold a full coat until I switched
to raw. Now, they are "naked" only a fraction of the time, rather than the majority. And we all know a nice, thick
coat helps in the show ring!
The Minneapolis/St. Paul area is blessed with several sources of buying raw food for your dogs in bulk and at
reasonable rates. And as this diet is becoming more popular, it is becoming more easy to find co-ops and butchers
who supply raw meat for dogs. We get meat as low as .49 cents a pound! Of course, the more "rare" types of meat
can get more expensive, but generally speaking, feeding raw is much cheaper than feeding a higher end kibble (and
it's better for your dogs, to boot!). The one initial investment when transitioning to raw is purchasing a large
freezer. Once it is all set to go, though, you can go hog wild finding meat at super low prices & stock up.
If you are intrigued by the raw diet, don't stop here. There are many informative website's out there to help you
further your knowledge and lead you in the right path of feeding raw! Here are a few that I reccomend:
http://www.daybreakaussies.com/natural_rearing.htm
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/
http://www.b-naturals.com
http://www.rawdogranch.com
intended for them: Raw Meat, Organs & Bones!
I first began feeding my dogs raw in July of 2004, but my introduction to the idea of raw feeding came well before that. I had heard of a
few people who were feeding raw and initially I didn't think much of it. Quite honestly, I thought they were crazy
and were a little "out there." But, as it has gone with the majority of people who now feed raw, as time went on, I
became more and more interested in the background of raw feeding and started seeking as much information as I
could. At the same time, a bunch of my dog show friends transitioned their dogs to raw and I was seeing first hand
how amazing this diet was. I was eager to throw the bag of "dog food" in the trash and introduce my crew to the
wonderful world of Raw food!
But before I begin telling you the wonderful tales of raw feeding, let's discuss commercial foods. Reiterating the
fact that canines are carnivores, there is no justification to feeding them overly processed, cooked, commercial food.
First of all, the anatomy of a dog only proves that they are designed to eat large pieces of raw meat. Their mouth is
lined with 42 large, sharp teeth (yes, even their molars are sharp, much like our incisors) to enable them to tear & rip
their prey apart. Their stomach is filled with much stronger acids than a human to handle any bad bacteria that
enters their system. And their digestive tract is short (up to a third shorter than a human) to speed the digesting
process. Raw food is full of vitamins, enzymes & minerals and cooking the meat (as it is in commercial foods)
destroys many of these vital nutrients. And even though the ingredients on a bag of dog food list various vitamins,
it's only a fraction of what is found in fresh raw food. Commercial food, even the higher end brands, are filled with
carbohydrates such as potatoes, oatmeal, grains and corn (to name a few). Canines have a very hard time breaking
down complex carbohydrates, so much so that a canine on commercial food takes roughly 14 hours to digest their
meal versus a canine on raw who takes generally 6-7 hours. Carnivores have no use for grains and as a result, their
stools are large & smelly and most often the dogs are fatter than they should be. Because a dog on commercial
food is essentially eating "cereal" day in, day out, their teeth more often than not become full of tarter and their
breath is rancid. In short, commercial food is the complete opposite of what a canine is designed to thrive on.
Besides, would you want to eat the same boring, processed food every single day of your life? I sure wouldn't!
So, what's this raw diet all about? It's quite simple. Our dogs are fed anything & everything raw. This includes, but
is not limited to, Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, Beef, Pork, Bison, Venison, Rabbit, Elk & Beaver. In following the Prey
Model style of feeding raw, our dogs primarily eat Raw Meaty Bones (RMB's) which are large pieces of meat/bone.
For instance, a Chicken Leg Quarter, Pork Ribs or a Lamb shank is considered RMB's. For some of the more hard to
find types of meats (like Beaver & Elk), they're fed ground. But again, their mouth is designed to rip & tear large
pieces of meat, so for oral health, RMB's are ideal. Bone is an essential part of the raw diet, therefore even when we
feed ground, the bone is also included. An additional must with the raw diet is feeding organ meats. Our dogs eat
mostly beef liver, heart or kidney for the organ portion of the diet. Because our dogs eat a wide variety of meat
sources, we minimally supplement. A must have is salmon oil as it is rich in Omega 3's, something a dog cannot
produce on it's own. This is vital for optimal skin & coat health. In addition, we also give 200 IU's of Vitamin E as it
aids in the proper absorbtion of the Omega 3's. And that's all there is to it!
Aside from the many health benefits of feeding raw, there are few neat perks that I still find amazing to this day.
First & foremost, their stools! I never thought I'd get this excited over such a topic as stools, but it's really rather
amazing! The volume of their stool is minute, it's hard & will crumble like sand, and it's virtually odorless. It turns
white in a day or two and completely disintegrates. I have not cleaned up poop in almost five years and we have
*no* poop in our yard. In addition, our dogs teeth are emaculate. Even our old boy, who was kibble fed for the first
6 years of his life and had the absolute worst teeth, has shiny, tarter free teeth! At the most, I scale off our dogs
canines every once in a while because I admit, they do enjoy training treats on a regular basis and it does build up
over time. <wink> Also, our dogs coats are gorgeous and healthy. When I fed kibble, it seemed that every time a
dog would come into full coat, they'd loose it in a matter of weeks. They never could hold a full coat until I switched
to raw. Now, they are "naked" only a fraction of the time, rather than the majority. And we all know a nice, thick
coat helps in the show ring!
The Minneapolis/St. Paul area is blessed with several sources of buying raw food for your dogs in bulk and at
reasonable rates. And as this diet is becoming more popular, it is becoming more easy to find co-ops and butchers
who supply raw meat for dogs. We get meat as low as .49 cents a pound! Of course, the more "rare" types of meat
can get more expensive, but generally speaking, feeding raw is much cheaper than feeding a higher end kibble (and
it's better for your dogs, to boot!). The one initial investment when transitioning to raw is purchasing a large
freezer. Once it is all set to go, though, you can go hog wild finding meat at super low prices & stock up.
If you are intrigued by the raw diet, don't stop here. There are many informative website's out there to help you
further your knowledge and lead you in the right path of feeding raw! Here are a few that I reccomend:
http://www.daybreakaussies.com/natural_rearing.htm
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/
http://www.b-naturals.com
http://www.rawdogranch.com