[nagdu] My experiences with feeding raw

[Star Gazer]

	No, it isn't. Sounds like your kids are being bullied and I am
sorry. Can you go up the chain of command, teacher, principal and all the
way up to the superintendent?

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Marj Schneider
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 8:51 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] My experiences with feeding raw


Hello All,

  I had been considering feeding raw since the late 1990s after my second
Seeing Eye shepherd, Lana, stopped having ear infections when I took her off
feed with corn. Since then I've fed none of my dogs any food with corn or
soy. I'm convinced both of those grains are bad for dogs, if for no other
reason than virtually all corn and soy grown in this country is genetically
modified. I didn't try a raw diet with Lana, but wish I had.

  My first attempt with trying to feed raw was with an elderly cat about
eight years ago who had become diabetic. The research says you feed cats
what they would get if they were killing and eating mice for themselves, so
that's what I tried to simulate in the chicken-based raw meals my husband
and I concocted for him. It was a lot of work because bones and all have to
be chopped small for cats, before freezing it in quantity.

  Unfortunately, he didn't take to it, which is not unusual in cats. 
He was just too addicted after a life of dry kibble, so much so that he
would hardly even eat canned food. Luckily, we found Wellness Core, which is
a grain free dry food but very high protein. It was a godsend. His skin and
coat improved dramatically and he stopped being diabetic. He lived years
longer than I thought he would, but as hopeful as I was he just wouldn't eat
raw.

  Fast-forward three years and after doing further reading I decided to
switch my third Seeing Eye shepherd, Manda, to eating raw. It wasn't that
she had significant health problems then, but I had also heard a talk from a
veterinary homeopath and knew how poor the quality was of even the premium
dry dog foods when compared to a varied raw diet.

  I put together two weeks of meals to start with, ground meat, meat with
bones and organ meats in proportions and quantities good for her weight at
50 pounds. I added cooked carrot, hoping to introduce her to just a bit of
vegetable in her diet as well.

  First she rejected the carrot, leaving it all in the bowl. That didn't
bother me much, but after 10 days she refused to eat any of the food at all.
She was hungry, but would go to the bowl, mess around with the food, but not
eat any of it. Needless to say, I was shocked, never having heard of a dog
rejecting a raw diet. She had always been an enthusiastic eater, so this
didn't make sense. I had the cook the remaining meals and returned to
feeding dry kibble, except for adding a small amount of organ meat once a
day. Things like liver and kidney are nutrient dense, Manda would eat them,
and it was the one aspect of the raw diet I retained. I've never had the
opportunity to ask an "expert" why Manda might have rejected eating raw.

  Now with my fourth Seeing Eye shepherd, Fennel, I haven't given thought to
trying her with a raw diet. Initially, I also fed her organ meat with her
evening meal but over time let that slide. Other than low-level intermittent
scratching, Fennel is in perfect health at age four. I do switch her among
premium dry foods, not returning to any she doesn't do well on, as evidenced
by the quality of her stool.


I know this is an extremely poor compromise, compared to feeding raw, but I
haven't worked up to trying that again. I did enjoy shopping and preparing
those meals for Manda, but I would have to again make the decision to spend
the time and money. I know that there are an increasing number of raw
prepared foods available now that I should investigate. I also know that
just adding small amounts of whole foods, such as eggs and organ meats or
cooked greens would add to the quality of Fennel's diet. Doing something is
better than just measuring out that dry food at every meal without thinking,
and going about the rest of my life. I know Fennel deserves better care than
that, and the messages I've read on this topic have got me inspired and
thinking again of possibly trying raw once more, or at least considering
more of the compromise options.

  Thanks to all of you who've written on this subject.

  Marj Schneider


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