[nagdu] My experiences with feeding raw

[Marj Schneider]

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