Dog Food - Is This Really True?

One of our most frequently asked questions (if not THE most asked) is, "What do you feed your dogs?"  Of course, as you may know, the answer to that has recently changed.  As we began researching a raw diet, we came across little comments here and there about how terrible commercial dog food was for your dog.  

Now, we didn't want to spend all of our time reading this study or that.  But there was enough said that it got us thinking that there was probably *some* truth to it.  Of course, without really digging in further, we don't really know.  

But, I just came across a resource totally devoted to Dog Food Secrets.  They offer a free report containing 5 Things You Must Do RIGHT NOW to Protect Your Dog from Death-by-Disease.  Don't know what that is?  It's explained here.  

These guys claim that commercial dog food contains AT LEAST 6 deadly chemicals that have been banned from human food because they cause:

• Kidney cancer

• Bladder cancer

• Skin cancer

• Stomach cancer

• Spleen cancer

• Leukemia

• Liver dysfunction

• Major organ failure

• Immune system collapse

• Severe allergic reactions

• Birth Defects

  ...and a heck of a lot more!  YIKES!

If you want to check out what else they have to say about commercial dog food - CLICK HERE.

How to Feed Your Dog Raw Food

So, as you may know, we feed our dogs an all raw diet.  Of course, we have many, many, many questions from people about feeding raw.  Many people we know are open to this idea simply because getting quality dog food on a regular basis in Hawaii is such a huge challenge. 

Of course, just like with anything else, we highly advise that you do your own research before making the decision on whether or not to feed your dog a raw diet.  There are do's and don'ts that really need to be followed for the health and well being of your dog. 

Like you, we are continuing to learn about this way of feeding, but really truly believe that it's best for our dogs.  

If you want more information on feeding raw, there are many great sites with free information. 

My favorite is http://rawfed.com/myths/index.html

Other people prefer the Barf Diet which you can get more info on at

http://www.barfworld.com/

Another resource I just found out about is The Naturally Healthy Dog.

This one is available via instant download and will provide you 

with information on:

• Why Raw Food
  
• Foods to Use
  
• Foods to Avoid
  
• How to Figure out Recipes and Portions
  
• What to do when you can't feed fresh
  
• The Importance of Journaling!
  
• and more
  

All of those points are very important to know about before beginning a raw feeding program.

Definitely learn as much as you can before starting.

Before I go, I promise that we'll get you the information on how Hilo was in the upcoming post.

Allen's bugging me about it, so be on the lookout for it!

What About Salmonella?

The one question or topic that comes up with every person who finds out we're feeding raw is salmonella.

"What about salmonella?"

"Your dogs not going get salmonella from eating raw meat?"

"Be careful about salmonella!"

Yes, I've heard about salmonella before, but for some reason, the knowledge that dogs wouldn't cook their own food if we weren't around to do it for them in combination with the fact that we're practicing the same food handling principles that we do with our own food (aside from the fact that we're not cooking the food the dogs eat) is enough to put the worry of salmonella out of my mind.

I've also read a few articles about this very topic and you can see them for yourself.

How Dangerous is Salmonella?
http://k9joy.com/dogarticles/doghealth01salmonella.pdf

Myth: THE BACTERIA IN RAW MEAT WILL HURT YOUR DOG.
http://rawfed.com/myths/bacteria.html

"Concerned about salmonella and other bugs? The digestive systems of dogs and cats are short, acidic, and handle bacteria well. This is why they are not susceptible to salmonella, parasites, or e-coli from tainted meat as humans are. Humans have very long digestive tracks which allow food to 'linger' for 24 hours or more, thus allowing more time for parasites to get into their bloodstreams."
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/sampleraw.htm

Taking the Plunge

A few days ago I mentioned feeding raw food to dogs. We've decided to take the plunge and try it out on a few of our dogs. Okay, maybe that's not really a "plunge" since we're not switching over completely, but it's a bit of a jump.

We're starting off this chicken since we learned that it's a good idea to stick with just one protein source when you start off.

We'll let you know how it goes, what we like, what we don't. We'll also be posting updates to twitter as well.

Right now, one of my favorite sites to go to for information/learning is http://rawfed.com/ - I especially like the myths section which lists a bunch of myths AND additional information about each issue.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Raw Food for Dogs

Have you ever read about, heard about, or learned about raw food for dogs? Sometimes people talk about a raw food "diet" or the BARF diet. It's funny, I never really considered myself to be the naturalistic/holistic type. I like lots of modern things and modern food for myself. So it's catching me my surprise that I'm interested in learning more about raw feeding for dogs.

With the increasing difficulty finding quality dog food in Hawaii that our dogs actually like and do well on AND that we can actually buy on a regular basis, I've been looking for alternatives for us to try. In doing so (researching different kinds and brands of foods) I came across the idea of "feeding raw."

Now, it's not that I'd never heard of it before, I just never really looked into it. When I first heard of it it seemed too "over the top" for me, too extreme. I mean, I'm into the dogs, but I didn't know if I was that into them. I was happy going to the store and just buying what dog food companies said was good food - food that they had developed after much of their own research.

But when our favorite foods are no longer being produced, when our second favorites are sold out half the time, and when the other quality dog food we try just aren't working for us and our dogs - I'm thinking it might be time to give the whole raw idea another look.

I've been doing lots of reading. There's a bunch of information about feeding raw dog food available over the internet. You will also be able to find good recommendations on hard copy resources on this topic as well. It's pretty interesting. You should give it a look. Only you can decide what's right/best for you and your dog, but I think we may try it out on a dog or two and see how it goes. We'll let you know what happens...

I wonder if we'll soon end up with a different answer to one of the questions we're asked the most, "What do you feed your dogs?"