# Raw Food Information ( I found on the internet)



## Cleo101 (Jun 3, 2011)

A raw diet for dogs is a diet consisting only of uncooked fruits, vegetables, legumes, and meat. This diet is also sometimes called the B.A.R.F diet (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food). Dogs on a raw diet are not fed any type of marketed dog food, especially canned food. Your dog's food can all be made right at home in your own kitchen, often for just as much as you are currently spending on dog food.

Processed dog foods consist mostly of filler foods which are indigestible to dogs or are not part of their natural diet. These foods can cause health problems in pets and, in our dog's case, severe allergies and hives. These commercial dog foods contain a host of other chemicals as well, some of which are dangerous. Some, such as stool-hardeners, are added to cover up the fact that dogs obviously have a hard time digesting the food. Many pet owners are concerned as well about the recent news reports about dangerous pet foods. Making your own pet food is an easy way to make sure your dog is getting the best.

Dogs, like humans, are omnivores, not just meat-eaters. Dogs require a balanced diet of meat, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. Like all animals, there are many things that dogs cannot eat. Cheap dog food fillers such as soy, rice, corn, and other grains are not good for dogs. Their only purpose is to add volume to dog food.

Most dogs on a raw diet eat a two-part or a three-part diet. Our dog received a two-part diet which will be discussed in this article. This is the easiest way to make sure our dog gets what she needs. Bone-in meat is fed in the mornings and a special mixed patty is fed in the evenings. Our dog is a medium sized dog, so if your dog is large, feed him a little more. If he is small, feed him a little less.



In the mornings, give your dog a cut of meat with the bone left in. The cut does not need to be expensive. Just get the cheapest you can find. Turkey wings, pig feet, turkey necks, and other cheap cuts are great. Avoid ox tails which have a small hard round bone that a dog can choke on.

Do not be afraid of your dog choking on a chicken bone. This is only dangerous with cooked bones. Raw bones are soft and your dog will chew and swallow them. The calcium in the bones is very healthy for them. Watch your dog closely the first few times you give him a bone. Some dogs are so excited to get a special treat that they may gobble the bone whole and perhaps choke. Once he is used to getting meat on a regular basis, he will slow down and take his time.

Never give a dog cooked meat or cooked bones of any kind. ALL bones can splinter and hurt a dog once cooked, not just chicken bones. Cooked fat is also dangerous for dogs and can give them pancreatitis which (trust me, I know from personal experience) is not only not fun for you or your dog, but will run up a vet bill fast!

In the evenings, you should give your dog a mixture of meat, fruits, and veggies. I have found that the easiest way to make sure my dog eats all of her vegetables is to hide them in something tasty. I puree her foods in a food processor and mix them into a base of ground beef. You can use any ground meat. This mixture can then be measured and made into individual "patty" servings which you can freeze and serve as needed. The patty mixtures should be at least 25% meat and at most 50% meat.



When choosing ground meat, I go for the cheapest. This means getting the meat with the highest fat content. With dogs, this is a good thing. Dogs are not humans. They get their energy from fats, not complex carbohydrates such as bread, rice, corn, or grains the way we do. Do not be tempted to put your dog on a "low fat" diet like a human. Dogs need LOTS of fats to stay healthy. This is good for you because it means you get to choose the cheapest meat cuts. I usually buy the ground beef in the plastic tubes.

Make sure you also include organ meats in your dog's diet. You do not need as much of these as the other foods. These can be fed plain or added to your food processor. Ask the butcher at the store if they carry any organ meats. If not, check at a local ethnic grocery store.

Into this meat base, you are going to mix a variety of pureed vegetables. I get the cheapest I can find, usually from the damaged bin at the grocery store. Some great veggies to include are green beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, kale, squashes, turnips, radishes, apples, berries, beets, zucchini, mustard and collard greens, and cabbage.

Some fruits and veggies should never be fed to dogs. These include onions, broccoli, potatoes, garlic, grapes, and avocadoes. Some people say they give their dogs avocado and garlic and that it is okay or that their dog has never gotten sick from it. This may be true for their dog in their situation, but evidence suggests that they are actually toxic to dogs and that the toxins can build up in their system causing harm later. The best thing to do is probably just avoid these foods since the possibility of harm is there and your dog does not need these foods to stay healthy. Better safe than sorry.

You should also not include any grain in your dog's diet. Corn, soybeans (not a grain, but a common allergen), rice, oatmeal, barley, and wheat should be avoided. They are not healthy and are not part of a dog's natural diet.

Other great things to add include flax seed (ground, not whole), yogurt, brewer's yeast, eggs (puree the shell and add for calcium), canned or cooked beans, boneless fish, sardines, canned fish (in moderation), and cheese.



Puree the solid ingredients and mix with the ground meat in a large bowl. Form the mixture into patties. Our medium-sized dog receives a patty about one cup in size - the size of a large hamburger patty. Feed one patty daily in the evenings. Do not add salt, spices, or herbs to your dog's food.

You can also give your dog raw food treats. Many dogs like sliced zucchini as a treat. You can also give an egg-shell and all. Dogs will eat the shells and it is quite good for them. It will not hurt them. If your dogs are picky, keep small cut-up chunks of meat or cheese in the fridge to feed your dog throughout the day instead of giving dog cookies or sugary products.

After putting your dog on the raw diet, you will notice that he is healthier and happier. Chewing bones will clean his teeth and the fresh food will make him feel great. Best of all, you can feed the raw diet at only a dollar or two per day depending on how frugal you are. That isn't much at only about $365 per year. At such a low price, your pooch definitely deserves the best!


Now my question is:

Is this man correct on the Raw Food, the stuff we can give and what we can not give???


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Who is the author of this? As a raw feeder, I disagree with quite a few of the author's statements. His/her reliability was lost as soon as they said that raw feeders do not feed any kind of processed food, especially canned. Okay, so homemade raw feeders do not feed processed dog food, but what is the science behind saying _especially_ not canned? Processed food is processed food. 

Some of what he said is true, but there are some odd things. 

There is a link that I created on this forum to good reading on raw diets. There's a lot of misinformation on raw diets on the internet and, personally, I do not like the BARF diet nor do I believe dogs are omnivores. 

Finally, there is absolutely NO need to grind food up. Dogs CAN and DO thrive on a diet of meat, bone and organ. Whole, pieces, too. IF you balance a diet with meat, bone and organ, you do NOT *need* to feed veggies. Though, some people choose to, which shouldn't be a big deal as long as it doesn't make up a huge part of the diet. Personally, I don't feed them. When I do, it just comes out the same as it went in.

IF you are not feeding organ you WILL need veggies to make up for the lost minerals. 

http://www.poodleforum.com/32-poodle-food/12659-links-feeding-homemade-raw-diet.html


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

No broccoli? I know the advice is to avoid very large quantities of green leafy veg, but no broccoli is a new one on me. And mine frequently get cooked meat - they are not keen on raw organ meat, and the cats won't eat raw unless they have caught it themselves - and are thriving on it. Raw meals come in chunks - much better for the teeth. What's the provenance of this article?


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

I used to do the BARF-style raw diet this article describes, but I've switched to Prey Model Raw: no veggies, no "patty mix," no ground meat. Much easier and less complicated. You just have to be sure to give organ meals regularly. 

--Q


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## Cleo101 (Jun 3, 2011)

How to Feed Your Dog a Raw Food Diet on a Budget
It's Much Cheaper Than You Think!
Amber S.
Amber S., Yahoo! Contributor Network

that is what it said at the top....




I dont know if I posted the link right or not...lol


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

fjm said:


> *N**o broccoli? I know the advice is to avoid very large quantities of green leafy veg, but no broccoli is a new one on me.* And mine frequently get cooked meat - they are not keen on raw organ meat, and the cats won't eat raw unless they have caught it themselves - and are thriving on it. Raw meals come in chunks - much better for the teeth. What's the provenance of this article?


Me too! I'm going to have to research that claim.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Found something: Per Mike Richards, DVM, “If the percentage of broccoli in the diet exceeds 10% it can cause gastrointestinal upsets and if it exceeds 25% it is fatal. The toxic ingredient in broccoli is isothiocyanate and it is reported to be a pretty potent gastrointestinal irritant.” Although it says "diet" rather than "meal", and does not indicate how and when this figure was arrived at, and over how much time 25% was fed.

ETA Looks like the research was done on dairy cows ...


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