Originally published in two parts in the July and August 2002 issues of the Alaskan Malamute Club of America Newsletter. Reprinted (as edited in Underground Mastino Neapolitan Mastiff Information & Photo Gallery) with permission of the author – any other use or reprinting of any portion must have express written permission of the author.
Let me start by saying – note the subtitle! I’m no expert, nor have I had decades of experience with canine nutrition, or even years of experience with feeding biologically appropriate raw food diets (“BARF”-style diets) – though I have talked some with folks that fall into those categories. But I hope my experiences and perspectives as a newer follower of the BARF-style diet can provoke some thought, and perhaps even prove helpful, to those who have been observing the extensive debate on raw diets, those debating for themselves how they feel about these kinds of diets, and especially those who feel it might makes sense but still balk at the seeming enormity of getting started. Well, actually, I hate the word “follower” – because I think, as with most things in life, if you are simply “following” the wave of the raw-food fad you should stop. Right now, immediately. Blind following of ANY raw-style diet is a potentially dangerous route, and a pitfall of the increasing hype about these diets – just as we see with most human diets. Doing what just seems to make “sense” at first blush doesn’t always work either, as much of our casual perception of our dogs’ nutritional needs comes from a blending of fact and myth and erroneous thinking. One example from the pro-BARFer’s repertoire is the claim that dogs have attained excellent health on table scraps for generations. There are several problems with such a seemingly simple assertion: it depends on what your family happens to eat (thus what is in the scraps – roast beef and veggies or McDonald’s fries and pizza crust), and it depends on the general, often subconscious knowledge you do – or don’t – have for basic nutritional needs. You ask a lot of seasoned BARFers about feeding a balanced diet, and they’ll tell you it’s “easy” … but it’s only easy and second nature once you’ve learned what goes into a reasonable, balanced and nutritionally sound diet. Face it, some of us are challenged in the nutritional savvy department. I switched to the BARF-type diet in the spring of 2001 because I wholeheartedly believed that it was the right thing to do for my dogs. But I still don’t “push” it on people, and encourage that each person make an independent decision based on a wide variety of information. I don’t much like any “bandwagons,” and I encourage you to be wary of the camps of either extreme. It took me over two years of serious thinking (and some years of casual thinking before that) to get there. If I were to give one suggestion and one suggestion only to those considering or just starting out on a BARF-type diet, it is to DO THE WORK. Why? An article in a health-pet magazine review of raw diets answered that question succinctly enough. Apologies to the writer of the article, as I really can’t remember your name, or even the exact quote, but the gist of it is: “A well-balanced raw diet can be the BEST thing you can do for your dog. A poorly considered and implemented raw diet can be the WORSE thing you can do for your dog.” Do I think the average dog owner can do a balanced raw-diet, and do it well? Yes, I do. (Well, o.k., at least I think it’s totally within reach for the average malamute owner that cares enough about their dogs to subscribe to this newsletter.) Do I think it’s manageable in the hectic lifestyles of our modern world? Yes, I do (after some initial flailing about as you adjust to it J). But this one piece of advice is heart-felt and in my mind, all important. To do such a diet “right,” and safely, you have to do the work. You have to do your research and educate yourself; you have to carefully watch the progress of your dogs and make adjustments accordingly; you have to be willing to consult a knowledgeable holistic veterinarian or canine nutritionist if you have questions, problems, or a specific health issue to manage; you have to be willing to ask questions (and listen to the answers with a discerning ear); and you have to be willing to keep doing all of these things forever, as in always. These are things you really should be doing in all aspects of your dog’s life, but in my opinion they are especially critical if you are to venture into safely feeding a raw-type diet. There. That’s the moral of my story. For those interested in finding out why I came to the point I did, and why I advocate the above-mentioned moral, and why despite all the dire warnings I still made the leap into feeding a raw diet, read on … But if you continue, please remember the moral of the story throughout. While you will find that I am quite obviously a convert, I am NOT advocating that everyone run and feed this diet, nor stating that it is the only reasonable way to feed your pet. I am just sharing my personal experience, and the basis for my opinion that a well-thought out and well-implemented raw diet can in fact be the best thing you can do for your dog’s long-term health, and even happiness. And I am also saying that if you don’t have the time or inclination to take a VERY active role in the daily shaping and ongoing adjustment of your dogs’ nutritional needs, you – and your dog – are better off going with a pre-balanced high-quality pre-prepared diet. There are no judgments here – a raw-type diet is right for some and not for others for a myriad of reasons. I just hope to offer some thoughts and information to those considering “the leap.” How it all began … It’s rather funny, as the germ of my idea to feed the dogs a raw (as in, natural) diet actually came from my experience in feeding … parrots. Don’t laugh, it’s true. You see, the concern about processed foods for pet exotic birds like parrots parallels that of the dog-world, except perhaps with some heightened intensity (for reasons I won’t bore you with here). So, the concept was familiar with respect to feeding my feathered friends, and I was curious how it might apply to dogs. What are the concerns with processed foods? You can probably guess. For one thing, despite the relative uniformity of the nutritional needs of dog breeds, we still wonder about the wisdom of a handful of foods for all breeds, for all individuals. More importantly, processing seriously depletes the nutritional content & bioavailability of ANY processed food, from parrot pellets to the excellent quality bags of kibble I was buying for the dogs. I remember sitting at the kitchen table of my dogs’ breeder back when I was visiting my first pup, Gabe, and discussing diets in general. She was recommending a high-quality kibble (one I myself used up until I made “the switch”), and I inquired about the concept of “natural” diets for dogs. At the time she was reserved about it, as she had little personal experience or knowledge about feeding so-called “natural” diets. She said – quite reasonably – that she would have to do a lot more research before forming an opinion, much less recommending it. And so it began … we both started researching this rather bizarre notion, she admittedly a little more intensely than I once we got going. We shared information as we gathered it, and talked at length with people with long experience with feeding raw foods, such as the mushers at Mushing Boot Camp in Oregon. As it happened, my breeder made the leap before I did, about two years after this first conversation. We had both been supplementing the dogs’ dinners with ground fatty meat during the sledding/winter season of 2000-2001. Early spring was the discussion with folks at Boot Camp, and while I don’t think either one of us were prepared to feed quite as “natural” of a diet as some of these Alaskan/Canadian mushers did (road kill & trapped beaver were a little out of our league), and while we certainly didn’t agree with everything we heard, I do think this active and lively discussion brought to life the research we’d been doing, and was the beginning of the end of our kibble days. My breeder made the switch almost immediately afterwards, and I started a few months later that spring/early summer. My own catalyst for finally taking the leap was actually a combination of factors, in no particular order: (1) I saw my breeder’s dogs go through a detox, dogs who (being my dogs’ predecessors) were of a very similar genetic make-up to my dogs, and who had been on the same very high-quality “all natural” kibble. I thought, shoot, if they are detoxing off this dang fine kibble, maybe the processed dog food option (even the high-quality, high-price-tag option) is not quite as optimal as I thought. (2) Her dogs, already healthy and fit specimens in every respect (working their little furry butts off in harness on a regular basis), went through a marked, visible improvement in skin, coat, and vigor – and lack of “eye goop.” She ran blood tests on all of them after a few months, and the results were stellar in every aspect. (3) I had just brought my third dog home, a wee pup of 7 weeks, about a month before I made the switch … and thought, if the raw diet really does give them so much more, she deserves to start out life as right as possible. (4) This same puppy thought she’d snack on slug bait while visiting a friend’s yard, and luckily, I saw her doing it. An immediate trip to the vet and an induced vomiting later … what looked like her entire kibble breakfast, fed *7* hours before, came up nearly in as good as shape as how it had gone in. Now THAT is not what I’d call efficiently digested food. And (5) I finally come to the point where I felt I’d learned enough about canine nutrition, the various theories on raw diets, and information on supplements, vitamins and nutrition in general that I felt comfortable giving it a go. Oh, and (6) I had just got a hand-me-down old chest freezer, making large quantity purchase of meat feasible. Not an unimportant factor! So, after getting up to speed with some research that I had missed or hadn’t gotten to yet, I started out with a menu my breeder had developed. And nearly immediately began adjusting it for my own dogs … but that’s the beauty of the diet, it is flexible and made to cater to the needs of individual dogs, whether because of health reasons, the seasonal weather changes, changes in activity, the human’s routines and life style, and just adjustments based on what you’re seeing in your dogs.
The Theory: Sorting Fact from Myth So why wouldn’t one switch to BARF? We’ve all heard the horror stories … among others, raw food is full of dangerous bacteria that is harmful to the dogs; your average pet owner can’t possibly feed a balanced raw diet, or provide better balance than the experts at the dog food companies have hammered out; your dog will react in horrible ways; you’ll do irreparable damage to the dog’s systems; bones are dangerous; my vet says it’s a “bad thing”; etc. Some of these reasons have a kernel of validity – some do not. Below is a brief overview of some of the realities behind the myths. Research it for yourself, and I think even if you don’t come to make “the switch”, you’ll find it’s not as scary of a prospect as some (dare I say less-enlightened) folks might have you believe. Bacterial organisms are in raw food, no question. Your dog also eats road kill, various and assorted garbage snacks, gooey stuff in mucky water, the rotting three-day leftovers from the cat’s kill, and … yes, poop. I’m not about to say that there aren’t some harmful bacterial nasties that dogs can and do get. However, a healthy dog’s digestive system is amazingly adapted to tolerate and simply pass the vast majority of the very ordinary “ickies” found in properly-handled raw meat. Notice the “properly-handled” caveat – for example, I don’t feed road kill, though I know others that do. Organisms such as ecoli and salmonella are actually quite common in the world around us, and a healthy dog has a natural built up immunity to such stuff – so if you feed fresh (or freshly frozen), properly-handled meat to an otherwise healthy dog, it shouldn’t be a problem. I purchase my meats & fish & veggies from places where I have reasonable confidence that the food in question did not lay trampled underfoot before being packaged, or where other less-than-sanitary handling errors are likely. While strictly speaking not a bacterial issue, I also chose to buy organic meat and veggies to minimize any impurities, and carefully select nutritional supplements that are as free from extra “stuff” as possible. Bones are a bit trickier as yes, some can pose a danger. But the usual broad advice against feeding bones pertain to cooked bones. Cooking, prolonged heat or other drying elements (such as being left in the sun too long) dramatically changes the composition of bone, making it brittle and sharp. Raw bones, on the other hand, are generally malleable and easily chewn. Feeding bones is perhaps one of the scarier aspects of giving your dog a raw diet, but some common-sense management should eliminate much of the risk. They can safely eat through more than our un-informed instincts might tell us. Safe bones are those that the dog can crush easily into manageable pieces, those that don’t tend to “shard” when cracked, or those bones that wear down nice & slowly without large or sharp chunks. The canine system is astonishingly well equipped to deal with bone, and you’d be amazed at what can go down and come out the other end completely digested. If you do see chunks or pieces of bone coming out “the other end” of a healthy malamute with a normally functioning digestive system, you’ll notice that they are generally well-rounded and of manageable size. In my experience, bones that were swallowed a bit too large generally easily come up the way they went in – and again, normally in smooth rounded pieces. I have had sharper pieces of bone come up, and made immediate changes accordingly in what sort of bones that particular dog gets. The decision as to what a “safe” meaty bone means for YOU and YOUR dog is totally dependent on the individual dog and their eating habits, and your comfort level. Again, use some common sense. Dogs that chew/crunch through the bones can safely get a larger variety of whole bones than those who tend to chomp down once and swallow, or swallow without any preamble at all. What you want to avoid are possible sharp edges, and jointed bones (like wings) than can “unfold” and catch in the digestive system. For example, I personally steer away from the harder “fat finger”-sized bones such as lamb shanks or poultry thigh pieces, as they are small enough that my dogs can generally break them into longer sharper pieces than I feel completely comfortable with, yet they are not large enough for the dogs to gnaw the pieces down slowly. The rule of thumb most people use are to avoid the weight bearing bones (though there are exceptions, such as deer leg bones). If you have a concern about whether or not the bones you’re feeding might pose a danger by catching or tearing the digestive tract along the way, either because of it’s size or because of your dog’s eating habits, pre-crush the bone. Take a hammer or such to it, and pulverize the bone before giving it to the dog (a side benefit: talk about a stress reliever!). Take wings and cut them apart at the joints. Smaller bones can sometimes be ground, though without your own grinder, it is often hard to find a professional butcher that will put bones through their grinders. And above all, OBSERVE your dog, and be aware of what might create problems. Lack of balanced nutrition is where the education comes in, YOUR education. Don’t rely on just one guru’s word, much less the word of a friend or two or a random article (including this one). Read as much as you can get your hands on, and see what makes the most sense to you as you get the differing perspectives. One thing that really does drive me nuts is when people blindly rely on the years of experience & testing done by the processed dog food manufacturers, and believe that we can’t possibly hold a candle to their infinite wisdom. This isn’t because I necessarily think their work is invalid or even wrong – but the simple truth is that there are several factors between the idea, the research, and the product that somewhat diminish my faith in the process. Such as: *First, they are still processing the food in most cases – that necessarily changes the nutritional content of the foods, and not for the better. *Second, the values you read are before the food is processed – without much information as to the end-product value other than some vague promises about minimum or maximum values. Not to mention practices such as splitting up carbohydrate sources so that the “meat” source can be listed as the “primary” ingredient. *Third, do you really know where the sources of all their foods are coming from? *Fourth, most of these foods have a lot of grains, which are a biologically inappropriate source of just about anything for dogs – but it makes good filler, darn it. *Fifth, a lot of what is in the bags – and on the label – is hype, pure & simple. Take flax seed for example. Did you know that something like 90% (no, that’s not a typo) of the nutritional value of flax seed is gone within 10 or 15 minutes after it is ground? With the essential fatty acids in general, did you really think they survived the cooking process? So that flax seed and EFAs touted in most high-end processed foods? . . . Very nearly worthless, nutritionally speaking. Worth quite a bit in advertising and increasing perceived market value, however. *Sixth, do you see what goes into these foods to preserve them? Not all brands are equally guilty of such additive excess, but many are. And if the preservative was added before the dog food maker got the ingredient, well, shoot, they just don’t have to mention it. *Seventh (and not last, but where I’ll stop), no one product, no matter how incredible, can meet the needs of all dogs – and having a half dozen different variations on the theme still doesn’t address the needs of all dogs no matter what their activity level, age, breed, individual health concerns, allergies, etc. Those nutritionists at the dog food place are trying for a “happy medium” – and are there for a profit. It’s not that you might not find a perfectly adequate processed food for your particular dog’s needs by doing a little research & careful selection. However, there is the potential for infinite variety in raw food diets, as well as improved quality of food, and that’s hard to beat. Of course, the infinite variety can work against you unless you have some basic nutritional knowledge, you understand basic canine needs, and you are able to intelligently select from that infinite variety. However, as a rule the variety is your strongest ally. Probably the most common – if not the only – significant source of actual documented health problems associated with a raw diet arises out of a lack of diversity in the diet. For example, a balance of calcium is essential for the proper absorption of the phosphorus in meat. Thus the emphasis on “raw meaty bones” in most raw diets, and if you don’t feed bones you need to use bone meal. Ground hamburger alone is not a viable “raw diet” – and yes, apparently some people think so. Meaty bones, vegetables, organ meats, eggs, some supplements – these are just a few examples of what should go into a balanced canine raw-type diet. And, the beauty of it is that dogs are adapted towards a feast-or-famine flow of food and nutrients. In other words, as long as you provide a reasonable variety, and not even variety every day but variety within a week or two, your dog will likely get what he or she needs. As far as your veterinarian’s advice, well, let me just point out that very, very few of your average veterinarians have even barely adequate training in nutrition. Vet schools are given obscene amounts of money from a few noted food makers, and this has the expected result in influence. This doesn’t make them bad veterinarians – it just makes them bad nutritionists. Also, veterinarians see the worst side of all things in their practice, and their blanket advice against raw-style diets stems from seeing how well-meaning but essentially uninformed owners can kill their dogs with kindness. My vet, like many others, has seen cases of dogs suffering from serious organ failure or other problems arising from poorly-fed “raw” diets – again, those diets fed haphazardly, without any variety or even a basic idea or interest on the owner’s part in what the dog actually needs. As my vet said to me, if she didn’t know me and how … ah, shall we say, diligent … I am when it comes to the dogs, she would strongly advise against it. It’s not that she doesn’t recognize the tremendous potential for increased health and longevity in a natural type diet. It’s that she’s seen people going about it without any thought whatsoever, and the dogs that suffer for it. As it is, she is following our progress with interest, and it’s been a learning experience for both of us. There are certainly veterinarians with training in nutrition, and I think it’s telling that very few of these recommend kibble as the ideal diet in most cases. Veterinarians who have the background and the comfort level to educate regarding raw-style diets generally recommend them to those patients who are willing to learn the ropes. And a competent holistic veterinarian or one trained in canine nutrition is a must when you are dealing with a dog with particular health problems you want to address, or indeed, when you have any concerns regarding a raw diet. These are just a few of the “myths,” and there are certainly more – and there is no question that my response falls far short of being exhaustive. I just wanted to elaborate a bit on the realities behind many of the scare tactics, along with recognizing some legitimate concerns that should be considered. Again, do your own research, try to always keep in mind the perspective of the source in order to discern biases or limitations, and balance the information you collect. The Gristle-y Truth So, what was it like to switch? I was overwhelmed, even terrified, when I finally made “the leap.” While I didn’t even consider starting it until I was reasonably comfortable with what I was feeding, it was still a dang scary prospect. I made lots of calls to my dogs’ breeder in the course of just a few days (most on the cell phone while shopping); asked lots of questions on the malamute-oriented BARF list; and spent hundreds of dollars at the meat shop, hundreds of dollars at the natural food store and another tens of dollars buying separate “meat-safe” preparation tools. Then, throw in a half a day juicing veggies (well, technically, an entire evening and part of early morning, and ending up with nigh six months of juiced veggies J). And that was without having to buy a juicer, as I already had one (though you can bet, I am looking to upgrade in the near future). Not your smoothest or most frugal introduction into the diet … but I was being a bit, shall we say, over-exuberant, and afraid to death I’d miss something important. It’s amazing how much more relaxed you get with this diet after you get into the swing of it, and develop a “feel” for the overall balance of what you’re feeding from week to week … but the beginning was one scary, unexplored place for me. It felt right – otherwise I would have never begun doing it – but still scary. Not unlike standing on the runners for the first time behind my very own team of malamutes … What exactly does a BARF-type diet involve? Well, as I said, my own diet started evolving almost immediately, and I won’t even try to give you an exact template to go from – mine goes through constant subtle evolution and will probably have already undergone some further changes by the time you read this. There are several differing theories on what is appropriate in a canine diet, and some of that differs a bit between breeds, based in no small part on the geographical and functional aspects of their evolution (malamutes, for example, needing slightly less volume and slightly more fat than many other breeds, with a common intolerance for grains). An owner should read several of these theories, and settle on the one (or a sensible compilation) that makes the most sense to them – with a willingness and openness to making adjustments as they see the effects on their individual dogs. The following is a simplified outline of what generally goes into a BARF-type diet. The single most important aspect of a raw-style is probably the calcium/phosphorus ratio. So-called “raw meaty bones” (RMBs in abbreviated lingo) are essential, and make up roughly 50-70% of the diet. Aside from the tremendous teeth-cleaning properties of eating raw bones, the approximate 50:50 balance between bone (calcium) and meat (phosphorus) is critical to the overall success – and safety! – of such a diet. I feed both raw meaty bones and ground meat meals (usually with the veggies) – just be sure that any ground meat meals still have the requisite calcium balance. I use either ground chicken necks, or ground “scrap” with some bone meal thrown in (I’m going on the suggestion of one book that states roughly 1 tbsp of bone meal per pound of meat approximates the 50:50 raw bone to meat ratio). Raw meaty bones can take a dizzying array of forms: poultry necks, wings, legs or backs; whole or half chickens; lamb shanks or necks; riblets; fish; venison or beef legs; knuckle bones … just about any suitable raw meat source that still has about 50% bone in it. As discussed above, use common sense in determining whether or not a particular RMB is appropriate and safe for your dog. Next is consideration of the vegetable matter. Fruits are nice & tasty, but are mostly water and of relatively low value nutritionally speaking – thus, mostly serve fruit as treats or to serve specific functions (for example, cranberry helps the health of the digestive & urinary system, etc.). Vegetables are essential for the nutrients they provide and for balancing out the total diet, but actually consist of a rather small portion of the complete picture. As canines are technically omnivores but certainly not herbivores, they needs a little “pre-digestion” help to be able to get what they need out of the veggies. Thus, the juicing – simple grinding probably doesn’t do it completely, and cooking leaches out much of the nutrients. Lightly steaming and even simple freezing of certain vegetables may be another options for opening up the nutritive content for the dog’s very short digestive system. I prepare a mix of seasonal veggies, with about 20% “leafy” veggies (celery, dandelion leaves, lettuce, kale, etc.) and the balance split between “normal” veggies (cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, etc.) and root veggies (carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, etc.). Note: do not use uncooked regular potatoes in your veggie mix, as they are from the nightshade family: only feed these types of potatoes baked. I juice the veggies and package them into freezer containers in varying combinations (I try to get a different combination of veggies in each container). I used to feed a large ice-cream scoop’s worth daily with their dinner. I now feed greater quantities of veggies less often (a few scoops 3-4 days a week), on the theory that this availability of veggies probably more closely mirrors that of wild canines. I also feed baked squashes and cooked sweet potato, pumpkin, and regular potato a day or two a week (usually with some raw eggs, thoroughly washed). Garlic and ginger might be considered separate supplements, but I feel strongly enough about their supportive and nutritive powers that I simply incorporate garlic and fresh-ground ginger juice, in modest amounts, in my veggie mix, as well as natural apple cider vinegar (which also helps to preserve the vegetables) and bee pollen. Essential fatty acids (in abbreviated parlance, “EFAs”) are another small but crucial component, especially for the northern breeds. There are numerous sources for these, including fish body oils, some organ meats, and some grain supplements. Even then, some research and observation of your own dogs is necessary to gauge what works best for your dogs. Fish body oils, for example, are not all created equal – for one thing, cod liver oil or other organ oils are NOT the same as fish body oils. For another, wild-caught salmon oil has a much higher content of the desirable EFAs than farm-raised salmon, and oils from Alaskan salmon (not surprisingly) have EFA values that appear to be more in tune with the needs of malamutes than the balance found in Norwegian Salmon oils. Flax seed oil is a popular supplement, which I do use, but I’ve read that most dogs have some level of allergy to flax. If you wondered why your dog has never reacted to flax seed oil in products such as Missing Link or processed foods, it’s because (as previously noted) most of the effectiveness of flax seed is lost within minutes of being ground. You may notice problems feeding fresh-ground flax seed or flax seed oil that you didn’t notice with “processed” flax seed oil. I have opted to supplement with a 1000 mg capsule of wild-caught Alaskan salmon oil with each veggie meal, and marine oil (seal oil) is a wonderful alternative to work with if you live in Canada or elsewhere that it is legal to purchase. With each veggie meal, I also add on a rotating basis either fresh-ground flax, sunflower, or pumpkin seed (or these oils preserved in bottles or capsules), or about a tablespoon of olive oil, borage oil, black currant oil, or Avocado oil. With respect to grains, there are a lot of knowledgeable nutritionists that believe that dogs need some grain in their diet. I happen to disagree, and side with those that feel that grain has little value other than acting as a filler. I think this is particularly true for the Northern breeds, who did not evolve near areas of high grain production. Again, read the sources, and make the decision that feels right for you. I do use ground oatmeal, rice and other bland grains for dogs with upset tummies … though I’ll have to say, I’ve had a lot fewer of those after switching to this diet … As for “miscellaneous” supplements, I go with what makes sense in context of what the dogs are currently getting over the course of the week in their meats, organ meats and vegetables, and depending on whether or not the nutrients/vitamins supplied by the diet are oil or water soluble (the latter last only a day in the body and thus needs to be replenished daily). As with human nutrition, don’t be fooled into thinking it doesn’t really matter what you supplement with or how much. If herbal supplements and vitamins didn’t have an effect on the body, why would we use them at all? Using too much of anything, or just simple misuse from not knowing why you are using a particular supplement, can have a profoundly negative effect. So study the effects the item is supposed to have, read the counter-recommendations, and look at the addition in the context of the whole diet. My dosages are based on the recommendation of pet-based nutrition information (which I regularly re-review), and/or what I observe in my own dogs. Also ferret out the warnings of long-term or over-extensive use – most herbal supplements have some sort of negative effect if used daily over the long term, and being aware of this helps you provide a more healthy long-term diet plan. I currently supplement each veggie meal with a multi-green vitamin with powdered alfalfa, kelp, spirulina, wheatgrass, nettle, dandelion leaf, and other greens and trace minerals. I’m not normally big on “multi-vitamins”, as I like to control exactly what I’m feeding, but I happen to like every single ingredient in this particular tablet, as well as agree with the respective dosages. Read the labels first – then make your decision. I also supplement with a rotating antioxidant (such as oregano oil, grape seed oil extract, green tea extract), Ascorbic-acid Vitamin C granules, and rotating doses of honey or black strap molasses in small amounts. I only supplement with Vitamin E when I haven’t fed strong natural source in the diet that week (such as organ meats). I try to get the vitamin B complex out of natural sources, but will supplement on occasion (especially during times of stress), and occasionally add cayenne pepper.
Does all this sound rather complicated? Well, it is after a fashion, and certainly is rather daunting in the beginning. But if you start with a written-out diet and just follow it for a few weeks, I think you’ll be surprised at how quickly you get into the rhythm. Not to mention you’ll find “short cuts” that help streamline the process. And perhaps more importantly, with actual use of the diet and continued education as you go along, you really do get a “feel” for the diet rather quickly. Once you do, you are better able to go ad hoc and feed based on what’s available and what’s readily prepared on a given day or week, while still maintaining a sense of what the dogs are receiving in the overall dietary picture. The key word is “BALANCE” – and that balance doesn’t have to come every single day. Balance over a period of several days is generally sufficient, and in fact it’s the variety that is the pleasure, and the benefit, of this style of diet. Getting over the first hurdle is the hardest, and I still regularly seek advice for questions regarding a potential new vegetable or raw meaty bone, when I want to know the better source for a particular nutrient, or when I’m re-thinking certain balances within the diet. But overall, it becomes a fairly natural diet to feed, and much of it becomes a sort of ingrained common sense once you’ve put in the effort to learn the basics.
Getting Started You are probably already familiar with the basics of switching foods – going cold turkey is not always the healthiest method. I won’t belabor the point here, but will give the general advice that you should proceed by giving some thought to the transition, and if appropriate use a canine nutritionist to help you pinpoint potential problems or reactions. When I switched, I first fed one meal a day of raw food and one meal of kibble. It is not advisable to mix raw with kibble food in the same meal because of the marked difference in digestive rates of the two types of food. I’ve read anywhere from 12 to 24 hours for complete digestion of kibble (depending on the dog & the particular food), while BARF takes somewhere in the range of 4-6 hours. If you are still feeding kibble, you should not feed as many or as much of the supplements as you would on a completely raw diet – the exact variation depends, of course, on exactly what your kibble food does or doesn’t provide. After a few weeks of this blended diet, I finally quit dipping my toes (and their paws) and dove into a full-fledged raw diet. Teaching the dogs to eat raw was easy, yet with some quirky and definitely amusing hurdles – particularly with respect to things not pre-mashed for them. The girls of course dove right in and perceived competition (from afar) with kennel mates doesn’t hurt. My boy, big goofball that he is (and embarrassingly neat), was sometimes a bit hesitant to dive into whole fish, very bony meats, raw eggs, or other “messy” foods – it was far too undignified for him. At first, he didn’t seem to get the idea of needing to CHEW this new diet (a common problem for “kibble” dogs). Then eureka! he got that part … but was a still a little squirmy about some of more interesting textures. The funniest was the first time he got raw eggs: he loved the taste, but not the texture! He stood there trying to lick up the egg with his lips curled up so as to not touch the eggs – I kid you not. He reminded me of a dignified English gentleman deigning to eat bar-b-q’ed chicken with his bare hands. He got over most of his hang-ups as he realized this was his only chance at a meal – I treated it like any other food issues, put the plate down, and back up it came in a few minutes. He never did miss a meal – even his first whole (cleaned) chicken – but I know of some dogs that went without meals a few times before realizing this was their only chance to get some grub. You generally start with slightly higher volumes of raw food than you fed with kibble, because of the higher moisture content in the meat. However, within six months I was seriously cutting back – the increased bioavailability of the foods meant the dogs were getting fat on their ‘usual’ portions. You adjust volume depending on your dog’s physical shape, and an interesting component of the raw-style diet is that you can also change the type of food rather than just the volume (for example, using fatty or lean meats). You should also be aware of detoxification. Most dogs go through some form of detox, which can range from serious eye goop, small sores on the skin, itchy skin, and questionable poops. Detox can happen anywhere from within a few days to a few weeks down the road. The extent and nature of your dog’s detox is completely dependent on their individual system, the amount of toxins in their system, and their overall health. Again, if you have concerns over what is happening, ask questions – of a nutritionist, even of folks on a BARF list – so you know if what you are seeing is consistent with normal detox. And you know your dog the best – if you have a concern, take him in, check it out. Reaping the Rewards With respect to the overall benefits of the diet, I can only speak in the broadest of terms – a healthy balanced natural diet with a minimum of processing and chemical additives is healthier, period. In addition, raw foods have a much, much greater degree of bioavailability for dogs, especially considering their unique digestive systems developed through eons of evolution. One concrete benefit of this that I must share from others’ experiences is the marked increase in long-term health, especially as the dog approaches the geriatric years. In addition to hearing plenty of personal tales, I read a study once from England that demonstrated tremendous reduction in health problems with older dogs fed raw-style diets, and documented increased life-spans of nearly 40-50% in some larger breeds like Great Danes. On a personal level, I can say that my dogs quickly reflected a superior coat and skin condition – and I honestly don’t think they had such bad condition before! The density is phenomenal; coat comes in much quicker during and after a blow, and the feel? Wow. “Eye goop” is dramatically reduced, suggesting the possibility of less toxins being excreted. Teeth? Again, wow. I have a young adult bitch whose teeth enamel didn’t come in completely due to extensive medication after a severe trauma when her adult teeth were being formed. She had professional teeth cleanings twice a year, and was in dire need of them by the time those six months rolled by. She was about due when we switched to BARF, and within a month, nearly all of the tartar was gone. Now, after a year and a half, you would be hard put to find any discoloration at all – and that goes true for all the dogs. This same bitch hadn’t had a rock solid poop in her life, and bouts of passing, unexplainable diarrhea were fairly common – until a few months after switching to BARF. Even the dogs’ energy, vigor and stamina – god help me – has increased. The blood levels of the dogs I know on well-balanced raw diets have shown excellent, even surprisingly great results. So the differences aren’t only “skin deep.” Another phenomenon I’ll also have to share from the experience of others is the sometimes near-miraculous improvement of dogs with compromised immune and/or digestive systems, including thyroid issues. These folks worked with professional nutritionists to meet their dogs needs and approached the problems with care, but found relief for their pets in a raw-style diet where all the money in the world couldn’t buy a kibble that would work – or they were pumping the dog with drugs. On a more mundane level, there are countless tales of dogs that had minor but irritating skin, coat or digestive problems, long term symptoms that disappeared or dramatically reduced after going on BARF. It’s hard to ignore. A few additional points in brief: Many dogs have sensitivities to certain foods, and a BARF diet is probably the best possible way to have as complete of control as possible over what goes into your dog’s system. You can develop a diet that works for your dog, while maintaining the highest possible variation and nutritional balance while excluding those foods or supplements to which your dog is sensitive. Dogs LOVE this diet, and get a great deal more enjoyment than out of ordinary kibble. The reasons are rather self-evident. Plus, if you feed the raw meaty bones in the morning, your dog has a natural distraction as you sneak away to work to pay for all that fun food. And finally … I just have to say it … you would not believe the poops. Hard, firm, small poops a fraction of the size from any kibble diet, and generally much less smelly. The practical benefits to the kennel cleaner are obvious. There are also benefits to the dog – healthier passage of stool (including more reliable natural expression of anal sacs), and a sure sign that your dog is getting the most out of their food.
Cautions While it is probably fairly obvious by now that I am a convert to the BARF-style diet, I would never suggest that it is for everyone. As I tried to emphasize in the beginning, you need to educate yourself and be willing to take an active role in your dog’s diet in order to benefit from feeding raw. Feeding a well-balanced, varied raw diet can be the best thing you can do – feeding an ill-conceived, haphazard raw diet can be the worst. Don’t take mine or anyone else’s word for it – do your own research, ask your own questions, and make the decision that’s best for you. Another caution if you are to feed any sort of raw diet: the dogs love it. Meaning, if you had food aggression before with plain ol’ dried up bits of kibble, you must exercise common sense and awareness when introducing glorious raw chunks of chicken, nice smelly fish, raw meaty bones … you get the picture. Many people feeding BARF feed their dogs separately, or put them on tie-outs while they get bones that will take a while. As with most things, it depends on your dogs – just use your head. I can respect the skeptics – I was on the fence for a long, long time. It’s a highly individual choice, and you have to feel right about it. For me, once converted, I don’t intend to go back. The results have just been too clear for me, and I think I will only see it more and more as the dogs get older, get more specific needs, and I am able to tailor their diet to those needs because I control the ingredients. I wanted to share my experience not so much to convince you to try it, but to encourage those who are seriously considering it anyway, and to provide some food for thought (oops, bad pun) for anyone who takes a serious look at what their dog gets in the way of nutrition. Even if you never make the switch, just the process of thinking about the concerns regarding processed foods and recognizing some of the benefits of raw-style diets can lead to an overall more comprehensive knowledge of canine nutrition in general. And that can only be a good thing.
Resources The following are but the barest suggestions for getting started. For the internet lists, the three listed below are consistent top winners in the opinions of fellow BARFers. (Regarding the general canine BARF list, rumor has it that the list is rather catty and as such isn’t a particularly helpful forum.) The following link has connections to several BARF lists, as well as books and other helpful information: Click me Heartland/Flats/7244/barf.html. For the books, these are rated according to my personal opinion, and my opinion only, but all are good sources to check out. Three stars means not just read, but MUST own; two means MUST read, own if possible; and one means read it for perspective, but I’m not thrilled with it as a major source or opinion. No stars simply means I haven’t read it yet. Five stars – well, highest honors, of course. Happy researching!
Internet lists: Malamute BARF list: Click me Canada-BARF list (comes highly recommended) K9-Nutrition list (also friendly, high volume) In general, see: Click me (this website lists a TON of BARF-related lists, including area- and breed-specific lists and various other themes. It also lists several other resources)
Books: Wilff-Tilford et al., “Herbs for Pets” *****etc. Balch & Dr. Balch, “Prescription for Nutrional Healing …” *****etc. (human nutrition book) Balch, “Prescription for Herbal Healing” *** (human nutrition book) Any by Dr. Ian Billinghurt (“Give Your Dog a Bone”, “Raise Your Pups with Bones”, “The BARF Diet”)*** Kymythy Schultze, “The Ultimate Diet” ** (to be fair, many feel it rates ***) Volhard and Brown, “Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog” ***
For further information - please see the update that starts below on the next page. UPDATE Feb 2004: Perspective a few years later.
When I first wrote the above article, it was about a year after switching to raw. At the time of this update, I am at about my 3 year anniversary. Re-reading the article, aside from the general amusement one always gets from re-reading a past work , I’m pretty content with the general advice & “how-to’s”. But there are a few fairly major shifts I have done in the diet since then, and this update is meant to share the basics of those changes and the philosophies behind them.
Meat:bone ratios and the BARF diet. The 50:50 meat to bone ratio is one change, a ratio initially gleaned from Billinghurst’s recommendations. Some raw feeders, including myself, have gravitated more towards a so-called prey model, which is less bone, less veggies, and way less supplements. For the sake of distinction, folks now often refer to these as simply raw or natural diets, as they are distinct from Billinghurst’s “BARF” diet. Now, I still read Billinghurst and recommend his books highly to raw feeders. Of course, I recommend you read all kinds of theories J and settle upon what’s best for you & your dog. But I’ve come to question the 50:50 model. There are various opinions on why Billinghurst recommends these percentages – and some opinions as to why his reliance on these sources is a bit misplaced. But this isn’t to point fingers or say one is “right” or “wrong”. There is really no absolute right or wrong in raw feeding, yet certainly there is a “right” range, as no one would dispute that no calcium or bones is downright dangerous. There is simply an honest difference of opinion as to the most appropriate ratio. What is the prey model? Simply put, it is essentially mimicking (as best one can) what the dog (or more accurately, its wolfish ancestor) would have gained in the wild. Now, I’m not overly fond of the simplistic explanation that we are feeding them “as if they were wolves”. It’s true dogs really are wolves” physiologically, and thus dietarily speaking (assuming you don’t have a dog with health issues). And the theory is sound that wolves’ digestive systems presumably evolved for maximum health based on what was available to them in the wild – as any animals that would have fared better on other food lost the survival of the fittest game. But I also think it’s misleading to only look at it as feeding a “wild diet”, for a few reasons. First of all, we don’t always know the full diet of wild wolf packs, much less what they get nutritionally from the various foods they do eat. For example, switching species for a moment, we’ve known for a long time that South American parrots eat clay from the river banks – but why?? As a counter to toxins they get in other elements of their diet (poisonous plants)? Or some distinct nutritional value in the clay itself? There are varying theories, but it’s obviously difficult to say for sure – we just know they apparently need it. Plus, it’s hard to know exactly the needs for any given dog based on the wolf-prey-model theory. Certainly, different geographical areas had different prey sources – and their prey had different vegetation in their guts. Malamutes as a very old breed are also a bit of an unusual case as we can look at what they evolved on versus some local-area ancestral wolf population. Though then of course you run into the slight problem of duplicating the malamute diet of seal and whale J In the end, I hesitate to make the prey model sound simplistic – it is, in a way, but in other ways it is fairly sophisticated, with consideration of a number of different elements. So, to me, a more accurate way of explaining and understanding the prey-model diet is that one looks at the overall “typical” diet of wild canines, and the proportions available there, and tries to mimic those – striving for a relative balance of certain dietary elements (meat, bone, vegetation) in line with this model. You’d typically look at a fairly large percentage of the diet as being small to mid-sized animals, like rabbits, with a certain amount of larger prey, such as deer. Of course, then you get into the malamute with their arctic diet, which seems like it may extend more to larger prey animals. And you see where things can get a bit complicated in the overall analysis. Hopefully, I haven’t now utterly confused you J In any event, it’s a theory well worth exploring, and you can start to see how differing balances might make sense. Back to the meat-to-bone ratio. I think it’s fair to observe that in just about any canine diet in the wild, you’re looking at more meat than 50%. In small prey, be it a bird or a rabbit, I think it’s fair to say that you get at least 60-65% muscle meat at a minimum, on average. Then you get large prey – and the bone ratio goes down even a bit more. In short, you can see where a 50:50 ratio is highly unlikely. And I doubt anyone would dispute that the dogs of the wild would go for a fill on the meat before settling down to gnaw on that leg bone or skull. I personally strive for an average of about 30% bone – with fluctuation from week to week, but averaging out about 30%. Again, think of the wild – wolves (and dogs) are opportunists, and their dietary intake will fluctuate, but balance over time. Instead of Billinghurst’s “ideal” raw meaty bone of chicken backs, I now look to chicken backs with at least part of the breast still intact; to lamb necks; to poultry necks; to fish; and other similar meats. I of course still feed chicken backs – but try to balance it out so the total overall diet is less bone-intensive.
Vegetables & Supplements Also following the prey model, I have also dramatically decreased my veggies to once or twice a week – more like an average of about 5 veggie meals every 3 weeks, or something like that. I’ve also thrown in an occasional meal of un-washed, un-bleached tripe as a veggie “substitute” – not a pleasant smell J but packed with nutrients from the “guts” of prey. Where possible, I typically feed an average of 1 “veggie” meal and 1 tripe meal within each 7-8 day period. Some people have forsaken veggies altogether – but I remain convinced that they serve some essential function, even in these relatively modest dosages. I continue limited supplements, such as seal or salmon oil, some strong green mixes (like kelp, wheat grass, etc.), and extra Vitamin C during times of stress. These supplements are only given with the veggie meal (thus only once a week or so), excepting the seal or salmon oil, which I try to feed 2-3 times a week. Overall, I try to provide most nutrients through the actual food. There are several books that can help you determine exactly what nutrients your dog is getting in the foods you feed. In the end – the theme remains variety. Cover a wide range of nutrient sources, and – as always – keep an eye on your dog
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