Question:
I agree, bones are the most important part of the diet. They really don't crunch them that bad because they are much softer than prepared bones. You can cut through a raw bone easier than cutting through a cooked bone.


Answer:
Okay, one--do not give your dog the leg bones--the weight bearing bones of ungalates. They crack teeth and cause more problems than any other bone available. They're a no-no.

Two, the Barf diet is wrong in that it wrongly assumes that dogs are omnivores. Dogs are not omnivores--they are carnivores, just like cats. Check out this article: Myths about Dogs.

You do not need all the supplements.

You do not need nearly as much bone as Billinghurst suggests--there isn't an animal out there with as much bone as he says you need to feed your dog, and too much bone leads to constipation.

Don't worry about the bacteria--dogs's digestive systems are built to deal with bacteria.

Don't grind! You'll leave out all the fun dogs have of ripping and tearing their meat! Plus, if you grind the bones as well, all the tooth cleaning advantages go out the window. Bones and raw meat give the teeth, muscles, and jaws a work-out that dogs need.

Don't cook it! Cooking destroys all the important enzymes and nutrients, making it useless.

Don't feed bonemeal either--it's cooked, therefore destroying any good qualities to it.

Chicken necks are all right occasionally, but they have too much bone to feed all the time. Same with turkey necks, I think. Any bones do an excellent job of cleaning teeth. Have you seen wolf teeth? They don't eat a whole lot of chicken or turkey. Chicken leg quarters work better, and then there's pork bones, lamb bones, whole fish...


The best way to feed your dog is by the prey-model: basically, toss your dog a rabbit and let him go to town (most people don't do that...they feed "Frankenprey"--prey built up by different animal parts). Prey has meat, bones, and organ meats. They don't have veggies, they don't have grains (Veggie Myth). And they don't have supplements, although many raw feeders add Fish Oil for the Omega 3 fatty acids since most grocery store livestock animals don't have any (if you feed grass fed organic meats, you don't have that problem).


I feed my guys prey-model raw food. Have feed Aussie it for 3 wks, Taffy for one week. Already have fresh breath, teeth on the process of being cleaned, smaller poops...typically they get a chicken leg quarter, some beef heart, and liver. I'm working on adding stuff--pork, ox tails, raw fish, lamb, brisket, ribs...here are some recipes if you're interested: Raw Fed Dogs Recipes.If you want to go raw, just remember to feed big, not small--general rule of thumb is bigger than the dog's head. This means the little guys under 10 lbs can eat necks, bigger than that to about 30 or 40, chicken leg quarters, bigger than that, toss'em a half or a whole chicken.


Here's a good site for raw feeding: The Many Myths About Raw Feeding


Answer:
Dogs can be considered carnivoures but they are not obligate carnivores like cats.

I thought bonemeal was fed for it's calcium content? Does heat kill calcium? Other than calcium what nutrients do bones provide? (Other than as great teeth cleaners)


Answer:
It's been my experience since feeding raw that everytime I give my dogs fruits or veggies (I do--they love green beans and peaches--but it's not a big part of the diet) they come out pretty much the same way they went in--wet and smelly ^_^ I do not have the info about bonemeal right at hand, but I know where I can get it and will post it as soon as I have an opportunity--it's been a weird week.


Answer:
Cool, thanks for taking the time to find the info Kayl.

It's recommended that veggies are at least partially cooked before feeding as part of a raw diet (some people cook and blend the veggies into mush) which makes it easier for a dog to absorb nutrients.

I'm trying to find an article I read about canines in the wild eating the stomach contents of their prey. In the link you provided which lists the myths of raw feeding, the website says that wolves do not eat contents but do eat the stomach and intestines and in the process I'd assume that they would also consume vegetable matter unintentionally.

That being said, dogs are adapted to a very different lifestyle from wolves in the wild and I think that dogs are able to use nutrients from vegetables when fed in the right manner.

On a sidenote, Lavander LOVES pears, durian and watermelon. She can't wait to get her share whenever we are having those fruits I've also been feeding her cooked carrots and broccoli and from her poops, looks like she's digesting them fairly well. I undercooked the carrots once and I could still see chunks in her poop the next day.


Answer:
Actually, I've seen at least one post on a raw feeding group where she gave her dogs a whole goat. They were having a great time with it. One of the dogs pulled out the stomach, tore it open, dumped out the contents, and ate the stomach, leaving the contents on the grass. *shrugs* My guys, when they were on kibble, loved apples and carrots, but they won't eat them anymore. Funnily enough, they've developed a love for peaches. Crazy mutts ^_^

I'm going to try and get permission to crosspost about the bonemeal, but the gist of it is that cooking it destroys the nutrients in it, feeding bonemeal instead of bone is counterproductive in the teeth care arena, and it can bind feces. Other than that, if you're only using it as a calcium source if won't hurt, although plenty of dogs prefer eggshells (with the egg still in it ^_^)


Answer:
Here's an article I found about raw and how there are actually disadvantages to it...raw isn't for every dog...you should feed what best suits your dog and do it carefully..because its not exactly as healthy and safe as people think it is..make sure you do alot of research about dog nutrition before you change a diet.

http://secondchanceranch.org/rawmeat.html


Answer:
Thank you for the info, pitbull. You have brought up a very valid concern that I have of this diet (indirectly anyway).

No one on either side of the discussion has provided any empirical evidence (ie. based on the scientific method) for the advantage/disadvantage of this diet. The article you posted mentions 11 years of independent research...well, where's the research? All that I see is a bunch of anecdotal evidence. And the same issue with the supporters, where is the objective evidence?


Answer:
I've got two rebuttals that completely debunk secondchanceranch.

Here's the one I feel is more accurate: http://rawfed.com/myths/rebuttal.html

Here's Ian Billinghurst's--he goes more for human than fact: http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/mybluedog.html
She claims an 11 yr independent study, but gets most of her facts wrong in my opinion, and someone went to look up the sources she sited and either 1) couldn't find them or 2) they had nothing to do with feeding a dog raw. The findings of the sources are on rawfed.com.


Answer:
A raw diet is hardly straightforward. With all the claims made by 'experts' and personal experiences shared by owners who've tried the diet and those who are against it, I think the most important thing to have is common sense.

If you just want a quick, easy and nutritious diet, there are tons of kibble formulations to choose from. Whether you feel more comfortable feeding a cooked diet, raw diet, semi-cooked, wet food, dehydrated food, 75% meat diet, no grain diet etc. The main thing is the results and whether your dog is happy and healthy on the diet and keep an open mind.

It seems like overgeneralizations have been made by both sides. Lavander likes to head for a particular patch of grass and stand there eating it whenever the urge strikes her but that does not mean she would want to eat a grass-based diet. Probably the same can apply to the study done on wolves where they discarded the stomach contents. If they have better cuts of meat to feast on, I don't blame them for leaving the stomach contents which is probably slop compared to muscle and organs. But that does not mean that they are unable to utilize vegetable matter in their diet.

That being said, I still think that the prey model diet is very interesting and I'd love to try it out on Lavander if I ever got the chance to.