Feed 'em Right

Avoid these foods in your dog's raw (natural) diet.

Raw Pacific Northwest Salmon (quoted from "Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats" by Kymythy Schultze) "Salmon poisoning is an infectious disease caused by a rickettsia that uses a parasite fluke on salmon as a host. It is mainly found in Pacific salmon, but any suspect fish may be tested. Avoid this danger by knowing the quality of the fish you are feeding to your pets."

It is possible that deep freezing the salmon for one week will kill any parasites, but I still feel it is best to just avoid raw salmon all together. Check out these web sites: MFC, Bouvherd's Dog House or Showdog Magazine.

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Feeding Kibble and Raw at the Same Time in order to switch over slowly can cause problems. Go cold turkey! Raw food and kibble are digested at different rates. Raw can pass through the dog in 4-6 hours, whereas a kibble may take up to 24 hours.

A possible scenario when feeding both: Let's say you feed a kibble meal for breakfast and then a raw meal for dinner. Raw food usually does not cause problems with salmonella or e-coli poisoning because it passes through a dog so fast. But when it has to sit in the system for a longer period of time, due to the slow digestion of the kibble, problems may occur. Odorous gasses may be the least of them!

So, start your puppy or grown dog immediately on raw food. Adult dogs may need to be fasted for a day to finish digesting the kibble that may still be in their system. Puppies should never be fasted!

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Onions and Rhubarb should probably be left out of a raw, natural diet.

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All Cooked Bones! Cooked bones can splinter and lodge in the throat, stomach or intestines. Most likely, this is the problem that vets are talking about when they say that bones are bad for dogs. And besides, there isn't much nutritional value in a cooked bone, so why give 'em?

Something I have noticed with my dog, Roxy: A friend of mine gave her a cooked beef T-bone (without my permission). I found out Less than a minute later and had to retrieve it from half way down her throat! I can't even imagine what problems those sharp ends would have caused! A raw fed dog is used to chewing and swallowing a bone, sometimes whole. Giving a cooked bone to a raw fed dog is just far too dangerous!

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Grapes and Raisins have been found to possibly cause kidney failure in susceptible dogs. It usually requires a large amount to cause any damage (12-14 oz.) but very few dogs survive from this overindulgence. Check out the ASPCA for more info. Meanwhile, it may not be a good idea to have grape vines that your dog can get to.

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Rawhide Chewies Well, most of them. Do not buy the white ones tied in a knot at both ends. Reasons: White is not natural, this product has been bleached. Virtually all rawhide products come from outside the US, mostly from Brazil where laws on what type of chemicals can be added to these products are very lax. Large portions can be swallowed. Since it is very hard to digest this product, it can lodge in the intestines and bring everything to a halt!

Alternatives: Kongs! A wonderful hollow, hard rubber chewie that is virtually indestructible. The Kong can be stuffed with a variety of foods. Roxy's favorite is peanut butter. It keeps her busy for a long time. Make sure your Kong is sized to your dog! Raw femur bones. By far the best choice. Contains enzymes your dog needs. Enzymes promote clean teeth, not to mention the action of chewing itself. Femur bones are best when cut about 4 inches long. Your dog will have a blast trying to get the marrow out of the middle. Watch their face...it looks like they are in Heaven! Roxy closes her eyes when licking on a bone such as described. If you absolutely have to have a rawhide chewie, get one that is all natural and steam pressed. These are usually in the shape of a bone and you can see the layers of rawhide when you look at it sidewise.

Grains This is a subject that many do not agree on! How could this be when commercial dog food is chock full of grains? Here is some great information: Riveriene Canine Nutrition

Bone-afied!