|
This diet is sometimes referred to as BARF (Bones and Raw food OR Biological Appropriate Raw Food). There are many benefits of raw feeding and we believe in a diet that makes sense, promotes health and encourage all dog owners to do the same. Proper nutrition is vital to good health. In nature, it is live foods that truly nourish animals. If your animals are to thrive, they need the live enzymes, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and unadulterated amino acids, vitamins and minerals that only raw food can provide. While commercial pet foods are convenient, most contain sub-standard or condemned meats. And because they are also highly processed at extreme temperatures, they are devoid of many of the building blocks of good health, and often full of questionable preservatives. So, commercial pet foods may sustain life, but unlike raw diets, they do not contain the life-enhancing nutrition that promotes health.
Cats and dogs are carnivores, or meat-eaters. Yet ALL dry commercial pet foods are at least 60% (or more) grain because the carbohydrates are needed to hold the food together. Dogs and cats have "no dietary requirement for carbohydrate." Does it make sense to feed our carnivores a diet that contains at least 60% of a substance they don't even need? Additionally, carbohydrates are metabolized by the body to glucose (sugar) which is known to feed cancers, diabetes and many other disorders that now plague our companion animals. If grains and vegetables were a primary nutrient source, you'd see cats and dogs stalking ears of corn and heads of wheat. Raw diets simulate the menu that nature intended carnivores to eat. When a carnivore eats an herbivore like a rabbit, the carnivore eats some meat, some bone, some organ meats (liver, heart, kidney, etc.), and some green vegetation contained in the herbivore's digestive tract. That's nature's perfect meal - the meal that raw diets replicate.
Dogs and cats are NOT humans. They have a very different digestive tract and process. For example, we can eat all the onion we want without harm, but some dogs can get anemic from a single, small portion of them. We can eat a pound of baker's chocolate and merely get fat or nauseous, while dogs can die from even a lesser amount. We can get very sick from raw meat, while dogs thrive on it as their natural diet. Again, they are NOT human. Compared to us, dogs and cats have a very short digestive system, which means that foods are processed quickly -- before harmful bacteria have a chance to multiply and cause problems. Also, carnivores have a very high level of acidity in their digestive systems. This high acidity, which allows them to break down the nutrients in raw meats and bones, is also hostile to bacteria. We've all seen dogs eat true garbage (rotten foods, decaying squirrel carcasses, etc.) without any ill effects. Nature did not evolve carnivores to eat a diet that would kill them. And remember, we aren't suggesting you feed spoiled, contaminate foods. A raw food diet consists of good quality, USDA-inspected and approved meats and bones.
However, finding a vet that supports or understands the raw diet is very hard as most vets only have the limited amount of knowledge they have been taught in veterinary school about dog nutrition. Most veterinary schools employ nutrition educators that work for or are supported by commercial pet food companies. How can students get proper nutritional training when they are being taught by commercial pet food companies whose very products are very unhealthy and contain poisonous preservatives?
If you want to know and understand more about commercial pet foods you will be shocked by the information you read. We finally realized that we needed to get back to basics in dog nutrition. We came across the natural way of feeding: the BARF diet. Be careful when doing your own research as many sites and vets will say that feeding a raw meat diet is bad and dangerous. The BARF diet is not just raw meat, but raw meat, raw bones (NEVER feed a dog cooked bones of any kind) and raw crushed vegetables. These things, together with some supplements make up the foundation of the BARF diet. Here are some benefits your dog or cat may experience when switched to a Raw or BARF diet. There may be other benefits as well that are not shown here. Every dog or cat will be different with some showing a great deal of improvement.
- Reduced "doggy" odor. The odor of breath and stool will be greatly reduced.
- Reduced volume of stool. WHY? Because the food they eat is almost all used (absorbed) by their systems.
- Teeth will be whiter. The tooth-cleaning action of chewing on bones is fabulous. Many vets do not believe how white a dogs teeth can become and that they have never had a teeth cleaning. No more paying for your dogs teeth to be cleaned.
- Reduced Vet bills. Most dogs that are on a natural diet are more healthy. They have stronger immune systems and are not over weight like more kibble fed dogs are. These all add up to less visits to the vet and over all less medical costs.
- Less hyper. Some dog owners have reported that after switching their dogs to a raw diet, their dogs seem to be less hyper and more calm.
- Yeast infections in the ears will disappear in most dogs that have this problem.
- Decrease in skin irritations and hot spots.
- Greater ease in getting to and maintaining a healthy weight.
- The dogs absolutely love it in all its myriad forms.
- Increased muscle mass and improved energy level.
- Dogs will love and enjoy eating again!
- No need for flea and tick control. Why? because the garlic that most raw feeders use is a natural anti flea / anti tick remedy
- Anal glands are usually expressed naturally, no more messy job for you or your vet.
- Many pet allergies, such as skin scratching, redness etc. go away when a raw diet is fed.
- Dogs with various digestive problems often have their problems resolved, or at least controlled, by eating a more species-appropriate diet.
|
