Putting your pets on raw foods for a longer life...

A message from Deb:

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I will get to the copper thing in a minute, could you tell Debbie with the Rotti to add Turmeric, the yellow spice to her dogs diet, start with whatever she can get away with and build it up to 3 tablespoons.

Also add Vit C, power is best up to what we call tolerance level, start with 1/2 teaspoon first day, 1 teaspoon 2 day, 1 1/2 teaspoon day three, keep building by 1/2 teaspoon amounts until the dog shows signs of loose stools, then drop it back by a half.

Splitting the dose into morning and night would be best.

Wish her luck and tell her I am a Rotti nut.

Love Deb

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Hi all, Deb here, Kelly's friend who is a bit of a nut when it comes to all things about animals.

Fantastic to see so many people questioning how they have been feeding their four legged friends.

Welcome to sensible pet feeding.

I started feeding a natural diet for all my pets and livestock back in 2001 and have never looked back.

My animals were healthier, happier and I only dropped in to our vet for a cuppa and chat (country town, wise man) no more bills.

Animals are not meant to eat processed food, full stop. And by animals I include the two legged ones as well (us).

Sure the occasional treat is fine (says she who polished off the coffee and nut ice cream last night) but the current way most of us are encouraged to feed our pets is only going to end in disaster, poor health, bad teeth, early death.

I haven't finished reading all the emails on this thread but I wanted to answer a few questions that I have seen so far.

Cost
It is cheaper, unless you are going to feed your cat caviar and your dog lamb cutlets, you will save money.
One of the reason it can be hard to judge this is that animals feed processed foods need more food due to the difficulty they have in processing it.
For a guide a cat usually needs no more then 2 or 3 chicken necks, a small dog the same IE a foxie, a large dog IE a rotti one chicken frame will do. Add to this table scraps (dogs only) and it is a very cheap and healthy way to feed your pets. Cost saving too when you think about healthier teeth and less medical treatment needed.

Copper Pipe.
Ever seen your pet drink from the bottom of the shower? Maybe one pet does it and not the others. Your pet is trying to obtain copper, they can smell it in the water from the hot water system. Copper is found in good amounts in organ meat (this does not include heart) and also in herbs such as rosehip. To help rectify the situation whilst you wait for the effects of a healthy diet to take hold (and to stop little wet paw print all over the floor) add a piece of copper pipe a dish of water, always provide two dishes for fresh water. Tank water is preferable to standard tap water.

One last point I would like people to think about is the environmental impact of commercial pet food. Think about it, the energy, the transport, the packaging, multiplied by all the pets in Australia, the Western world. Do your bit for the environment, feed natural.

Good Luck.

Deborah

Oh, Deb, my little Tux is always drinking from the bottom of the shower...!!!!!! I am definately in, no matter what Shel says, I might be able to get some tonight if my appt. doesn't go too long... :( Boy, do I feel guilty for feeding him junk!

Hi all,
I am a complete mess due to end of year exams, but I am keen to give this a go - but maybe i'll start a week late :redface:
Little Baxter is still a puppy (just turned 5 mths) but he has become a bit stinky - his coat, his breath, his farts and his poo. (poor little guy!) We don't like him in the house as much, because he's a bit unpleasant! It's only a recent development (like 2 weeks) since we went from the super dooper expensive dried food, to a cheaper one (recommended by a TV personality vet...IYKWIM). We have a huge 18kg bag of it...but we can't keep giving it to him as it obviously does not agree with him (OR US!)

So, many thanks for starting this at a time when i really need it. I will investigate it more thoroughly and get in some supplies next week.

Bring on a happy healthier house!

Hmmm, chicken necks for brekky! She loved them. (has them quite a bit).

Not sure if I "cheated" or not but... (confession time)

I made up some risotto for Ocean last night. I bought some fresh mince, rice and carrots and cooked it all up. She loved it. I decided it was ok because even though it wasn't raw, it was all fresh. Is this ok or have I completely missed the point.

Ocean is a Coolie and VERY active. She really ought to be out rounding up sheep but she rounds up the birds in our garden instead. So, she has a good appetite and is fit and healthy.

What do you think girls? Have I missed the point completely?

Oh, one thing I read in the info I printed out from the website was that if you run out of fresh/raw food, it's ok to fast your dog for one or two days. I have to say, this won't be happening at our place. Other than that, it all sounds good to me. :)

Kate - what you have done is better then commercial food, but, raw is still better. Make sure Ocean gets some bones - chicken, lamb turkey, pork, rabbit whatever. Raw thou. Beef is apparently not recommended. What they should be eating is whatever they would eat if they where in the wild, and the average dog would not bring down a full grown cow.
Veges should be pulsed, as there stomachs can not process chopped foods.

My dogs get something along the lines of this
Breakfast - either egg or sardines, mixed with mince. ATM, they are having chicken pet mince from lennards. These, i alternate on a 4 day schedule. Day one - just mince. Day 2 sardines and mince day 3, egg and mince, day 4 sardine and mince. Then, back to day 1 again.
Dinner - meat scraps. Today, being day 1 of my schedle, they have liver as well as there normal food. Chelsea wil have liver, chicken necks and some pork and lamb bones. Abbey is having chicken wing, and pork and lamb bones. I generall also give them about 100grms of veges each a day as well. They have just finished a mix of sweet potatoe, apple, cucumber, cauliflower and a tin of 4 bean mix. Putting the apple thru the mix i find helps to not make it smell so bad.
Chelsea was not so good in eating alot of meaty bones when we started, but, now she is great. I picked up a bag of turkey necks from woolies the other day, and she loved them. Abbey has 700gms a day split over 2 meals, Chelsea about 750 to 800gms. The main reason i give them mince, is that its easier for Chelsea to have all her tablets and other bits that she has mixed with the mince.

We have gone to 1 full plastic shopping bag a week full of poo to about 1/3 a week of poo. Which is good.

Deborah - thanks for you advise as well. My vet told me that Vit C should only be given to sick dogs, and not the average healthy dog. But, i have done the increasing the amount Vit C in her food. She has 1 heaped teaspoon a day.

Has anyone fallen off the wagon already? How are we all going?

We started a day late coz I forgot, lol. But we're all stocked up now. Harry loves his chicken wings!!! Not so keen on fish.

Debbie, thanks for that. pmsl at the thought of her trying to bring down a cow! :clap: Yes, i should've just left it raw. Will do once she has finished this lot. I also didn't mush up the carrots but she has eaten them. I will get the potato masher onto them tonight.

I've given her 5 chicken necks for brekkie - I'm honestly not sure if that's too much or not but they are gone in 5 seconds flat! Then for dinner she's having that mix of rice, meat and vegies. She is loving it though. :) I'm so happy. Next week I'll make sure I give her raw stuff and get more organised and go to the butcher.

Kate, it would be good if Ocean could chew the necks a couple of times before she swallows them, but it wont do her any harm to swallow them hole. Thats why i only give them to Chelsea, as she chews them, where as Abbey will swallow them whole. She swallowed her breakfast whole this morning. 1 300gram lump of minced chicken bone. I must seperate it abit for her.

And, also good news. Today marks 2 weeks since Chelsea was given 1 - 2weeks max to live. She is still going strong. Just polished off a turkey neck for dinner.

A little on natural diets and energy levels ........

Energy levels are abnormal when a pet is fed processed food. High amounts of grain are completely unnatural for cats and dogs, but of course it bulk products out and keep profit margins in.

When is the last time you saw a dog grazing on a field of corn? Yes dogs/cats can eat grain and would in the wild when they catch a mouse or take down a herbivore but as a rule this would be ad hock, depending on the season and the available prey.

One of the biggest problems I see as a animal trainer is hyper active behavior, which funny enough settles down considerably when artificial foods and grain based diets are removed.

High carb diets provide high levels of energy, create unbalance digestive systems and is link to numerous health conditions.

Pets don't need grain but there is no harm in giving the occasional leftovers containing rice, pasta etc, just don't go to any extra trouble in preparing it.

On buying raw foods, look up chicken processing plants, these businesses usually sell chicken frames, necks etc in bulk very cheaply. I use to be able to feed 3 Rotti's, 1Heeler, a Jack Russell, a cat plus help the neighbour out on a $14 'bag' per fortnight.

Last thing, you might notice your pet's smell getting worse before it gets better when starting out a natural diet. Look on this as a 'pet detox'.
To help this provide plenty of water, lots of exercise and if really bad add a chamomile tea bag to their water dish. This time will soon pass and doggy breath will be a thing of the past, well at least the kind that comes from processed food, can't help with the 'just found an old rotten bone breath'.:lol:

Deborah

Debbie, that's great news. Ocean sends lots of puppy cuddles to Chelsea.

:)

YAY Debbie!! So glad Chelsea is doing so well.... x

How are our raw foods furbabies going!?

My girl's going great. She seems to be enjoying it all, although, we ran out of chicken necks this morning so she's going to have to wait until I finish work to have her "brunch". :)

Confession time - I was really tired last night so went to bed early telling DH to feed the cats before he came to bed - so they got crunchies. Oh well, junk food as an occasional treat I guess.

TMI alert - I've noticed that one of them is producing really pale poo. The litter box stinks less now.

Hi all,

Is everyone still going well with this? Ocean is loving it. Chicken necks, lamb offcuts, leftover vegies etc. I haven't cooked up any rice dishes this week. Just the raw meat and stuff. She's also been having raw chops etc.

I'm still a little unsure as to how much to give her. I don't want her to be hungry and I'm positive she's not overeating at all.

Thought I'd post this photo of her, seeing as it is all about our pets!

Hope everyone's going well.

Kate & Ocean

My gorgeous Ocean

Well, fish is a no go here. He does not like it at all. He absolutely loves chicken wings though!!
But, he still wants his biscuits!!!! We have this little ball that we used to put biscuits in and he rolls it around and they come out and he keeps going and getting it and then dropping it on our lap and crying. lol. And he's not hungry coz he will do it right after he's eaten!!
aww...cute photos of Ocean.
Here is my gorgeous boy!