|
Essential Oils |
Bella Mira Essential Oil Supplements
Essential Oil Information and Use
|
Gluten Free |
Gluten Free Living and Recipes
|
Important Information |
Save Your Computer Free Protection
|
Great Products |
|
FREE Wellness Tests |
Hormone Balance Test New Improved
.gif)
|
Contact Us |
Our Shopping Cart Is:
Recipes: A Discussion on Raw: Taking Your Pets Health into Your Own Hands 11-04-08
by: Phoebe Kerr
For
many, the discussion of feeding your pet a raw food diet can be a scary thing.
There is so much work and knowledge that is involved, not to mention all the
health factors to take into consideration for both you and your pet. Or at least
this is what your vet and mainstream media may lead you to believe. If it
doesn't come in a bag with feeding instructions on the back then can it really
be trusted? There may be feeding instructions but there is also generally a list
a mile long of ingredients and without a PhD in Veterinary Nutrition you would
be lucky to know the purpose of half of those ingredients.
With the veterinary field booming because of illnesses such as diabetes, thyroid
disease, obesity, dental disease and a slew of other issues it is time for
people to take their pets health back into their own hands. Veterinarians are
just like doctors, they make money by keeping their patients sick. Whether or
not they are doing this intentionally is a different story, but they are keeping
their patients sick. If you ask a vet what pet food they would recommend after
they tell you your pet has three teeth that need to be removed due to dental
disease, they would generally recommend a kibble or wet food that they also sell
at their clinic. If your pet is obese they tell you to cut calories. Who can sit
there and watch their poor animal, their responsibility, pout and beg for food
because they are hungry? There are some enlightened veterinarians and
technicians out there but for the most part they repeat what the pet food reps
told them.
Raw food diets are a way to get your pet back to a simpler way of eating. Dogs
are omnivores, cats are obligate carnivores and they require species specific
food. Dogs benefit from a diet of predominantly raw meats. They do not need
grains in their diet. Vegetable nutrients are best absorbed through pulverized
vegetables, which can be achieved by using a high-speed blender to make them
vegetable juice, consisting mostly of fresh greens, or giving them tripe. Dogs
do not have the required teeth for grinding plant material making it difficult
for them to get the nutrients and enzymes out of whole vegetables and greens.
Cats need meat; their little systems are designed to eat meat. Their teeth are
designed for slicing through meat and breaking small bones. Cats do not have any
flat teeth for grinding herbaceous material.
One of the major areas of concern when giving your pet raw meat is parasites,
bacteria and salmonella. If you are conscious of the type of meat you are
buying, parasites should not be a problem. Make sure that you are purchasing
meats from a reputable source and if you can afford organic grass fed that is an
even better choice. Not everyone that wants to feed raw can afford the cost of
organic however, so when you are milling through the meat aisle trying to find
meat for your dog, make sure to look at the nutrition labels. The reason is
because it is very important to take notice of the salt content. Salt water is
pumped into some meat as a preservative. High sodium levels are indicative of
meat that has been packaged with preservation being the main concern. Another
thing to remember if you are unable to feed organic is a lot of meat companies
use radiation to preserve their meat. If you can find a local farmer or raw food
co-op that would be your best bet. Even if they aren't getting organic product
you are going to be getting a higher quality of meat, especially if you know the
farmer. There are also a lot of internet sites that meat can be ordered from,
although this option can become very expensive unless you are doing bulk orders.
Salmonella and bacteria are more of a concern for yourself then for your pet. A
dog's digestive system is much shorter than that of humans and also becomes very
acidic when food is introduced to it. The stomach acid kills off any bacteria
that may be present on the meat. Dogs should not be fed pork or fish products to
prevent parasite exposure. When preparing your pets food make sure you clean up
your area and clean any other service the raw meat touches. This may sound like
a lot of work but it really isn't.
Another concern for many people is stomach or intestine perforation. This is a
valid concern but the chances aren't any higher than your pet choking on food
(whether it be junk kibble, super premium kibble, home prepared food or a raw
food). Everyone that has a dog or cat has heard at one point or another "chicken
bones are dangerous." Well this is true when you are referring to cooked chicken
bones. Cooked chicken bones are brittle and rigid making the chance of breakage
higher if consumed by your pet. When cooked chicken bones break they can form
sharp ends that have the potential to puncture a pet's intestinal wall. This is
not to say that just cooked chicken bones are dangerous, any cooked bone is
dangerous for your pet, even the smoked bones they sell at the pet store for
chewing purposes. Raw bones are a completely different story. There is that
chance of perforation, but it is a much smaller chance. Dogs systems are
designed to process these bones. Softer bones are best for consumption but a lot
of people also feed recreational bones, such as marrow (soup) bones, to keep
their pet busy or to promote dental hygiene.
This is a very broad topic with many different points to cover. Raw food has
many benefits for your pet. The same holds true for pets as it does for people,
"you are what you eat." Pets just have different requirements. By giving your
pet a chicken wing or leg a day you will help promote a healthy lifestyle, more
energy, healthy coat, pristine teeth and smaller bowel movements just to name a
few. There is also the potential to turn your pet's health issues around by
putting them on a more natural diet. They are not little people and do not
benefit from grains, legumes, beet pulp (watch out this is probably GM now),
sugars, or any of the chemical preservatives that can be found in a generic bag
of chow. If you wouldn't eat it yourself, why would you feed it to your pets?
Comments:
Some things were left out of this article like Science Diet Pays for a vets schooling if they sell their brand for 10 years. This is why new vets almost always sell exclusively Science Diet (this includes so called prescription diets) and longer practicing vets will often have other foods. However their choice is almost always due to the benefits to the vet.
Veterinarians Spend less than 2 hours -2 weeks on nutritional training. As A Veterinary Nutritionist I had 8 years plus 2 years of extra nutrition training, with constant continuing education. So it is no surprise that vets know very little about nutrition other than what they are told. This is why they push prescription foods (besides $) and lecture you with fear if you mention home feeding. Unless you dog gets deathly ill and THEN you will be told to feed them brown rice and chicken or beef.
Will that aside, many different companies have frozen raw foods available at most pet stores and quite a few grocery stores. This makes it very easy to feed your pet. However, be aware that even though these foods are raw or natural, they can still be full of junk. Please read all labels. Don't know what something is, don't feed it to your pet.
I should mention: Do not use Kelp or Iodine Supplements in your pets food. Iodine slows down thyroid function in healthy pets (people to). If you your pet has hyperthyroidism (Graves Disease, Overactive Thyroid) kelp in high doses will get it right under control. (under supervision for a short time) Using sea salt or greens powder will give them all the daily supplementation they need.
You can always email me will any pet questions.
Search pet food:
|
