The apparent benefits after only about six weeks
By Leah Morse
This will be the fourth of a series of blogs that I want to share my experience with learning to feed raw diet to my dogs. It is a controversial way of providing nutrition for your dogs. I am not suggesting that anyone follow these guidelines that I have chosen to do for my own dogs. I am just simply sharing the information that I have found and where I found it. I have seen some amazing changes in the health of my dogs but this is, by any means, a simple way to feed your dog. It takes planning and work. The days that you are tired and don’t feel like preparing an extra meal, or paying for it, for that matter, you still have to do it. Your dogs can’t feed themselves. I have gotten creative at saving on the cost but again this creates more work. I am simply sharing my experiences. I am not a veterinarian; I am also not a health care professional. This theory of feeding raw species appropriate diet can have serious health risks associated with incorrect handling, preparing and feeding. NEVER EVER FEED COOKED BONES! Cooking bones changes the molecular structure, they become brittle and may splinter which would injure or kill your dog! Do not feed bones that are frozen either, as they can and will ruin your pet’s teeth. All bones must be thoroughly thawed before feeding. Mixing raw meat with cooked meat can cause digestive problems. If feeding raw diet is your goal read as many books and literature as possible. Find people who are already feeding and have experience to have as mentors. Use your own good judgment, when in doubt, don’t do it. The ideas and opinions in this blog are my own and come from feeding my dogs this way since 2008, unless otherwise credited. I am by no means an expert, just sharing my own acquisition of information and observations from my own dogs. Take any ideas that I present here at your own risk and discretion. I, for one, have found it worth it.
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So now by about the 6th week my dogs have completely transformed. It is almost like they had one of those drastic make overs like you see on reality TV shows.
One very important transformation that I noticed was the nearly complete reduction in how much hair I was getting from sweeping the kitchen floor. Normally I was sweeping two or three fist sized piles daily. I was now only getting about 2 tablespoons of hair daily. The dogs seemed happier, their eyes brighter and their coats, which did have a healthy sheen before, now looked like they were dipped in a glossy clear coat. Their coats actually felt different. They were softer and you could actually feel the smoothness that gave their coats the high gloss shine that I was now observing. Upon brushing them I was, again, getting less hair with each brushing session. I have been told many times about how much of a pleasure it is to touch my dogs. They did not have a greasy oily feel but there is a wonderful soft, smooth texture to their coats that it is wonderful to touch them. I have learned that the skin and coat is the last get the nutrients of what a dog consumes. If their skin and coats were any indication about what was happening in their bodies, I have to believe that the same transformation was happening inside. I can’t even take a picture of Story, my reverse brindle boxer, and use a flash as the sheen is so bright that it skews the cameras ability to take a picture without the shine being overbearing in the picture.
I also notice that my dogs do not have a doggy odor. I keep my dogs pretty clean, living in the country on acreage I do frequently bathe them as they tend to get quite muddy. Muddy feet and white carpet don’t mix well. Even with the frequent bathing (which in Colorado typically dries out their coats terribly) their coats still seamed to be healthy and their skin did not have dandruff like a dried out coat often has.
The next amazing thing that I noticed was the improvement of their oral health. Starting with the younger dog, I noticed that, even though Story was less than a year old, she had started to develop a tarter build up on her molars. I only had fed hard kibble and brushed regularly but even still there was clearly a brown staining and even tarter in her upper Carnasal molars. Bohdi, my 9 year old, always was a struggle to keep his teeth in good shape. Bohdi came to us from rescue with stained teeth at a young age of 18 months. After about 6 weeks all tarter and staining disappeared. Both Story, the 10 month old, and Bohdi the 9 year old had white, not stained, teeth. Their breath was the other wonderful discovery as neither dog had foul breath, not even Bohdi. I was very pleased. I have always been meticulous with good oral hygiene in both people and dogs. Being that I was a veterinary assistant for nearly 10 years, I have done 100s of dentals on a wide variety of both dogs and cats. Nothing saddened me more when either a dog or a cat needed to loose teeth due to dental disease. I have always been an advocate for brushing a dogs teeth with an enzymatic tooth paste, designed for a dog of course. I even payed thousands of dollars on dentals through out the years for my own pets. I would use a dental tool to scrape some of the tarter myself. I spent hundreds of dollars on Tarter Diet, special chews and dental hygiene toys. I could not believe how white and beautiful both dogs teeth looked from simply eating raw bones and meat. So now besides the total health that I was observing after feeding Raw diet, I would now be saving hundreds if not thousands of dollars on dental hygiene items and costly dentals that require anesthesia to be done properly and humanely.
The vomiting and diarrhea that had plagued Bohdi all the time that we had him (nearly 8 years) disappeared. Again, through his life time we had purchased hundreds of dollars in pepcid, other antacids and many prescription medications to help with his digestive upset. We had been dealing with this since 2001 when we adopted him. I have been told that the live enzymes present in the raw food were the reason for his improved digestive system health. I was sold on this idea as well. There was plenty on the internet and in the books on Raw Diet about this.
Last but not least, the attitude change that I noticed after 6 weeks, especially in my older dog, was very encouraging. Before beginning raw diet with our dogs, Bohdi’s attitude had started to decline. He was depressed and lethargic. I am not unrealistic, I understand that he was a senior and that this was the natural progression of life. I did want to give him the best care possible through to the end. I saw him perk up considerably. He lasted longer on walks, stayed with us more often during the day and he seemed more alert. Story became an unbelievable picture of health. Her muscle tone was very defined and she seemed to have more of a spring in her step as well, even though she was a puppy at the time.
All in all, raw diet was already showing a significant way that I would be saving on both medication and vet bills as well as all of the dental items that I have purchased over and over for all of my dogs through out the years. Just the savings in Dental procedures was huge. If you have ever priced a dental, you know they are not cheap. There is the price of the pre anesthesia blood work, the anesthesia, the dental procedure and God forbid the cost of extractions. Anyone who has had this done with their pet knows you can get into a cost of hundreds of dollars if not more. Don’t misunderstand, pet dentals are a very necessary part of good health care for your dog. Bohdi’s teeth were in relatively good shape when we started, they just improved. (Raw diet should not be seen as an alternative if a dog has serious dental needs. Rather have the dental needs attended to then discover the benefits of raw diet to maintain.) The savings that I was going to see in not having to purchase over the counter and prescription medications for the intestinal well being of my senior boxer was another substantial gain. I do not think that Raw Diet is an end all to all ailments or that a veterinarian should not be consulted for serious reasons. I am merely sharing my pleasant discoveries of financial savings with my own dogs. I very much value my veterinarians! I am just happy to have relief from some of the costs of keeping my dogs in the best health possible. I am certainly glad that I have started a journey of learning and exploring the best ways to incorporate the knowledge that I gain to keep my dogs as healthy and happy as possible. I owe them this much for all they do for me.
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Leah Morse is a canine trainer and the owner of Rocky Mountain Classic Canine in Colorado. Leah can be reached through our website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
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