Feeding a Raw Diet and Sharing My Discoveries

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.

Tags: Leah Morse | Michele Forto | Iditarod | Team Ineka | Dog Training Denver | Dog Doctor Radio | Denver Dog Works | Mushing Radio | Duluth Dog Works
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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

Raw Food Diet for Dogs

Learning to Feed Bones and Raw Food to Boxers
By Leah Morse

This will be the first 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 thankful to own a Vita-mix blender (http://www.vitamix.com) which saves me time and blends down the veggies, raw eggs and shells to liquid if needed. 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.

After suffering through the agonizing cancer and liver disease deaths of my late great boxers Bohdi and Leelu, I vowed to dedicate myself to being part of finding a solution rather than just a victim of diseases that plague boxers and many other breeds for that matter. I have tried many different top brand highly nutritious dog foods only to be somewhat satisfied. I have gone to many dog food nutrition seminars put on by Iams, NutroMax, Science Diet and others. I experimented with adding supplements and veggies to these great foods. Then the great dog food recall of 2007 happened and Melamine (http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/petfoodrecall/) seemed to be the main problem. In my opinion it seemed that outsourcing their manufacturing to other countries (or at least procuring ingredients from them), quality control is not the same as in the United States to save on their bottom line. I spent thousands of dollars on drugs and medications for a variety of ailments. Though there are many theories out there I, for one, believe that environment and nutrition quality play a huge role in keeping our furry children happy and healthy. I know that when my husband and I started eating healthier and incorporating more fresh nutritious choices into our everyday meals, we began to feel much better and we did not have trouble with as many ailments.

So I made my decision and decided to experiment with raw diet, B.A.R.F diet (Bones and Raw Foods) with my dogs. I was terrified at first. After being a veterinary assistant for 10 years, 20 years in pet retail and now as a professional dog trainer, where I preached to never feed people food, I was going to go against everything I had once believed. Although the bird nutrition classes have always pushed to feed fresh as it was the best. Still grieving from the loss of Leelu (just shy of 10 years when we lost her to the horror of hemangiosarcoma) I wanted to do everything that I could for the eight year old rescued boxer and the eight month old boxer puppy that we had left. I had noticed that Bohdi’s health was starting to go downhill. So I did due diligence and scoured the internet, I ordered books (Dr. Billinghurst’s book “Give Your Dog a Bone” and “Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats the Ultimate Diet” by Kymythy R. Schultze C.C.N., A.H.I. I joined B.A.R.F chat networks and groups on Facebook. I found these to be quite informative.

I had read that I should keep track of the health of my dogs. In the beginning, both had moderately shiny coats. Bohdi’s energy level seemed to be declining and Story had a normal puppy energy level. Bohdi was on a thyroid maintenance prescription drug, a Glucosamine supplement, pepcid (prescribed for his daily struggle with a sour stomach) and a daily pain relief prescription drug. Both dogs, as many boxers do, suffered us with their flatulence. Bohdi had stained teeth but had just had a dental cleaning done. Much to my surprise the puppy started to show signs of a small amount of tarter building up on her Carnasal molars. I was feeding Blue Buffalo brand food to both, one of the better and more expensive processed dog foods. One of the things that really bothered me about feeding such expensive processed food was that I seemed to feed the same amount that I was picking up afterward in the dog run. I thought that feeding premium foods was supposed to give you less to pick up. I seemed to feed 40lbs of dog food and then I seemed to pick up the same 40lbs in stool.

I finally broke down and purchased chicken wings with the purpose of feeding them to my dogs. I had found that non wait bearing bones were the best and that chicken wings backs and necks had just about the right ratio of bone to meat. I split the dogs up and gave them each a raw chicken wing. It was a strange experience to feel both the excited anticipation of healthier dogs and also the pit in my stomach that said “What did I just do?” I intently watched as the older dog, Bohdi, cautiously sniffed the wing picked it up and gave it a little shake only to drop it again. He then picked it back up and started to chomp through it. A couple of cracks and smacks and the chicken wing disappeared down his throat as he licked his lips. Bohdi looked at me as if to say “Is that it?” I wasn’t comfortable with giving more until I saw how he handled it. Meanwhile, out in the dog run, Story, the puppy, was shaking and licking her chicken wing. It took her much longer to figure out that it was something she could touch and then that it was more than just a toy but she finally got the job done. I kept my eye on both of them the rest of the evening and as gross as it may seem I kept a close eye on their bathroom habits. The morning after my initial feeding of the chicken wings I was anxious to see what the end result would be. I was terrified and had a rough night of sleep, envisioning a quick trip to the local veterinary hospital to extract the bones from my poor dogs. On the contrary, both dogs were fine and had normal stool, yet smaller amounts and much to my surprise I could actually see the digested bone. White dog stool that literally disintegrated as you tried to shovel it up. Another added bonus was that it did not smell nearly as bad. Third bonus was that Bohdi, who usually has an easily upset stomach, was having no digestive issues that I could see, at all. Last but not least, our dogs did not seem to have foul smelling gas. Day one of feeding Raw Diet appeared to go well. Their next meal would, again, be chicken wings with the addition of pureed celery. Now I would start planning meals and start keeping track of the cost. Research where to get the ingredients cost effectively. I wanted to come up with a system that lowered my risk of contamination in the kitchen and that would be the most sanitary for our dogs. I was also going to really educate myself about supplementation. My experiences will follow in future blogs.

If you have any questions for Leah or would like to learn more about feeding a raw diet to your dogs from someone that has first hand experience, please give us a call at Denver Dog Works at 303-578-9881.

Tags: Denver Dog Works, Dog Training Denver, Colorado Dog Trainers, Leah Morse, Canine Nutrition, Raw Diet for Dogs, Robert Forto, Dog Works Training Centers, Rocky Mountain Classic Canine, Your Brand Plan
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Leah Morse is a canine trainer and the owner of Rocky Mountain Classic Canine in Colorado. Leah also is a contract trainer for Denver Dog Works and a former student. Leah can be reached through Denver Dog Works at http://www.denevrdogworks.com