Not updated this in a few days, oops!
This week they've had lots of repeat meals.
Chicken, and some mince - rabbit & Pheasant.
No weights, but photos to follow soon.
Friday, 29 June 2012
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Some more videos.
Buster eating lamb bone.
The noise in the background is from the local Primary school! It was morning break time. And his random 'growling' was him grumbling at me not to take his breakfast ;)
Enzo having his breakfast.
And here's one of Enzo later, looking very cute chewing the bone left over from Buster's breakfast.
Enzo having his breakfast.
And here's one of Enzo later, looking very cute chewing the bone left over from Buster's breakfast.
Today's menu
Enzo's Breakfast - piece of lamb bone, plus meat & fat! No weights, my scales are properly broken. Looks like I'll be buying new!
Buster's Breakfast - large piece of lamb bone.
Enzo's Dinner - green tripe, chunks of chicken and bone, and a chunk of lamb (lower half of bowl)
Approx. weight 80g
Buster's Dinner - Chicken back, tripe, & a few chunks of lamb bone.
Approx. weight 250g
Monday, 25 June 2012
Another food post!
Enzo's Breakfast - 25g Wild Red Salmon followed by 30g chicken & bone
I gave the salmon first because I wasn't sure he'd eat it - he can be a bit fussy with fish. Apparently only the expensive fish meets with his approval though, as he ate this no bother!
(Where as he has turned his nose up at tinned sardines and mackrel. Which costs around 55p a tin. The Salmon normally costs £2.99 a tin, but was reduced to 75p)
Buster's Breakfast - 75g Wild Red Salmon, followed by 200g of chicken carcass.
Enzo's Dinner - 50g chicken & bone,
plus 20g Tripe
Buster's Dinner - Tripe and Chicken back.
No idea what this weighed. I am guessing around 100g to 150g of chicken and 50g of tripe. But my scales decided to pack up (I think it must be the battery that died!) so I just stuck some food in his dish and hoped for the best!
He ate over 700g on Saturday, so I am trying to only give 450 to 500g a day til Friday. Today he would have had 150g of chicken and 75g of tripe, = 225g, had the scales worked, but as they weren't, I thought better to go slightly under than over.
I have some RMBs in my fridge, which I think are lamb bones, They will have them for breakfast tomorrow and the rest of the chicken and tripe for dinner. I have no idea what they rest of the chicken and tripe weighs though, which is slightly annoying. I'm guessing at 150g to 200g of chicken, and around 100g of tripe, but who knows.
I will photograph though.
Raw Fed Savages!
One belief which seems to be a fairly common misconception, is that if you feed your dog raw, it will turn them into a raging blood thirsty savage. Or something.
The idea seems to be that once they taste raw meat and blood, they'll crave it more.
This is completely not the case. In fact, if anything, I think the opposite seems to be true. Dogs which have their appetite for raw meat sated, have little or no desire to catch their own food.
Anyway, here are a few pictures of my raw-fed savages ;)
Sunday, 24 June 2012
Today's food
Enzo's Breakfast - Chicken & bone chunks (60g)
Buster's Breakfast - chicken carcass (200g)
Enzo's Dinner - Tripe (45g)
+ chunks of Chicken & bone (35g)
Buster's Dinner - Tripe (70g)
+ Chicken carcass (180g)
Breakfast in the sun
The dogs had chicken and bone today (carcass for Buster.)
And since the sun was out, so too were the dogs.
This is Buster eating a chicken carcass weighing 200g
And since the sun was out, so too were the dogs.
This is Buster eating a chicken carcass weighing 200g
Saturday, 23 June 2012
On today's menu.
Buster's Breakfast - Turkey meat & bone chunks (110g) & Green Tripe (58g)
This is what Enzo's breakfast would have looked like, only on a smaller scale.
No repeat photo of the wing, so here's one of Enzo in his crate whilst I was preparing breakfast.Buster's Dinner - Turkey Carcass (488g)
I will give him some tripe later before bed.
Mr Fussy is Fussy.
OK, so Enzo refused his chicken wing last night. He's getting extremely fussy these days. If it's a meaty bone, it's too much effort. If I remove chunks of meat from the bone, he'll eat them, but not if I present it as is.
I can only assume he's too lazy to chew it. I even let Buster chomp the end of the wing (a nice dose of healthy competition to prompt the dog to eat his food?) but even that didn't work.
So I left it there. I could remove it and give him todays chosen breakfast (chunks of Turkey with some tripe) but, he's eaten rather a lot of offal (liver) and rich meat (beef) recently, he needs some chicken and bone in him (too much info, but this morning his poo was horrid. It wouldn't have been if he'd eaten the chicken wing & bone last night. Pesky dog.)
So I'm taking the hard line stance and leaving it down, I know he'll eat when he is hungry.
This morning Buster had 110g of turkey & bone which I managed to remove from the turkey back, and around 58g of green tripe.
Pictures later.
Update:
Enzo still refused to eat the damn wing. Even after our walk he refused it. I gave in.
I gave it to Buster (along with his dinner - 488g of Turkey & bone! Which means buster's had around 715g of food today. Not including the sandwich he managed to find and inhale on our way to the woods(!) It's no wonder that dog is looking 'chunky').
Light meals for the next few days I think!
Anyway, so before I gave Buster the turkey I trimed about 59gs off it and put it in a dish in the fridge for Enzo.
So after I gave Buster the chicken wing (which he ate happily in about 2 bites, or 0.533 seconds ;) )I gave Enzo the fresh dish of turkey. Which he wolfed down in under a minute. He was obviously hungry. Pesky dog.
So, chicken wings are out, it would seem. At least they are for Enzo. And they are too small to provide a good value meal for Buster (he'd need to eat at least 4 in one sitting, lol).
Oh well.
Tripe, chicken carcass, and lamb bones over the next few days I think.
I can only assume he's too lazy to chew it. I even let Buster chomp the end of the wing (a nice dose of healthy competition to prompt the dog to eat his food?) but even that didn't work.
So I left it there. I could remove it and give him todays chosen breakfast (chunks of Turkey with some tripe) but, he's eaten rather a lot of offal (liver) and rich meat (beef) recently, he needs some chicken and bone in him (too much info, but this morning his poo was horrid. It wouldn't have been if he'd eaten the chicken wing & bone last night. Pesky dog.)
So I'm taking the hard line stance and leaving it down, I know he'll eat when he is hungry.
This morning Buster had 110g of turkey & bone which I managed to remove from the turkey back, and around 58g of green tripe.
Pictures later.
Update:
Enzo still refused to eat the damn wing. Even after our walk he refused it. I gave in.
I gave it to Buster (along with his dinner - 488g of Turkey & bone! Which means buster's had around 715g of food today. Not including the sandwich he managed to find and inhale on our way to the woods(!) It's no wonder that dog is looking 'chunky').
Light meals for the next few days I think!
Anyway, so before I gave Buster the turkey I trimed about 59gs off it and put it in a dish in the fridge for Enzo.
So after I gave Buster the chicken wing (which he ate happily in about 2 bites, or 0.533 seconds ;) )I gave Enzo the fresh dish of turkey. Which he wolfed down in under a minute. He was obviously hungry. Pesky dog.
So, chicken wings are out, it would seem. At least they are for Enzo. And they are too small to provide a good value meal for Buster (he'd need to eat at least 4 in one sitting, lol).
Oh well.
Tripe, chicken carcass, and lamb bones over the next few days I think.
Friday, 22 June 2012
Today's food
Enzo's Breakfast - Minced beef & organic liver (53g)
Buster's Breakfast - Minced Beef & organic liver (265g)
Enzo's Dinner - chicken wing (with a stray feather or two!) approx 79g
Buster's Dinner - salmon & tripe mince (approx 290g)
It doesn't look too appetising, but he likes it! LOL. Or at least he eats it quick, like everything I put in front of him ;)
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Buster & Enzo's food today.
Enzo's Breakfast:
Chicken & bone chunks (30g)
& Liver (10g)
Buster's breakfast:
Chicken backs (x2) (165g)
& Liver (35g)
Buster's Dinner:
Minced beef & bone mixed with finely chopped Ox liver. (300g)*
*This is an approximation since my scales decided to only work in lbs and ounces. So I put 10.6oz into the bowl, which ought to be 300g, but could be a little out.
Enzo's dinner:
Minced beef & bone mixed with finely chopped Ox liver. (75g)*
I had 248g of liver left and added it to 474g of beef, so ratio ought to be nearly 2 parts beef & bone to 1 part liver. I think. ie 100g liver and 200g beef for Buster, 25g liver & 50g beef for Enzo. But as it's mixed, it's all just approximate.
Making a mess ;)
No chopping boards and meat cleavers here. If a turkey back weighs 500g, the dog gets 500g that meal, and then the next day I feed slightly less to make up for it (so he doesn't get fat).
But recently I have conceded to using scissors to chop chunks of chicken off the carcass for the little dog (Enzo).
The first bags of heart which I bought came ready chopped. The recent bags are not. So I have had to chop them myself, which really is no big deal since heart is actually quite a solid, tough piece of muscle meat. It's easy to chop and not at all slimy.
Not so with liver.
When I first got the bag out of the freezer, it was lovely and solid. Hard to cut since still quite frozen. But after 36hrs in a fridge, not so much. It's sloppy and coated in slimy... well, not sure what it is to be honest, but it's not too pleasant.
So what's a girl to do? Well I could refreeze it, but it's defrosted so much, and some has been chopped off it, so it's not really in one lump anymore.
In future I will let it defrost only enough to get the scissors through it, chop it up, and put the chunks back into the bag & into the freezer.
But that doesn't really help me now.
OK, so tonight the dogs are getting minced beef & bone, so, how about mixing the liver in with the beef?
OK, take one large clean dog bowl, and empty into it the last of the liver (248g). Get the scissors, and start chopping!
When it's finely chopped, add the beef mince (474g). Get a spoon and give it a good mix so it's completely mixed together.
Spoon mixture back into beef mince bag. I tripple bag mine so I can wrap them up and put them bag in the fridge.
Wash & wipe down surface.
And there you have beef & liver ready mixed, so now all I have to do is spoon out the required weight of food into the dogs' dishes when it's time for dinner, and dont have to go playing around with slimy liver again.
Oh, and the added bonus is that Buster got to lick all the liver slime and beef mince 'juice' off the dish, once I'd spooned the mixture back into the bag. He liked it anyhow!
Veg? No veg?
So, if you remember this post, where I mentioned fruit and veg in a dog's diet, and then this post, where I mentioned that I started off feeding veg containing minces, you may be wondering about the lack of veg in my dog's food.
Well, my youngest dog, Buster, will eat absolutely anything. Except cucumber. But other than that, if he can get it, he'll eat it. Even foods which are bad or not particularly good for him (bread, pasta, chocolate! etc). He's a gannet.
Enzo on the other hand, is so fussy!
When Enzo first came to stay with me, I gave him chicken wings and first dibs on huge turkey carcasses.
I also had some Wolf Tucker minces in my freezer, so although most of his meals were chicken wings, a few were Wolf Tucker. And he loved them.
So I sent him home with about 3 days worth of WT mince, which I was told he scoffed happily and "really loved". So much that he refused to eat his previous food (Pedigree tinned dogfood), and had 2 days of eating the tiniest amounts, but grudgingly!
5 days after he left, he came back to live here permanently, and again he went back onto raw and ate mostly chicken wings, some turkey, and lamb bones (well, he stripped the meat off the lamb bones, didnt really manage to eat the bones).
I didn't have many WT minces left, as the last time I bought minces I had decided to try Raw To Go, as they were a lot cheaper. Plus they had a better selection, including game meats. They included no veg, but then I was aware that many raw feeders do not give their dogs veg, so I decided to give them a go.
So Enzo came back and my dogs were having mostly RMBs with a bit of RTG minces in amongst. Enzo started to show fussy tendencies, and didnt seem quite so taken with some of these minces than others, although it could also have been because he was self-regulating: where as Buster I am sure would eat until he was too full to move, Enzo will walk away when he has had enough, he rarely manages more than 65g of food in any one meal now, where as when I first got him he'd eat 100g in one meal.
Well 3 weeks later I was going on holiday, so Enzo went back to his previous owner, along with a weeks' worth of Wolf Tucker minces (the ones he originally loved). Buster went to stay with my mum and dad.
On my return I was informed that Enzo didn't seem too keen on the food, and often left it quite a while before eating it. Oh dear!
Well, he didn't starve, but by the sounds of it he wasn't too impressed with his food.
He went back to eating mostly RMBs. I discovered he loves heart and tripe, and will a larger portion of them than other foods. I found he didnt seem to be as keen on rabbit mince, and he's not too keen on chicken wings anymore - though he loves chicken chunks, so I can only assume he is lazy and can't be bother with all the chewing. But then, given he lived his first 20 months on purely the soft stuff that comes out of the Pedigree tins, it is not too suprising. He never even had to use his teeth or chew his food at all before he cam to live here. Wet dog food is so soft it can be swallowed in bitesize mouthfuls.
A few weeks ago I tried him with the last of the WT mince. He refused to eat it at all. But will happily eat RTG minces. I can only assume that he dislikes the veg in the mince.
I have tried him with 'leftovers' of cooked veg, he will not eat them at all.
OK, so this dog is doing a good job of proving the opinion that dogs don't need veg or fruit in their diet. As I am a firm believer that if they were meant to eat them, he would. His refusal seems to me to be adequate proof that this dog knows he doesn't need anything else.... and why fill up on Butternut Squash and Carrots when there's Venison on the menu?
So, this is why my dogs no longer get veg with their food. Although Buster does occasionally get a little. He gets any leftovers (not a lot, maybe a teaspoon or two at most, once or twice a week) of mash, veg & gravy, or pasta sauce etc, and things like apple cores, or a chunk of banana, but it is not a regular occurance. As this is a vegetarian household, there is no meat leftovers either.
This is perhaps a good thing, as, as I mentioned before, this dog is a gannet and will eat anything and everything. He'd be massive if he got any more titbits and leftovers!
Well, my youngest dog, Buster, will eat absolutely anything. Except cucumber. But other than that, if he can get it, he'll eat it. Even foods which are bad or not particularly good for him (bread, pasta, chocolate! etc). He's a gannet.
Enzo on the other hand, is so fussy!
When Enzo first came to stay with me, I gave him chicken wings and first dibs on huge turkey carcasses.
I also had some Wolf Tucker minces in my freezer, so although most of his meals were chicken wings, a few were Wolf Tucker. And he loved them.
So I sent him home with about 3 days worth of WT mince, which I was told he scoffed happily and "really loved". So much that he refused to eat his previous food (Pedigree tinned dogfood), and had 2 days of eating the tiniest amounts, but grudgingly!
5 days after he left, he came back to live here permanently, and again he went back onto raw and ate mostly chicken wings, some turkey, and lamb bones (well, he stripped the meat off the lamb bones, didnt really manage to eat the bones).
I didn't have many WT minces left, as the last time I bought minces I had decided to try Raw To Go, as they were a lot cheaper. Plus they had a better selection, including game meats. They included no veg, but then I was aware that many raw feeders do not give their dogs veg, so I decided to give them a go.
So Enzo came back and my dogs were having mostly RMBs with a bit of RTG minces in amongst. Enzo started to show fussy tendencies, and didnt seem quite so taken with some of these minces than others, although it could also have been because he was self-regulating: where as Buster I am sure would eat until he was too full to move, Enzo will walk away when he has had enough, he rarely manages more than 65g of food in any one meal now, where as when I first got him he'd eat 100g in one meal.
Well 3 weeks later I was going on holiday, so Enzo went back to his previous owner, along with a weeks' worth of Wolf Tucker minces (the ones he originally loved). Buster went to stay with my mum and dad.
On my return I was informed that Enzo didn't seem too keen on the food, and often left it quite a while before eating it. Oh dear!
Well, he didn't starve, but by the sounds of it he wasn't too impressed with his food.
He went back to eating mostly RMBs. I discovered he loves heart and tripe, and will a larger portion of them than other foods. I found he didnt seem to be as keen on rabbit mince, and he's not too keen on chicken wings anymore - though he loves chicken chunks, so I can only assume he is lazy and can't be bother with all the chewing. But then, given he lived his first 20 months on purely the soft stuff that comes out of the Pedigree tins, it is not too suprising. He never even had to use his teeth or chew his food at all before he cam to live here. Wet dog food is so soft it can be swallowed in bitesize mouthfuls.
A few weeks ago I tried him with the last of the WT mince. He refused to eat it at all. But will happily eat RTG minces. I can only assume that he dislikes the veg in the mince.
I have tried him with 'leftovers' of cooked veg, he will not eat them at all.
OK, so this dog is doing a good job of proving the opinion that dogs don't need veg or fruit in their diet. As I am a firm believer that if they were meant to eat them, he would. His refusal seems to me to be adequate proof that this dog knows he doesn't need anything else.... and why fill up on Butternut Squash and Carrots when there's Venison on the menu?
So, this is why my dogs no longer get veg with their food. Although Buster does occasionally get a little. He gets any leftovers (not a lot, maybe a teaspoon or two at most, once or twice a week) of mash, veg & gravy, or pasta sauce etc, and things like apple cores, or a chunk of banana, but it is not a regular occurance. As this is a vegetarian household, there is no meat leftovers either.
This is perhaps a good thing, as, as I mentioned before, this dog is a gannet and will eat anything and everything. He'd be massive if he got any more titbits and leftovers!
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Buster & Enzo's food, Tuesday & Wednesday (today)
Enzo's Breakfast (Tuesday) Chicken neck (62g)
Buster's Breakfast (Tuesday) Ox Heart (103g)
& Chicken back (carcass) (102g)
Enzo's Dinner (Tuesday) Ox Heart (25g)
& Chicken chunks (35g)
Plus Salmon oil (supplement)
Buster's Dinner (Tuesday) Ox Heart (59g)
& Chicken carcass (225g)
Plus Salmon oil (supplement)
Enzo's Breakfast (today/Wednesday)
Organic Liver* (20g)
& Chicken (40g)
Buster's Breakfast (today/Wednesday)
Organic Liver* (40g)
& Chicken carcass (238g)
*Liver of unspecified origin, but given the size it is likely to be Ox/Beef Liver.
All Buster and Enzo's food this week has been Organic, including the egg. The only exception being the Salmon Oil, which is from wild salmon.
For Dinner tonight they had more of the same, Buster had approx. 50g Liver and 155g of chicken back (carcass). Enzo had approx 20g of Liver and 40g of chicken chunks. Plus they had a chicken leg bone each.
Weights are approximate tonight, because although I did weigh them, I forgot to make a note of them and can't quite remember! Ooops.
No pictures of tonight's meals, so here's one of them enjoying their breakfast Al Fresco this morning instead!
Buster & Enzo's food. Monday 18th June 2012
Enzo's Breakfast - 18th June
Chicken neck (65g)
Buster just had around 250g chicken carcass (no photo)
Enzo's Dinner - 18th June
34g of Ox Heart, around 25g of chicken chunks, and a bit of egg white and eggshell.
34g of Ox Heart, around 25g of chicken chunks, and a bit of egg white and eggshell.
He ate the lot
apart from some of the shell. (Shell is very good for dogs, if they will eat it,
it is good for calcium.
it is good for calcium.
Buster's Dinner - 18 June
217g of chicken carcass, approx 35g of Ox Heart,
and most of an egg & egg shell.
217g of chicken carcass, approx 35g of Ox Heart,
and most of an egg & egg shell.
Buster ate the lot, as always ;)
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
It costs too much. Part 2
Ok, so it is possible to find commercial dog food cheaper than £2+ per kg. Especially if you buy in bulk.
Wagg for instance, costs just 62p per kg if you buy a large bag (17kg). But then if you read the ingredients, it's not so great.
Wheat, Meat Meal (min 10% Beef in Red Kibble), Wheatfeed, Digest, Poultry Fat, Linseed, Beet Pulp, Peas (min 4% in Pea Kibble), Maize, Lucerne, Minerals, Yeast (0.08%), Citrus Extract (0.04%), Yucca Extract (0.01%)
here
Wheat in some form or another is listed twice. Then you have "Digest", which to me sounds like some supplementy ingredient... that's good, right? Wrong. It's just a 'prettier' term for rendered animal parts which had no other use. THIS is what "digest" is. More on Digest here.
Every ingredient bar the minimum 10% beef in the red kibbles, and the yucca extract (which has some supposed benefit), is just rubbish. Nutritionall worthless. The Wheat and wheatmeal is just filler, and there to turn the meat 'soup' into biscuits. The Beet Pulp and poultry fat are included to try to make the product more palatable (like the 'digest'), the maize & peas are included also as cheap fillers*.
That is why it is so cheap.
But then, it is also possible to find raw meaty bones much cheaper too.
One person on a forum I frequent has managed to find a local supplier who can give her 14kg of chicken carcasses for just £2. Others have gone to local curry houses and halal suppliers, or local butchers, and been given beef and lamb bones for free. Other people have chosen hunt their own wild rabbit & pheasant etc, or make use of roadkill.
Personally, the latter options aren't my thing, but if you want (or need) to feed your dog for very little, or even free, it can be done. And when you compare the ingredients, and the health of your pet, most owners would agree that it is worth the extra effort - finding Butchers or abbattoirs etc willing to give freebies or cheap bones & offcuts etc, or driving into the countryside and collecting roadkill, for example.
So that covers the first part of the cost issue... but, let's not forget the wider picture here.
Dogs with skin problems and "allergies" is becoming more and more common.
Certain breeds are more likely to have allergies and skin problems, but the fact is that any dog could suffer from allergies and skin issues.
It's obvious it is a huge problem - just look at all the 'special diet' dog foods on the market!
But why is no one thinking logically about the cause of these allergies?
On the raw feeding forum I am a member of, there are Boxer dogs who had bad skin issues - now have been completely or almost completely 'cured', by switching to raw and removing all processed foods and grains from their diet.
There is a 6yr old Chi on there who had Pancreatitis, and was often ill. A month later and he is doing so well on raw, he is vocal and playful, he hasn't been ill once since the switch from commercial to raw.
Dogs cannot digest wheat or grains, and they are not designed to consume them and wouldn't in the wild, so it is no wonder that many dogs show symptoms of wheat intolerance or allergies (loose stools, dull coat, excessive moulting, sores or skin irritations, patchy fur, etc etc). Cooking meat also alters the meat, which can cause symptoms such as vomitting and/or diarrhoea, and all the symptoms listed above for wheat/grain allergy & intollerance.
It is so common for dogs to be 'diagnosed' as having an allergy to chicken or turkey, only to be completely fine if eating it raw. So many people have noted that their dog would vomit if it ate cooked chicken, but raw chicken never caused a problem.
Yet if you look at these "special diet" dog foods, it's hard to believe anyone OK'd this
You still have corn in there (filler, not digestable), corn gluten (more corn filler), more digest, like in Wagg.
The sensitive skin bag is worse, as Ground rice and ground corn are first and second on the ingredients list, with the meat coming third. No percentages given with this product, but it's safe to assume <40% of the product is grain, with less than 30% being meat.
But, the prescription diets range is worse still.
Take this one, for dogs with digestive issues and very sensitive stomachs, or skin allergies
Ingredients: Dried potato, chicken liver hydrolysate, potato starch, vegetable oil, cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, potassium citrate, salt, DL-methionine, taurine, vitamins and trace elements. Contains EU approved antioxidant.
Right, so let's remove as much actual food as possible, and then because the only ingredient of any nutritional value in that lot is the chicken liver (which has been boiled up beyond all recognition) they have to add in vitamins, and ingredients like taurine and DL-methionine (which occur naturally in meat and organ meat - but this product doesn't contain enough meat for sufficient quantities to be present without supplemementing...) These added nutrients most likely are synthetic (lab made/extracted) and therefore not very bio available to the dog, compared to the naural, organically occuring versions found in fresh meat and fresh liver.
Or this one
Ingredients: Egg & Rice: Ground rice, dried whole egg, hydrolysed chicken (low molecular weight), vegetable oil, cellulose, animal fat, calcium carbonate, potassium citrate, dicalcium phosphate, fish oil, salt, potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, taurine, vitamins and trace elements.
Or this one
Ingredients: Maize starch, chicken liver hydrolysate, vegetable oil, cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, salt, DL-methionine, taurine, vitamins and trace elements.
Starting to see the problem yet?
If a vet prescribes a 'special' diet kibble or tinned meat like the ones above, I would question what is in it for him. Most vets sell HSP, and profit from their sale and prescription. If your dog has skin problems or digestive issues, try raw first. It'll cost less and stands a good chance of clearing up any problem, reducing your vet bills in the process.
Well just to lighten the mood, check this one out.
Yep, a dry kibble that claims to 'maintain oral health'.
It boasts:
Buster's teeth, aged 8 months. No dental work ever, just plenty of raw meaty bones.
They still look like that now, over a month later. They are bright white and don't have a spot of tarter on them.
*And it just helps that we have somewhat anthropomorphised our pets - we know that fruit and veg are good for humans, so most people assume that including those ingredients in our pet food must be a good thing for our pet.
Wagg for instance, costs just 62p per kg if you buy a large bag (17kg). But then if you read the ingredients, it's not so great.
Wheat, Meat Meal (min 10% Beef in Red Kibble), Wheatfeed, Digest, Poultry Fat, Linseed, Beet Pulp, Peas (min 4% in Pea Kibble), Maize, Lucerne, Minerals, Yeast (0.08%), Citrus Extract (0.04%), Yucca Extract (0.01%)
here
Wheat in some form or another is listed twice. Then you have "Digest", which to me sounds like some supplementy ingredient... that's good, right? Wrong. It's just a 'prettier' term for rendered animal parts which had no other use. THIS is what "digest" is. More on Digest here.
Every ingredient bar the minimum 10% beef in the red kibbles, and the yucca extract (which has some supposed benefit), is just rubbish. Nutritionall worthless. The Wheat and wheatmeal is just filler, and there to turn the meat 'soup' into biscuits. The Beet Pulp and poultry fat are included to try to make the product more palatable (like the 'digest'), the maize & peas are included also as cheap fillers*.
That is why it is so cheap.
But then, it is also possible to find raw meaty bones much cheaper too.
One person on a forum I frequent has managed to find a local supplier who can give her 14kg of chicken carcasses for just £2. Others have gone to local curry houses and halal suppliers, or local butchers, and been given beef and lamb bones for free. Other people have chosen hunt their own wild rabbit & pheasant etc, or make use of roadkill.
Personally, the latter options aren't my thing, but if you want (or need) to feed your dog for very little, or even free, it can be done. And when you compare the ingredients, and the health of your pet, most owners would agree that it is worth the extra effort - finding Butchers or abbattoirs etc willing to give freebies or cheap bones & offcuts etc, or driving into the countryside and collecting roadkill, for example.
So that covers the first part of the cost issue... but, let's not forget the wider picture here.
Dogs with skin problems and "allergies" is becoming more and more common.
Certain breeds are more likely to have allergies and skin problems, but the fact is that any dog could suffer from allergies and skin issues.
It's obvious it is a huge problem - just look at all the 'special diet' dog foods on the market!
But why is no one thinking logically about the cause of these allergies?
On the raw feeding forum I am a member of, there are Boxer dogs who had bad skin issues - now have been completely or almost completely 'cured', by switching to raw and removing all processed foods and grains from their diet.
There is a 6yr old Chi on there who had Pancreatitis, and was often ill. A month later and he is doing so well on raw, he is vocal and playful, he hasn't been ill once since the switch from commercial to raw.
Dogs cannot digest wheat or grains, and they are not designed to consume them and wouldn't in the wild, so it is no wonder that many dogs show symptoms of wheat intolerance or allergies (loose stools, dull coat, excessive moulting, sores or skin irritations, patchy fur, etc etc). Cooking meat also alters the meat, which can cause symptoms such as vomitting and/or diarrhoea, and all the symptoms listed above for wheat/grain allergy & intollerance.
It is so common for dogs to be 'diagnosed' as having an allergy to chicken or turkey, only to be completely fine if eating it raw. So many people have noted that their dog would vomit if it ate cooked chicken, but raw chicken never caused a problem.
Yet if you look at these "special diet" dog foods, it's hard to believe anyone OK'd this
"Hill's Science Plan Sensitive Stomach
Hill's Science Plan Sensitive Stomach Dog Food
for dogs with sensitive digestive systems; contains easily-digestible
carbohydrates and a unique mixture of natural fibres such as oat fibre."
Hmm... So still including grains, which are not easily digestible for a dog.
"Ground rice (min. 18% rice), ground corn, chicken and turkey meal (min.
20% chicken), corn gluten, whole dried egg (min. 13% of the egg), animal
fat, digest, vegetable oil, flaxseed, oat hulls and bran, beet pulp,
potassium chloride , sodium chloride, L-lysine hydrochloride,
L-tryptophan.
"Hmm... So still including grains, which are not easily digestible for a dog.
You still have corn in there (filler, not digestable), corn gluten (more corn filler), more digest, like in Wagg.
The sensitive skin bag is worse, as Ground rice and ground corn are first and second on the ingredients list, with the meat coming third. No percentages given with this product, but it's safe to assume <40% of the product is grain, with less than 30% being meat.
But, the prescription diets range is worse still.
Take this one, for dogs with digestive issues and very sensitive stomachs, or skin allergies
Ingredients: Dried potato, chicken liver hydrolysate, potato starch, vegetable oil, cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, potassium citrate, salt, DL-methionine, taurine, vitamins and trace elements. Contains EU approved antioxidant.
Right, so let's remove as much actual food as possible, and then because the only ingredient of any nutritional value in that lot is the chicken liver (which has been boiled up beyond all recognition) they have to add in vitamins, and ingredients like taurine and DL-methionine (which occur naturally in meat and organ meat - but this product doesn't contain enough meat for sufficient quantities to be present without supplemementing...) These added nutrients most likely are synthetic (lab made/extracted) and therefore not very bio available to the dog, compared to the naural, organically occuring versions found in fresh meat and fresh liver.
Or this one
Ingredients: Egg & Rice: Ground rice, dried whole egg, hydrolysed chicken (low molecular weight), vegetable oil, cellulose, animal fat, calcium carbonate, potassium citrate, dicalcium phosphate, fish oil, salt, potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, taurine, vitamins and trace elements.
Or this one
Ingredients: Maize starch, chicken liver hydrolysate, vegetable oil, cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, salt, DL-methionine, taurine, vitamins and trace elements.
Starting to see the problem yet?
If a vet prescribes a 'special' diet kibble or tinned meat like the ones above, I would question what is in it for him. Most vets sell HSP, and profit from their sale and prescription. If your dog has skin problems or digestive issues, try raw first. It'll cost less and stands a good chance of clearing up any problem, reducing your vet bills in the process.
Well just to lighten the mood, check this one out.
Yep, a dry kibble that claims to 'maintain oral health'.
It boasts:
- Clinically proven to help reduce the build-up of tartar, plaque and stain.
- Contains a special fibre matrix with aligned fibres that help the kibble engulf the tooth before it splits. This provides a gentle scraping action that helps reduce the build-up of plaque, tartar and stains.
- Helps to neutralise free radicals as it contains high level of antioxidants
The second claim is pretty pressumptious or optimistic, given that many dogs swallow most of their kibbles whole. Very little chewing takes place.
Ingredients: Ground maize, ground rice, chicken and turkey meal, cellulose powder, animal fat, pea bran meal, digest, dried whole egg, vegetable oil, potassium citrate, calcium sulphate, salt, calcium carbonate, taurine, L-tryptophan, vitamins and trace elements.
Now maybe it's just me, but I can't see anything in that list of ingredients that hasn't been included in other HSP products, ones that do not boast any special powers in terms of Oral Health.
Well, I suppose you could pay lots of money to feed that, or you could, you know, give your dog a bone.
Buster's teeth, aged 8 months. No dental work ever, just plenty of raw meaty bones.
They still look like that now, over a month later. They are bright white and don't have a spot of tarter on them.
*And it just helps that we have somewhat anthropomorphised our pets - we know that fruit and veg are good for humans, so most people assume that including those ingredients in our pet food must be a good thing for our pet.
I don't know... it costs too much. Part 1
OK, so by now hopefully you are cottoning on to RAW being Biologically Appropriate, and making a lot more sense, given all the rubbish and very little actual meat that makes it into commercial pet food.
But the next barrier is cost. Because people assume that to raw feed it must cost a fortune... meat's expensive, right?
Well yes, if you were to go to your local Butcher's or Supermarket and pick up a nice chicken, or a pack of mince, you could easily be paying £4 to £10 per Kg. Maybe more.
But most raw feeders do not do that. Not as a regular thing anyway.
We find suppliers who sell carcasses cheap. The money has already been made - the chicken breast and wings and most of the meat has been sold and gone into making food for humans, what is left is the meaty carcass. Perfect for a dog.
If you do your homework you can pick these up dirt cheap. Personally, I tend to buy mine from Higher Hacknell. They charge £2 per Kg or less.
I recently placed a large order with them whereby I got 20kg of RMBs (mostly chicken carcasses, some chicken necks and lamb bones), as well as 2kg of Ox heart and 2kg of Liver, and it came to less than £45 including the delivery fee.
So it worked out at £1.87 per Kg. Higher Hacknell produce is all Organic.
Compare this to tins of Pedigree, which contains just 36% meat (most of it unspecified 'derivitives')... According to one supplier, a 6 pack of Pedigree tins work out at £2.08 per Kg
If you buy Baker's Meaty Meals biscuits (remember them from this post), it'll cost you £2.23 to £2.75 per Kg from this supermarket, for this over processed, inferior product, which contains mostly cereals, and only 30% meat.
That's almost £1 more per Kg than I'm spending on 100% organic meaty bones and offal.
The other bonus to feeding raw is that because so much of what you feed is utilised and digested, you don't need to feed as much of it. (And there's less waste coming out the other end too!).
Part 2 coming soon...
But the next barrier is cost. Because people assume that to raw feed it must cost a fortune... meat's expensive, right?
Well yes, if you were to go to your local Butcher's or Supermarket and pick up a nice chicken, or a pack of mince, you could easily be paying £4 to £10 per Kg. Maybe more.
But most raw feeders do not do that. Not as a regular thing anyway.
We find suppliers who sell carcasses cheap. The money has already been made - the chicken breast and wings and most of the meat has been sold and gone into making food for humans, what is left is the meaty carcass. Perfect for a dog.
If you do your homework you can pick these up dirt cheap. Personally, I tend to buy mine from Higher Hacknell. They charge £2 per Kg or less.
I recently placed a large order with them whereby I got 20kg of RMBs (mostly chicken carcasses, some chicken necks and lamb bones), as well as 2kg of Ox heart and 2kg of Liver, and it came to less than £45 including the delivery fee.
So it worked out at £1.87 per Kg. Higher Hacknell produce is all Organic.
Compare this to tins of Pedigree, which contains just 36% meat (most of it unspecified 'derivitives')... According to one supplier, a 6 pack of Pedigree tins work out at £2.08 per Kg
If you buy Baker's Meaty Meals biscuits (remember them from this post), it'll cost you £2.23 to £2.75 per Kg from this supermarket, for this over processed, inferior product, which contains mostly cereals, and only 30% meat.
That's almost £1 more per Kg than I'm spending on 100% organic meaty bones and offal.
The other bonus to feeding raw is that because so much of what you feed is utilised and digested, you don't need to feed as much of it. (And there's less waste coming out the other end too!).
Part 2 coming soon...
But what about getting the balance right?!
One question which a lot of raw feeders are asked, or indeed, they themself worry about when deciding to raw feed, is 'How do you ensure you feed a 'balanced' diet?'.
Well, let's examine that.
First of all, do all of us eat a completely nutritionally 'balanced' meal every day? What about every week?
Raw Feeding isn't difficult, and it isn't precise. And just like with humans, a varied and balanced diet is more achievable in terms of weekly diet, rather than daily.
When people start off feeding their dog(s) raw, they usually start off with Chicken. Or Turkey.
Some people (myself included) may choose to start by feeding a prepared mince, whilst others dive right in at the deep end and feed RMBs (raw meaty bones).
I have done both.
With my pup, I started off giving Natural Instinct's Puppy Chicken and Country Banquet.
This seemed the best way for me at the time for 2 reasons:
First, I am Vegetarian and have been for many years, I wasn't sure about my ability to handle meat.. was it going to be too 'icky' for me? I hadn't had any meat in the house for 3 years. Now suddenly the bottom drawer of my freezer was a dedicated raw meat drawer!
The Natural Instinct food came ready prepared in margerine-style tubs with lids. Perfect for the least mess and good containment.
Second, this was (is) a reputable company, so it took the worry out of getting a 'balanced' diet right. I was able to put my trust in them that my pup would be just fine eating their food.
Then I tried Wolf Tucker, which was very similar in ingredients and composition. I also bought a few Primal meals which contain offal.
Around this time (about a month or so in to feeding raw) I decided to try feeding bones. We started with a marrow bone (not what I was expecting... a bit too large really... but you live and learn!) and then lamb bones, and eventually Chicken carcasses.
When Enzo came to stay, I had already been feeding RMBs for about 4 months, so with Enzo I dived right in at the deep end, and his first raw meals here were chicken wings and turkey carcasses (though of course he didn't eat a whole one, given they weigh over 500g. He had about 100g and Buster ate the rest).
Well, back to the post...
So you start off with chicken or turkey, and then once you are happy and your dogs are happy and used to their food (could be a few days or a few weeks), you start adding in some variety. Red meats and offal and muscle meats are quite rich, so they should always be added gradually and in small quantities to start with, at least until the animal gets used to them.
There is no hard and fast rule, but a good guide is 80% meat and bone, 10% offal (liver, kidney, tripe etc) and 10% muscle meat (heart, lung) and/or fish.
A general guide for meat to bone ratio is 80% meat 20% bone, but these ratios are just a guide. Most raw feeders can tell by their dog, and what comes out the other end. If it's very white and crumbly, there's a lot of bone in the diet, and consider adding more meat to the meal, or a little offal. If it's darker or less firm, there's too much offal or red meat, consider feeding chicken and/or more bone, less offal next meal. And so on.
BUT, it is worth remembering two things:
1. In the wild, dogs and wolves are not measuring out quantities. They are not going to stop eating this bit of meat so they can have a bite of that bit of offal in order to make their meal 'balanced'.
Also, in wolf and dog packs there is hierarchy, the ones at the top get first pick, the ones lower down get what's left.
2. How 'balanced' do you think commercial food is? If you look at this post, it's not hard to see that commercial dog food is really not nutritionally balanced at all!
If you use the above ratios as a general guide, you won't go far wrong. After a while you will know by sight and can adjust according to your pet.
And last of all, whilst a dog (or cat) can happily live off one type of meat, just like us, they like variety.
Buster had chicken & bone mince only for many months, then some marrowbone, and lamb bone, and then turkey & chicken carcasses. Enzo mostly has chicken (as he is small, chicken is more practical as the size of the 'bits' are a good size, not too big, and the bones are soft, so he can crunch them up), but he also gets a mix of other meats and offal.
I buy minces from a company called Raw to Go.
Their minces have an approximate ratio of 80% meat 10% bone 10% offal. No veg or added anything.
This was what I got in my last order from them:
Beef (2?)
Beef & heart (4)
Beef & Liver (3)
Venison (5)
Pheasant (7)
Rabbit (5)
Each bagged in quantities of 1lb (454g approx). Last month I also got about 7 bags of minced green tripe from a company called Tripefactory, and still have a few left. I have been giving the dogs a bag of tripe every week or every other week. They love it, but it does stink!
My dogs do not get mince very often anymore. RMBs are much better for their dental hygene and health. Dogs need to use their jaws and teeth. And working on a nice RMB cleans their teeth. No need for costly vet appointments for dental work in this house!
But, in an average week, 2 to 4 times a week they will get up to half their daily quota of food as mince, usually for breakfast, and the rest of their meals they get RMBs.
Buster gets around 500g of food a day, split over two meals. Occasionally slightly less, and occasionally up to 700g. Enzo gets around 130g a day, split over two meals. Meaning between them they get through around 4.7kg of food a week.
Between them, in an average week, 500g is heart, 500g is tripe, occasionaly 500g is offal/liver, and 500g to 1kg is minced meat & bone, the other 2.2kg to 2.7kg is RMB, mostly chicken carcass/neck/wings, and occasionally lamb bones or turkey back.
Which should show that my dogs get a varied and nutritionally balanced diet, much more so than a dog who is fed one type of kibble, or even one brand of tinned food in a variety of flavours.
Well, let's examine that.
First of all, do all of us eat a completely nutritionally 'balanced' meal every day? What about every week?
Raw Feeding isn't difficult, and it isn't precise. And just like with humans, a varied and balanced diet is more achievable in terms of weekly diet, rather than daily.
When people start off feeding their dog(s) raw, they usually start off with Chicken. Or Turkey.
Some people (myself included) may choose to start by feeding a prepared mince, whilst others dive right in at the deep end and feed RMBs (raw meaty bones).
I have done both.
With my pup, I started off giving Natural Instinct's Puppy Chicken and Country Banquet.
This seemed the best way for me at the time for 2 reasons:
First, I am Vegetarian and have been for many years, I wasn't sure about my ability to handle meat.. was it going to be too 'icky' for me? I hadn't had any meat in the house for 3 years. Now suddenly the bottom drawer of my freezer was a dedicated raw meat drawer!
The Natural Instinct food came ready prepared in margerine-style tubs with lids. Perfect for the least mess and good containment.
Second, this was (is) a reputable company, so it took the worry out of getting a 'balanced' diet right. I was able to put my trust in them that my pup would be just fine eating their food.
Then I tried Wolf Tucker, which was very similar in ingredients and composition. I also bought a few Primal meals which contain offal.
Around this time (about a month or so in to feeding raw) I decided to try feeding bones. We started with a marrow bone (not what I was expecting... a bit too large really... but you live and learn!) and then lamb bones, and eventually Chicken carcasses.
When Enzo came to stay, I had already been feeding RMBs for about 4 months, so with Enzo I dived right in at the deep end, and his first raw meals here were chicken wings and turkey carcasses (though of course he didn't eat a whole one, given they weigh over 500g. He had about 100g and Buster ate the rest).
Well, back to the post...
So you start off with chicken or turkey, and then once you are happy and your dogs are happy and used to their food (could be a few days or a few weeks), you start adding in some variety. Red meats and offal and muscle meats are quite rich, so they should always be added gradually and in small quantities to start with, at least until the animal gets used to them.
There is no hard and fast rule, but a good guide is 80% meat and bone, 10% offal (liver, kidney, tripe etc) and 10% muscle meat (heart, lung) and/or fish.
A general guide for meat to bone ratio is 80% meat 20% bone, but these ratios are just a guide. Most raw feeders can tell by their dog, and what comes out the other end. If it's very white and crumbly, there's a lot of bone in the diet, and consider adding more meat to the meal, or a little offal. If it's darker or less firm, there's too much offal or red meat, consider feeding chicken and/or more bone, less offal next meal. And so on.
BUT, it is worth remembering two things:
1. In the wild, dogs and wolves are not measuring out quantities. They are not going to stop eating this bit of meat so they can have a bite of that bit of offal in order to make their meal 'balanced'.
Also, in wolf and dog packs there is hierarchy, the ones at the top get first pick, the ones lower down get what's left.
2. How 'balanced' do you think commercial food is? If you look at this post, it's not hard to see that commercial dog food is really not nutritionally balanced at all!
If you use the above ratios as a general guide, you won't go far wrong. After a while you will know by sight and can adjust according to your pet.
And last of all, whilst a dog (or cat) can happily live off one type of meat, just like us, they like variety.
Buster had chicken & bone mince only for many months, then some marrowbone, and lamb bone, and then turkey & chicken carcasses. Enzo mostly has chicken (as he is small, chicken is more practical as the size of the 'bits' are a good size, not too big, and the bones are soft, so he can crunch them up), but he also gets a mix of other meats and offal.
I buy minces from a company called Raw to Go.
Their minces have an approximate ratio of 80% meat 10% bone 10% offal. No veg or added anything.
This was what I got in my last order from them:
Beef (2?)
Beef & heart (4)
Beef & Liver (3)
Venison (5)
Pheasant (7)
Rabbit (5)
Each bagged in quantities of 1lb (454g approx). Last month I also got about 7 bags of minced green tripe from a company called Tripefactory, and still have a few left. I have been giving the dogs a bag of tripe every week or every other week. They love it, but it does stink!
My dogs do not get mince very often anymore. RMBs are much better for their dental hygene and health. Dogs need to use their jaws and teeth. And working on a nice RMB cleans their teeth. No need for costly vet appointments for dental work in this house!
But, in an average week, 2 to 4 times a week they will get up to half their daily quota of food as mince, usually for breakfast, and the rest of their meals they get RMBs.
Buster gets around 500g of food a day, split over two meals. Occasionally slightly less, and occasionally up to 700g. Enzo gets around 130g a day, split over two meals. Meaning between them they get through around 4.7kg of food a week.
Between them, in an average week, 500g is heart, 500g is tripe, occasionaly 500g is offal/liver, and 500g to 1kg is minced meat & bone, the other 2.2kg to 2.7kg is RMB, mostly chicken carcass/neck/wings, and occasionally lamb bones or turkey back.
Which should show that my dogs get a varied and nutritionally balanced diet, much more so than a dog who is fed one type of kibble, or even one brand of tinned food in a variety of flavours.
Which would you rather eat, day in, day out?
Imagine you had one food that you had to eat, every day, for your whole life.
What would you choose?
What would you choose?
Curry? Pizza? Pasta? Roast dinner?
What if we had the constitution of a dog, we were able to eat raw meat and not get ill. We didn't have the ability or the need to cook our food...
If you only had two choices, which of these would you rather have, every-single-day...
Ingredients:
Fresh Organic Chicken - 217g
Fresh Organic Ox Heart - 35g
1 Fresh Organic Free range egg
Or this
Ingredients:*
Dried Chicken and Turkey (28%),
maize,
wheat,
animal fat,
dried beet
pulp (3.1%),
sorghum,
barley,
hydrolysed animal proteins,
dried whole
egg,
brewer's dried yeast,
potassium chloride,
sodium chloride,
calcium carbonate,
sodium hexametaphosphate,
fructooligosaccharides (0.15%),
linseed.
*Ingredients are taken from IAMS Adult Small Medium Breed Rich Chicken kibbles. Photo is stock photo of unspecified dog kibbles.
I know which I would choose. And which my dog would choose too.
Commercial Pet 'food' vs Raw
Have you ever thought about what goes into your pet's shop-bought food?
Have you ever read the ingredients?
Have you ever looked into your pet's dietry requirements?
Dogs and Cats are both Carnivores. They eat meat. That is what they are designed to have.
Dogs can eat some plant matter and vegetation, although there is some dispute as to whether this is a necessary part of their diet. The prevailing opinion is that a small amount (20%< ) does no harm, and in the wild a wolf or wild dog may well eat fruit and vegetables, but these foodstuffs offer no nutritional benefit, and they are eaten more due to lack of meat (prey) available, than due to being a dietry requirement.
Cats on the other hand eat no plant matter or vegetation, unless as self-medication.
In the wild, a cat's diet would be >99% Meat & Offal.
So now, keeping that in mind, let's look at the ingredients in commercial pet food.
I'll focus on Whiska's Cat food first, as this is a leading UK brand.
Ingredients
Chicken: Meat and Animal Derivatives (including min. 4% Chicken, min. 4% Fresh Meat), Cereals, Vegetable Protein Extracts, Minerals.
Beef: Meat and Animal Derivatives (including min. 4% Beef, min. 4% Fresh Meat), Cereals, Vegetables (min. 4% Tomato in Gravy), Vegetable Protein Extracts, Minerals.
Duck & Chicken: Meat and Animal Derivatives (including min. 4% Duck, min. 4% Chicken, min. 4% Fresh Meat), Cereals, Vegetables (min. 4% Tomato in Gravy), Vegetable Protein Extracts, Minerals.
Now, does that look good to you?
A minimum of 4% Chicken and 4% 'Fresh Meat'? So what makes up the rest of the 'meat & animal derivitives', if it isn't fresh meat?! Not only that, but only 4% of the meat in any 'flavour' tin, is actually specified. The 4% "fresh meat" is unspecified. It could be anything. Just like the other 20 or so percent meat is not specified and not fresh. It is rendered animal parts.
You also have cereals and vegetables in there. Remember, Cats do not eat vegetables or cereals (grains). They cannot digest them. So why are they in this product?
So let's re examine the first 'ingredient'... Meat and Animal Derivitives.
What do you think that means? Derivitives? It does not mean flesh, or organ meat.
Animal derivitives or animal by-products can include: feathers, gizzards, heads, eyeballs, claws, feet & beaks.
The fact about commercial pet food, is that after the Food Industry has finished stripping as much of the meat off the animal as it can (to make into food for humans) All the bits which are left (again, beaks, gizzards, feet etc etc) that cannot be utilised, go to animal rendering plants, where they are ground up and melted down to make a huge 'soup'. This forms the basis for most pet foods.
And do not be fooled by 'premium' foods either, as the same animal rendering plants supply all the large pet food maufacturers - Mars, Nestle, etc etc.
Dry Cat food biscuits
Ingredients
Cereals (20%), Meat and Animal Derivatives (4% Rabbit and 4% Chicken in Dark Red and Light Brown Kibbles, 4% Duck in Red Kibbles), Vegetable Protein Extracts, Oils and Fats, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin, Yeasts, Minerals
20% Unspecified Cereals (none of which a cat needs or can actually digest), and only 12% specified meat in total. This ingredient list is also a little confusing, as the greatest ingredient is listed first. If there is only 20% Cereals, then this ought to mean that the Meat and animal derivitives equals <20%. I therefore pressume that the other ingredients are included in similar quantities in order for it to add up to 100%.
Artificial Colours and Additives are used to make these biscuits different colours.
If we look at some tins of Pedigree dog food, you see these are very similar in ingredients to the cat food.
Ingredients
Gravy with Marrowbone: with Chicken: Meat and Animal Derivatives (36%, including 4% Chicken, 2% Marrowbone), Cereals, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.9% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals, Oils and Fats (0.3% Sunflower Oil).
with Lamb: Meat and Animal Derivatives (36%, including 4% Lamb, 2% Marrowbone), Cereals, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.9% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals, Oils and Fats (0.3% Sunflower Oil).
with Beef: Meat and Animal Derivatives (36%, including 4% Beef, 2% Marrowbone), Cereals, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.9% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals, Oils and Fats (0.3% Sunflower Oil)
So, only 36% of the product is "meat", but as little as 4% is specified actual meat, and 2% marrowbone. The other 30% consisting of unspecified animal parts.
Yum.
Jelly with Wholegrain and Taurine: with Chicken: Meat and Animal Derivatives (44%, including 4% Chicken), Cereals (4% Cooked Wholegrain Wheat), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.7% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals Oils and Fats (0.5% Sunflower Oil).
. with Lamb: Meat and Animal Derivatives (44%, including 4% Lamb), Cereals (4% Cooked Wholegrain Wheat), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.7% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals Oils and Fats (0.5% Sunflower Oil).
with Beef: Meat and Animal Derivatives (44%, including 4% Beef), Cereals (4% Cooked Wholegrain Wheat), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.7% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals Oils and Fats (0.5% Sunflower Oil).
Let's focus on the 'cereals' now - dogs can NOT digest wheat. At all.
Ever wonder why dog poo comes out looking and smelling almost exactly like it did going in? This is why. If 44% of the food is Meat & Animal Derivitives, at least 56% of the product is nutritionally useless, and is going to come out almost exactly as it went in. It is pure waste, the only purpose it serves is as a cheap filler.
And just so you know, have you noticed how those tins of Pedigree are almost identical in composition to those tins of Whiskas? This is why. Yup, Mars is responsible for both, as well as many other 'brands'. And believe me, there is very little difference, no difference at all in quality of ingredients. Sorry all those who have been tricked into buying 'Royal Canin' thinking it's something special. It's not....
Most dry foods are even worse.
Ingredients
Cereals, Meat and animal derivatives (26 % meat, 4% lamb), Various sugars, Vegetable Protein Extracts, Oils and fats, Minerals
See what is first on the list? Cereals. If 26% is unspecified meat, and 4% is specified meat, it is safe to assume that >50% of the product is 'cereals' (allowing 20% for the last few ingredients listed)
"With colourants, antioxidants and preservatives"
Colourants & preservatives = artificial colourings & additives.
Ingredients
Cereals (4% rice in the green & orange kernels), Meat and animal derivatives (26% meat in the chunk, 4% beef in the chunk), Vegetable protein extracts (4% soya), Derivatives of vegetable origin, Various sugars, Oils and fats, Minerals, Vegetables (4% vegetables in the green & orange kernels).
More artificial colours and additives to turn these green and orange.
Dogs should not have Soya, like wheat it is completely undigestable for them.
Rice is the only grain that is really 'ok' to feed (not ideal, but can be digested, unlike wheat or other grains and cereals), yet only 4% of the product is rice. over 40% of this product is made of other, unspecified grains.
The last two are also interesting: See, they are both Bakers, one is "Meaty Lamb", the other is "Senior", yet looking at the ingredients, what is the difference?
Well apart from more food colourings and specified beef rather than specified lamb, there really is no actual difference, other than soy and vegetables in the "Senior" product (neither of which a dog can actually digest).
The inclusion of 4% rice, 4% Soya, and 4% 'vegetables' do not make this product any more suitable for an older dog than the 'Meaty Meals'.
Is this ringing alarm bells yet?
It's all a manufacturing gimmick, making owners think they are buying something better, or more suited to their dog.
And for anyone who's read this far... a little treat for you
Have you ever read the ingredients?
Have you ever looked into your pet's dietry requirements?
Dogs and Cats are both Carnivores. They eat meat. That is what they are designed to have.
Dogs can eat some plant matter and vegetation, although there is some dispute as to whether this is a necessary part of their diet. The prevailing opinion is that a small amount (20%< ) does no harm, and in the wild a wolf or wild dog may well eat fruit and vegetables, but these foodstuffs offer no nutritional benefit, and they are eaten more due to lack of meat (prey) available, than due to being a dietry requirement.
Cats on the other hand eat no plant matter or vegetation, unless as self-medication.
In the wild, a cat's diet would be >99% Meat & Offal.
So now, keeping that in mind, let's look at the ingredients in commercial pet food.
I'll focus on Whiska's Cat food first, as this is a leading UK brand.
Ingredients
Chicken: Meat and Animal Derivatives (including min. 4% Chicken, min. 4% Fresh Meat), Cereals, Vegetable Protein Extracts, Minerals.
Beef: Meat and Animal Derivatives (including min. 4% Beef, min. 4% Fresh Meat), Cereals, Vegetables (min. 4% Tomato in Gravy), Vegetable Protein Extracts, Minerals.
Duck & Chicken: Meat and Animal Derivatives (including min. 4% Duck, min. 4% Chicken, min. 4% Fresh Meat), Cereals, Vegetables (min. 4% Tomato in Gravy), Vegetable Protein Extracts, Minerals.
Now, does that look good to you?
A minimum of 4% Chicken and 4% 'Fresh Meat'? So what makes up the rest of the 'meat & animal derivitives', if it isn't fresh meat?! Not only that, but only 4% of the meat in any 'flavour' tin, is actually specified. The 4% "fresh meat" is unspecified. It could be anything. Just like the other 20 or so percent meat is not specified and not fresh. It is rendered animal parts.
You also have cereals and vegetables in there. Remember, Cats do not eat vegetables or cereals (grains). They cannot digest them. So why are they in this product?
So let's re examine the first 'ingredient'... Meat and Animal Derivitives.
What do you think that means? Derivitives? It does not mean flesh, or organ meat.
Animal derivitives or animal by-products can include: feathers, gizzards, heads, eyeballs, claws, feet & beaks.
The fact about commercial pet food, is that after the Food Industry has finished stripping as much of the meat off the animal as it can (to make into food for humans) All the bits which are left (again, beaks, gizzards, feet etc etc) that cannot be utilised, go to animal rendering plants, where they are ground up and melted down to make a huge 'soup'. This forms the basis for most pet foods.
And do not be fooled by 'premium' foods either, as the same animal rendering plants supply all the large pet food maufacturers - Mars, Nestle, etc etc.
Dry Cat food biscuits
Ingredients
Cereals (20%), Meat and Animal Derivatives (4% Rabbit and 4% Chicken in Dark Red and Light Brown Kibbles, 4% Duck in Red Kibbles), Vegetable Protein Extracts, Oils and Fats, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin, Yeasts, Minerals
20% Unspecified Cereals (none of which a cat needs or can actually digest), and only 12% specified meat in total. This ingredient list is also a little confusing, as the greatest ingredient is listed first. If there is only 20% Cereals, then this ought to mean that the Meat and animal derivitives equals <20%. I therefore pressume that the other ingredients are included in similar quantities in order for it to add up to 100%.
Artificial Colours and Additives are used to make these biscuits different colours.
If we look at some tins of Pedigree dog food, you see these are very similar in ingredients to the cat food.
Ingredients
Gravy with Marrowbone: with Chicken: Meat and Animal Derivatives (36%, including 4% Chicken, 2% Marrowbone), Cereals, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.9% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals, Oils and Fats (0.3% Sunflower Oil).
with Lamb: Meat and Animal Derivatives (36%, including 4% Lamb, 2% Marrowbone), Cereals, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.9% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals, Oils and Fats (0.3% Sunflower Oil).
with Beef: Meat and Animal Derivatives (36%, including 4% Beef, 2% Marrowbone), Cereals, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.9% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals, Oils and Fats (0.3% Sunflower Oil)
So, only 36% of the product is "meat", but as little as 4% is specified actual meat, and 2% marrowbone. The other 30% consisting of unspecified animal parts.
Yum.
Jelly with Wholegrain and Taurine: with Chicken: Meat and Animal Derivatives (44%, including 4% Chicken), Cereals (4% Cooked Wholegrain Wheat), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.7% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals Oils and Fats (0.5% Sunflower Oil).
. with Lamb: Meat and Animal Derivatives (44%, including 4% Lamb), Cereals (4% Cooked Wholegrain Wheat), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.7% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals Oils and Fats (0.5% Sunflower Oil).
with Beef: Meat and Animal Derivatives (44%, including 4% Beef), Cereals (4% Cooked Wholegrain Wheat), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (0.7% Dried Sugar Beet Pulp), Minerals Oils and Fats (0.5% Sunflower Oil).
Let's focus on the 'cereals' now - dogs can NOT digest wheat. At all.
Ever wonder why dog poo comes out looking and smelling almost exactly like it did going in? This is why. If 44% of the food is Meat & Animal Derivitives, at least 56% of the product is nutritionally useless, and is going to come out almost exactly as it went in. It is pure waste, the only purpose it serves is as a cheap filler.
And just so you know, have you noticed how those tins of Pedigree are almost identical in composition to those tins of Whiskas? This is why. Yup, Mars is responsible for both, as well as many other 'brands'. And believe me, there is very little difference, no difference at all in quality of ingredients. Sorry all those who have been tricked into buying 'Royal Canin' thinking it's something special. It's not....
Most dry foods are even worse.
Ingredients
Cereals, Meat and animal derivatives (26 % meat, 4% lamb), Various sugars, Vegetable Protein Extracts, Oils and fats, Minerals
See what is first on the list? Cereals. If 26% is unspecified meat, and 4% is specified meat, it is safe to assume that >50% of the product is 'cereals' (allowing 20% for the last few ingredients listed)
"With colourants, antioxidants and preservatives"
Colourants & preservatives = artificial colourings & additives.
Ingredients
Cereals (4% rice in the green & orange kernels), Meat and animal derivatives (26% meat in the chunk, 4% beef in the chunk), Vegetable protein extracts (4% soya), Derivatives of vegetable origin, Various sugars, Oils and fats, Minerals, Vegetables (4% vegetables in the green & orange kernels).
More artificial colours and additives to turn these green and orange.
Dogs should not have Soya, like wheat it is completely undigestable for them.
Rice is the only grain that is really 'ok' to feed (not ideal, but can be digested, unlike wheat or other grains and cereals), yet only 4% of the product is rice. over 40% of this product is made of other, unspecified grains.
The last two are also interesting: See, they are both Bakers, one is "Meaty Lamb", the other is "Senior", yet looking at the ingredients, what is the difference?
Well apart from more food colourings and specified beef rather than specified lamb, there really is no actual difference, other than soy and vegetables in the "Senior" product (neither of which a dog can actually digest).
The inclusion of 4% rice, 4% Soya, and 4% 'vegetables' do not make this product any more suitable for an older dog than the 'Meaty Meals'.
Is this ringing alarm bells yet?
It's all a manufacturing gimmick, making owners think they are buying something better, or more suited to their dog.
And for anyone who's read this far... a little treat for you
What is Raw, and why feed raw?
This blog is to catalogue my dogs' food and to hopefully encourage others to feed their pets a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet.
Raw feeding is precisely that. Feeding your dog Raw, unprocessed food (meat, raw meaty bones, and offal), as opposed to commercial kibbles (biscuits) and tinned 'meat' (more on these later).
Biologically speaking, domesticated dogs are almost identical to wild dogs and Wolves. They may have been tamed, but their teeth and digestive tract, stomach etc, is exactly the same now as it was thousands of years ago, and exactly the same as that of a wolf or fox.
Commercial pet foods have only been available for the last 60 or so years. It takes thousands of years for evolutionary changes to occur which reflect dietry changes.
A simple question here - who cooks for the wolf?
When a fox catches a chicken, he doesn't roast it before eating. Nor does he add grains or cereals or vegetables to it.
Why would our dogs be any different?
The Government and medical authorities are trying to encourage us (humans) to eat less 'junk food', and more home-cooked meals. They tell us how bad processed meals (ready meals) and meats are, and encourage cooking from scratch, and eating more fruit and veg, especially fresh, unprocessed foods and 'wholefoods'.
So why then, do we still think that feeding our pet a diet consisting entirely of processed packet or tinned foods, is the best thing for them?
The pet food manufacturers add in vitamins, and pet owners think this shows that the pet food is nutritionally superior for the animal than 'human food' (a joint of beef or piece of liver for example). But the vitamins that the pet food manufacturers add in, are vitamins and nutrients that occur naturally in meat and offal. The only reason why the pet food industry has to add these in (and then lists them) is because they do not include sufficient quantities of actual meat and offal in their products, and what they do add is cooked and processed so much that a lot of the essential nutrients are lost.
So they have this product which is nutritionally deficient, which they then have to add (mostly synthetic) vitamins and minerals to, just so that our pets survive (not thrive). The added bonus is that by adding these seperately, they can list them on the ingredient list, which makes owners think they are getting something good. Clever, huh?
Raw feeding is precisely that. Feeding your dog Raw, unprocessed food (meat, raw meaty bones, and offal), as opposed to commercial kibbles (biscuits) and tinned 'meat' (more on these later).
Biologically speaking, domesticated dogs are almost identical to wild dogs and Wolves. They may have been tamed, but their teeth and digestive tract, stomach etc, is exactly the same now as it was thousands of years ago, and exactly the same as that of a wolf or fox.
Commercial pet foods have only been available for the last 60 or so years. It takes thousands of years for evolutionary changes to occur which reflect dietry changes.
A simple question here - who cooks for the wolf?
When a fox catches a chicken, he doesn't roast it before eating. Nor does he add grains or cereals or vegetables to it.
Why would our dogs be any different?
The Government and medical authorities are trying to encourage us (humans) to eat less 'junk food', and more home-cooked meals. They tell us how bad processed meals (ready meals) and meats are, and encourage cooking from scratch, and eating more fruit and veg, especially fresh, unprocessed foods and 'wholefoods'.
So why then, do we still think that feeding our pet a diet consisting entirely of processed packet or tinned foods, is the best thing for them?
The pet food manufacturers add in vitamins, and pet owners think this shows that the pet food is nutritionally superior for the animal than 'human food' (a joint of beef or piece of liver for example). But the vitamins that the pet food manufacturers add in, are vitamins and nutrients that occur naturally in meat and offal. The only reason why the pet food industry has to add these in (and then lists them) is because they do not include sufficient quantities of actual meat and offal in their products, and what they do add is cooked and processed so much that a lot of the essential nutrients are lost.
So they have this product which is nutritionally deficient, which they then have to add (mostly synthetic) vitamins and minerals to, just so that our pets survive (not thrive). The added bonus is that by adding these seperately, they can list them on the ingredient list, which makes owners think they are getting something good. Clever, huh?
Introduction
These are my dogs.Buster - age 9 months. Lived here from 9 weeks old.
Buster is a cross breed/Heinz 57
His parentage is Labrador/Springer Spaniel x
and Border Collie x
Enzo - age 2 years (as of July), lived here since April
(21 months old)
Enzo is a purebreed long-haired Chihuahua.
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