Originally Posted by sskmick

I don't understand nutritional food values so I use well known animal brands of dry food and sachets.

Originally Posted by ajshep1984

Neither did I a few weeks ago, but after reading a few books and doing some research on the interweb I can honestly say it all makes perfect sense. I've felt so guilty the last week giving him his usual food knowing its full of crap!

If you think about wolfs in the wild that have the exact same insides as our pet dogs and what they would eat. I can't imagine a wolf cooking its dinner and pressing it into little biscuits adding loads of crap in the process.

Got his first raw meal out the freezer ready for tommorow and can't wait to see what he thinks to having some real bones to munch on!!

Originally Posted by ajshep1984

Neither did I a few weeks ago, but after reading a few books and doing some research on the interweb I can honestly say it all makes perfect sense. I've felt so guilty the last week giving him his usual food knowing its full of crap!

If you think about wolfs in the wild that have the exact same insides as our pet dogs and what they would eat. I can't imagine a wolf cooking its dinner and pressing it into little biscuits adding loads of crap in the process.

Got his first raw meal out the freezer ready for tommorow and can't wait to see what he thinks to having some real bones to munch on!!

Originally Posted by Mourne

Can you let us know how he gets on? I am thinking about starting mine off on that, but I imagine my other half will be horrified.

Originally Posted by sskmick

Donkeys years ago it was said that a dog should never taste blood, is that just an old wives tale? Let me know if you find a change in behaviour!

Seriously I will try mine with raw meat on the bone as a supplement. Quite a few people agree with it.

I am skeptical, don't mean to put a damper on it but wild animals kill and eat. We slaughter and prepare for transportation, which allows time for bacteria to form which is the main reason we cook our meat.

Although your dog will get protein and calcium from meat on the bone, will you need to give him offal too for vitamins and iron etc?


Sue

Originally Posted by ajshep1984

Right, gonna try again as I wrote a great long messge earlier then when I went to post it I was told petforums is not available blah blah blah.



My other half is still very skeptical about the whole thing, especially as I want to put the cats on a raw diet if all goes well with Milo. He's been great today, mince, liver and carrots went straight down no problems. He was a little hesitant with the chicken bones but he ate it eventually and once he got started seemed to be enjoying it.



That dogs should never taste blood is certainly a old wifes tale. Dogs wont associate meat in a bowl with cattle in a field.

I understand your concerns about bacteria I felt the same but researching has put my mind at ease. Dogs insides are different to ours, they are much more well equiped to deal with bacteria especially when fed a raw diet which boosts their imune system.

Cooking meat changes the structure of it making it harder for dogs to digest, a pet dogs digestive system is the same as that of a gray wolf, it is designed to consume and make the most of raw meat and bones.

The basic diet is broken down into Meat, Bones, Vegetables and Extras in that order. Meat is broken down into muscle meat and organ meat (offal) it is important to feed less organ than muscle but organ meat is an important part of the diet as it provides additional nutrients.

The extras bit is something I'm not sure about as I've read different opinions on whether its necessary but its basically stuff like kelp and alfalfa which adds extra protein, vitamins and minerals etc...