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Raw Food
Fad or the Future?
By Pippa Mattinson December
2005
Until not so very long ago, dogs the whole world
over were fed on a variety of scraps, meat and human
leftovers. Special 'dog food' whether sold in can or
packets, have only become really mainstream in the
last generation or so. Today the majority of gundog owners
in the UK and North America feed their dogs on one
of the major brands of kibble. These products are
extremely convenient and provide all the nutrients
your dog needs to remain in good health in neat,
tasty, long lasting pellets. What could be better?
Despite the convenience of food in a packet, a
growing band of committed dog owners have become
disenchanted with kibble and turned away from
convenience foods completely. Most of you will have
heard of the BARF ( biologically appropriate raw
food ) diet as promoted by vet Andrew Billinghurst,
or the Raw Meaty Bones diet promoted by vet Tom
Lonsdale. A number of websites have sprung up around
these diets and those feeding their dogs this way
are often very keen to encourage others to join
them. I have put some links up to a selection of
these sites on the left of the page. Some of those
feeding raw food have very strong views on the
subject of dog food, indeed the intensity of their
feelings gives some of their websites or e-mail
groups a slightly 'cultish' feel and can be a little
offputting to those who have not yet made up their
minds.
As raw feeding has become more popular, many people
- some scientists and vets among them - have
expressed their worries about what they consider to
be the dangers of the raw diet. There are two main
areas of concern. Firstly the risk of bacterial
infection from contaminated meat, and secondly the
risk of gastrointestinal damage from bone fragments.
I have listed the main link - the
Second Chance Ranch - which elaborates on these concerns on
the menu on the left. They make some
powerful and convincing claims, and list
several more links for you to follow up should you
wish. Here, on the other hand are
some of the benefits that the raw food enthusiasts
claim your dog will have when fed on a properly
balanced raw diet:
-
shinier coat
-
better weight control
-
better dental health
-
more energy
-
less ill health
-
fewer allergies
-
calmer temperament, less behaviour problems
-
smaller nicer smelling faeces
-
more pleasurable mealtimes
Some
raw feeders claim that the risks of GI tract problems are either
false or grossly exaggerated. Some also claim
that the kibbles being fed by so many of us are
harmful. These are strong claims too -
but are they true?
Until a few months ago, I would not have
considered a raw diet for my own dogs because I felt
that any risk of GI blockage or trauma was simply
too serious to chance. I was also very
happy with my own dog's coats, weight, health
and behaviour. However, a routine visit to the vet
just a few months ago caused me to rethink my
feeding practices.
One of my young spaniels just two years old,
was visiting our vet for an annual
vaccination. The vet pointed out that
the teeth of this young dog were becoming encrusted
with tartar and that in order to clean them and
restore her healthy mouth she would need a general
anaesthetic. Not only
that, but this procedure was likely to
be needed again and again. On close
inspection it was clear that three of my five dogs were not
affected. Their teeth were pearly white.
However, another of the younger dogs was showing
signs of the same problem.
In 30 years of keeping gundogs, I have never
had a dog with dental problems, or a dog who
needed teeth extracting or cleaning, and had
always put this down to my practice of never feeding
any treats, sweets, or human food of any
description at any time to any dog.
It was beginning to appear that my previously
successful policy was now letting me down and I
wanted to know why. I started by taking
a closer looked at the all in one kibbles I and my
friends were feeding our dogs. Could it
be that some ingredient of kibble was harming
my dog's teeth? Or could it be perhaps
that some dogs need a more abrasive food than
kibble in order to maintain good dental health.
I suspected the latter, and set about trying a
number of different abrasive and 'dental'
chews and other products which the manufacturers
claimed would restore my dog's teeth to their former
glory. Sadly to no avail.
After several months researching and weighing up the
evidence for both arguments, and determined
not to subject my dogs or my wallet to an annual
general anaesthetic, I decided to change
my dogs over to raw feeding. Specifically to
the 'whole prey' type raw meaty bones diet.
Click here to read more As a scientist,
the diet made sound nutritional sense to me,
and I was unable to find convincing evidence
of a strong correlation between this specific type
of diet and GI problems. Here is what
happened when I changed over.
The first few weeks were fraught with problems.
I attempted to introduced too many types of meat too
quickly - resulting in severely upset
stomachs. My two youngest dogs lost
weight at an alarming rate and it took me nearly a
month to work out just how much to feed -
which was far more than the recommended quantities
given out in the literature I had researched -
in order to keep my active dogs in shape.
I was appalled to begin with to see my precious
charges crunching and crushing raw bones into sharp
pieces and gulping them down. Despite my
research, I half expected to come down to a
kennel full of dead and dying dogs each morning
- I found this aspect very worrying.
To make things worse - Meg's teeth were
still not clear of tartar. I toyed
with the idea of giving up, but decided to
stick to it for two months, to give the diet a
fair chance.
Days turned to weeks, and weeks to months and
my dogs began to do well on their new regime.
Finally Meg's teeth began to return to their former
glory. The dog's stomachs settled down,
I learned how to balance muscle meat with bone to
keep their stools firm and regular, and at
last began to enjoy the benefits of raw feeding.
These are the changes I have experienced as a
result of feeding the Raw Meaty Bones diet to my
dogs:
1. The dogs produce a greatly reduced quantity of
low-odour faeces.
This may not seem very important but it makes
a huge difference when cleaning out kennels each
morning and evening. The lack of odour
is particularly dramatic. I have always
considered dog excreta to be one the most foul
smelling substances around. From dogs on
a totally raw diet it barely smells at all.
This was a big and unexpected bonus for me.
2. A greatly increased amount of pleasure has been
gained by my dogs from eating raw meaty bones each
day.
Instead of mealtimes being a 2 minute 'wolfing down'
of bowl full of food, they are now
'recreational experiences lasting up to half an hour
or more. It has surprised me just how
much pleasure this diet has given my dogs.
Particularly nice for kennelled dogs who spend quite
a lot of time away from human company.
3. Clean teeth. This was my objective
for changing. And I am happy to report an
entirely successful one. All the dogs
now have shiny clean teeth and healthy gums.
No need for general anaesthetics.
Contrary to claims made by the raw feeding lobby
generally I have not seen any other changes in my
dogs - their coats look the same and
after the initial problems they also weigh the same
and have the same amount of energy. They
didn't have any allergies before so I can't comment
in that respect.
Nor is the diet as convenient to prepare or to feed
as is claimed by some. It would
definitely be easier for me to open a packet of
kibble than it is to prepare rabbits and other meat.
Some feed the whole animal skin-and-all to their
dogs, but I am not yet prepared to take the
risk that this might encourage my gundogs to treat
the 'retrieve' in the same manner - so I
remove most fur and feathers Most dogs
are much more greedy for their raw food than they
were for their kibble and will make a concerted
effort to steal from other dogs who haven't
finished. Separating them or supervising
during mealtimes is therefore essential.
For those who do not have ready access to rabbits
and other meat as I do, the diet might require
a little more thought and preparation -
space for a large freezer is fairly essential.
I have found it interesting to note how the dog's
stools vary depending on the proportion of bone fed,
and also to see just how completely processed the
bone is. My fears of dogs having to pass
painful prickly particles of bone were completely
unfounded. In fact in several months of raw
feeding I have not seen a single fragment of bone
passed from one of my five dogs. After a
high proportion bone feeding, all that the dog
produces is a stool which - if you break
it apart - consists of a fine chalky powder.
Overall, I am now happy with my new feeding
system, and my dogs are very happy indeed.
Would I recommend it?
I believe anecdotal evidence suggests that there
may be some risks involved. I cannot find
any controlled studies comparing different diets and
analysing their respective risk factors. I
have talked to so many people that have been feeding
so many dogs on raw bones for so long, that I
personally feel the risks are probably very small
indeed, but that is just my personal feeling.
. My suggestion to those who are interested,
is that you read the evidence in the links on the
left, talk to your vet, consider your
own needs, and that of your dog,
and come to a decision you feel comfortable with.
In conclusion - I do not feel that this
way of feeding is a 'fad' diet, but a
very real alternative to convenience foods,
for those with the resources to acquire, store and
prepare raw meaty bones. I believe some people
are put off the diet by the vehemence with which
some followers defend it, and by the refusal
of some of these followers to acknowledge any
possible risks. This is rather sad as the diet
has much to offer those whose dogs have dental
disease. It is the only
successful alternative to expensive interventional
veterinary treatment ( with all the risks associated
with general anaesthetic ) which I have yet
discovered for my dogs who were developing premature
dental disease on a kibble diet.
I
copyright Pippa Mattinson 2005 all rights
reserved
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