Feeding Your Dog a “Raw” Food Diet

Now, let’s think about kibble from an outside point of view and ask yourself some of these questions. How good is it for your dog? How do you know? How many times per day do you feed your dog? Does your dog finish it’s kibble or pick at it? How many times do you have to tell your dog not to beg for your food at the dinner table? What do wolves eat in the wild? Do you leave kibble sit out all day for the dog to chose when he/she wants to eat it?

The truth is, kibble was made for humans to make it easier for them to feed their pets.

Dogs come from wolves, latest research in the field has discovered they were domesticated within one human lifetime and are programmed into our genetic code dating back over 100,000 years ago. Dogs ARE a part of human genetics, we’re programmed to work together from birth. When wolves hunt together to take down big game, watch what they eat first. They go for the heart, lungs, stomach, and liver. The good parts. They then eat the skeletal muscles and fat, bones, some hide, and intestines last.

Kibble is really hard on a working dogs digestive tract. It has a lot of fiber, which tears at the intestinal lining when the dog is running hard for an extended period of time. We call these semi-bloody stools and diarrhea stress poops or stress diarrhea. With the speed and distances we run the dogs will not excel on kibble alone. We also feed once per day, usually one to tow hours after exercise so that they run on an empty stomach. Running a dog with food in the gut is NOT GOOD, they could vomit while running and aspirate or get GDV and die.

Here are some guidelines for feeding a raw diet for your canine.

• You need a large freezer for making and storing a blended mix
• Prepare to get dirty, sometimes very smelly
• 5 gallon buckets are your friend!
• You’ll need a mixer, scoop, or you can mix with your hands
• Sharp knives, commercial band saw, hatchet, or axe
• Keep your mixing and storage areas clean
• Wash your hands before and after feeding

This mix produces about 10 gallons of feed. The average dog in our kennel gets about 8 cups of this stew and it’s heated up in a 100 qt cooker which helps keep their core warm in cold conditions. Freezer pending…this mix changes in the summer, with less fat or changing the main protein source to chicken or turkey as beef is expensive and not necessary during light training months. We have also fed tripe, beaver, venison, rabbit, squirrel, fish, and horse. There are many options and we usually don’t turn down free meat if we can get it. Some mushers mix in rice for carbohydrates too.

This could also be mixed up without the water and frozen for future use. If you have a high energy active dog it could last you up to a month. You must be very careful about feeding too much fat! It can over work the pancreas and your dog will get very sick and could possibly die in extreme cases. Changes you will see in your pet:

• increased energy and vigor
• increased hydration
• better musculature and figure
• a healthier and shinier coat
• less water consumption
• less dog poop in the yard
• elimination of digestive stress

Dogs have a very short digestive tract, they are not affected by bacteria and mold as much as humans are. If the meat smells rotten or old to the point of gagging, don’t feed it. Chances are it is! Along with this fact, raw vegetables are not going to supplement them very much other than providing some fiber. You don’t need to worry about “human grade” sanitation practices or finding human grade meat. It’s extremely expensive. However, make sure you clean up good after you are done and wash your hands!

Raw Bones for Teeth Cleaning

Without fibrous things to chew on dogs can develop tartar buildup on their teeth potentially leading to gum disease or tooth loss. We feed a lot of animal carcasses which help clean teeth and keep good weight on the dogs. Never feed your dog cooked bones from the pet store, they are dry and brittle and could kill your pet! Soft raw bones are the best for them. We supplement weekly with venison carcasses acquired during deer season from our local butcher.

Check out the YouTube videos for tips on feeding raw bones.

I am by no means a nutritional expert nor am I asking you to agree with me 100%, however I can put you in touch with those that are. Take the parts that you need and go for it! Mushing is one of the sports where the longer you’re in it, the less you know. We’re always learning new things too. Good luck!