Paleo for your Pets Part 1

I have had my 7 year old Labrador on a raw diet of meaty bones, fish, organ meats and the occasional egg for approximately 4 years. Most people mistake her for a 12 month old pup due to her obviously abundant energy, physical wellness and general health. I want to talk today about the benefits of a natural bones and raw food diet for dogs.

Processed “food” (ie baked goods, biscuits and the like) that is high in grains, starch, carbohydrates is no better for our pets than it is for us. Dogs and cats did not evolve eating ground, cooked grains with a lashing of dehydrated meat powder dried into a biscuit. Their diet in the wild has never included cooked or soft processed meat, vegetables, or preservatives.  This article is going to be focussing on the benefits of a bones and raw food diet for dogs, and in future articles I will delve into natural diets for cats, horses, cattle, chickens and other common pets and livestock.

In this article I will explain the benefits to a bones and raw food, natural diet for dogs. I will talk about the health dangers of feeding processed food to dogs (both tinned and kibble), as well as cover some information on what to include in a natural diet and how to cover all your nutritional bases.

Why make the switch to a natural diet?

80% of dogs today will have gum disease/gingivitis by the time they are three years old. When was the last time you checked your dog’s teeth?

• Dogs teeth are designed to rip, tear and crunch. They don’t need to pulp their food like we do prior to swallowing. They are NOT supposed to eat soft foods!
• Our saliva has enzymes which start to break down the food, theirs is purely for lubrication. Dogs have stronger stomach acids than we do too. Feeding large, meaty bones is better for their health and digestion.
• The ripping, crunching and tearing also helps keep the teeth clean which helps prevent gum disease and gingivitis.
• Gum disease and gingivitis can cause all sorts of problems such as liver and kidney problems not to mention the awful doggy breath!

The downside of dry dog food/kibble

Simply put, grains (wheat, barely, rice etc) are not a natural food for dogs. Grains are used as a filler/substitute in dog food in a rather high percentage,  because they are cheap and readily available. They help bind the ingredients so they can be baked and dried.  A quick search of a well known Australian dog fod brand’s website reveals the ingredients in one of their standard adult kibbles includes wheat, barley, food colouring, antioxidants and preservatives.

Dogs don’t eat grains in the wild.  At most they may consume a small amount of green grain from the stomach contents of a kill. Dogs have no need for carbohydrates in their diet (the one exception is lactating bitches).

Some of the resulting physical issues arising from dogs on diets high in grain/carbohydrates include obesity, hypertension, fluid retention, musculoskeltal, vascular, renal, hepatic, CNS and cardiac disease, and finally in many instances cancer.

Even if their prey had been eating mature seed heads, by the time the grain is consumed, it has been ground to a paste and soaked in the juices of the herbivores intestines. A totally different product to the cooked and processed grains fed to dogs today.

Research also shows that dogs draw energy most efficiently when fed a diet containing low or no carbohydrate and instead draw their energy from fat and protein. So while it is ok to add a little bit of grains such as rice or pasta or porridge occasionally (such as in leftovers) these should not form the bulk or even a large portion of the diet. Insead the diet should consist mostly of raw meat and bones with some fat on them to provide the energy a dog needs in its natural form.

Tinned food is soft, full of additives to ensure a long shelf life. It doesn’t resemble meat in its natural form. Even if your pet is aged and unable to chew hard bones, at the very least you can try minced FRESH meat and ground bones

There are some basic principles I follow:

1) Feed a diet based for the most part on RAW meat, bones and organs (remember their natural diet would be prey animals)

2) aim for balance over time (say a week or so)

3) mix it up – feed a variety of foods

• Reduced doggy odour (both from skin and poop!)
• Reduced stool size and frequency (firm and chalky, not sticky and sloppy!)
• Clean teeth (therefore better breath!)
• Increased energy levels
• Better weight control
• Less vet visits
• Reduced/eliminated allergies (especially skin conditions)
• Improved coat
• Mental stimulation and enjoyment from chewing bones, tearing meat

Why bones?

Apart from the aforementioned dental benefit to eating bones, they provide essential minerals like calcium. Chewing bones is fantastic exercise for dogs. It is a great boredom buster too! Eating bones with meat and fat on them also gives the dog some fat for energy in the form nature designed it in. Bones are a natural part of their evolutionary diet, think of a dog catching a rabbit or other prey animal, they will eat it whole, as is! PLEASE only feed RAW bones to your dog. Cooked bones become brittle and are likely to splinter, causing injury. It is wise to avoid weight bearing bones like cow femurs simply due to the risk of breaking teeth on them! Give bones and carcasses that can be consumed (I will list suggestions in detail further on).

Why Raw? And what about bacteria?

Dogs have a short digestive tract designed to process raw meat.  It is made so that food moves through quickly, too quickly for bacteria to develop. They are carnivores and are thus designed to eat RAW MEAT. They have much stronger hydrochloric acid in their stomach than humans.

Salmonella and e.coli are everywhere around us all the time. They are part of a normal, healthy digestive system. They are routinely excreted/shed in feces (both human and animal), therefore concern about bacteria is not a valid reason to avoid feeding your dog raw meat.

Essential Fatty Acids

Omega-6 and omega-3 are categorized as “essential” because they cannot be synthesized in the body and therefore must be derived from the diet. For dogs, fish/fish oils are a fantastic source of Omega 3. Cancer, arthritis, other inflammatory conditions, and immune system weaknesses are some of the most serious health problems associated with a lack of omega-3 fats therefore it is essential you include some fish or other source of these fats in your dogs diet.

The other essential fatty acids – Omega 6, come from linoleic acid and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Linoleic acid is found in sunflower, and safflower oils, while GLA is found in evening primrose and borage oils. Dogs don’t need anywhere near as much Omega 6 however. The GLA oils are especially useful with arthritis, diabetes and skin disorders.  There are supplements available with the correct ratio of Omega 3:6 for dogs which are an option if you have a dog with skin disorders or arthritis. It is better though to derive all nutrition from the food itself, in its original form where possible.

Getting Started

Start scouring the meat aisle at your supermarket, that section with all the weird organ meats you normally skip, is usually a great place to get dog supplies. There will often be bags of offcuts which are perfect and usually under $3! Talk to your butcher, deli, fish shop, find out what they throw out or can sell you cheap. You can often get a 10kg bag or box of chicken frames for $5 or so at the butcher or local meatworks, then just freeze them or share a box with your other dog owning friends.

You don’t have to buy everything at once, each time you are out shopping just get another package/bag to add to your stash and portion it into the fridge or freezer. A one or two week supply can be made up of a combination of meat and bone types. I have a lucky dip system going on and just reach in and pull out whatever comes next usually!

Shopping List Suggestions

• Bones (beef brisket, chicken, lamb necks, roo tails, ribs/flaps) look for meaty covered ones, anything you can get your hands on!
• Carcasses (chicken frames)
• eggs
• sardines
• fish (whole)
• organ meats (liver, heart, kidneys,tongues, eyes, brains – anything!)
• prawns (keep the heads, dogs love them!)
• rabbit (whole/part)
• Pig trotters

A typical week and a half might work out like this for my Labrador:

Monday: Chicken carcass

Tuesday: Tin sardines and handful chicken necks

Wednesday: 1 egg, lamb heart

Thursday: Chicken necks and beef brisket

Friday: Lamb neck and kidney

Saturday: chicken carcass and some leftover vegie scraps

Sunday: beef briskets and 1 egg

Monday: Chicken wings x 2, drumstick x 2

It’s just a matter of considering portion size with relation to the size of your dog and managing that appropriately – cut it back if your dog is gaining too much weight, and increase a little if they are getting a bit ribby. I try to feed in a way that mimics the bone, fat, meat, organ meat ratio a dog would have if it was eating a carcass for a meal or succession of meals.