April 14th,
2006: I wanted to write a page about my observations in switching my 10 ½
yr old Rottweilers over to a raw diet of Columbia River Natural Pet Foods
while it’s still fairly fresh in my mind. I’m not going to go into the
myths of feeding raw as those things can be found at other web sites, a few
of which I have linked to under my “General Health & Diet” category on my
Favorite Links
page.
I put all 3 little dogs
on raw about 8 mos. prior to taking the leap to feed it to the big dogs,
starting the week of March 12th, 2006. The main reason for holding off
was $$ and I didn’t know if I would have time to do this nor did I have the
room to keep the amount required for 2 big dogs without running for more
every week. So, I bought a 5.0 cube freezer and ordered about 120 pounds of
a variety of meat from Cheri Hagen, the distributor for this food, who lives
in Wasilla, which is about 50 miles away. This order included: Chicken/Vege
mixed; Turkey/Vege mixed; Duck/Vege mixed; Chicken/Buffalo Heart;
Chicken/Buffalo Liver; Rabbit; Lamb; Venison & 100% Green Tripe.
In addition to the food, I add supplements from B-Naturals
like, Immune Blend & Green Blend. Other things that I
add: Alaska Wild Salmon Oil, Cottage Cheese, Plain
Yogurt and mixed leftovers from our own meals. These
last items aren't added to *every* meal, but varied over the
days of the week.
At first, Hummer didn’t
like the coldness of the slimy stuff in his bowl. He even threw it all up a
few times. I was having second thoughts about doing this because about the
same time, Nikki was having an odd looking diarrhea. It was a clearish
liquid of nearly water-like consistency. Sick, I know, but it worried me and I
did NOT want to clean up throw up and diarrhea off my carpet or out of the
kennel. This is where having a “mentor” to talk to, who has been feeding a
raw diet for a long time, comes in very nicely!
For me, I
talked to Neil &
Stephanie Koeniger, local successful breeders of Bulldogs & Papillons, who
have been feeding raw for many, many years. They explained that Nikki’s
body was ridding itself of the toxins that had built up over the years of
eating little brown rocks (kibble) her entire life. They were right because
this symptom started about the 2nd or 3rd day of being
fed the raw diet and lasted only through that day. Hummer was getting
sick, and they explained that because the food is refrigerated, it was like a big
cold lump in his belly. They suggested letting his bowl sit on the
counter to warm up to room temperature before feeding OR add some
warm water and stir the food into a warmer mush. I did and he hasn’t thrown
up again since…
A point I should make, is
that for the past year or so, Hummer has been having problems making it
outside to poop. I’ve wondered if he was losing feeling in his rear and
couldn’t tell he had to go until it was too late. Since eating the raw
diet, their stools have decreased in size considerably and some of it breaks
apart like powder when it hits the ground. Less to clean up and not as
smelly as when they were on kibble. Just what you
wanted to hear, right, BUT
what comes out the other end says a lot about your dog’s health.
Another interesting
change, is in the behavior of the Rottweilers; more so in Hummer than
Nikki. All his life, Hummer has been kind of like a cat in his
personality. (He could care less about you, but when HE is ready for
it, he'll take your attention) He loves his bed and stayed in it more than my girls
ever have. It was almost like, unless it was chow
time, Hummer was in the back bedroom in his bed. Now,
he is out in the activity with all the other dogs; he seeks
out attention; he smiles and is energetic on our walks. Nikki has
always been energetic, so her changes have not been as significant, but it
doesn’t seem like she tanks up on as much water as she used to.
As far as the different
meats go, I found that the Venison was quite rich and it made their stools
too runny. So, I won’t order that anymore. Because the Rottweilers are
older and not as active, I went slightly less than the average of 2% of
their body weight per day. I have a Kilogram/gram scale, so they get a
little over 300g twice a day, which works out to about 1# twice a day.
Nikki has gained 1.5#, so I could actually cut her back a bit. I haven’t
taken Hummer to be weighed, but he doesn’t appear to have gained or lost.
The Tibetan Spaniel gets about 75g twice per day, which I may end up cutting
back in the future, but she needed to put on a little weight.
To comment on the effect
on the little dogs? I have no proof, but Bean’s coat has grown in SO thick
and beautiful and when Lea’s coat grows in, hers is quite gorgeous as well.
I finally switched because every time I’d scoop kibble into their bowls, all
I could think about (no matter how high quality the kibble) was that they
had been eating this rock hard crap all their lives. After reading that dog
food companies used “animal fat”, which could be rendered fat from the over
5 million dogs & cats that are euthanized yearly (see “What is really in Pet
food” on my Favorite Links page), there was no way that I could continue
feeding them this stuff.
I heard one major
“Quality” food rep. at the Rose City Cluster claim that the bird flu in
chickens has killed dogs. “We don’t use any chicken in our food”, she
said. While this is true, she did NOT mention that it was a single stray
dog in Azerbaijan, Russia that died.
Not only that, but per the U.S. Government,
cooked
poultry will not transmit bird flu, if cooked at 158 degrees Fahrenheit.
It was then
that I decided that the dog food industry will say whatever it takes,
whether a subtle lie or not, to get you to buy their product. The dog
food industry is a multi-million dollar business! Kibble has become an
accepted and EASY way to feed our beloved pets. However, because of
stories I've read about reoccurring cases of
accidental toxins in kibble
killing dogs, I will no longer feed it ..and I honestly believe that
my dogs are benefiting from eating real meat & veges. Columbia River comes
in 2# pkg.’s and is SO easy to feed. I urge anyone reading this to visit my
General Health & Diet
links for more quite interesting web sites on this topic.
Sept., 2006:
I wanted to give an update on how the dogs are doing... Nikki has had to start medication for her thyroid.
She has gained 6 pounds and I couldn't figure out why. She
is getting about 150 kg twice a day and is now back down to her
normal weight of about 77pounds.
Another very important observation
that many people may be interested in... Other than
blowing coat twice a year, my dogs barely shed at ALL anymore.
I used to have to vacuum up hair every few days, and now once a
week is plenty!
April, 2007: On Soloxine, Nikki
got down to 66 pounds, lighter than she'd ever been, so I took her off the
meds. That was a little over a month ago and she is doing fine now.
She has not gained ALL that weight back, but she is now a good weight again.
The Rottweilers will be 12 years old in July and for their age, both are
doing surprisingly well. I've told so many people when they ask "What
do you feed your dogs?", that I will never go back to feeding kibble again.
Not after what I've seen with these guys. With all of them for
that matter.
