Pet Health
One of the easiest ways to make profound differences in you pet’s health is diet. By mimicking our pet’s wild diet it is possible for companion animals to enjoy the same health and longevity of their wild counterparts. Research shows that when kibble (dry pet food) factories began to open, we cut the lifespan of our companion animals in half. The reason for this is that both the ingredients and the pet foods themselves are formulated for human convenience and not for animal health. TOP
Dogs, cats and ferrets for example cannot digest grain, they literally do not produce the digestive enzymes to break it down, so ingredients like wheat, oats, barley, rice and millet to name a few are completely indigestible for them. The trouble is that not only are they getting no nutrition from these ingredients that comprise a large portion of most commercial pet foods, it is like feeding them toxins every day. Once ingested, their bodies must find a way to break down the indigestible in order for them to survive. While this is possible it takes a toll on the animals over all health and over the long term, it shortens their lifespan and leads to disease. TOP
Imagine for a moment that we live in a world with no knowledge of dogs whatsoever, that you’ve never seen or lived with one before and you know nothing about how to care for a dog properly. One day this dog comes into your life somehow, shows up on your doorstep and you are going to care for it. You think to yourself “Oh, this must be a dog, I’ve seen them on those nature shows, but I don’t even know what this thing eats!” So you look up what wild dogs eat and you find that dogs are descendants of wolves and that a proper dog diet consists of 4 components: Meat, Bone, Organ Meat and Vegetables. TOP
Luckily, a shift in the way we care for our animal friends is well under way and healthy pet foods have become available everywhere. There are grain-free dry foods that use vegetables and fruits like potato, apples and carrots to bind the food together instead of indigestible grains like wheat and oats. There are grain-free canned varieties as well, which are a lot closer to your pet’s natural diet than what still lines most traditional pet store shelves. Like its dry counterpart, these canned foods have helped many pets seriously improve the state of their health. TOP
There is, however, one main difference between those grain free varieties and an animal’s natural diet and that difference is fire. We humans are the only animals that cook food and whether we like it or not that affects our health. Since animals in the wild eat their food raw it is filled with all its natural enzymes, nutrients and moisture. This means they digest the food easily, are properly nourished and they eat more moisture. Cats and dogs in the wild don’t actually drink much water. This is because they get much of their daily water intake from their food. Unfortunately, this water cannot be replaced by drinking. It would take about an extra gallon of water a day on top of a dog’s daily water requirements in order to make up for the fact that we cooked his or her food. The problem is that even if a dog were to drink all that water, it would never be as good as the dog ‘eating his water,’ because the toll on the kidneys would still be measurable. Living in a chronically dehydrated state often leaves the kidneys as your pet’s weakest link. TOP
A raw food diet is one that actually mimics the wild dog’s diet and this is when the animal’s true health can begin to emerge. A complete dog diet consists of raw meat, bone, organ meat and vegetables. A complete cat and ferret diet consists of raw meat, bone and organ meat alone. This may sound strange but if we consider that in the wild our dogs and cats ancestors never cooked their food, we can see that our pets are set up to digest food raw. A carnivore's digestive juices are so much more acidic than human digestive juices that the old saying is true: your dog’s mouth is cleaner than yours. This is why our cats, dogs and ferrets can eat raw meat and not have to worry about things like salmonella and e-coli. Their digestive juices are so strong that they wipe out bacteria like that which humans have to avoid. TOP
There are so many benefits possible, where to begin… Every aspect of your pet’s life can be positively affected. What may seem like a miracle is merely us getting out of their way. Animals, like humans, know how to heal themselves if given the opportunity and they access this process much more readily than we do. This doesn’t mean every pet will love the first raw food you proudly plop down in front of him or her. The same patience with trial and error is necessary for some as when you try any new food, and transitioning smoothly makes all the difference. This is why it is helpful to have someone experienced help you through the transition. Most times the animals love it right from the start. They know what makes them feel good. And soon we find they have increased vitality. Often people say “I didn’t even notice my pet had been feeling bad but I can tell he must have been because he’s doing so much better now.” Animals who are lackluster will have increased energy and the more hyper types will find tranquility. Digestion is improved; allergies start to disappear; kidney and liver functions improve markedly. Anal gland issues become a thing of the past as the proper stool formation from the natural raw diet expresses the glands as it passes. One of the first things people start to notice after switching to a raw diet is their pet’s sparkling white teeth and since the mouth is the beginning of the digestive tract a healthy mouth is a very good sign. The raw enzymes in the food literally eat away the tartar on the teeth and allowing them to crunch appropriate bones scrapes off any remaining tartar. The list of health benefits of a raw diet literally goes on and on. TOP
Unfortunately, most of us know (or think we know) dogs and therefore take it for granted that dogs eat ‘dog food,’ that they go to the vet, take drugs and get shots etc,... However, it is this old formula of caring for our pets that has led us not only to severely shortening their life spans but it has also led us to giving our companion animals all of our human health issues. Just as populations in remote areas began to experience tooth decay and ill health when supplied with American food products, so have our companion animals experienced these ill effects when denied their wild diet. This naturally leads us to wonder how far removed we are from our natural human diet, meaning the foods our bodies are actually made to digest. TOP
Whether you realize it or not your pets know how you feel, even when you think you’re hiding it really well. Many of us have experienced this. I can silently start to cry in another room and my Chihuahua will inevitably run in and find me to lick my face. They know. They also know when you don’t like something or someone, when you believe something will work or will fail. Sometimes I have clients that tell me their dog won’t eat vegetables no matter what they do (there are many great tricks if this is the case) but when I ask them how they feel about vegetables, they say they hate them. The dog knows. We are constantly communicating with our pets without words. If you’re handing them something as you are judging it as horrible you pet ‘hears you.’ My dogs love vegetables tomatoes, red cabbage, carrots, peppers, zucchini--you name it and I love vegetables too. Like a child, they see me enjoying veggies and they want some too. TOP
Letting your animal be natural is one of the greatest gifts you can give them. Certainly we still need some compromises like litter boxes and potty outside if we as members of an animal-loving community expect to rent an apartment or lease a car, but it is a gift to realize that your pet can heal and take care of itself better than you or even the most renowned vet. If we can let them, help them get back to their true nature, they will do the rest. They will thrive. TOP