Hello, today I wanted to talk about the benefits of feeding a raw diet, and much of these benefits fit with cooked diets too. I have been feeding my older Weimaraner raw food for about 5 years and transitioned my 7-year-old Weimaraner this past summer. They love it, and lick their bowl clean every meal! I feed a combination of home-made meals and commercially prepared meals. You can decide how much fresh to feed; you don’t have to feed every meal raw. Any little bit you give is a little more nutrition that you are giving your pet.
The first things you might notice about a raw fed pet is their stool is usually smaller and breaks down quicker than kibble fed dogs. Another behavior you will notice immediately is your pet will drink less water. That’s because they are getting their water from their food. After a few months, you should notice their fur getting softer, shinier and even less greasy. Other improvements can be a happier disposition, healthier gums, and a more calm pet.
Dr. Richard S. Patton is an animal nutritionist. He has worked for over 40 years around the world with wild and companion animals. He is the author of Ruined by Excess Perfected by Lack, which goes into detail about how nutrition is part of the circle of health. According to Patton, here are more reasons to feed a raw diet: It improves gum health, promotes healthier gut flora, animals like the palatability of raw, it may stop your pet’s dermatitis, raw foods don’t process the nutrients and most importantly, it keeps the most important ingredient in food-water.
So while it may be daunting to add fresh and raw foods to your pet’s diet, there are many resources out there. What we call “people food” is really just food for all, and our pets can really benefit from human grade foods that are minimally processed. We can help you with a nutritional consult, or you can come to our seminar Introduction to Home-Feeding. Look at our events on our web page for our seminars.
Feed Healthy. Feed Fresh. Feed Raw.
Becky