A Raw Deal

07.15.12 (1:04 pm)   [edit]

On TV I keep seeing commercials for dry kibble dog food. They keep harping about how they add this and that to make it "complete". They donate millions to each Vet school. They teach nutrition courses t0o vets. How appropriate is that? If you are a Vet in school, you get free dog food for your own pet. Why do you think the pet food companies spend so much money to get customers and to advertise their product? You see them compare their product to other dry pet foods but never see them compare the grain-based junk they make to real meat. Dogs are essentually wolves and you have to wonder how they lived and propogated for centuries without kibble and additives. My pups are still eating ground beef, ground beef heart, yogurt and egg. In just a couple weeks they will graduate to beef liver, chicken (with bones), beef skirt meat, kidney, tongue, tripe and so on. All are generally available at the supremarket, or could be ordered. They will be very healthy pets. While most dogs (and cats) are not alergic to meat, there can be a few that don't thrive on chicken or whatever; however, there should be less allergies with real meat and bone than there is with dry processed kibble. Because of this, when I sell my pups, I will give a membership to the raw food coop we started here on the island. If they are on another island, I'll be happy to enroll them in whatever coop is there. I still have to laugh when I feed the pups and then see them fall sleep, gorged, in the food dish.

Just a reminder from your pet: Raw meat is best. We use canned meats to give pills or as a special treat. Dogs do love cooked meats, but cooking alters the nutritional value of food, especially for carnivores. Remember: Wolves and wild cats do not cook their food. They don't eat kibble either. Epigen has the virtue of being starch-free, but remember that it manufacturer, Dr. Wysong, tell us that it's second-best to raw-meaty-bones.

Every week I hear from dog owners whose pets are suffering from allergies. Their vets prescribe antihistamines, prednasone, and a restricted diet to try to isolate the allergy. When I suggest they try a raw-meaty-bones diet, the answer is often, "Oh, the vet says he's allergic to chicken" (or beef, or meat). It's hard to know where to begin to unravel the misinformation. First, it's unimaginable that carnivores are allergic to meat. It's what they evolved to eat. Second, because chicken (or beef, or meat) is included in a commercial pet food, along with corn, sweet potatoes, tapioca, and other starches, vets seize on the meat source to blame for the allergy. That boggles the mind.

If a pet is simply taken off starchy pet food, allergies will go away quickly. It's so simple, but eliminating kibble from a pet's diet requires a changed mindset. Pet owners have to rethink what they have believed for a lifetime of pet ownership. They have to disregard vets' advice about how to treat allergies. Switching to raw-meaty-bones is easy for pets and very hard for pet owners. The fact that many pet owners DO change their mindsets about pets' diets is evidenced by the ever-growing membership in Kona Raw and by the increasing popularity of raw-feeding across the globe. I believe we are in the midst of a pet-food revolution, despite veterinarians and despite the global pet-food giants they represent. End of sermon.