After almost 14 years of recommending raw and natural dog and cat food, I thought that people don’t need to learn about it anymore because the basic principles are common knowledge. Wrong. I have realized I have been living in a bubble.
It appears that the debate about raw or so-called BARF diet – Bone and Raw Food is going on. Pet food companies are trying their best to hide junk behind pretty labels and the word organic and natural, while many of them use synthetic, low quality ingredients and continue to pay out customers whose pets were poisoned during the melamine-tainted pet food scandal.
So what do you do when you are not sure if BARF is the way to go?
The reality is that science and opinions have been changing as far back as human history goes. Philosophers, scientists, politicians, nations, and communities have always argued about who was wrong or right. The verdict has been more dependent on who was selling what than the truth.
So what shall we do when unsure?
My answer is – GO NATURAL Nature’s design has been around for much longer than any human opinion, theory or a bag of processed pet food.
All the ecosystems including the mineral world, microorganisms, insects and animals are perfectly interconnected They exist in harmony where each species has its location and its place in the food chain. Why do we humans think that we know better? Have you ever seen dogs and cats graze in a field of wheat or at a grass meadow?
Some people argue that our domestic dogs and cats have evolved to eating grain. My friend is a histologist ( he studies cells and anatomy of tissues and organs). If I gave him a sample of a dog and a wolf's intestine, he would not recognize functionally or anatomically one from the other. Dogs have no fore stomach like cows nor the large colon like horses and rabbits to process grain.
Find the nature’s recipe in your dog's mouth
For all animals, determining their appropriate diet is as easy as looking in their mouth.
Here is the ratio of proper canine diet:
The molars are for veggies – 25%
Carnasial and the large premolars, the large pointy teeth in front of the molars are for bone crunching – 25%
Smaller premolars, canines, and incisors are for shearing and cutting of meat – 45% and chewing the glands and organs – 5%.
All together it comes to 100%.
The good news is that you don’t need to measure the proportions of ingredients every day. These ratios can be reflected in your dog’s food over a period of a few weeks.
My preferred routine is to feed 1 – 2x a day. I feed approximately three meals with meat and veggies and the 4th meal bones.
Just remember, whenever unsure, look in your dog’s mouth and follow nature’s recipe.
