As I mentioned on Sioux's Memorial Page...I started to investigate a better way of feeding
our domestic carnivores about 10 1/2 years ago. I started
by searching the internet, joined a few Raw Feeding e-mail lists, voraciously reading and learning; and studying
many books on various forms of Raw Feeding.
I started Raw Feeding by using the Dr. Billinghurst method of Raw Feeding which utilizes raw
meats, raw meaty bones, ground veggies, fruits and some supplements. I used this method for approximately 5 years.
Within a short period of time, I noticed a big improvement in my dogs' teeth, coat, skin, attitudes and of course, their health.
I had been using a super premium dry dog food before this and was still having "issues" with my dogs. Before the Raw
Diet, I had perioditic trouble with Kiowa with gunky ears and ear infections. After being on the Dr.
Billinghurst's Raw Diet, her ears cleared up and she's NEVER had the problem again. I have since learned that
the gunky ear problem is related to grain intolerances & toxin release in some dogs.
About 5 years ago, I ran across a different common sense "style" of Raw Feeding called
Raw Meaty Bones & Meats. This form of Raw Feeding entails feeding a strictly carnivore style of diet. A large
variety of HUMAN GRADE raw meats, raw meaty bones, offal (heart, liver, spleen), green tripe and some quality salmon oil to
balance the Omega 3 to 6 ratio, because our present day meat supply isn't grassfed, as in the past.
I feed my Aussies chicken, beef, pork, lamb, rabbit, canned fish, buffalo, some fresh fish
and a favorite of theirs....Green Tripe. To anyone who's never used this product, it is "fragrantly cow-ish" to
say the least!
At the time I switched them over to the Prey Model style of Raw Diet, I was
also starting to question WHY we give so many vaccines to our puppies and dogs. Was there any scientific proof that
we needed to do this? WHY do we use multiple shots as pups and then revaccinate yearly or every 3 years....I found
out that there wasn't any true proof on boostering and on the amount of time that vaccines actually LAST!
What vaccine company is going to do research showing that their "product" doesn't "need"
to be used often...too damaging to their profit!
When I had my previous litter, almost 4 years ago, I only gave a single ML Distemper
shot at 12 weeks, followed by a single ML Parvo shot at 16 weeks. I didn't do their first Rabies shot until they
were a full 8 months old, as I had read that their immune systems don't fully mature for quite some time.
A year later, I gave the two pups, their 2nd Rabies shot... unfortunately,
it proved to be the final straw for my Red Tri female pup, Belle. Although she had some autoimmune issues in her
bloodline, I thought that by limiting her exposure to vaccines and feeding a Raw Diet, that she wouldn't
develop the problems that reared up. Within a short period of time, she started to lose the pigment on her
nose and gradually lost the hair around her nose.
Over the course of almost two years, she went steadily downhill, even with intensive Classical
Homeopathic treatment. Traditional treatment would have been steroids and antibiotics, which would have suppressed her
life force and driven the problem deeper "into" her organs. I knew better than that...after discussing this with my
CHOM.
You will see photos of Belle's worsening condition on a page further in my website...although
it is still very painful for me to discuss and see, I feel it is important that dog people learn that vaccines are NOT necessarily safe, even with reduced use. I have learned this lesson in a VERY painful way!
(CHECK OUT: Belle's Memorial Page)
For those interested in learning "how" to feed your dogs/cats/ferrets this diet...I
would seriously recommend that you go here:
www.rawmeatybones.com and read the e-book : WORK
WONDERS, by Dr. Tom Lonsdale DVM of Australia. This book details the reasons why and the methods on how to feed
this diet and also tells you "how" to easily switch your puppies, dogs, cats and ferrets over to a TRUE carnivore diet.
Dogs and cats have NO need for carbs (grains) in their diets...they are only in dry commercial
dog and cat foods for their inexpensiveness and ease of production.
Here is a Natural Feeding book that I highly recommend:
WORK WONDERS & "Raw Meaty Bones"
by Tom Lonsdale DVM
INTERNET LISTS:
Another GREAT Raw Feeding Website:
