Raw Food Diet, Day 71- Spreading the Word of Raw Feasting

Sometimes I'm out marking my territory and dogs come up to me and they're all like, "Stanislaw, why does you breath smell like raw chicken liver?" And I'm like, "First of all, this is my territory and second of all I feast on raw chicken livers with yogurt on the top all day, dog." Then they're like, "How do we get our humans to feed us cow stomach and raw goat and such?" And I'm all like, "Check out my blog, dude. It's about educating the human folk on the health benefits of eating raw meat and such. Once you convince your people that eating in the raw makes you healthy and whatnot, it's like seriously raw feasting all day. Your bum smells whack, by the way." And then they tell me, "But I have no thumbs, Stanislaw. I can't access the World Wide Web of information" and I'm like, "Whoa, lucky I still have my dew claws, man".

Stanislaw

brother on the cousins:
I have cousin dogs that make a perfect foursome with my brother and me. They're owned by my mom's parents and are also a duo of rescued black and black & white cocker spaniels. I guess you could say my humans are copycats since my cousins were around first... but I'm not complaining. My girl-cousin is named Paisley, and my boy-cousin is called Jake.

Paisley

Jake

After hearing and reading all about the great results my brother and I have had on the raw diet, Jake and Paisley begged their humans to give it a try. And lucky for them... just a few days ago they took their first bites of raw deliciousness. Their humans decided to go the route of pre-made foods, and picked up some Nature's Variety chicken and beef medallions from their local pet store. Well, to my utter shock and surprise, they were extremely hesitant during their first feast! They weren't sure what to do and weren't too interested. This is about when I started to question their dogginess. Are they part cat? Perhaps chicken? Once they sniffed and pondered their meal, they finally began to eat. Paisley has learned to love the new food, but Jake is still a bit confused but chows down nonetheless.

Because they're on a pre-made diet that already includes veggies, fruit, kelp, oil and other supplements, their humans are only giving them yogurt and enzymes in addition to their food. They had a really easy start with their new diet, and didn't suffer any tummy upsets or "detox" effects like my brother and I did... until their dad decided to stop adding enzymes in their meals. Boy did he learn his lesson! The house was taken over by... shall I say... a "blue cloud" that chased them out of each room of the house. Enzymes went back in and the gas disappeared. I hope they continue to have such an easy transition.

It's just the start of their new diet, but already their humans can see a bit more energy in my cousins. They've decided to stock up on the raw stuff, and pick up a few chicken wings and some ground meat to try some bone-crunching feasts as well. I can't wait to hear how that goes! I remember my first wing like it was yesterday. I'm sure they'll enjoy it as much as I did, and I'll make sure to post all about that big event.

Happy feasting Jake and Paisley!

Raw Food Diet- Day 1

Recently, my human and I evaluated a bunch of information on the raw food diet for dogs. After a bit of convincing, he finally let me abandon my kibble for a steady diet of raw chicken wings, raw lamb, bloody oxtail, femur bones, and turkey necks, supplemented with raw spinach, carrots, garlic, and other veggies. You see, I'm a 1-year-old rescue cocker-spaniel who has never really had a stomach that was quite right. I have accidents in the house (sorry dad!) and my poo is, well, a little less than solid most of the time. My human's motivation for putting me on the raw meat diet is to clear up my gastro-intestinal problems, improve my overall health, and let me live years longer than the average cocker spaniel. This is fine with me because the healthier I am, the better chance I'll have of catching a squirrel, pigeon, or rabbit. And the longer I live, the more feasting I can do.

I have to tell you that Day 1 on raw meat has been delicious. For breakfast, I ate two full chicken wings, bones and all. I crunched those bones down and swallowed them. Later on, I puked a little because I forgot to fully chew the bones. No reason to be alarmed though, I ate my puke up no problem, it was like two meals for the price of one. For dinner, I had ground raw turkey with raw veggies that my human blended up to resemble the stomach contents of a kill. I could barely contain myself when this sort of feast came out of the fridge. I scarfed that feast down faster then a plate of pierogies, my all-time non-raw favorite food. As for my nighttime poo, I'm feeling a bit constipated and I haven't let it loose yet, but I'll let you guys know about its consistency tomorrow.

With that, I say goodbye forever to my kibbles and various other non-raw snacks. It's sad to have to put my pierogies back in the fridge, but it's worth it for this raw meat thing, especially when I start to get into the real bloody meats my human picked up at the meat packing store.

Bark at you tomorrow,
Stanislaw

***
notes from stan's older, wiser brother:
Tell your human to do their homework before starting the BARF diet. It is important that you get the nourishment you need to be a strong, healthy dog, and so education is a must. While it may seem very overwhelming at first, (I know my mom was a mess with worry), it gets easier over time as they get into the swing of things. My mom found it unbelievably helpful to join a Yahoo! BARFing group in her area and talk to a very knowledgeable person that is experienced in both the raw diet and cocker spaniels. Check that out. They helped her get started, saw her through some of the tougher times, and gave her a heads-up on places to buy meats for wholesale prices.

As with any major alteration, it is important to make sure that you are healthy enough to adjust to the change. Your human should check with your doctor to make sure all is well and you're ready to get feasting on some delicious necks and wings. As with people, a dog with a compromised immune system or other health issues might not do well on this diet, or may need to modify their phosphorous, fat or calcium levels. And also, a pup with teeth troubles may have issues properly breaking down bones. All of this must be addressed before proceeding with the raw diet.