Hope your furkids haven't been effected by the contaminated and recalled foods. Here's a couple of suggestions for going paleo for pets:
Our dogs and cats are carnivores. They are meant to eat raw muscle/organ/meat and raw bones. Grains and dairy and root vegetables and fruits that are not normally consumed in the wild prey diet can cause allergen problems and other illnesses. Cooked food destroys the enzymes they need to really digest and utilize their foods properly.
It is simple: Give your dog 10 % organ meat (chicken liver and gizzards and beef liver are inexpensive) and the rest should be muscle meat w/bone(chicken thigh and leg joints are good choices) NEVER COOKED . Feed them human grade meat...what you would eat. Their digestive systems are different than humans so ecoli, salmonella etc...is not an issue for them. The bone is soft enough when it is raw that it is not a problem for dogs and cats who are healthy.
Some people who do not trust bone, give them the muscle meat and organ meat and supplement by giving 900 mgs of calcium per pound of meat fed. They don't need veggies...look at their poop after they eat a carrot...it will come out mostly intact. Sure they like to eat other things, just like humans like to eat transfats and chips and cake. In the wild, dogs and cats would kill their prey, eat the muscle/bone/skin/fat/organs and get some wild grasses or predigested veggies in the stomach contents of their prey animal. Some raw fooders (sarf for species appropriate raw food) do feed their dogs pulverized in the chopper raw veggies but root veggies, anything they wouldn't get for themselves if eating prey are not used. They don't have the same enzymes we humans have for digesting grains, dairy, veggies and fruit.
Never feed weight bearing bones from large animals as they are too hard on the teeth and NEVER cook bones because they can splinter and hurt the dog. Bones are necessary for minerals. Organs are necessary for vitamins. If the dog eats too much bone, he will be constipated so feed more organ or muscle and it will loosen him up (or raw egg)
Check the sites I post below for more details or if you have questions and concerns re parasites, etc...they will give you thorough info. Whole Dog Forum and the articles section on B-Naturals are helpful sites where I've learned a lot from the normal pet owners and also breeders who have fed this way for years....healthier and happier dogs are my exp and theirs. No horror stories from people who actually do this and know what its like....Follow simple guidelines and its not complicated and can fit into your budget.
ex: Mon & Tues....raw whole chicken leg and thigh joints w/a side of raw chicken liver and kidney (large pieces of meaty bones are best so your dog doesn't try and gulp it down, but gnaws on it and takes his time...the bone is digested in his stomach so he doesn't have to chew it thoroughly before swallowing) In our area, leg and thigh joints can be found anywhere from 29 cents a pound to 79 cents a pound. My 48 pound dogs typically each eat one joint a day along w/raw liver/kidney and or gizzards. Our "gulper" doesn't like chicken skin ... and gulps...so I skin his and hang onto one end till he's mostly done.
Wed & Thurs....raw fatty ground beef w/10% ground beef liver (the bones on the other days balances this out, or give 900 mg of calcium per pound fed) I mix this w/warm water so its a little "stewy" and can't be gulped quickly. When my dogs gulps food down it comes back up pretty quickly!My dogs eat about a pound of this each on their beef days, although every dog is diff depending on activity level.
Fri & Sat....raw meaty pork ribs and 10% pork kidney or liver. Serve a good sized slab of the pork ribs so they need to work on it and don't just try and gulp it down. I've found one of our dogs is a gulper and needs the liver or kidneys to be cut into smaller pieces or pulverized in my electric chopper or he throws it back up.
Sunday....day of rest. Many raw fooders give them a day off of food, just like they would occassionaly miss a meal in the wild to let their digestive system rest.
etc...Our gulper's favorite meal is the ground beef and liver. Our other dog loves her food and has had no problem digging in to whole pieces. As long as you feed the bone meals every other day or every couple of days, and be sure your dog gets the organ meats they will be in good shape. Some recommend giving salmon oil capsules to make up for the EFAs not found in commercially farmed (non grazing) animals but some have found that is not really necessary to give ANY supplements as this is a nutritionally dense and superior way to feed.
The health of both of our dogs has improved dramatically since feeding raw in December! I'll see you on the Whole Dog Forum as "Flowergirl" if you pop in to surf or ask questions.
http://www.wholedogforums.com Hope this helps somebody out there! Terry ...Bootsie and Ida's Mom
For those not ready to feed raw, check the home cooked foods on the B-Naturals articles portion of the B-Naturals site. I've never purchased any supplements from them as many who've been doing this a long time have found supplements unnecessary when they feed raw in the right balance of muscle/organ and bone. My own dogs had trouble digesting homemade cooked foods...it destroys the enzymes the live food has but I've included it as an option to what is presently more dangerous....the commercially made recalled foods and those foods still out there not yet on the list.
For a link to the foods effected:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Dog_Food_Sa...Dog_Food_Recall Also be aware that not all effected foods have been tracked down yet and some are not even related to Menu Foods. Homemade and raw is best.
__________________
paleo pets
Linear Mode
