JC, if you would like to start your dog on a raw diet I would recommend joining the following group. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/

Also check out:
http://rawfed.com/
http://rawfeddogs.net/
http://rawlearning.com/

There's kind of a "right" way to do it to avoid problems. If you're interested, read over the the above info. If you have any other questions, feel free to pm me since this is rather OT.

Try cooked meat, but you might need to add some supplements. My cat gets bloody diarrhea when I feed him raw chicken. I think pets are more susceptible to food borne illness than most raw feeders are willing to acknowledge.

I home cook for my dog and have been doing it since she was 9 months old. She basically eats what we eat - usually grassfed beef or organic chicken, plus veggies and a little fruit. I add an herbal multivitamin mix, calcium, omega 3's and coconut oil. I keep Paw Naturaw raw bison in the freezer for occasional variety.

If the dog is eating only raw meat, bones, and organs, it is very unlikely that they will be affected by bacteria in raw meat. They have a very short intestinal tract and the food passes though quickly. However, if they are fed kibble at the same time it can increase bowel transit time, leaving them more susceptible. That's why it's best to quit kibble cold turkey. Fast for a day, then introduce a relatively low fat piece of meat with bone. Such as a bone in chicken breast or a leg quarter. This method works well for a majority of dogs.

The reason for the diarrhea is a sudden change to the diet, not because raw food isn't good for your dog.

Try incorporating the new food slowly, in tiny amounts, while reducing the old food.

11 years is an old dog, her system has some adapting to do!

Well, here's my personal take on this topic. I'm no scientist, so my views may/may not be true, just wanting to post it and see what u guys think about it

Yes, I believe it's possible to get fat on dietary fat. All animals have a certain amount of fat on them to provide insulation and as energy stores, or as a lubricant. Take a starving animal/thin, feed them dietary fat and they will gain fat.

However, I also believe for optimally carnivorous/purely carnivorous animals like humans, if we live on a ZC, high dietary fat diet, as I believe that's the way we're supposed to live, we will gain enough body fat until the point our genetics tells us it's enough, then we won't gain anymore. It's eating of carbs that ruin everything. That said, I also believe different ethinic backgrounds of humans store fat in different amounts and in different places.

I also believe bears were originally carnivores that evolved to become omnivores, while humans were originally herbivores that evolved to become omnivores....thus it's not right to discuss bears in the same light as humans. I believe bears discovered it's easier to just eat plants more than hunt, while humans discovered it's better to hunt more than eat plants.

I have no evidence to back my views lol but what do u guys think about it?

Like has been mentioned often in this thread and what skunk points out, even the Bear mentioned it several times..he coined the phrase "fat-o-stat." If you're below your body's desired fat %, usually between 11-15% BF for males, then your body will store fat. If you are above it, you will lose fat. Is it possible to get obese eating only meat and fat? I highly doubt it. Most ZCers abide by some form of IF, be it one meal a day or two. Personally, I eat once per day.

About ZC = Zero Insulin..Of course that's not true, but the problem is not temporarily elevated insulin -- the fasting periods between meals (12-24 hours, sometimes more) lets it quickly decline and the fatty acids can move in and out of adipose tissue. Chronically elevated insulin and blood sugar are, in my opinion, the most dangerous and most insidious little devils we can do to our bodies. How do we do this? Eating carbohydrates frequently. CEI/CEBS are what cause the diseases of civilization, including obesity.

With meat and fat, eating to hunger and beyond is not an issue. It may become an issue if you are literally forcing food down your throat day in and day out, but if you let the natural order of things take over, then I see no reason why eating the natural human diet (carnivorous) would cause us to gain weight.

Humans aren't special. Mother Nature isn't stupid. We aren't designed to have these diseases and to be obese. It's what we created outside of nature that led to this. And that includes the vegetables people eat today. We genetically modified them over time..Cloned them. (but that bit was a bit off topic)

To paraphrase Taubes. A kid grows up, he overeats. What's the cause and effect? Is he growing up because he's overeating? Or is he overeating because he's growing up? No, he grows up because of growth hormone, and overeats to compensate this growth.

With obesity, are we fat because we overeat? Or do we overeat because we grow fat? Just like the kid growing up, we grow fat because of insulin, and overeat to compensate.

How do we apply this to a diet of fat meat only? Well, we ask the same questions we would ask about carbs. Does fat meat have the potential to cause chronic hyperinsulinemia, chronic hyperglycemia, chronic insulin resistance, hypothyroidism, diabetes type 2, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, NAFLD, kidney disease, eating disorders, deep and continuous hunger, neurosis, cravings, addictions, lethargy, weakness, mental fog, abnormal hormone function, sexual suppression, physical degeneration, dental caries, malocclusion, etc? Basically, does fat meat have the potential to do everything sugar does? If so, at what dose?

I think Martin put it more eloquently than I

If we believe this study then the dose is when you constantly eat more fat meat than what your body really requires.

Patrick

Yes, that's how obesity is produced with carbs. Over a long period. But it still doesn't tell us if fat meat can produce obesity, let alone if we can sustain the dose of fat meat required for the period required.

Personally, I think that fat meat does not wreak havoc on the homeostasis (satiety system) in humans. I truly believe that humans eating only fatty meat will be hungry only when they require a new intake of nutrient and energy.

Patrick

Peter at hyperlipid has a great piece on the Butter study.

Patrick

Ok, so if someone's metabolism is broken, then he can get obese even on very low/zero carb.

Probably, but we're not talking about VLC, we're talking about ZC, i.e. "nothing but fat and protein". Even just a little bit of carbs sets up the way for fat accumulation, if the environment is receptive as it would be if somebody's been diabetic for years for example. We can't equate VLC with ZC in this instance.

But let's put the question differently. Has anybody a) who started obese b) then who cut out all carbs c) then who began eating nothing but fat and protein d) ever grow fatter?