Are raw food diets good for pets?
Racing dogs such as greyhounds have long been known for eating raw food diets.
Dogs and cats, whether they race or are members of the "backyard pet" society are biologically designed to consume meats, offal, bones, and small amounts of vegetables.
What happens when they are fed a highly processed diet?
When dogs and cats are fed a mixture of food they aren't biologically designed to eat - namely a highly processed biscuits diet containing high amounts of starchy carbohydrates, meat, and fat rendered products, and synthetic vitamins and minerals it's easy to see why they have so many issues including a poor coat and skin sensitivities.
A raw diet can absolutely help with skin and coat issues as it doesn't contain preservatives or highly processed foods!
What is a BARF diet?
The BARF diet, an acronym that stands for Bone and Raw Food, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food is becoming more and more popular amongst those with "backyard" pets.
Dr. Ian Billinghurst (1), an Australian Veterinarian, suggested that adult dogs thrive on an evolutionary diet based on what canines ate before they became domesticated: Raw, meaty bones, and vegetable scraps. Grain-based commercial pet foods, he contended, were harmful to a dog's health.
A BARF diet has many significant benefits for your pets:
- Shinier coats – The role of good quality protein is perhaps the most crucial benefit of feeding your pet a raw diet. Your pet’s skin and coat are made up almost exclusively of protein. In fact, up to 30% of the protein your dog consumes goes into maintaining their skin and coat each day.
- Healthier skin
- Cleaner teeth
- Higher energy levels
- Smaller stools - The stool is the window of digestion. As a raw pet food is easier to digest than ultra-high processed food, it leads to improved digestion, meaning fewer faeces.
- Carry less fat - Very few land animals that we know of benefit from being fat. Fat drives the inflammatory process and only serves to weaken you over time. Dogs are no exception. They are long-distance runners at heart. Lean dogs not only live longer but suffer less inflammation, and less arthritis and are cheaper to keep!
How much do I feed my pet?
How much exactly depends on the individual dog's age, activity, and metabolism.
For example, a couch potato is going to eat closer to 2% of their ideal body weight, while an active dog would probably eat 2.5-3%. Likewise, a working dog would eat closer to 3.5-4%. By working dog, I mean a dog that is extremely active and has an actual job. For example, herding sheep.