As you may have noticed from my previous posts, I am not a supporter of ready-made minced raw food, such as the 80:10:10 or ‘completes’ that raw food manufacturers produce. There are some that are useable but not many. While commercial raw diets are still better than kibble, they have their downsides. The best way to ensure the health and well-being of our dogs (and even reverse disease) is by preparing their food ourselves.
Many of my clients have been feeding their dogs a raw diet for years but are still facing health issues, mainly due to an excess of unhealthy fats and combining a concoction of foods in the same bowl. Regardless of what the packaging says, we cannot guarantee the fat content in these minces. Some are finely minced, while others are coarser to allow for easy identification of the white parts (fat). Fat is a waste product, cheap, and adds weight to the product, which means more money in the manufacturer’s pocket.
Additionally, these minces can contain incompatible, unhealthy, and unnecessary ingredients such as supplements, oils, garlic, and a mixture of fruits and vegetables. While fruits and some vegetables are healthy and in fact help with healing a sick dog. Mixing meat-based and plant-based foods in a meal can hinder the process of digestion. Nature rarely makes mistakes. We can observe how wild animals eat. Looking at nature, we can learn a lot. However, our disconnection from it prevents us from doing so. For instance, a wolf wouldn’t hunt down its prey and then forage on fruits.
MEAT & FAT = ACIDIC
When meat is digested, it requires an acidic environment. Undigested meat that sits in the digestive tract produces putrefaction, which is ammonia.
CARBOHYDRATES, STARCHES & SUGARS = ALKALINE
Undigested plant material that sits in the digestive tract produces fermentation which is alcohol.
Both ammonia and alcohol are toxic substances.
It’s important to know that when acid and alkaline are combined, they neutralise each other. This can result in undigested food becoming waste, which can lead to the accumulation of debris in the body. This can overwhelm the primary organs responsible for eliminating waste, such as the liver, kidneys, lungs, colon, skin, and lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is the sewerage system of the body. Lymph fluid carries acids, toxins, and waste materials out of the body via the elimination channels.
When these organs become overloaded with toxins, they release the waste through other channels such as the ears, eyes, paws, and skin. These symptoms are usually treated with drugs, but in reality, the body is just trying to cleanse itself through detoxification.
It is worth noting that dogs are not biologically adapted to process the high quantities and quality of fat that are present in agricultural raised animals. These animals are often fed with a diet that is designed to fatten them up for market, and as a result, they end up storing toxins in their fatty tissues. This is because, like all bodies, they store waste in their fatty tissues. This can cause too much toxic fat in the bloodstream that can clog cell receptors, leading to sugar accumulation and yeast ‘infections’. While wild dogs typically eat meat and fruit separately, domesticated dogs are often fed in a way that goes against their natural diet, leading to diseases.
To ensure a healthier dog, we should mimic their natural diet in the wild as much as possible which consists of lean animals. As dogs share 99.9% of their DNA with the Grey Wolf, their closest living relative, it makes sense to follow their natural diet to promote better health in our pets. Wild canines have to travel a considerable distance every day to search for food. In contrast, our domesticated dogs typically receive only an hour of exercise daily, if they are lucky. If you search for wild canines on Google, you’ll see that they are like athletes. I’ll cover the issue of overweight domesticated dogs at a later time. When dogs lack of physical activity, along with the regular consumption of inappropriate food, it can have disastrous consequences, leading to issues such as arthritis, obesity, and cancer in dogs. In contrast, wild canines do not suffer from these problems.
Please take a look at the photo I have attached. I recently bought more chunks of meat from a different supplier of raw food. However, like my previous supplier, they are also inconsistent with what they send. This is also a common issue with human meat suppliers that we find in our supermarkets. I don’t want to name the suppliers as it could harm their reputation. However, I wanted to bring it to your attention that if they are selling meat with such a high amount of fat, it raises the question of what they could be putting in their minces.
We have two pieces of meat weighing a total of 2 kg. The first and second pieces have a shocking amount of fat on them. I removed some of the fat, which weighed approximately one-quarter of the total weight of the meat. After trimming the meat, I refroze it for later use. However, I still had to remove more fat before feeding it to my dogs since there was still a lot left on the meat. Feeding a small amount of fat to dogs is acceptable, but removing excess fat is generally recommended. This is just one way to prepare meat for your pets.
It’s important to keep in mind that not all raw food is equal and may not promote true health for your dog. Therefore, be cautious when deciding what to feed them.
If you need help feeding your dog a healthy diet or supporting a sick dog, don’t hesitate to reach out to me for guidance. I specialise in creating customised healing diet plans.
I hope you found this information useful.
Teresa
Canine Wellness Specialist 