the Sage By Nature blog

I diverge today from horse-related posts to one about my adventures with dog and cat food.

Tails In The Kitchen

Fifteen years ago I was feeding a dry dog food with the words “natural” and “choice” in it. I guess I didn’t question at the time what is “natural” about dry, highly-processed nuggets for a dog. Neither did I wonder if I was feeding the same food day after day, where is the “choice”?

It took me years of my own research and discovery to evolve to the point where I now feel a bit like a cavewoman, throwing scraps of food to the Wild Things around my campfire. The journey to this point took a long time, but the results are a slimmer, healthier dog and a fatter wallet.

I have read countless books, and I have made many futile attempts in the kitchen to cook up meals for my pets while trying to also cook for my family. On some days I juggled both pet and human cookbooks. I simply gave up because I would rather spend time in a pet store than in the kitchen anyway.

Besides, deep down I was still in denial that “super premium” pet food was all that bad. My cat was pretty fond of it, and he wouldn’t touch my best homemade pet cuisine no matter how much time or love went into the pot. He snubbed everything except for canned tuna and a particular stew for cats, and of course that was difficult to come by, expensive, and had to be warmed up before he would touch it. So far, he seemed to be doing just fine on his “super premium” dry food.

Then two years ago I found Fergus, a meek pound puppy of unknown heritage, staring up at me from the cold concrete floor of the humane society. His eyes could melt butter. I was not looking for a puppy at the time, but of course, home he came.

Enlightenment Is A Journey

I noticed immediately that my new puppy could not handle many foods. I went through countless brands of “super premium” and expensive dog foods searching for the holy grail of brands to satisfy his nutritional requirements (and not enslave me to the stove once again making stews and meatloaf for a dog). I eventually found one brand that he could tolerate and then only one flavor within that brand, a grain-free salmon and sweet potato. He didn’t seem thrilled with it, but at least his skin wasn’t inflamed. He also finally had normal stools instead of chronic diarrhea.

And still, after all the hours and dollars in natural pet stores, he just stared at it, and at me, like I was torturing him every time I put it in front of him. I resorted to stirring in broth, meat drippings, and leftovers whenever I could just to make it more palatable for him. I cook a whole chicken at least twice a week, so I started throwing in the raw necks and livers every time. He couldn’t get enough of those, and I was becoming less and less fearful of feeding him scraps and human food.

He is admittedly the only dog I know who will let a bowl of dry food go completely un-touched, hanging his head in apparent disgust as he walks away. I guess his body had been trying to tell me all along that what I was putting in front of him was not food as he, or his body, saw it.

One day last Fall I had a discussion on diet with the holistic veterinarian who had also worked on my horse. She told me about B.A.R.F., which stands for “Biologically Appropriate Raw Food”. I had some vague recollection of it being some controversial diet, one that I had read about a while back but had been too timid to try.

I wasn’t ready then, but now I was.

Where The Wild Things Are

I removed the label “dog” and started giving him “food”. Plain and simple: raw meat, bones, and veggies & fruits. The vet explained that it is cooked bones that splinter. An example of a meal was a raw chicken leg with a banana thrown in the bowl with it. Cook I couldn’t, but I could definitely do this!

I dragged out my heavy, expensive juicer which had been hiding in the dark recesses of a bottom cupboard, and I started making healthy juice for me again; I saved the pulp and some juice for the dog’s meals. I started buying free-range organic chicken legs and found a neighbor selling free-range duck eggs. I started giving my carnivore the food his body was made to eat.

He devoured it. The first time I gave him the chicken leg, I had to watch because I was still skeptical it wouldn’t get stuck in his throat. It didn’t, and the look on his face every time he chews on that leg is dreamy. He has traveled to another time and place, back to the wild but without having to fend off the rest of the pack from his portion.

Its Not Purr-fect

As for the cat, it has been a slower transition. He loves cut up chicken chunks, though, and when I am short on time and he is long on meows I simply add water to his grain-free dry food. I am confident that his nine lives are fed sufficiently by the above and the occasional mouse, vole, and fresh grass that he consumes within my backyard.

Premium, Without The Premium Price Tag

A huge benefit that I was not aware of when I initially made the switch was that I literally cut my dog food bill in half. To top it off, he was now getting free-range organic chicken. If I wasn’t a stickler on that (mainly because I shudder at mass-produced animals), I could cut my costs even further. When I cook a turkey, he gets some of that bird raw before I cook it for the rest of the family. I make sure that Fergus gets a wide variety of fruits and veggies, but most of those are merely leftovers and the pulp from juicing so I don’t even figure those into the cost. I am still making small adjustments here and there on how to best dish out this diet to both cat and dog, but it has overall been way simpler than I ever expected.

Who knows what future expensive veterinary interventions I am staving off simply by giving Fergus the best nutrition right now for his cells, organs, body and mind while eradicating the ravages of allergens in his diet. His teeth are white, his coat is shiny, and his skin isn’t oily and flaky. Those eyes that can melt butter? Bright and joyful.

Ultimately, more important than cutting the cost part of feeding my pet is that I am adding life to my dog. Do I have proof? No, but…he glows! You may not worry about your pet food budget at all and instead start off on this whole new feeding adventure simply to boost his health. You will also be giving your dog immense pleasure in eating while you let him reminisce with the ghosts of his ancestors, salivating over a raw chicken leg.

And last but not least, you will most likely be selfishly as pleased as I am with the decreased amount, size, and odor of your dog’s stools!

I highly recommend doing your research on feeding a raw diet to your pets as well as on the pitfalls of feeding a commercial, processed canned or dried food.

I have a companion post to this article on The Caninest website; you can read it here. In that post I have more tips and information about the benefits of the diet and where to find more information. Read some books on the subject and check with your veterinarian before making any feed changes (but remember that most veterinarians sell canned and dry dog food out of their offices which makes it a contributor to their bottom line).