No bones about
it...natural raw bones are "out" and unnatural
processed substitutes are "in". The reasons are
not hard to figure out: we've been sold a bill
of goods...and a lot of expensive fake bones in
the process! Having been brainwashed that "Bones
are dangerous!", we've settled for less than
second best.
In addition, we
seem to have forgotten that processed commercial
kibble is the new food on the block. Dogs used
to eat real food, generally table scraps. They
also ate raw bones. Lots of raw bones. And lived
another day to eat another bone.
What has
happened to the old way of feeding? How did it
end up tossed by the wayside?
It all has to
do with dollars and cents. Some marketer
somewhere saw a goldmine in the sweepings on the
grain floor...a way to make a quick buck. Why
not? It's the American Way, after all! So, the
sweepings were gathered, a few synthetic
vitamins and minerals thrown in to replace the
natural ones lost in the processing, and voila'!
Complete-canine-nutrition-in-a-bag was born! The
only accurate aspect of this description is that
it came in a bag.
The ingredients
were not suitable for dogs. The formulations
were not complete. But, slick advertising
elevated dogs to a new level in society and
created a market for a product pitched to play
on the emotions of these new pet people. Before
long, expensive premium foods appeared on the
shelves, followed by even more expensive
super-premium foods.
But, were the
dogs thriving on these products? If the increase
in skin and coat problems are any indicator (and
it is), then the evidence points to the
negative. What about the number of obese dogs?
Another negative indicator. Granted, some dogs
do seem to do well on commercial food. But, some
people seem to do well on fast food, too, but
we'd be fooling ourselves if we suggested that a
diet of junk food is optimal nutrition for
humans. Yet, we do just that in the canine world
when we advise dog-owners to feed their dogs
commercial food. Every day. For the life of the
dog. And we think nothing of it.
But we ought
to. We ought to wonder why vet students get so
little nutrition education in vet school. And
why what they do get may be taught or sponsored
by commercial food manufacturers who may have
even developed the texts used in the classes.
You didn't know that?
When you
consider that nutrition is the foundation of
growth and development and the basis of good
health, it becomes imperative that we stop
depending on advertising agencies for our
knowledge of canine nutrition. We need to begin
to think for ourselves about what we are feeding
our dogs and what the dogs were designed to
eat.
But Joe Blow
could never manage to feed Rover a balanced
diet! He needs the dog food company to make sure
Rover gets balanced canine nutrition. Not so!
Dogs have managed to survive for millennia
without dog food companies.
Given today's
greater knowledge of nutrition and the better
living conditions under which most dogs live,
they ought to thrive on the old diet of raw meat
and bones. And they do! A dog's digestive system
hasn't changed, even though the dogs themselves
come in all shapes and sizes these days. The
outer wrapper may vary, but the inner workings
are all still there, just waiting to kick into
gear should real food appear once again in the
Rover's bowl.
But what about
bacteria? Well, truth be known, dogs can handle
lots of bacteria, once they've become acclimated
to it. After all, these same dogs raid the kitty
litter box or cruise the pasture, looking for
"goodies", given a chance...and lick their
butts!
But what about
the danger of eating bones! Don't forget about
that! Yes, bones can be dangerous...cooked
bones, that is! Heat leaches out the fat in a
raw bone, leaving a dry, brittle bone that is
prone to splinter into sharp pointy pieces,
deadly to the unwary dog that ingests it. Raw
bones are not brittle and do not splinter as do
cooked bones.
So, what do I
feed my Akitas? Well, as you no doubt guessed,
lots of raw, meaty bones! Specifically, raw
chicken backs and turkey necks. Venison, in
season. Beef bones for teeth-cleaning (did I
mention the tie-in between no more bones for
dogs and the growing need for dental care for
these same dogs?), for exercise, and as a
distraction on fast days.
My dogs
thrive.
My vet bills have
plummeted.
Nutrition truly is the
foundation for health.
Copyright 1998 Barbara
Cicognani. All rights reserved. The author
grants permission to reprint this article,
provided such reprint is for information
purposes only and is not conveyed for any
commercial consideration and further that credit
is given to the author, Barbara
Cicognani.
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