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Dogs, Food and History For thousands of years, dogs roamed the ancient world. They made their homes on the savannahs of Africa, the plains of India and the forests of Europe, Asia and the Americas. Packs of dogs swirled through every type of terrain in every climate. They ate what they could wherever they could. Their food came from three sources: prey, scavenged and grazed items. Prey would be mainly herbivores, for example rabbits, deer, sheep or antelope. Scavenged food was that which dogs, acting as nature’s cleaners, devoured from the scraps left over from the meals of big, messy carnivores such as lions, bears and pumas. Grazed food included apples, berries and other wild fruits and nuts in season, and formed a small but significant part of a dog's diet, especially during summer. Coprophagia (eating of faeces) offered dogs even greater nutritional scope. Dogs hunted in packs. They devoured their prey completely: nothing would remain of the carcase. The soft organs, or viscera, were the first things to be eaten, followed by the gut contents, which, in herbivores, would be full of chewed and partially digested vegetable matter. Cereals were also present, but only as a small proportion. Then the muscle (meat) would be eaten. The bones, skin and hair composed the final course, being nature's way of cleaning the teeth after a large meal. Man has been feeding dogs for about forty thousand years. The canines helped with the hunt and man rewarded them with some of the leftovers, which the dogs were only too happy to consume. Life was easier for both species under this arrangement: man: got a useful hunting companion; the dogs got a pack mate who fed them a broad-ranging diet without them having to do too much work. Commercial Diets In the 1950s, food producers in the United States came up with a novel idea to sell the large amounts of left-over, poor-quality meat, gristle, viscera and cereal by-products that they could not hide in sausages: they put it in tins and called it 'dog food'. For the first time in history, people could buy food specially made for their dogs. The idea caught on, and soon people forgot that they used to simply feed their dogs raw meat and bones and vegetable scraps - a broad variety of foods which, being minimally processed retained their nutritional value. Today we find ourselves bombarded with pet-food advertisements for 'this' tinned brand or 'that' dry brand, or 'this' sausage preparation or 'that' super-chew. There are so many processed dog foods to choose from that we don’t know where to turn. When I was at college, one of my lecturers said,'‘If there’s more than one answer to a problem, then they’re probably all wrong’. Is this the case with pet food? I believe so. I think we’ve forgotten about the basics in our drive for convenience. Admittedly, we all try to buy the best for our wonderful dogs, but ask yourself the following: 1. If this food is as great as they say it is, why aren’t they giving it to people to eat - astronauts or prisoners, for example? And 2. Would I eat this stuff? The answers to these questions, as we all know, are (a) No, they do not and would not use such food for people, in any extreme, and (b) No, I wouldn’t eat it if you paid me! Convenient Disease So why do we feed processed food to our dogs? In a word, convenience. But how convenient is it when, because of eating processed food, your pet develops a persistent itch, eczema, dental problems, smelly breath, an inhalant allergy, colitis, food hyper-sensitivitaminy, lethargy, a dull or scurfy coat, kidney disease, or rheumatoid arthritis - to name but a few? Raw Food Dogs, in my opinion, should eat, as far as possible, a raw diet: raw meat, liquidised raw fruit and vegetables, and raw bones. It’s simple to feed, and, as your own common sense will tell you, it’s what dogs are designed to eat. Here’s how a raw diet works: The Rules Dogs should be fed on a variety of raw meat and bones. Just sticking to one meat source will deprive the dog of nutrients. Do not feed pork. If your dog has a skin or bowel problem, do not initially feed beef; wait until you’re sure that it won’t cause hypersensitivitaminy, and then introduce gradually. Raw chicken wings can also be fed as a meat source two or three times a week and are ideal for small dogs and puppies. Never give cooked bones; they are prone to splinter and can cause internal problems for your pet. Raw bones are easily chewed and digested, and provide much-needed minerals. Daily Quantities of Raw Meat For every 10kg of body weight, a dog should eat 100-150g of meat. This is only a guideline to start: if your dog is gaining weight, reduce the quantity; if it is losing weight, increase it. Chicken wings should be counted as meat, but meaty bones should be fed, in addition to meat, at least twice weekly for teeth cleaning and to supply calcium. Ensure your dog is getting sufficient bones each week in the mince fed or as bones outside mealtimes. Minces with ground bone content are an excellent source of calcium. For every handful of meat, feed two handfuls of liquidised raw fruit and vegetables * - a bit like 'meat-and-two-vegetables'! Freshly ground-up nuts, ground-up seeds, herbs and cooked beans should be added to the 'vegetables' portion. Feed fresh viscera once a week instead of meaty bones (heart, kidney, lung or liver). Remember, wild animals as a food source come with viscera as well as meat and bones; it’s a necessary part of a balanced diet, however distasteful it may appear. Vary the organ meat weekly. Treats can include baked liver cubes, fruit and vegetables portions or dried fruit (not raisins). Do not feed cereals or rice (mixer biscuits or treats). Do not feed raisins. Other dried fruit are fine. Buckwheat/cous cous and quinoa are good fillers as they are not cereals. * Take any vegetables, especially green-leaved ones, fruit and salad items and place in the liquidiser. You can use just one or two ingredients at any one liquidising, but make sure you have variety from week to week. Blend to a rough broth. If necessary, add some water. Pour the liquidised mix onto the meat until you have a meat-to-veg ratio of 1:2 by volume. If your dog is ill or old, you should take a few days to slowly and gradually switch to the new regime. You can feed once or twice daily. How to Bend the Rules of Raw Feeding 1. If you cannot bear to feed raw meat, very quick cooking in olive oil to 'seal' the juices is ok. Meat should be rare when served. 2. Liquidised raw vegetables will last for fourty-eight hours in the fridge, so you need only do the blending three times weekly, although it does begin to lose its goodness pretty soon after liquidising. Rice is fine in small amounts, but pasta is not good as it is made from wheat. If you cannot give a variety of vegetables and fruit, feed what variety you can get. 3. An oven-baked mixer biscuit can be used to fill out the diet once or twice weekly: feed one-third meat, one-third vegetables and one-third high-quality biscuit, such as the Natures Menu Oven Baked Biscuits. Do not use any cereals if you are trying to avoid allergy due to grains. 4. If you really can’t bring yourself to feed raw bones, Natures Menu / AMP (0800 0183 770) offer minces in our Prize Choice range which contain 4% finely ground bone and thus provide valuable calcium. Chews could be given to clean the teeth if no bones are fed. AMP do supply turkey necks - these are very good to start dogs on to help clean teeth. Scares Certain authorities are concerned about feeding dogs raw food. They claim, without substantial supporting evidence, that such a diet can lead to the dogs becoming infected with pathogens, some that can be passed to people. In my experience, dogs are naturally able to cope well with the level of contamination that is present in uncooked food. I believe that they can eat such food and be no more of a threat to human health than dogs fed a commercial diet; indeed, my experience leads me to believe that, if a dog is fed a raw-food diet, it will be healthier and better able to cope with bugs that are transmissible to people. If you have any concerns, or you have very young, very old, or immuno-deficient people in your household, then you would be best advised to talk with your doctor or other health professional. It may appear difficult at first, but many people pick up the basics of natural feeding very soon after starting. Give it a try; with the positive difference it will make to the health of your dog, they will thank you - for years and years to come.