Feeding your dog
the natural way

UNLESS the dog or cat catches it's own food, we cannot hope to compete with nature in providing things "all natural" - but we can give a diet full of the fruits of nature and the dog a zest for life.

From simple beginnings

The wild dog or cat would have had to catch his own meal and his exercise would have come before his meal rather than after. His meal would have been wet rather than dry, as fresh animal protein comprises a high percentage of water. With this protein he would have obtained a big variety of seeds, grains, herbs and barks.

After catching or stealing his food he would have taken or dragged it to a private place and consumed the entire carcass - hair, skin, bone, stomach contents, in fact all parts of the animal. With this meal, he also would have consumed a fair amount of crude fibre, grasses and roots from the surrounding land. Crude fibre, grasses and roots are a very necessary part of the whole plan of health, keeping the digestive tract clean and free of mucus, thus depriving the internal parasites of their home.

All parts of this meal added something towards his health and vitality - the vitamins and minerals, proteins and carbohydrates so needed to keep him fit and able to continue to fend and defend. He did not know that he had to eat a bit of this and a bit of that to keep healthy; he knew he had to eat to survive and his chosen prey would provide most of his needs. To him moving from place to place was keeping up with the browsing prey. It meant nothing to him that in so doing he moved away from parasites and disease, allowing the land to cleanse itself before he returned.

Our modern life is far removed from the plains or hills that are the natural habitat of the wild dog or cat. We can, however, try to give him some of his natural needs. First of all - respect his species - and endeavour to keep him well and full of vitality and with a zest for life. He can no longer fend for himself. This is a task that we as owners take on as his companion. It is our duty to keep him well and happy in his modern and unnatural environment, to give him a little of what is his right.

There are many good books on dog and cat nutrition, many of these books are exceptional in the information and techniques, but are often too complicated and many owners who would have followed have simply decided that there is too much to do or that it is too complicated to get the correct balance.

It does not have to be complicated however. As in the human diet balance comes with variety. In the wild it would have been a rabbit today, or maybe a bird or even a wild goat or pig tomorrow. Each grazing animal eating a slightly different diet and so giving the dog a balance over time.

Daily requirements

No need to stress just vary the food. First of all, dogs were meant to eat meat -the digestive capacity of the dog is very small in comparison to the herbavorous animals. There is a big variation in meat, meat/fat, between beef, mutton, chicken and horse meat. Lean meat is always preferable as wild meat is lean and this is what the dog was meant to eat; it was also fresh and pliable. Chicken, already ground up and sold frozen, is not as good as say fresh chicken, necks or backs, with meat, fat and skin on, this is close to the natural food the dog or cat would obtain for his or herself. Try chicken necks to begin with and feed after the main meal, that way your pet will eat more slowly and be less inclined to swallow the piece whole - only buy your meat from a reliable source.

Check that it is in fact chicken (as in young bird). Do not cook the bones as this makes them brittle and dangerous. Cooked bones may splinter in the dog' s digestive tract. Needs vary according to the lifestyle of the dog. Working dogs, show dogs, sled dogs etc. require much higher levels of daily calories than a house dog with little exercise. Learn to read your dog, at the beginning weigh your dog regularly until you can just look or feel and know the requirements.

Needs change with the seasons and whether your dogs live indoors or outdoors. A meal for a dog could go something like this: use a kitchen blender to grind up fruit, root vegetables, garlic, celery and dark green leafy vegetables (watercress, dandelion, parsley etc), half to one teaspoon of honey and a handful of breakfast cereal. Mix with meat, approximately one third of the vegetable mix to two thirds lean meat.

Take a small portion of this mixture, add chopped chicken giblets, liver or heart and offer to your feline friend. Vary the vegetables and use different meats, add a little flax seed oil for the essential fatty acids several days per week and hey! this could be something like the meal the dog would find for himself - given a chance. Use this mixture fresh or freeze for later use - do not leave exposed to the air to oxidise.

You should not change your dog' s diet overnight, add a little of the natural foods to his/her regular diet until the food is readily accepted, a little honey or chopped chicken liver is usually very acceptable and helps the changeover.

Puppies

For growing puppies, break the daily portion into three or four feeds per day . To this we would add to the above mixture one or more of the following to boost the protein: goats milk, scrambled egg, cottage cheese or yogurt; or an occasional addition of tuna or sardines. Puppies need the very best protein source available for optimum growth, in several small feeds daily. Do not rush from one food to another, keep your weaning process really slow.

Again - bones make a very good additional food, and help with the development of the jaw and teeth. Feed often ... a great pacifier for the bored dog or cat, bones for puppies should be big and raw and covered in meat.