Eat Like Bruiser

 1.  Q:  Are bones safe?

      A:  Raw bones=YES.  Cooked bones=No.  You would be amazed at what your pup is capable of if you just let them be a dog.  They can crunch through most bones with ease.  The only bones that are a NO-NO are weight baring bones from large ungulates (cow, deer, elk, moose, etc.).  Also make sure you are feeding the proper size bones to the right sized dogs.  No singleton chicken wings, legs, necks, and ribs to large dogs.  These are the right size and shape for potential choking hazards. 

 

2.  Q:  Do I have to feed organic grass fed meats to my pup?  Can I feed Grocery store meats?

      A:  No and Yes (of course!).  Grocery stores meats are perfectly fine to feed.  Check sodium levels, nothing over 100mg per 4oz serving.  NO enhancements (juice to make it juicer, broths added for juiciness or flavor, flavorings, etc.) 

 

3.  Q:  My dog won't eat raw.  What do I do?

      A:  Sounds CRAZY right?  Why would a dog refuse fresh meat over bagged toxic waste?  There are a few reasons for this.

• If the dog is otherwise healthy with no pre-existing conditions then; we created a picky eater by letting the dog chose if, when, and what they will eat.  This needs to be nipped in the bud right away.  You are the boss, you tell your dog when and what they eat, it should not be a case of vice versa.  If you allow your pup to dictate their meals you are forever at their mercy.  Tough love is the best approach.   Present the meal, walk away, do not hover around them (of course stay in ear shot for safety reasons), if they eat YAY!, if they do not eat within 10 mins or so, then remove the food, cover loosely in the fridge until the next meal.  This is the important part:  NO nothing in between meals.  This means no treats, no snacks, and no nibbles of anything.  At the next meal time, present the food, walk away, if they eat YAY!, if they do not then remove and store loosely in the fridge again.   Continue doing this until they eat.  Dogs starve themselves.  They will eat once they figure out you are running the show.  This may take 1 day or it may take longer.  It depends on the stubbornness of your dog.  Most dogs will eat after they have missed a meal.  If yours is particularly stubborn, you may be in a battle of who will give in first=Boss.  Do not give in! 

• If your dog is sick, you may try enticing them with tripe.  It's awfully disgusting smelling and dogs love it.  It may be just the thing to get them to eat.  You want tripe.  White tripe from the grocery store is bleached for human consumption.  This should not be fed.

• Did you check to make sure the meat wasn't enhanced (see above)?  There may be something in the enhancement they don't particularly find tasty. 

• Did you check your dogs mouth for any tooth, gum, tongue, cheek issues? 

 

4.  Q:  My dog won't eat pork (insert any other protein here).  What should I do?

      A:  See above.

 

5.  Q:  My pet won't eat liver/organs.  What should I do?  Can I just leave them out?

      A.  No you cannot just leave them out.  Organs and especially liver are non-negotiable in the diet.  They contain very essential vitamins and minerals your pets need.  If your pet is not eating them, there are a number of things you can try:  it could be a texture issue - feed them frozen, flash fry them very quick in a very hot pan and lessen the amount you fry them each time until you are feeding them raw, hide them in other meats, "Oops" drop them on the floor, sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on them, and lastly if they still won't eat them - tough love (only apply to dogs, not younger puppies, cats, and/or kittens).  Feed them the organs/liver first, if they eat them then present them with their dinner.  If they do not eat the organs/liver, put them away and feed nothing until the next feeding.  This is the important part:  NO nothing in between meals.  This means no treats, no snacks, and no nibbles of anything.  At their next feeding, present the organs/liver if they eat YAY! then feed them their dinner.  If they don't, then put away, and repeat the aforementioned steps until they do.  **If you need more help with this, feel free to reach out to me via the FB link on the home page or any of the channels on the contact page.

 

6.  Q:  My dog is gulping down food, what should I do?

      A:  First is your dog truly gulping?  Dogs do not "chew" their foods like we humans do.  They tear, rip, slobber, chomp, and swallow whole pieces.  If it doesn't go down right the first time, they hork it up, and try again.  If your dog is truly gulping down the food you can:

• Feed bigger pieces so they have to work at the food.  Smaller pieces can be sucked in like a vacuum and encourages unsafe eating.  With bigger pieces they would really have to be masterful to get a whole pork roast, chicken, turkey, etc. down in one gulp.  Think pieces the size of their heads or bigger.

• Feed frozen or partially frozen. Serving the meal frozen/semi-frozen slows them down by making them work at their food.

 

7.  Q:  Do I have to feed tripe?  I heard it was a "super" food and they need it.

      A:  No you do not need to feed tripe.  It is not a "super" food and it is marketing hype at its best to sell an otherwise unsalable product.  

• "I was told you need it to add good bacteria to the pups gut."

                      Most of the good bacteria that is in the cows intestine is anaerobic. Anaerobic bacteria dies once its exposed to air. Once they process the tripe from the cow all that good bacteria dies. In addition dogs already have an established colony(s) in their gut. Introducing new bacteria doesn't mean they are going to survive and flourish. They still have to fight with what is already in the dogs gut.  (http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-08/902097969.Mi.r.html)

 

• "I was told it has enzymes that are needed and will help in breaking down my pups food."  

                      The enzymes in tripe are useful for breaking down cellulose, not meat and bones. They are useful for the cow not for carnivores.  (http://sci.waikato.ac.nz/farm/content/microbiology.html)

 

Tripe is however, useful for dogs who are sick, elderly, ridiculously picky eaters, and dogs in late stages of renal failure due to the stink and it's low source of phosphorus and protein.

 

 

8.  Q:  How can I tell if my pet is having an allergic reaction to a protein?

      A:  Some common reactions are hives, swelling in the face, itching, redness, and skin is hot to touch.  Introing proteins one at a time will aid in determining if your pup has an allergy to a particular protein.  You can give benadryl to ease the symptoms if they are severe and your pup is uncomfortable.  1mg per pound, with a max of double their weight/dosage per 8 hours up to 3 times a day.  Example:  My dog weighs 80 lbs.  I can give him 80mg every 8 hours but not exceeding 160mg per day. 

 

9.  Q:  My dog is puking up mostly bile at (insert time of day here).  Why?

      A:  Your pet will puke up bile because their stomach is empty.  This is most common with pets who are fed on a schedule.  They knows they eats at a certain time, so their brain tells their stomach "get ready we're going to eat soon".  Your pet's stomach then starts producing bile.  If your pet doesn't eat within the time frame you have them scheduled for, they then get rid of the uncomfortable bile in their stomach.  Best way to stop this, don't feed on a schedule. 

•   Another variation of this:  bile with bits of bone.  Your feeding on a schedule and too much bone.  All that was left in their stomach when they thought it was meal time was bone, so they got rid of the bile and the bone.  Feed less bone and stop feeding on a schedule.

 

10. Q:  My dog/cat has diarrhea.  What do I do?

       A:  First, is it true diarrhea?  True diarrhea is uncontrollable and is caused by a parasite and/or bacteria.  If your pup has very loose poops (pudding like), or loose poops it's not diarrhea and most likely caused by what you're feeding.  All these things can cause loose poops:

                      -not enough bone, feed a bit more bone

                      -too much fat, lessen the amount of fat in each meal

                      -too much food in one meal, break up the meal, and slowly adjust one with more and the other with less until your pup can handle the amount in one meal

                      -organs/liver, these make your pups poop loose, feed them with a bone heavy meal

                      -too much bone.  Yes too much bone can cause diarrhea.  The bone gets backed up and all that can come out is liquid. Have a look at how much bone you

                          have fed in the past 3 days.  If you fed heavy bone meals, feed a a meal to two of boneless and see how they do. 

 

11. Q: My pet is constipated.  What do I do?

       A:  Most likely you are feeding too much bone.  ~7-10% bone is a small amount when you look at the diet as a whole.  Feed a boneless meal and see how they do.  Then lessen the amount of bone you are feeding.  

 

12. Q:  Do I need to add supplements?

      A:   No if you are feeding a 80/10/5/5 diet your pup will be getting all they need.  However, I do add a tablespoon of raw organic apple cider vinegar (acv) daily and both kelp powder and alfalfa powder a few sprinkles a week to my pups food.  *****THIS WILL BE UPDATED SHORTLY.  STAY TUNED!

 

      I add raw organic acv for allergies (the cloudy stuff labeled as "with the mother"), it also helps reduce "poultry mouth", it is good for their skin, and aides in digestion. I started using it because Bruiser had some weird black spots on his skin. I thought it was mange but he wasn't losing his hair in the areas the spots were. A few weeks of acv added and his skin cleared up. No idea what it was but it hasn't come back. Here's some more info on acv for dogs and http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/2_6/features/Apple-Cider-Vinegar-A-Holistic-Remedy-for-Dogs_5220-1.html​ http://www.natural-dog-health-remedies.com/apple-cider-vinegar-for-dogs.html

 

     Kelp is excellent for promoting a shiny healthy coat and supple skin.   As well as aids in maintaining a healthy thyroid, metabolism, and proper glandular function.  Kelp is rich in iodine and is a good source of folic acid, vit K, magnesium, calcium, iron, and other trace elements and minerals.  http://kelpbenefits.net/

 

     Alfalfa contains trace, dietary fiber, and vitamins A, B1, B12, C, D, E, and K.  It's high in chlorophyll which acts as an antioxidant in the bloodstream.  It's known to be one of the best treatments for arthritis, rheumatism, and gout.  Alfalfa also contains cancer preventative qualities.  Alfalfa supports a healthy urinary tract, stimulate natural growth hormones, and brain function.  https://healthyfocus.org/benefits-of-alfalfa/

 

 

13. Q:  Can I balance lost Omega 3s with fresh fish instead of a fish oil pill or liquid?

        A:   For smaller dogs it would not be possible to balance the lost Omega 3s with raw fish without taking away too much from the 80% mostly red meat they should be getting in their diet.  I would recommend sticking with a fish oil or liquid for the little guys.

 

For larger dogs it would be possible if you were feeding the right type of fish.  Sardines* would be the best as they have more Omega 3s per gram than other fish.  Here's a website for the amount of Omega 3s found in raw fish:  https://web.archive.org/web/20140630192832/http://thepaleodiet.com/omega-3-fats-fish/  Please note there is a bit of math involved in this process!! 

 

To figure out the amount of fish you will need to feed:

 

1.      Locate the fish you are feeding from the list in the website above.  For this example we will use Atlantic Herring. 

2.      Add the amount of DHA and EPA.     Atlantic Herring = .9 + .7 = 1.6 grams of DHA/EPA

3.      Multiply that number by 1000 to get the amount in miligrams.   Atlantic Herring = 1.6 x 1000 = 1600mg of DHA/EPA

4.      Note the serving size in the chart is .  Atlantic Herring = 1600mg DHA/EPA per 100 grams.

5.      What is the weight of the fish you are feeding?  Do any necessary conversions.  Atlantic Herring = average weight is 1.5lbs or 700 grams or 24 ounces.

6.      How much does your dog weigh?  You will need 100mg of combined DHA/EPA per 10lbs of dog to maintain a balance.  My dog is 80 lbs.  He will need 800mg DHA/EPA daily or 5600mg DHA/EPA per week.

7.     Determine the amount of fish to be fed.  700 grams (whole Atlantic Herring) / 100 gram (the amount we used in #4 to find the DHA/EPA) = 7.  1600mg DHA/EPA x 7 = 11,200 mg DHA/EPA per fish.  I will use a weekly amount to make it easier.  On a weekly basis my dog will need 5600mg DHA/EPA.  One Atlantic Herring = recommended amount of 5600mg / the amount in one herring 11,200 = .5.  My dog will need half an Atlantic Herring per week to maintain an Omega 3 balance.  Twelve ounces of fish a week is definitely doable without taking away too much from the 80% mostly red meat. 

 

* Sardines are not listed in the website above.  You can find their Omega 3 count here:  http://www.medicinalfoodnews.com/vol06/issue1/fishandomega3

 

Feel free to contact me, as I know how confusing the math can be. I am happy to walk you through it. 

 

 

Tips and Tricks for Saving Money

 

• If you have room, getting a separate freezer for storing the pups food is recommended.  It's not necessary but it will help with buying in bulk and stocking up.  I bought a 5.0 cubic chest freezer from craigslist for $60.00.  I chose a chest style to save on electricity - it opens from the top so the cold air isn't sinking out of it when it's opened.  Less energy used to cool it after we go in it.  Saving money all around=happy pup mom!  Check free ads, estate sales, moving sales, craigslist, kijiji, and friends/family/neighbors getting rid of them.  

 

• Check sale ads for local grocery stores.  Go early in the AM to beat the rush.  Go on the last day for extra discounts. 

 

• Check your local grocery store meat departments for discounted meats.  Go early in the AM before the crowds.  Check for meats close to expire date, etc.  These are usually marked down or you can ask for them to be marked down.

 

• Google meat processors, deer processors, and taxidermy in your area.  Sometimes they give away the insides or sell them really cheap. 

 

• Check for Co-ops in your area. 

 

• Take out a craigslist or kijiji ad for last season's hunting meats, freezer burned meats, people looking to clean out freezers, etc.  This one is hit or miss.  Sometimes we get nothing and other times we get enough to fill my freezer+.  I mentioned in my ad that I would be willing to pay.  However, most of the meat I get is for free.  If I do have to pay, I try to keep it around $1.00/lb.

 

• Ask friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers for left overs from cleaning out their freezers. 

 

• Check for ethnic stores in your area.  Asian markets are really good for organs.  I bought a 5+lb bag of pork kidneys for around $4.00.