After much research, advice from other RAW feeders and soul searching we finally took the plunge and converted our dogs from a 'good quality' commercial kibble to a diet consisting of raw meaty bones, raw meat and raw chicken including wings, carcasses and legs. Any minced meat we feed is minced complete with the bone in so that when we wean our puppies onto it they have the same benefits as the older dogs.
The reason we started looking for a better way of feeding our dogs in the first place is because one of our girls lost so much weight after rearing a litter of puppies. We then moved house and got so stressed that she blew all of her coat and refused to eat altogether. She was a right mess. In desperation I sought advice from friends who also have German Shepherds and have fed a RAW diet for some time and with my heart in my mouth I offered my girl her first chicken wing. From that day on she got better and better and even started to look forward to her meals. Now she is fit, well and full of life again. The girl I am talking about is Mya, we didn't think that we would breed from her again as she was in such poor condition - now she is like a different dog - fit, gorgeous and in the best of health!
At this point I would like to thank Ann from Krisannrio German Shepherds for all of the advice and encouragement that you gave me during this very difficult and stressful time.
http://www.freewebs.com/krisannriogsds
At the beginning we just changed Mya & Majik over as we had just bought in a months supply of commercial dog food. I felt so guilty though when the rest of the dogs looked on with pitiful eyes as the 2 girls got the yummy raw meat that after 2 days I threw the towel in, gave all of the commercial food away and switched them all over. From then on we have gone from strength to strength, - all of our dogs now enjoy a RAW diet and are all full of health and vitality.
I have since read lots of books and articles on the subject by many different authors (some who are dog lovers like ourselves and some written by vetinary surgeons) and now wonder why it has taken us so long to realise what a disservice we have been doing our furry friends all of these years whilst mistakenly thinking that we were giving them the best that money could buy!
Any future puppies produced at Mountsett will all be weaned onto a completely natural RAW diet and we will give any help and support necessary to anyone purchasing one of our puppies to continue feeding it this way.
There are lots of books,e-books and online articles available to help and I have added some links to this page to help get you started.
Below is a list of online articles
http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/feedingrawdiet.pdf
http://www.ukbarfclub.co.uk/barf-success-stories/rearing-puppies-on-barf.php
http://www.hare-today.com/feed.php#feedcalc
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/romyldale/nutrition.html
http://www.bluegrace.com/RawFeedingFAQ.pdf
http://www.rawfoodlife.com/Raw_Pets/Barf_Faq/barf_faq.html
http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/barfdiet.shtml
http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
http://home.att.net/~hattrick-dals/Diet.html
http://www.rawdogranch.com/rawdiet.htm
http://www.pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk/beware_parasite.html
Other suggested reading includes:-
Give your dog a bone – Ian Billinghurst
Grow your pups with bones – Ian Billinghurst
The Barf diet for cat and dogs – Ian Billinghurst
Natural Nutrition – Kymathy Shultze
Raw dog food – Carina Beth MacDonald
Work Wonders – Tom Lonsdale
Raw Meaty Bones – Tom Lonsdale
Natural health for cats and dogs - Dr Pitcairn
Food pets die for – the shocking facts about pet food – Ann Martin
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