We started feeding raw for a variety of reasons. Here they are, in no particular order.
Pugs, because of their conformation, look as though someone has just thrown their teeth into their mouth willy nilly! They are prone to dental problems, like tartar, which cause bad breath and gum disease. It is also very difficult to clean their teeth. We wanted something that would help their teeth stay clean and their breath fresh.
Pugs and Bullmastiffs are flatulent!! On dried food it is copable with......on tinned food we found it awful!!! Dogs do not cope well with cereals, which are one of the main ingredients in a lot of processed pet food. We wanted something that would be better for their digestion, so reducing the problem.
Pugs, despite their small size, produce a lot of 'waste'. We were having to scoop a lot, and couple with the Bullmastiffs daily amount, we were having problems with disposal! We wanted to cut down on the daily amount of scooping!!
Our girls were taking a quite a while to come back into form after having a litter. We wanted something to help them gain weight and condition quickly after weaning their babies.
And, we wanted to give them a food that they really enjoyed eating, and finished up straight away, meaning less squabbles in the dining area, and making it easier to get them in when playtime is over.
We did a lot of research into different methods of raw feeding, including the famous BARF diet, which to be honest left our heads reeling, as it made it seem very complicated. Then we found a book called 'Raw Dog Food - Make it easy for you and your dog' by Carina Beth MacDonald. We were already interested in feeding raw, but with so many dogs, we were afraid it would take up too much time. This book made everything so simple. It keeps additives down to a minimum, which takes less time and expense, and means our dogs get a species appropriate diet, which leaves them glowing with health!
We started to feed raw, using frozen mince, chicken backs and necks, hearts, liver and tripe from a local supplier, and bones from one of the local butchers. We also use free range eggs from our own chickens and ducks, and veg from a local farmer's market.
Now our girls bounce back really fast after their puppies are weaned. All the dogs have nice breath and shiny white teeth. There are no nasty niffs! The daily scooping is minimal, with the waste easily broken down on the compost heap. There is no chasing, cajoling or bribary needed to get them back in after playtime......they are inside before we are.....they spin round and round crazily with excitement when they see their dishes.
We are very glad we took the plunge and started to feed raw.......we realise that, to a lot of people, it is repugnant, so although we start all our puppies on raw food, we then gradually switch them onto a dried food, which we include in our Puppy Pack.
If any of our new owners are interested in continuing to feed raw, we will be glad to help. As well as obviously leaving the puppy on raw food instead of changing over to dried, and recommending the above book, we are always here to answer questions and offer support.
