Dogs : Analyzing the healthfulness and safety of raw diets

Analyzing the healthfulness and safety of raw diets

Steve Brown, after attending one of our

Training Camps in the late 80s, turned his passion

for canine health into a career developing

leading-edge products and educational programs

to improve canine nutrition. Brown is an

inveterate researcher and author of nutrition

books for dogs. In his new book Unlocking the

Canine Ancestral Diet: Healthier Dog Food the

ABC Way (Dogwise Publishing), Brown states

that many of the newer raw diets provide most

of their calories from fat and may not have

enough protein to meet the National Research

Council’s (NRC) standards for puppies.

He also notes that commercial raw diets often

are given a 13-month shelf life even though

the USDA says that ground meat only has a

3- to 4-month shelf life. Add in the ground vegetables,

fish oils, and mineral amino acid chelates

(that accelerate oxidation), and the shelf

life of the foods is shortened ever further. In

addition, the way many commercial raw diets

are handled, with big temperature swings and

freeze-defrost cycles, the oxidation of the fats

is further accelerated.

Dry natural and organic foods are now adding

DHA, EPA, and other fragile fats that don’t remain

stable enough after the bag is opened, so by

the time the dog eats through to the food at the

bottom of the bag, many of the fats are rancid.

If you choose one of the numerous natural or

organic dry foods, raw, frozen, or dehydrated

dog foods currently being offered, our advice

is to refrigerate them when you get them home.

And to be on the safe side, avoid buying in bulk

and buy small, fresh quantities unless you can

freeze the food.

Polyunsaturated fat is found in vegetable sources such as flaxseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, wheat germ oil, olive oil, and corn oil. Your dog needs polyunsaturated fat for a healthy coat and skin. Lack of polyunsaturated fat in your dog’s diet can cause

✓ Coarse, dry coat

✓ Extreme itching and scratching

✓ Horny skin growths

✓ Improper growth

✓ Poor blood clotting

✓ Skin lesions on the belly, on the inside of the back legs, and between the shoulder blades ✓ Skin ulcerations and infections

✓ Thickened areas of skin Linoleic acid is one of the three essential fatty acids that have to

be provided daily in your dog’s food. Safflower and flaxseed oil provide the best source of

this acid and are the least allergenic. Flaxseed oil is fragile and can become rancid quickly if

not stored correctly, however. These oils are better than corn