About ten years ago I did business planning for Gerry Nash, the owner of a pet food company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His company produced a raw meat diet for dogs that evolved from a successful history of feeding zoo animals and selling to breeders.
Specialists at zoos and breeders knew the value of a raw diet to the health of their dogs and big cats. The rest of us were feeding our pets dry dog food that we thought was healthy. Ewe (squealed with a squinched up nose) was how many of us reacted to the thought of feeding our pets raw meat. We don’t eat it, why would we feed it to our pets?
I asked Gerry Nash why a raw meat diet was better. He asked me, what do dogs eat naturally if left in the wild? Do they wander off to the field and chew on a cob of corn, or stalks of wheat, he asked? No, I said. But dry dog food doesn’t have that! Read the labels, he suggested. So I did. Meat or some phrase that included a meat like ‘chicken meal’ was generally way down the ingredient list. Topping off the list were corn, rice, grains, and other non-meat items.
My attitude was wavering but not certain, so I decided to feed my dalmatian a raw meat diet. I brought it home frozen in patties. My husband said he would thaw a patty and feed Sparky (we’re not creative when naming our pets). I returned home later that afternoon to find him frying the meat. Not only was he frying it, but he was acting like a gourmet cook spicing it with garlic powder, onion salt, and other spices. It doesn’t smell all that tempting because this raw diet includes tripe and other organs that add valuable nutrients for dogs.
We ditched that cooking idea and followed the instructions. Mostly. She was so excited when we went to the freezer to get a patty that we gave her a frozen patty. She ate it like a bone. It slowed her down as she enjoyed nibbling and gnawing on the patty. She loved it! This feeding idea worked for us because she took it outside on the grass. For indoor feeding, thawing would be best.
The value of that diet wasn’t observable for a few weeks. It was then we noticed the muscles that had developed on her front quarters and neck. Her coat had an extra healthy shine. Now we were convinced it was a better diet.
If you have a dog or cat, give Nature’s Advantage by Animal Food Services a try. It’s all natural, made with USA beef. It’s also available in a dry formula, but it’s not cooked. A freeze-drying technique preserves the active enzymes and nutrients that heat removes. You can easily take it along for your dog when you go hiking, camping, fishing, or hunting. It’s light weight and does not require refrigeration.
For more information or to order, give AFS a call at (800) 743-0322 and check out their web site http://www.animalfood.com/
Disclaimer: I have an interest in Animal Food Services as a shareholder. This article relates a true story.
