We are in panic mode over flu deaths for humans and now our dogs.

We are paranoid over the possibility of getting H1N1 ourselves and now we have the same concern for our dog. The question is-will we also vaccinate our dog? I have expressed my negative feelings regarding vaccinations and the affect on the immune system for humans or dogs in past blogs. Reports indicate the shots are not as effective as detailed by drug companies. Also, the added risk of side effects adds to our panic.

The dog H1N1 flu is scary because that is what drug companies and vets want us to believe. This drives us to the clinics in a rush to protect our dogs. Little comparison exists for the number of potential flu victims for dogs vs humans. Truth be known, few dogs get this virus and the possibility of death from the virus is minimal.

There is an excellent reason for the difference; it relates to how the flu is spread between humans. Humans gather in crowds, some people are sick with the flu and don’t know it or some have little concern over spreading the virus. Dogs, not normally in packs, are not exposed and thus have a reduced risk tolerance. Also, dogs have a higher temperature than humans which tends to ” cook” most human virus varieties.

Common sense tells us to not expose our dog where you have other dogs that could spread the virus.

In general, we should have no issues with the H1N1 virus with our dog if we follow common sense practices:

• Isolate the dog from crowded compounds, kennels etc which creates a greater risk.
• Feed a natural raw meat diet (the BARF DIET), which is an easy way to build immune health.

Fortunately, there is little supported evidence to prove that this virus could be cause for alarm to our dogs. Again use common sense to prevent any transfer of H1N1. Use the same precautions that are suggested for preventing human transfer of the virus to others.

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To really understand the difference it is important for me to define what I mean by Living Food and Dead Food. Live food is a raw meat diet that has active enzymes, not processed, and highly digestible nutrients as found in fresh meat and produce. The life giving enzymes are responsible for as much as 80% of the digestive capability of this food in the dogs intestine.

The advantage of this life giving function is that it reduces the stress on the internal organs that are responsible for providing the metabolic and digestive enzymes in the body. The advantage gained by reducing the stress on the enzyme producing internal organs is that it allows the production of the essential enzymes to last longer. There is less need to produce digestive enzymes for optimum digestion because the foods already contain an abundant supply of these needed digestive aids. The organ systems do not continue to supply these needed digestive aids in the same quantities as when we were younger. Like other intricate systems in our body, the older we get the less active these organ systems can function to supply adequate quantities of digestive enzymes. The longer we can keep these enzyme organs functioning will extend our ability to maintain life itself.

In comparison, a dead food is one that has been highly heat processed and in the end destroys the enzymes contained in the food. It therefore places the entire responsibility of enzyme production on the liver and pancreas and shortens the potential supply of these organ systems. The end result is a shortened life span because the enzyme has ended it’s cycle of reproduction.

I must relate this to the dog food controversy of whether or not to feed a live or a dead food to our dogs. In my opinion it is far better to offer the enzyme rich supply as part of the nutrient source than to depend on the internal organ systems to do 100% of the work. It is a known fact that we absorb our vitamins and minerals best when introduced in our food source rather than from artificially induced synthetic sources. The same theory applies to the enzyme sourcing when a live food can supply many of the needed digestive enzymes to save the stress on the other enzyme producing internal organs. Common sense will tell us which scenario is better for the ultimate health of the dog.

The kibble manufacturers have been selling us convenience with disregard to the long term health of our dogs. It has been marketed as a safe and beneficial way to feed our dogs. Beneficial in what way?—Is it price alone that offers the advantage?

Our philosophy at BARF World is based on common sense. We advocate feeding a raw meat diet that is biologically appropriate for dog.

Live or dead? The choice is ours.

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Did you know that grains are actually among the first “processed foods” in the human diet? They didn’t become a dietary staple until the agricultural revolution began in the mid-19th century. Unlike meat, seafood, fruits and vegetables, grains aren’t typically eaten in their natural state – rather, they’re first milled (processed) to help make them more digestible. Even with processing, many grains often present difficulties, says Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew Rubman, ND. And, he adds, wheat — of all the grains — is actually one of the most challenging foods in our modern diet. It often is the culprit behind an array of digestive, allergic and autoimmune problems.

When experts discuss digestive problems associated with wheat, it is usually within the context of celiac disease — a serious autoimmune disease in which people cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye and barley. In truth though, many — maybe even most — people have trouble digesting wheat. This is because gluten damages the tissue that lines the digestive tract of nearly all mammals, Dr. Rubman explains.

WHAT MAKES WHEAT TOUGH TO SWALLOW

The mucosal walls of a healthy digestive tract are lined with tiny fingerlike protrusions called villi, which facilitate the absorption of nutrients from food, explains Dr. Rubman. Gluten causes degenerative changes in the villi, impairing their function. Once damaged, the villi are less able to absorb nutrients from food, which leads to assorted problems, including fatigue, abdominal bloating and water retention. This slows the metabolism, causing sluggish digestion and accumulation of waste. Over time, this can lead to what Dr. Rubman calls “leaky gut syndrome,” in which intestinal walls deteriorate and become more permeable, allowing waste, toxins, bacteria and partially digested food particles to escape into circulation and cause inflammatory damage elsewhere in the body.

If you are having digestive difficulties, especially IBS and abdominal bloating, wheat may be the cause. Dr. Rubman suggests that a good way to find out whether this is so is to completely eliminate wheat from your diet for two weeks. You may find yourself craving wheat and you may also notice an increase in digestive disturbances in the first few days, both of which will slowly subside and eventually vanish. After two weeks, try a single serving — a small bowl of pasta, a sandwich on whole-wheat bread or some cereal — and monitor how your body responds over the next 24 hours. Pay particular attention to such symptoms as cramping, nausea and intestinal gas. This self-test will give you information about how your body tolerates gluten. Trial and error can identify how often — and in what quantities — you can consume it without ill effects. Dr. Rubman says that this provides better information even than the conventional blood and saliva tests your doctor would order. Such tests are often unable to demonstrate early onset wheat intolerance, and are more useful at diagnosing celiac disease once it has advanced to the point where your body has developed certain antibodies, at which point you should quit eating wheat altogether.

DR. RUBMAN’S SOLUTION: MODERATION

Most people would feel better if they ate less wheat — but if you don’t have celiac disease or are otherwise intolerant of wheat, Dr. Rubman says it is fine to enjoy it in moderation. He advises against eating it daily, recommending instead that you work with your body’s natural digestive cycle. It takes about 72 hours for the lining of an average person’s intestine to turn over, exposing a new layer of healthy mucosa and a new set of healthy villi, which are ready to deal with a new onslaught of gluten. This means that you can safely consume grains every three days, more or less, depending on your individual susceptibilities and how healthy the rest of your diet is. Noting that he lives in an area renowned for its Italian culinary influences and restaurants, Dr. Rubman told me that he personally enjoys pasta as his grain-based food of choice, eating it an average of twice a week.

Source(s): 

Andrew Rubman, ND, medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut, www.naturopath.org.

I thought that there might be a similar connection of the wheat gluten cautions when applied to dogs. The continuous daily ingestion of wheat gluten from grain based kibble diets could surely be the cause of a lot of digestive and allergic health conditions. Could this be one of the reasons why a meat based diet has such a reversing affect on serious digestive and allergic reactions? I think there is enough documented evidence to substantiate this position. BOTTOM LINE ADVICE- eliminate the wheat gluten from your dog diet. Another reason to switch to a raw meat based diet.

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This brings up my other advice that suggests an improvement in your choices for your dogs. They need your ability to gain superior knowledge to discover the proper and most appropriate diet for good health. If you don’t search this out you are doing them an injustice and it will force them to scavenge for food. Our company was formed in order to provide an economical source of human grade ingredients, top quality manufacturing processes, and a delivery system to make our product available to every corner of the country via mail order and through our distributor connections. We offer our customers a variety of protein choices which we feel are a needed requirement. If you choose to follow our philosophy we will make available to you a world of raw meat diet articles, blogs and videos that show in detail how to properly make the switch to a raw food program. We welcome the challenge to educate and make this choice one that is simple and understandable. Come join our family of satisfied customers- you will be glad you did.

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Indeed, the fact that the stomach doesn’t self-destruct is one of life’s major miracles. The reason— a thick coating of protective mucous is steadily secreted by surface mucous cells in the organs lining, and a very rapid turnover of cells in the lining itself keeps “fresh troops” always at hand. It becomes a delicate balanced system, and with that amount of firepower around, any breach in the defense rapidly grows into a major problem. Two factors are responsible for gastritis or an upset stomach, mainly over-indulgence and or stress. Diarrhea and stomach pain are often associated with this condition. Usually thought of as annoyances, each episode causes a bit more lasting damage, eventually resulting in cellular injury which in turn causes inflammation. The inflammation produces free radicals that go on to create still more tissue destruction, eventually damaging DNA and potentially leading to cancers of the stomach which are one of the most lethal malignancies known.

As I study nutrition and organ functions I find this mechanism one of the most amazing and complex operating systems in the body. Maybe an understanding of this mechanism will explain how a dog can adequately digest a variety of nutrient ingredients that are obtained from bacterial laden sources. It is because of a higher concentration of stomach acids, a much shorter GI track, a heartier dentition structure, and a healthy, developed immune system that the canine and feline species is able to better handle human objectionable ingredients, such as tripe, other organ meats, carrion (dead animals), and bones still buried in the back yard.

Obviously, the animal kingdom is equipped with defense mechanisms that the human body doesn’t have or hasn’t evolved yet to handle. The lesson to be learned here is that a dog is not, and has never been designed to eat grain based food. The stomach is instead, waiting for a more biologically appropriate diet to do it’s work on, the BARF Diet.

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Why Raw

• Improved dental hygiene
• Cleans teeth and makes breath fresher and
  eliminates doggie odor.
• Much less stools produced – firm consistency, and turn chalky after a couple
  of days. Indicator of good future health.
• Decreased or non-existant vet bills (your
  dogs are healthier and don’t need treatment)
• Reasonable cost compared to a premium
  dry food.
• Slows down growth of muscle and bone
  development in growing pups.
• Higher activity level because the animal feels
  better and utilizes nutrients better.
• Improved immune system that helps to relieve
  allergies and arthritis.
• Elimination of soluble carbohydrates in dry
  food yields better weight control
• Extended longevity
• Better breeding success
• Provides living enzymes and phyto-nutrients that
  are normally destroyed in heat processed food.

Why not raw

• Possible higher bacterial concern
• Less convenient to feed than a kibble diet
• Possible higher cost
• Travel limitations with frozen food
• Increased learning curve required

Maybe it is time to weigh the advantages and benefits in order to make a better diet choice.

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I am happy to report that as of today there are no known cases of this virus that has been spread to dogs from humans or vice versa.

If your dog gets sick and shows similar symptoms of this virus it is best to take them immediately to your vet for observation and treatment. Obviously the key to good health is to build a strong immune system. This is mother natures best defense for all types of disease or viral infection. One way to help build up the immune system defense is to switch to a raw food diet (The BARF Diet). This is mother natures food of choice for our beloved dogs.

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It is always best to introduce the diet slowly if there is evidence of a previous GI upset, or an immune system challenge that has been triggered by antibiotics, steroids, vaccinations, or similar medical treatments. In the majority of conversions that make the fast conversion (about 90% of our new customers) the switch is made without complications. If the occasional vomiting or diarrhea happens then it is best to back off and restart using the slower conversion method. I usually suggest that a probiotic and enzyme supplement (BARF PLUS) be used for the first 30 to 60 days. This will help to regulate the intestinal flora to accept the new raw meat formulation. If your dog has a history if GI complications you will be amazed to see the difference this diet can make in how they process their food internally.

Another major change you can expect to see is the reduction in the consumption of drinking water. The reason for this is because the raw meat diet is 68 to 70% moisture (water) and that means that the animal is consuming and getting the moisture it needs from the food source rather than from his drinking water. This allows for a much better utilization of the water needs and thus requires much less water from outside sources. You will be amazed to see the difference this makes and the result is far less bloat as a result. This is really important in larger breed dogs that require larger volumes of food to get their caloric needs met. This is one reason why we sell a lot of product to the larger breed dogs. It is especially important when trying to satisfy the energy requirements for performing animals that require larger volumes of food.

Many new raw food guardians see an increase in activity levels as well. I think it relates to human food consumption and how we all feel when we have eaten a healthy meal compared to a fast food calorie glut. It again relates to putting the right fuel in the tank in order to get the best performance level.

Therefore, you now have three good reasons to consider a change of diet to a more appropriate feed for your animal.

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Last week I had a customer that was going to quit feeding the BARF patties to her dog because the dog’s stool turned to a chalky white consistency and she was nervous that the dog was reacting bad to the diet. Wow! I realized that she was not informed from the beginning about the difference in utilization of the nutrients between a dry kibble diet and a raw meat based diet. The nutrients in a raw meat based diet are more readily absorbed by the body and the result is as much as a 30% reduction of stool volume. In addition the stool color and consistency changes because all that is left in the stool is ash and fiber which casts a chalky white consistency to the stool. This is completely normal and should pose no concern to the dog owner. It is a sign that the dog’s body has utilized all the nutrients in the food. If the dog receives other table scraps and various treats you will see a change back to what the stool was like on dry food.

It is common knowledge that the stool is the barometer and best health indicator. It reflects the digestion and consumption issues and is a visual sign that can indicate good or bad health issues.

There are other health warning signs that one should be aware of as well. The clarity of the eyes is an important indicator of health. The condition of the skin and hair coat is also an indication of nutritional adequacy.

Everyday attention to these three areas will be an easy way to monitor the general health condition of your dog. Of course your vet will be the best health generating support for your dog but you can be aware of problems in advance when monitoring these areas.

I must repeat my philosophy and recommendations to feed your dog a diet that is most appropriate and natural. We believe that a natural, raw meat based diet that duplicates what nature would provide for your dog is the best diet choice.

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