Hi C.J., I’ll refer you to an excellent guide on raw meaty bones from vet Dr Tom Lonsdale – http://www.rawmeatybones.com/diet/exp-diet-guide.pdf

I highly recommend Tom’s knowledge, and he has some excellent books available such as Work Wonders (should be available on Amazon).

Hi Julie, the way I look at it is this – imagine if you were told you must eat the same processed food ALL THE TIME or otherwise you would get sick. Wouldn’t that be a crazy notion?

Why would dogs and cats be any different from us?

I feel the belief a dog must only eat one brand of kibble stems from pet food marketing. Many of the big global conglomerates have done very well convincing consumers they must use their product daily, every day. The makers of vet-recommend diets like Hills, made largely of grains for pet carnivores, are no exception – Colgate Palmolive! I’m guessing you brush your teeth every day, and use shampoo most days as well (I do). I won’t go down that rabbit hole, yet most Indigenous folk had excellent teeth and hair before being introduced to these products!

When I hear of a dog being sick on a new food, most of the time it turns out they were fed a single brand of dog food (usually not that great either) for a long period of time. That means it’s no different from us if we spend a long time on a limited diet and then try something different.

There are risks to feeding raw meat and fish, parasites being one, but I almost never hear of issues in this respect. I’ve fed frozen sardines to my dogs (and cat) for years, and never had any problems whatsoever. We’re probably more at risk of parasites (or salmonella) than our dogs, such as if we don’t wash our hands after feeding them.

I would say the current diet of your dog being varied and full of nutritious foods (and appropriate for their nature) has to be better than a kibble formulated mostly from cereal grains?

Hi,
We’ve been feeding our dogs whole frozen sardines, as part of a varied diet. They love them, and prefer them to cooked fish.
However I’ve been seeing articles that say the bones are dangerous, and there is a risk of parasites which is making me anxious.What is your opinion?
Plus, a vet advised me that dogs digestions prefer to be fed consistently on one food. Preferably a commercial one to make sure they are getting all their needs, and consistant so the digestive system is not upset. Our dogs diet is very varied (and includes raw meats, offal, raw fish, veggies, small amout of Greek yoghurt with flaxseed etc) but they seem happy, and so far have no problems with digestion. In fact they rarely vomit, which our girls on commercial foods used to do regularly. Are there benefits to the dogs digestive systems to feeding the dog on one type of food?
Sometimes I get anxious that I’m doing the wrong thing

Hi Emma, a rule of thumb would be no bones which he could swallow whole, and no weight-bearing bones. He may be okay with a larger bone to chew on. If in doubt, keep an eye on him.

I highly recommend the book Work Wonders by Tom Lonsdale. Tom’s a dental vet and I believe this book of his would answer many of your questions.

Raw feeding groups (such as on Facebook) are quite good sources of information as well. I have some concerns when feeding a BARF food with ground bone combined with raw meaty bones, but you may find your dog as a smaller breed will gnaw the bone rather than consume it – which still offers the dental benefits!

I’m currently feeding my 7 year old dog, a fox terrier x chihuahua, a combination of taste of the wild dry food and ziwi peak wet food. I’m looking to transition him onto lyka and mix it with taste of the wild dry biscuits (rotating with stay loyal biscuits).

Lately, I’ve been becoming more concerned about his dental health and have fed raw chicken necks in the past with little improvement. Im just wondering what raw meaty bones you would recommend for my dogs dental health, and whether this would be fed daily or 1-2 times a week etc?
I am aware that I should wait until he is off the ziwi as it contains ground bone, and we should avoid doubling his calcium intake.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi Elena, when it comes to Royal Canin and Hill’s Renal diets I find the wet foods much more appropriate in terms of ingredients (more meat, less corn and rice). If they seem to be the open diets that seem to keep crystals at bay then at least feed some of the wet alongside, and perhaps some fresh meats/organs/meaty bones?

However, later on, her urine and blood tests showed that all of her crystals are gone and she is a very healthy girl, however, will most likely need to stay on this diet for the rest of her life. We of course just want her to be healthy but
there is no variety, there are only 2 brands that do this diet and we can’t imagine that she will have to just eat this (wet and dry) food for the rest of her life.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Sandra, wow they really do sound picky!

Orijen is a fantastic food even though it’s a kibble, so that’s good if your Cavoodles are eating it. Do they eat mince, such as raw beef mince in Coles or Woolies? I’ve found some dogs turn their nose up at BARF, but will readily eat raw – i.e. raw meat, organs, bones etc.

I have two adorable cavoodles that are 11yo months old and SUPER picky.

I have tried frontier for 9 months – they hate it. Even with sardines, chicken, tuna mixed through! They like ziwi but I think that’s a bit more of a topper/treat.

There’s a “new” raw food in town ‘for fresh’ – hated it too!

I have just opened a pack of Orijen puppy and they love it! But now I’m super stressed since it’s a kibble … am
I being over the top in worrying? The last week they haven’t been eating, so that fact that they are getting some nutrition (?) in them is a win?

Gosh, I sound so confused and stressed! Am hoping you can help!

Btw – I’ve tried barf which they (and the household) hated! As a working mum of two, cooking isn’t an option so after the best for them (from a shop!)