feeding raw

why we feed our Chow Chows raw

Through the years we have been reading and learning a lot about dog food.
It all started with Nemo, our first Chow Chow, he was difficult with food. He had regular some itchy spots, that could be allergy related. We tried many types of kibble, but we were never really satisfied with it. He did eat the kibble, but very slow. Only if I put some table scrabs in it, he would enjoy his food.

Through the internet I met people that fed their dogs raw. Many of them told me that their dogs had suffered from itchy spots too and that those problems were mostly solved by feeding raw.
In 2000 we switched mainly to feeding raw and ever since Nemo had very few problems with his skin.

feeding raw

The best way to feed raw is feeding different kinds of prey animals (like chicken, duck, rabbit) whole.
A prey animal in percentages: 15% bones, 15% fat, 10% skin, 20% intestines (including the contents) and 40% muscles. With these percentages you can feed raw yourself. Keep in mind these percentages are averages, not exact numbers.
Eggs and fish are healthy food sources too. Eating raw bones keeps the teeth clean.

ready made raw

These days there is a lot of ready made raw available. At first I was not very enthousiast about ready made raw, but now I give my Chow Chows two or three times a week ready made raw (available in the Netherlands): Carnibest or Alaska Dogfood. It is easier, but everything is grinded, so there is no benefit for the teeth. The other days they get self made raw.
It is important to look at the ingredients of ready made raw, some contain grains and many dogs don't tolerate grains.

kibble

I still feed some kibble (Orijen). After dinner our Chow Chows get our table-scraps with some kibble. If there are no table-scraps they get canned fish (tuna, sardines or salmon) with kibble.
I don't think kibble is very healthy for dogs, but like ready made raw, it is easy.

The problems with kibble are:
- you don't know exactly what ingredients are used: kibble is mainly made of the
  leftovers from the slaughter houses, destruction, grain and soja etc.
- the additions that are done before the ingredients come to the petfood industry
  are not mentioned
- most kibble contains a lot of grain (a major cause of allergy)
- most kibble contains preservatives like BHA (E320), BHT (E321) and Ethoxyquine
  these are toxic and can cause allergic reactions
- in some kibble colours are added, those can cause allergic reactions too
- most dogs think it is boring to eat the same each day