Work Wonders: Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale

Practical how-to instructions on feeding the popular raw food diet from the Australian veterinarian who has made it his life's work to improve the health of our canine companions through raw feeding. Customize the diet for your dog's needs. Editorial Reviews Review What a magnificent piece of writing ? it's real skill to write as simply and clearly as that. -- Mark O'Connor, www.australianpoet.com From the Publisher ItÂ's the book every dog's been waiting for. Dog owners will be thrilled with the clear, entertaining style and cheeky illustrations that convey the information dogs have been trying to tell us for years. From the Author Sometimes a lucky coincidence or chance encounter helps throw new light on an old situation. ThatÂ's what happened to me. Finally, after five years at veterinary school and fifteen years as a qualified vet, I saw that processed foods do immense harm and natural foods work wonders for the health of dogs and other carnivores. At first I was aghast at the magnitude of my mistake, but then was uplifted. Here was the answer to so many of the problems facing my patients. If you own an adult dog that you feed on canned or packaged food, now is the time to make a change. If you have a young puppy then starting him or her on a more natural diet should work wonders. HereÂ's wishing you and your canine companions the best of good health, Tom Lonsdale About the Author Veterinarian and raw meaty bones activist Tom Lonsdale was born in the UK in 1949, graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London in 1972 and now lives in Sydney, Australia. Tom writes articles and gives talks helping people to improve their petsÂ' health using the methods perfected by Nature. About the Author Veterinarian and raw meaty bones activist Tom Lonsdale was born in the UK in 1949, graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London in 1972 and now lives in Sydney, Australia. Tom writes articles and gives talks helping people to improve their petsÂ' health using the methods perfected by Nature. Excerpt. ® Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 4 - Switching, grinding, breeding Switching to raw food Feeding raw meaty bones works wonders for the health of dogs. But getting started, overcoming your fears can be a trifle unnerving. WeÂ've all heard the bad press about dogs choking on bones, the vet bills associated with the perforation of a dogÂ's bowel and the nasty bacteria said to lurk in every mouthful of raw food. We donÂ't want to do our pets even the slightest harm. Besides we have a self-image to preserve. We donÂ't want to appear reckless, flouting conventions and open to ridicule. Relax, wipe the sweat from your brow and dry your palms. Switching your petÂ's diet is the most important thing you can do to promote health, vitality and longevity. Happily most dogs are in touch with their inner wolf and seize on the first juicy bone you offer. Some dogs, though, addicted to the commercial offerings, may take a bit of persuading. LetÂ's assume your dog is relatively young, has no major/painful problems with teeth and gums (see Chapter 7) and hitherto has been fed a commercial or home cooked diet. The first question then becomes: Do you introduce changes gradually or switch the diet abruptly? I recommend that, if possible, you make a complete change without any lead-up. Simply stop the old diet and start the new. At first itÂ's best to choose and stick with one food source until the change over has been completed successfully. Whole chickens or chicken backs and frames make a good initial meal for all sizes of dog. Simply throw the items on the ground and watch your pet sniff, lick and finally seize the morsels. You may feel the urge to hover for the first few feeding sessions. Try to hover at a distance and so avoid crowding your pet. After about a week feeding chicken or other chosen food and providing there are no digestive upsets you can introduce a variety of other large raw meaty bones and carcasses. Allow a week or so to introduce each new food item before moving on to the next. What if your dog has become addicted to junk food and you have become habituated to feeding the addiction? Often a 24-hour fast makes a big difference. Resist the temptation to provide a snack of kibble or canned mush. Simply remove all food for 24 hours. The next day, your somewhat confused and hungry pet will be more willing to investigate the strange new offering. If this strategy fails we need to think again. Switching fussy dogs For some people the smell, even the thought, of certain foods turns their stomach. Food aversion affects dogs too. For instance if a dog is stung by a bee as he or she eats a chicken carcass or suffers stomach pains associated with a meal of chicken, then aversion to chicken may result. Generally, though, itÂ's not a bad experience but lack of experience that makes dogs refuse new tastes and textures. Switching the diet of fussy dogs may take a bit of ingenuity using a combination of methods. Like wolves, dogs cope with hunger surprisingly well. ItÂ's not unkind to let hunger be your principal tool. Fat dogs can be fasted for lengthy periods without ill effect ? even several weeks. Lean dogs can go without food for long periods too. But two or three days of no rations usually works just fine. If the chicken frames are not eaten after an hour, simply return them to the refrigerator until the next day. By the third day your hungry hound will be following your every move ? and be a willing participant in the experiment. Do your dogs come to the rattle of dry kibble? Does your dog like to catch tasty morsels, or retrieve the ball? A little teasing and deception, for honorable reasons, may do the trick. Rattle the bowl, but toss small pieces of meat instead. You might try chopping some chicken meat and mixing it with familiar food; gradually increasing the proportions of chicken over a few days and then substituting with large pieces of chicken on the bone. You might try smearing canned food or crushed kibble onto raw meaty bones. Do you have a small dog and do you feed cooked human food? Some small dogs may need their chicken lightly grilled. After an introductory period grill the meat less to the point where itÂ's completely raw. Once your dog gets the idea that raw meat tastes good he or she will soon delight in ripping meat and crunching bones. Persistence pays. Do not give up on small dogs. Raw food is essential for them. They need more tooth cleaning, not less. Once a dog relishes the taste of raw chicken graduating to other raw meaty bones and offal is usually straightforward. However, if a new item creates resistance then try a day or two of fasting. I wish you luck and mention a couple of exceptions ? raw feeding is not a mechanical process, we need to stay in touch with the realities of Nature. There are dogs that would rather starve than eat what is otherwise wholesome natural food. Some dogs relish raw fish and some dogs refuse to eat fish however hard you try. My own dogs eat chicken backs and frames with gusto. But much to my chagrin, when I bought some old laying-hens, with the intention of feeding them warm, feathers, guts and all, the dogs seized the newly-killed hens with a vigorous shake ? they made sure the hens were dead, but flatly refused to eat them. I tried plucking the hens; dismembering them; I tried everything I could think of, but still the hens went uneaten. Such is a life with dogs. The remaining hens lived happily ever after and laid lots of eggs to prove it.