Romancing The Bone

PET CARE EXPERT CAUTIONS AGAINST RAW FOOD DIET FOR DOGS
 

 TUCSON, Ariz. – The current fad of feeding Fido a raw meat diet may be detrimental to his health, according to a leading expert in natural pet care.  Dr. Lisa Newman, president of the International Natural Pet Care Association and author of eight books on natural pet care, says the daily consumption of raw meats and bones has resulted in these pets being diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, continuous digestive problems and immuno-related weaknesses with various symptoms.  “In the 1980s, after six years of clinical documentation on the overall wellness of these animals, I documented a pattern of disease in the raw meat eaters,” said Dr. Newman, a Doctor of Naturopathy who also holds a Ph.D. in holistic nutrition.  

In the study, she compared a group of raw meat eaters with dogs eating cooked foods and another group on a daily diet of processed dog food and nutritional supplements. She noted that when the raw meat eater group was returned to a more conventional feeding program of cooked meats and processed foods, the overall health of the animals improved, and various digestive problems or other ailments were significantly diminished. “The raw meat diet is too hard to digest for most dogs,” said Dr. Newman.  “Without easy-to-digest and easy-to-assimilate nutrients, the animal’s body lacks enough fuel to work its own miracles and fails to repair and support itself.  Consequently, the body fails to thrive and prematurely ages while suffering from a number of complaints and ailments. Current faddists, just like the faddists of more than 15 years ago, somehow believe that processed food lacks naturally occurring enzymes that the raw diet contains.  Yet, the same people urge the use of digestive enzyme supplements for raw meat diets. “If a raw diet is full of naturally occurring enzymes, these specific supplements should not be necessary,” according to Dr. Newman.   “In truth, long term use of digestive enzyme supplements can actually cause the body to shut down its own natural abilities to digest nutrients.”  

Dr. Newman believes a home prepared meal is best for a dog, as long as it is well balanced.  She recommends meals consisting of 60% lightly steamed, shredded or ground meat, preferably beef, lamb, venison, rabbit, ostrich or turkey.  She considers pork, fish and chicken to be very weak meats for dogs. The remaining portion of a home prepared meal should consist of 30% cooked whole grains and 10% raw vegetable or fruit.  The cooked grains she suggests are rolled oats or oatmeal, barley, millet and spelt, a variety of grained wheat.  Dr. Newman says brown rice should not be frequently used, and white rice should be avoided, as both are difficult for dogs to digest. “Recent university studies have shown rice may be a major contributing factor of diabetes in dogs,” she said.   

The home prepared meal recommended by Dr. Newman is balanced with a 10% portion of grated carrots, beets or chopped apples.  She said the meal should be served warm, 1 ¼  cups per 20 pounds of the dog’s weight, and fed twice daily.    If home cooking is not an option or the preferred method of feeding a pet, Dr. Newman’s advice is to provide a well balanced diet of premium commercial  dry and canned natural pet food, supplemented with daily multiple vitamins, herbs or nutritional products as required by the pet’s age or specific needs.   When selecting a commercial canned or dry dog food, Dr. Newman suggests pet owners purchase a high quality product made with “human-grade”  ingredients.  She cautions against purchasing products from pet food manufacturers that do not fully disclose the exact nature of all ingredients on the labels.   “Look for descriptions such as ‘whole ground brown rice’ instead of just ‘rice,’ and for ‘beef’ instead of ‘beef by-products’ or worse, ‘meat by-products  meal,’ which can include roadkill or euthanized dogs and cats.  These brands are of a lesser quality, obviously not made with human-grade rated ingredients, and are usually the source of a pet’s physical or behavioral crisis.” Dr. Newman, who attributes 90% of pet health problems to diet, lectures throughout North America on holistic nutrition and pet care.  She is also president of Azmira Holistic Animal Care, an award-winning pet food and nutritional supplement manufacturer based in Tucson, Arizona.

         Additional information on natural pet care and Dr. Newman can be secured from by calling toll free 800-497-5665.