What is an all natural diet or “AND”?
All natural diets are diets that consist of nothing but raw foods for your Pit Bull. Since dogs are carnivores an all natural diet for dogs would be meat, bones, and some vegetables to simulate the various foods found in prey animals.
I asked my vet about raw diets and they said my dog would get sick, why would they tell me that?
Simply put, your vet is wrong and this is horrible advice. Before I get into the many reasons why the majority of vets are against raw diets let’s take a look at the raw diet and why it is probably the most powerful diet any dog can be on.
All Natural Diets Examined
The all natural diet is designed to mimic what a wild dog or wolf would be eating. Now I hear you saying, “My dog is not a wild animal. So this doesn’t apply to them.” Well, actually it does apply to them. Let me explain. At the time of this article the commercial pet food industry is from what I could find 50-60 years old.
Think about this for a second, using logic and genetics we can easily see commercial foods are new and our dogs stomachs and digestive systems have not changed from the way they were hundreds of years ago in such a short time (50-60 years).
All natural diets go back to the wild if you will and provide the proper nutrition for our dogs without adding a bunch of funky chemicals, rendered animals, additives, colors, flavors that are blended and made to smell certain ways, and a host of other nasties found in commercial pet foods.
I’m not one of those people who freak out at a bowl of kibble. My dogs get it from time to time, however, they get only the best pet foods I can buy. A list of dog food that is natural and good for your Pit Bull will be provided at the end of this article.
Feeding a raw diet (all natural) is about as basic as teaching your dog to chase a squirrel. It comes natural to them and their bodies are designed to handle the raw foods.
The key is to only use fresh human grade ingredients. My rule of thumb is, if I can’t put in a pan and eat it myself, my dogs shouldn’t be eating it either.
The Pit Bull Training Handbook
Can You Show Me a Raw Diet Example?
I sure can. Here’s an example diet.
- Raw Meat. This meat can be muscle meat like hamburger or turkey burger. Steaks can also be fed. I feed iron steaks and chop steaks from time to time.
- Raw Eggs with the shell. 2-5 times a week you can feed your dog a whole fresh raw egg. I prefer the free range eggs over store bought.
- Bones. Turkey necks, chicken necks, and chicken backs contain bones and muscle meat as well. All are safe for your dog.
- Veggie mix. Carrots, celery, and green beans are a good basic mixture.
- Powdered Vitamin C. This stuff is outstanding and has many healthy benefits. I used to sell a human grade form of this and used it with my girls many times. I still use it when I feel like I’m going to get sick and when feeding my girls.
- Kelp and Alfalfa. Again, the powdered kind works best.
- Essential Fatty Acids. Omega 3 fatty acids (Salmon oil has this). Cod oil and/or Liver Oil.
- Glucosamin Powder (99% pure). This helps keep joints trouble free and healthy. It also helps dogs with current joint problems.
- Vitamin E. This is a very important Vitamin. It helps with coat health and many other benefits. Some say dogs must have this vitamin.
All Natural is Different for Every Pit Bull
What makes raw so confusing is that it is not designed around a breed or a class of dogs. It is designed around your Pit Bull and only your Pit Bull.
You find what your dog likes and you mix it up and feed it to them. Some dogs hate fish oil. While others love it. My dog Honey will freak for raw tuna and salmon while my dog Angel won’t go near it but she loves raw meat. Likewise, Honey doesn’t eat raw steak but will nibble on hamburger.
Each diet is specially designed by you for your dog to deliver the best combination of nutrients for your dog. This is where the commercial pet food industry lies through their teeth.
Is the Commercial Pet Food Industry Killing Your Pit Bull?
In a word, yes. They are.
First and foremost they all claim to give your dog a “complete and balanced diet.” This however is a flat out lie. Not all dogs need the exact same amount of protein, fatty acids etc… Not to mention that a lot of their ingredients are grain fillers.
I’ve never seen a heard of dogs grazing in a field. Have you? Eating grass doesn’t count. Grass is not grain. Grain is a major cause of allergies in dogs. This has been proven time and time again by vets around the world.
This leads me to the question brought up at the beginning of this article. I asked my vet about raw diets and they said my dog would get sick, why would they tell me that?
Next time you go to the vet look around. I mean really take a good hard look around the corners, in the rooms that are empty, on the shelves and in the waiting room.
What do you see? Ah, yes, you see loads of commercial pet food. Ever wonder why this is?Vets have these foods because they are given to them by commercial pet food companies to promote!
Basically, the pet food industry helps support the vets who resell their foods. Is this unbiased or what? I mean that would be like your doctor telling you only Healthy Choice microwave foods are healthy for you to eat. Oh yeah, you can pick up 5 or 10 in the lobby on your way out. While you don’t see it in doctors offices, you do see it at the vet.
In Conclusion
The commercial pet industry has millions of dollars to spend on advertising and positioning themselves as “the source for healthy dog foods.” I’m not anti-corporation or industry but I am for responsible common sense based decision making.
On one hand you have synthetic chemically enhanced dog foods with loads of extra fillers in them while on the other hand you have fresh, human grade ingredients with very little to no fillers in them. Which one would you prefer?
Some people say it’s too expensive. That’s not true. If you buy in bulk you can feed several dogs for a month on what you would spend for commercial dog foods that don’t give your dog their essential nutritional requirements. You will also be feeding less food to your dogs because they are actually getting what they need from the food.