Hello! I have 6 siberian huskies, one of them has had severe allergies most of her life. It is this pup, Winter, that made me re-examine my feeding program and ultimately switch all of my dogs to a raw food diet. It has been a journey and I think I have advice to offer to anyone interested in this switch.
Winter's symptoms included: constant itching, ear infections, biting her toes, dry eye, dragging her butt.. this poor girl was in misery. Initially I did not understand it to be a food allergy. It got progressively worse with each year of her life. Two years ago I drove her to Boston to the Tufts University animal hospital. They did skin tests for a ridiculous fee and concluded she is allergic to mites, molds and many tree pollens. It was shortly after that I read an article about a dog diagnosed as being allergic to grains and about another being allergic to chicken. The light went on for me. How could I have been so blind? I watched Winter (Winnie) again, and realized that her itchiness was worse within an hour after eating and she was clawing her face and butt apart. Where it goes it.. where it comes out..
Now, my dogs have been raised on Neura and Newman's Own kibble. I had always felt good about what I fed..but suddenly I knew
I was
killing Winnie with dog food. I was feeding her a chicken based kibble with chicken broth laddled on top. I have concluded she is allergic to both
grains and chicken. I finally figured this out last summer, and I am embarassed to say that Winnie is 7.
I learned about the B.A.R.F diet through google. It was an eye opener and it made all the sense in the world. My husband and I raise most of what we eat, and as far as meat goes, we only eat poultry. So we raise chicken, turkey and ducks/geese. Someone might recognize that trying to raise poultry and huskies on the same location is a lesson in disaster?? We've had a few mishaps...when a chicken decides to fly the coop literally, it has been into the mouth of a waiting husky and the chase and tug of war between dogs insues. It's a national geographic video right before our eyes. We've had chickens devoured before we could get to them. devoured..and no ill effects amongst the dogs..infact, they were delighted. (these are our other dogs, not Winnie- she was too compromised to participate in the chase).
So, I knew that dogs crave raw meat and of course their ancestry is obvious.. could I find the raw meat to feed Winnie?? This is where my journey begins. I used the grocery store for a while, but there is no such thing as a cheap cut of meat.
So... I began asking farmers, or anyone raising cows, sheep or pigs; where they take their animals to be butchered. In my area, it seems that one place has the market. I called them and asked if I could purchase their "offal". Here's what I am getting: 50 lb boxes of saw bone dust (this is the bone "dust" like sawdust that comes off their meat saws ( it is awesome stuff full of calcium and meat fragments, the dogs love it), boxes of liver, kidney, heart, tongue, pigs feet, and marrow bones. I am paying .50$ a pound except for the marrow bones which are cheaper. I have an old freezer in the garage, I am able to bag and store this meat. I am not paying any more (infact less) than what I was paying for the expensive kibble I used, I have all 6 dogs on this diet and they are thriving. Winnie's agony has totally cleared all except for her dry eye which I still treat. I have much more info to offer if people are interested. It has been an odssey for me learning about this and finding my source. I believe in this diet and hope my experiences can help others.
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