Obesity in Dogs – A raw diet can help.

Obesity is becoming prevalent in many dogs, just as obesity has become more visible with many people in our society. The cause of this in many cases for us and our companion animals is consuming more calories than we need, lack of exercise, and eating highly processed and refined foods. You’ve probably seen the new series on television, Downsize Me, and the animal equivalent, Downsize my Pet. They both advocate a sensible diet of low calories and plenty of exercise to reduce the weight and improve our overall health. Sounds simple enough – but it still takes a little effort in order to achieve the weight loss.

Have you ever wondered why many wild animals carry very little fat, have a great coat, are often lean and have little health complications (there are no vets in the jungle!) Nature has provided them with a natural diet and the nutrients they require in order to evolve. The weak die and the strong survive. The food chain is ideally suited to provide all animals with the necessary vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates etc they need.

So why do our family pets now have health issues, problems with weight and bad teeth?

Besides the fact that we have taken these animals from the wild, bred them into today’s breeds and domesticated them as household pets, the DNA of the domestic dog is not that different from the wolf. However, the domestic dog has been conditioned to lay about the house and eat processed food. Domestic pets do not hunt and consume the natural diet that their ancestors ate.

If you think about the diet programs that are on TV, diet books and articles, they all talk about a balanced healthy diet with regular exercise. Eat fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, grains and wholegrain cereals. THESE ARE ALL NATURAL FOODS! Our human ancestors were hunter gatherers - they would have to hunt (exercise) and gather fruits and vegetables (natural foods). Obesity is a modern issue, primarily bought on by the consumption of highly processed foods and laziness.

In today’s society we have been educated by vast marketing campains to feed our pets processed foods. These have been scientifically researched and include ingredients such as by-products, grains and cereals they are highly processed and have no resemblance to what nature provides through the food chain. The amount of exercise our pets do has also been drastically reduced in comparison to their ancestors. Our companion animals no longer need to hunt their meals in order to survive.  The combination of lack of exercise (hunting) and eating processed foods has led to increasing cases of obesity in our pets today.

Below is a comparison of raw food, and premium dry foods. You’ll note that rabbit, which is the closest food to what a wild dog would catch in the wild, has the lowest calories, least fat, no fibre and a high amount of true protein (including essential amino acids).

	Raw Beef 70% beef 30% Fat	Raw rabbit meat	Premium Dry Food (Diet)	Premium Dry Food
Calories/100gm	332 kcal	114 kcal	387.5 kcal	437 kcal
Protein*	14.35% True Protein	21.79% True protein	Not less than 19%Crude Protein	Min 26% Crude Protein
Fat	30gm	2.32 gm	Not more than 11%	Min 16%
Fibre	0	0	Not more than 4%	Max 3%

Protein*
True protein, as the name implies, is the actual amount of protein in the food including the essential amino acids, while crude protein is derived from the nitrogen content. Crude protein over evaluates the amount of protein because it also includes non-protein nitrogen. True protein values are used in human food and is more reflective of the nutritional value of the food.

Based on this simple comparison and what we see all around us in nature, raw food is the best food for our pets.

Many of the health issues our pets have become exposed to have been the result of consumerism. Prior to processed food coming on the market, obesity and related health issues didn’t exist ( and still don’t exist in the wild). With the convenience of feeding dry food and the big marketing budgets of petfood manufacturers we have been convinced that processed pet foods are the best foods for our pets. In my opinion and the results I have seen from raw feeding, I am yet to be convinced that we can manufacture food better than nature provides.

Nature knows best.