I fed my dog raw chicken yesterday. An entire drumstick large enough to still be attached to the spine. She ate most of it and my little dog got the rest.
She's been steadily losing weight and was not at all like her usual playful self. She ate only enough to keep her alive, but not enough to keep her at her healthy weight. It was downright painful to watch her ribs start to become visible as she walked. I added vegetable oil to her food, scraps, starches, anything I could think of, she still didn't maintain her weight. She'd gain it, yes, but then she'd refuse to eat very much and it seemed to drop right back off.
Then I remembered how, a few months ago, I had fed them raw hamburgers that I wasn't about to eat myself because they were terrible tasting. She eagerly gulped them down each day and awaited them the next. She loved them, once she realized they were really food.
Kibble, of course, is less expensive and in some ways easier, so when the burgers were gone, she went back to that. She did fine for a while, but not forever. I was beginning to worry about her health, as well as the very real possibility that animal control would see her and decide to pay me a visit. Even the vet could do nothing if she refused to eat and was otherwise healthy.
so I threw her a large piece of chicken.
She's a very large dog, but that piece was too much for her. Since it was large and frozen, I think she was a bit overwhelmed. She couldn't easily tear a piece off and she couldn't really chew it well, so it sat.
I thought I knew the problem so I cut it. Immediately, she began to chew at the piece I threw her, crunching and tearing. It took a bit of time, but she ate it. I gave her more and more and she loved it.
Today, she's being playful. I haven't seen her that way in months. Feeding meat (although not raw) was something I was planning to do "some day." Now I know she needs it today.
It doesn't matter what the AVMA rules. I know what's best for my dog and raw food is the only thing that's getting her back to her old self. I love her enough not to listen to vets who care more about the kibble industry than about my dog, and to listen to what my dog tells me instead.
Blessed Be.
