Xiann
I think that I have mentioned that we put our little dog, Xiann, on a partially raw diet a few months ago. As a caring pet parent, I want her and Milo to have the best nutrition that I can provide. Milo refuses to eat raw anything so he’s still being fed kibble. You can’t make a cat do something they do not wish to do.
So I have done some things for Xiann. She no longer eats the typical meats for raw or kibble. Not that they are bad but because I have read that some dogs have slight intolerances to severe allergies of common meats like chicken or beef. Also, having read that it is better to rotate different protein based foods to allow for proper nutrition, I have been doing that at the end of each little bag of kibble. Makes sense to me, we don’t eat the same thing everyday and expect to have all our needs met.
I thought things were going well. Then in the recent month or so she has been throwing up a lot. She has also been refusing to eat the kibble anymore. Of course, she loves the raw and would eat it all day if I let her. We have been watching her closely, hoping that she is not sick and it is just dealing with an upset, sensitive tummy.
On Monday, I gave her allotment of raw and kibble and she let the kibble sit out and refused to eat it. Rick, later that day, enticed her to eat some kibble. Not long after, she went to sleep on the couch with us. A couple minutes after I woke her up to potty she regurgitated again. Looking closely, I saw the kibble. Poor baby. A few minutes after this, she started to act hungry. I gave her a small piece of raw and watched her. She acted close to normal. She was tired, but she never acts completely normal after puking. However, she did not look “yucky” anymore. Her belly was not tender and her tail was wagging.
Due to this, Rick and I have decided that she will go on a pure, natural diet of no kibble. She will eat the safe foods for dogs to eat, cooked lightly by yours truly. I’ve done a little research and have found lists of safe foods for dogs to eat. Those are the foods that you find in kibble. This way however, I will be able to control the quality of her food more closely.
So here it is, the list of dog safe and unsafe foods.
• Meats cooked rare such as chicken, turkey, beef. But not salmon, pork, or lamb which due to parasites should be thoroughly cooked. ( A couple of the sites do not recommend feeding raw because of the slight chance that a dog will get salmonella poisoning. Though I wish to feed raw, I am not set up to do it at home, by hand, at the moment.) I am considering supplementing her diet with some raw from the feed store because if you get a good raw, it will contain bones and liver, which dogs need.
• Some veggies such as lettuce, carrots, green beans, potatoes, red and green bell peppers, and yams are safe. I do however have hesitations feeding dogs potatoes and yams due to what I have read about those foods raising blood sugar in people more than sugar. I will due more research.
• Some grains, but not in large quantities: rice, oats and whole grain breads that due not have sugar added.
Do not feed onions or garlic. Nor pits or seeds of apples, cherries, peaches or other such fruits as some of them contain cyanide. If you feed your dog any of theses fruits, be sure to core and pit them because they don’t know to avoid those things. No chocolate, or any form of caffeine. No nuts, especially macadamian nuts, and no nutmeg. An exception would be natural, no sugar added peanut butter. (That means no Jiff, but Adam’s Peanut butter would be okay.) No tomatoes or mushrooms. Nor animal fat or fried foods which are also high in fat, they are not good for us, so don’t give them to your dogs. No cooked bones because they can splinter and poke holes in the digestive track which is very dangerous. No raisins or grapes or uncooked eggs. Absolutely no xylitol, sugar or corn syrups. As a rule, you don’t have to sweeten a dogs food. However, honey and molasses is okay in very small quantities.
If you read something, you do not believe to be accurate, please let me know. I do not want to be providing inaccurate information. Also, because I wish to give my dog the safest foods, if I learn anything more I’ll make another post.
