For thousands and thousands of years dogs have survived on raw meat. They have always been active, travelled a lot, worked hard and at the end of a good hunting day eaten their prey without grilling it first.

Some of the scientists have documented about wolves that have lived up to 35 years of age. Unfortunately the life of our pets is noticably shorter and the enviroment, lazy lifestyle and unnatural diet has surely had it’s effect on it.

Poor and unnatural diet can lead to problems in development, has it’s effect on the development of dysplasia, allergies, chronical eye- and earinfections and problems with digestion, coat or skin.

Naturally it is vital that the dog would also have the right mental stimulation and physical activity appropriate to the age, breed and individual.

Obviously the responsibility of the quality of your pet’s life lays on you, not the dog food company or the vetenarian.

It would be great to go to the vetenarian only for vaccination and regular health check instead of chronical infections, wouldn’t it?

I have experimented on my dogs with several dog foods and now we are feeding them both raw food and dry food. If you must use dry food, then prefer the kind which has no preservatives, artificial flavours or colours, anything that can negatively affect the immune system of the dog. That might require a bit of a research, because obviously no pet food company advertises on their packet, that they use those.

Once a week it is good to have a “water day” for the dog

BONAVENTURA DOG FOOD

For the last 5 years we have fed our dogs with Bonaventura. Our puppies and young dogs grow on BARF and Bonaventura Junior and the adults get primarily Bonaventura Premium. 5 years of experience has justified the decision.

Benefits of this food are:

• high quality ingrediants – both meat and whole grains (except the rice) comes from farms in Germany.
• All the ingrediants has been controlled stricktly.
• Meat used in those dog foods is as high quality as in meat used for humans.
• No synthetical colours or flavours, no synthetical antioxydants.
• No corn, soya or bone meal has been added.
• No GMO-s (Genetically Modified Organism) have been used.
• 75-85% of the food is natural fresh meat from unmanufactured components.

More about this food here:

http://www.bonaventura.de (in German)

• Bonaventura food can be ordered (In Estonia) from here: http://www.lemmikutoit.ee/

WHAT IS BARF (BONES AND RAW FOOD)

BARF means giving your pet the kind of food they ate in the nature – based of the species, raw, uncooked, not heat processed, free from colouring, preservatives and flavours.

That means, that 60-80% of the food is raw (different sorts of meat, bones, fish, chicken, turkey, lamb, eggs), couple of times a week the offal is served (liver, kidneys, heart, trpe) and 20-40% will be raw vegetables (broccoli, spinach, cellery, carrot, cayenne pepper) and why not also fruit. Everything must be raw, also the meat and bones can’t be cooked or baked.

The creator of the BARF system is Dr. Ian Billinghurst, a Vetenarian from Australia. More info in English here:

http://www.ukbarfclub.co.uk/

http://www.barfworld.com/

• In Estonia you can order different BARF meals (RAFUS) for your dog here:  www.lemmikutoit.ee

SKANSEN METHOD

Skansen is a kennel breeding German Sheperds, Rottweilers and Giant Schnauzers since 1951. The breeder is also proud of the fact that they have NEVER raised a clinically dysplastic dog and considers the reason the development of the hip dysplasia to be poor nutrition and  lack of many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C.

Example of the diet: raw chicken (with bones), raw meat, raw liver, raw egg yolk, sardines (in olive oil), raw vegetables, etc.

To get a better overwiev of the suggestions, go to their webpage: http://www.skansen.com/

On their webpage you can also find mentioning of GNLD-s food suppliments. This is what we have used for years also. We trust them, because:

• specially controlled raw material,
• long term research and development behind every product (Scietific Advisory Board),
• 100% compatible with the body,
• the long term effect is visible.
• Tre-En-En, whole grain concentrate, which provides lipids and sterols, so the cells would be healthy and able to work and produce energy. 1 capsul per day – one can lasts 4 months.
• Sustained Release Vitamin-C, dogs need natural Vitamin C and even though their body is able to synthese it a little, that may not be enough. What makes it difficult, is that Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and as such is eliminated fairly quickly from the body. Sustained Release Vitamin-C works differently – it contains tiny pellets and “bursts” at different times when exposed to the moisture in the stomach and intestine. 1 capsul per day – a can lasts 4 months.
• Formula IV, multi-factor food supplement to provide vitamins and related food factors, minerals, protein, and enzymes, as well as lipids and sterols. Specially good for active dogs. 1 capsul per day – a bottle lasts 3 months.
• Omega 3 + ,whole family of omega-3 fatty acids, a total of eight in all, which contribute to optimal nutrition. Very important for the protection of heart, blood vessel system, coat, in case of infections, gym problems, dogs in whelp. 1-2 capsuls per day – a bottle lastst 2-4 months.
• Kal-Mag + Vitamin D, important for growing organis and also to balance the diet, when feeding raw. 1-2 tablets per day – a bottle lasts 3-6 months.
• Acidophilus Plus, give daily to keep the stomach flora in good condition and avoid diarrhea. Also very important after the antibiotics. 1 capsul per day – a bottle will last 2 months.
• Wheat Germ Oil + Vitamin E, the best possible antioxydant, protection against free radicals. Helps keeping the coat and skin in excellent order, helps healing inner woulds (after the surgery). 1 capsul per day – a bottle will last 3 months.
• Garlic Allium Complex, contains several allium vegetables — garlic, onions, chives, leeks, etc. Lowers risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infection. Very important on the periods of kennel cough, stomach viruses etc. Also good against inner and outer parasites. Enteric coating maximizes stability and absorption and assures the formation of active allicin in the intestines. You can give it to the dog as a drug regimen (1 capsul per day for one week), in that case the packet will last for 8 regimens.

You can read more about the food supplements of GNLD here: http://www.gnld.com, more info also ph +372 50 40 116, e-mail maarit (at) mybrand.ee