Paul E. Schoen wrote:
"FurPaw" wrote in message
...
Char wrote:

Some say that kibble creates that problem.
"Some" say that the earth is flat, "Some" say that aliens landed in
Roswell, "Some" say that the Apollo moon landings were staged in Nevada
(area 51, to be precise), "Some" say that canines don't require
carbohydrates. Who are these "Some" people?

By some I meant people who have studied dog nutrition which leaves out
anyone associated with kibble and most definitely you Paw. Canines do
not need carbs at all.

And why should I listen to
them?

I dunno, why should you? I'd never say that you in particular has to
listen to them but I'd bet your dogs would love it since they'd be a lot
healthier.


Well, "some" of the above statements can be easily disproven, and others
are harmless phantasies.

I could try to eliminate all carbs from Muttley's diet, but that *might*
cause illness,

More likely it will prevent illness. I've yet to hear of eliminating
carbs causing illness. Indeed, many people are now going grainless
themselves.
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/carbs.html
"carbohydrates themselves are not actually necessary; glucose is
necessary, and that can be obtained from sources other than carbohydrates."

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...ts-grains.aspx
"The natural diet of both species includes high levels of protein, fats
and water, and very little carbohydrates. The "recommended" diet of dry
foods, which is the diet of most cats and dogs, is the complete opposite
of this natural diet: High in carbohydrate, low in protein, fat, and
with almost no water.
A highly processed, grain-based diet fed to an animal designed to thrive
on a meat-based, fresh food diet is very likely to produce symptoms of
ill health over time. Diets to address disease most frequently deal with
the symptoms that are the result of a lifetime of inappropriate food,
not the true cause of their symptoms. The optimum diet for a dog or a
cat should closely resemble their natural diet.

A diet balanced heavily toward grain promotes insulin production and the
production of inflammatory chemicals. Over-production of insulin makes
it hard for the body to maintain its correct weight, and can lead to
diabetes and other problems. An overabundance of inflammatory chemicals
means more aches and pains."

so unless he is having major health problems now, I won't
risk that.

I don't understand what you think could happen. My dogs haven't had
carbs in many years and nothing bad happened. Indeed, the rate of
diabetes and other disease would dramatically drop if kibble were to
disappear off the face of the earth.

But I could replace the kibble with a brand that has higher meat
content, or try a raw diet for a while, and at least I could see if the
coprophagia is eliminated.

Mt philosophy is "if it ain't broke don't fix it". But for nutrition, the
evidence of a problem may be subtle and damage can occur over a long period
of time, so reasonable attempts at being proactive are prudent. So, off to
the store for a few pounds of beef hearts for Muttley!

Paul and Muttley
www.MuttleyDog.com


Well, beef heart is a great food but you have to balance it out with
some sort of bone (phosphorus vs calcium). Easiest and cheapest is
chicken necks but I feed beef ribs and other things as well.

And as for "if it ain't broke don't fix it", the problem there is that
you may not see a problem that I might see with my experience, or at
least I'd see it earlier than you would.

Other cheap and healthy foods would be beef kidneys and liver, pork
feet, etc.