Unlike their wolf ancestors, domestic dogs no longer need to scavenge for food; however, their physiology remains unchanged. They appear designed to eat raw meat, bone and plant matter. Evidence of this can be found in their sharp teeth (designed for tearing flesh and crunching bone), in the absence of the amylase enzyme in their saliva (amylase is designed to pre-digest starch), and in their acidic stomachs and short intestinal tracts (designed to tackle bacteria and process raw meat quickly). While a Poodle may seem far removed from a wolf, Kymythy Schultze points out in The Ultimate Diet that “in 1993 the scientific community officially designated the dog and the wolf as the same species (canis lupus).”

LIVE ENZYMES
Raw foods contain live enzymes. Enzymes are energized protein molecules needed for thousands of biochemical reactions in our bodies from digestion to tissue repair. Live enzymes help dogs (and us) digest and assimilate nutrients efficiently, thereby lessening the burden on the pancreas. Enzymes also help digest bacteria, reduce inflammation, heal wounds, eliminate toxins, slow aging, breakdown fat, carbohydrates and protein into useable nutrients, and they support the immune system. Heat (i.e. cooking) kills live enzymes.

A lack of enzymes needed to break down food “causes unassimilated protein, yeast cells, carbohydrates and fats to be reabsorbed into the blood stream, causing numerous health problems. This is one of the leading causes of leaky gut syndrome.”¹

^1.The Authoritative Reference to Alternative Health and Healing, Encyclodpedia of Natural Healing. Siegried Gursche, MH, Medical Editor – Zoltan Rona, MD, MSc. ALIVE BOOKS, Alive Publishing, Inc. PO Box 80055 Burnaby, BC, Canada copyright 1997.

NUTRITIONAL CONTENT
Raw meat, (including chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, fish), organ meats, bones and eggs contain live enzymes, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins (A,D,C,E,K & B complex), and minerals (calcium, chlorine, chromium, cobalt, coenzyme Q10, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, sulfur, vanadium, and zinc) all in the most useable form.

Our raw veggie mix offers live enzymes, complex and simple carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids and non-nutrient polyphenols and phytochemicals (cancer fighting, antioxidant compounds found in fruits and veggies), again, in the most useable form.

DANGERS OF COOKED
When we cook food we destroy live enzymes, amino acids and essential fatty acids (crucial to health), we bind protein molecules (making them harder to digest) and we lose a large percentage of all the vitamins and minerals that would otherwise be utilized to promote good health. We also stress the pancreas, impair the immune system and force our dogs to process cooked fat, which is dangerous to their health.

GOOD OLD COMMON SENSE
It may seem overwhelming to have to assume responsibility for feeding your dog. No one would want to do it improperly. Just remember, it’s the old fashioned way to feed. Ad-hoc diets kept dogs well long before we introduced commercial foods. Somehow, people just knew to give their dogs scraps and bones, while farm dogs especially would have scavenged for part of their diet. Just think about what dogs must have eaten before man started feeding them. Whatever they could get, whenever they could get it, and I’m positive it wasn’t cooked! Thousands and thousands of people successfully feed raw diets to their dogs. There are many people like me here to help you get your bearings. Please take a moment to browse our recommended reading list, and discover how to offer your dog optimum health.