Gunner the GSD goes RAW

Gunner the German Shepherd has always had a wonderful attitude but he has been plagued with digestive issues and allergies his whole life … which is what this is all about.

We’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old. We started him on Costco brand dog chow which is what they were feeding the litter. He vomited frequently but I believed what I had heard so many times before “he’s just a puppy and they do that”. At around the age of three months I transitioned him to Eukanuba brand dog food with the hopes a higher quality brand would remedy the barfing. (I chose Eukanuba because I worked in a Petco when I was younger and a rep gave all the employees a detailed and persuasive class on why it was the best). Still, frequent barfing, ugly backblast, and as he grew older he started to look skinnier and skinnier.

By this time we had been to two different vets more times than I can remember. The first, Banfield Pet Hospital, practically insisted I have every possible test they offer done so we could be sure of “things”. Since they wanted over a thousand dollars for these tests, and Gunner was barfing not dying, we passed for a second opinion.

It was my first very bad experience with a veterinary office and my last to Banfield.

It also reminded me Vet offices are frequently businesses first, and caregivers second. Almost offended by our experience there, we started seeing a private practice. They were considerably friendlier and appeared to have a more calculated approach to diagnosis – which built our confidence a bit that they might identify a solution. Unfortunately they couldn’t identify a problem either though.

Soon after, around the age of 4/5 months, our new vet moved us to a very expensive prescription food (Royal Canine HP – “hypo-allergenic). He’d been on that dry kibble since. It did reduce the frequency of vomiting and improve his stool a bit. He even put on a few pounds. It certainly didn’t cure the problem as he’d still puke it up an hour late. We’d consulted the vet numerous times with no new direction or suggestions, yet still incur an expense. It just baffles me the doc could let me walk out the door without providing any real answers and still walk me ot teh counter for a nice bill.

Finally through my own desperation I began researching other options and talking with other owners. I inquired with the Vet about raw feeding options… The responses weren’t hostile (as I’ve heard they can be), but I received the same jargon I’m continually seeing and hearing about (choking hazards, bacterial risk, commercial food is perfect) These are very reasonable assumptions, and when I first started reading about Raw Meaty Bones I identified them myself. However, the more and more I researched the more and more I challenged the status quo.

One night, with no change in diet at all, Gunner had another episode of vomiting. He’d puke, chomp up as much of it as he could before I got there, and then 20 minutes later puke again. Aside from seeing him in discomfort, I couldn’t handle another night of 2am barfing. Not to mention the smell and mess each episode created.

I’ve been researching this topic for months now and this last episode finally helped my take the step. I’m submitting this blog so that I can share our experiences with you, hopefully for your benefit and the benefit of your animals. We’re about 2 weeks into Raw Meaty Bones and already seeing some very interesting and positive changes… I hope the information and here, with our story, will help more take a more critical look at what the Dog Food industry represents and how we’re affecting our pets. → Leave a comment