I've had many inquiries into what Bodhi is fed, so I finally decided to write about it. Bodhi's diet has changed over the years as I learned more about what suits him best. It varies according to what his life style is; showing in conformation, training heavily or lightly, stress levels, weather, and now with semi-retirement. It's not really as difficult as it sounds.

First a little history of why I went Natural
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I started looking into and began feeding a natural diet to my dogs, back in the 1980s. I had a black female Doberman that had a gorgeous coat when I purchased her as a pup, as did all her relatives I had the privilege to see. I followed the diet that her breeder had used for years, so when she began to have coat problems at 2 years of age the vet and I were perplexed. We tried everything we could think of and find nutritionally. I refused to let the vet give her pharmacueticals for what should have been a simple problem to resolve. I gave her various food grade oils, human and pet vitamins & supplements, and tried out a wide variety of pet foods. I gave each new food or supplement about 3 months, or longer, some shorter if her symptoms worsened. Nothing produced long term results. We did skin scrapings, external tests and internal (checked for worms, thyroid, blood work, etc) tests upon tests. Nothing unusual showed up - we were stumped.

Having a retail/grooming shop of my own, I began researching the companies, the ingredients and the processing of those foods that was sold in my store. I had hoped this would help me find a brand that would work well for my female. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with what I learned about many brands and downright disgusted with others. You can read what somebody else wrote about some the common practices with many brands of commercial pet feed here if you missed the Pet Food Company Secrets link near the top of this page. I learned much of the same things.

Meantime, the trainer I was working with kept nudging me to try the natural diet with my female. The diet she spoke of at that time was one developed by her friend,Wendy Volhard. When I finally decided to give it a try - had nothing else to try at that point, it made all the difference. Within two weeks of being on the Volhard Diet her skin was healing quickly for the first time in almost two years!
Her two litters greatly benefited by her diet until going to their new homes. One pup from each litter continued to be reared and fed the natural diet ~ the differences were noticeable. I was converted!

Incidentally, that female lived to 13 1/2 years of age, outliving her littermates and all but one of her own pups from her first litter, by several years!

Thus began my search and self-education into Natural Rearing, herbs, and homeopathy. It actually, motivated me to learn more about them and other alternative therapies and diets for humans, so it fit into my life very nicely. But that will be talked about on a future site!

My Search for the Right Diet

When Bodhi came into my life as a pup I hadn't had a dog for almost two years. He had been started on a "natural processed food" that I decided to continue with. By the time he was 6 or 7 months old, I could tell this wouldn't do for him, and tried to remember the entire Volhard Diet. My biggest challenge was finding a source of good quality meat that I could afford with my very limited funds. When in the North East, I belonged to a co-op which purchased excellent muscle meat for my previous dogs, but while in Colorado, I couldn't find a good, cheap source of meat. So many cattle ranchers,nearby, and yet no source of reasonably priced meat! Go figure!

Well, then I tried a different "natural processed food" and added what cheap ground burger I could find to it. Eventually, I went back to what I could remember of the Volhard diet. I tried variations on that for a couple of more years, before learning that Bodhi is a dog that just does not do well with grains. Luckily, I then discovered a commercial frozen meat diet that contained only a trace of cereal. He did extremely well for the years I fed this. My only concern with this meat, was since it was intended for pets, what was the quality of the meat? How clean was it from antibiotics, hormones and vaccines? What was animal source did the meat come from?

In the Fall of 2000, I moved back to the North East. I soon learned I couldn't find the frozen diet anymore, nor could I find the co-op I had been part of! It seemed everyone that fed beef before, had switched to raw chicken necks and backs!

After an initial unsucessful search for a raw beef source in my area, I ended up trying him on the chicken. In some ways he did well, but he developed a problem that he'd never experienced before. Luckily, Bodhi's breeder came into the picture and off we went to her source of meat in NY - a four hour trip one way! So now we make a "meat run" about every 3 months. I figure Bodhi is worth it! Besides we all have so much fun visiting Traci and her 'family'.

This is what I have found to work the best at this time for Bodhi and my budget, since he is retired from heavy training. I won't go into real specifics, as this diet fits Bodhi and may not fit your dog - each dog having their own specific needs.

He is fed once a day a mixture of meat, vegetables and just a little oatmeal. I have found more recently, that he actually requires much more vegetable matter than I was ever used to feeding. I like to use a variety of raw vegetables, but very limited frequency of broccoli and cabbages, and never onions or the few other "non-recommended" vegetables. I was used to feeding only a couple of tablespoons to my other dogs, but he appears healthier with at least 1 cup! The veggies go through a food processor with a little hot water poured in. I'm not picky about how much meat he gets, which ends up about 1 1/2 pounds. I also still use the chicken, but give 4 or 5 necks. Sometimes he'll receive meat alone, other times, just the chicken. A couple times a month, he enjoys a piece of fish in place of his regular meat! I felt he needed a little more bulk in his diet, so I started giving him a little oatmeal - less than a cup though. He also receives a couple of specific vitamin supplements.

Once or twice a week he'll receive a couple of eggs, cooked or raw. It's a hilarious to watch him with the eggs! He doesn't always just crush them with his teeth. Sometimes he seems to enjoy tossing them in the air, watching them intently as they arc through the air and break upon hitting the ground! Then he devours them. Besides the eggs, occasionally, he also gets to snack on very ripe fruit, and raw beef bones.

With the increase in vegetables and adding just a small amount of oatmeal, his earlier problem has been corrected and he looks great. Bodhi is doing extremely well on this diet.
At the time this is being written, he is a very young 8 1/2.

Finding the Right Diet

My experinces with the Natural Raw Diet over the years has made me realize that no one recipe will work for all dogs. Each dog has their own dietary requirements and those may change slightly corresponding to environmental and physical factors. This is not unusual, if you think how wolves, and coyotes diets change slightly with the seasons due to prey availabiltiy, and other factors. Even humans tend to gravitate towards different foods from season to season, though we may have access to the same foods all year.

I have provided a list of Links and Books that offer very good information about Raw/Natural Diets. Each offers a little different recipe though they share the same fundamentals and philosophy on feeding and caring for your pet. You and your dog will be the best judge of how well a 'recipe' is working. As you learn more about natural diets and become more in tune with your dog, and how it digests the foods you feed, you will be able to find the right combinations.

I am a strong advocate for wholistic/alternative treatments as well and have had much success. Except for the time when Bodhi had surgery, he, my previous dogs, my daughter and myself have not used antibiotics or other conventional drugs for many, years. Homeopathy, herbs and diet changes have worked successfully treating many conditions, chronic and acute. I have seen and experienced some dramatic cures from Homeopathy, including my own gall bladder troubles cured with one dose, and a former dog of mine cured of heartworm with a combination of Herbs and Homeopathy!

DISCLAIMER: The information given on this site is not intended to diagnose any physical or mental condition, or to prescribe for any condition, nor is that my intent here. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice and treatment of a licensed professional.

In the event that you use the information above or anywherre on this site, the author of this site and author(s) of articles contained herein assume no responsibility.

The information on this web site is for educational purposes, created from a labor of love and as a public service. Thank you. Desiree Malouin, CCHT: Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master/Teacher, Bach Flower Practitioner, Intuitive Healer, and Shamanic practitioner.

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