RAW

[Jo]

I was woundering if rabbit is good raw food for dogs.
could thier diet be made up of say raw rabbit and a good kibble or would they need more?

[neilsherlock]

i cant see that would be a prob, but im no expert. the good kibble should give them anything the meat misses. maybe add an egg as this is an exellent form of protien. I just make shaw my worming is completely up to date now im feeding raw.

[Jo]

yes, i new that worming should be done reqularly when feeding raw and he gets an egg a day anyway is thier a good kibble you recommend or one you use yourself thier are so many on the market at the moment.

[sally]

As a source of nutrician (sp) for dog's you cannot beat a whole rabbit. You actually don't need kibble aswell, rabbit provides almost every nutrient a dog need's in it's diet, I feed lamb bone and mince and the odd chicken carcass/wing as well as a bit of tripe (not washed) and the dog's always have oodles of energy and their coats gleam.

Have to agree that regular worming is an absolute must, I worm every seven weeks.

[dog]

I'm really not sure of the relevance of this in dogs as the following refers to humans and there inability to live on rabbit as a sole source of nutrician but it's possible that the low fat levels found in rabbit may need to be topped-up with a secondary source to ensure enough fat is available for digestion.


Rabbit starvation is the form of acute malnutrition caused by excess consumption of any lean meat (specifically rabbit) coupled with a lack of other sources of nutrients. Symptoms include diarrhea, headache, lassitude, a vague discomfort and hunger that can only be satisfied by consumption of fat or carbohydrates.


[edit] Possible mechanisms
Lack of fats in the diet.
Rabbit being comparatively low in some amino acids that human beings cannot themselves synthesize.
Lean meat, being mostly protein, must be broken down into amino acids and then converted into glucose (via gluconeogenesis) in order to be used as an energy source. This process takes time and can not be done quickly enough to meet the energy requirements of an active person. After the body's energy reserves (fat) are depleted, the energy requirements to sustain basic life processes are not met.
The ammonia released during the process of converting amino acids into glucose cannot be cleared by conversion to urea quickly enough. The buildup of ammonia is poisonous.

[edit] Observations
Vilhjalmur Stefansson wrote as follows:

"The groups that depend on the blubber animals are the most fortunate in the hunting way of life, for they never suffer from fat-hunger. This trouble is worst, so far as North America is concerned, among those forest Indians who depend at times on rabbits, the leanest animal in the North, and who develop the extreme fat-hunger known as rabbit-starvation. Rabbit eaters, if they have no fat from another source--beaver, moose, fish--will develop diarrhoea in about a week, with headache, lassitude and vague discomfort. If there are enough rabbits, the people eat till their stomachs are distended; but no matter how much they eat they feel unsatisfied. Some think a man will die sooner if he eats continually of fat-free meat than if he eats nothing, but this is a belief on which sufficient evidence for a decision has not been gathered in the North. Deaths from rabbit-starvation, or from the eating of other skinny meat, are rare; for everyone understands the principle, and any possible preventive steps are naturally taken."

[neilsherlock]

Trust you Dog, mega info, mega reading mate. Ive been eating skinny meat all my life and look at me!!!

[Shakka-Staffs]

Aug 12, 2008 20:16:29 GMT @neilsherlock said:

Trust you Dog, mega info, mega reading mate. Ive been eating skinny meat all my life and look at me!!!

who ate all the pies who ate all the pies.............................

[Jo]

Lol

[kbkennels]

jo you going to hunt some rabbit ?? or can u buy em dead

[martinl]

My next dog(getting tomora) will be fed on rabbit and game birds with the od bit of lamb, n vegs chucked in.. i get my rabbits of amate for £1 a rabbit lol and if the dog dont eat em.. i will
LOL

[dufduf]

Can you explain what BARF is and any feeding tips, we are trying to find a diet which Alfie will eat, and he will eat raw Beef mince. advice please.

[duffy]

it cost me 600 quid to have a rabbits pelvis removed from a dogs intestine, rabbit is fine unless you have one of those dogs that wolfs down its food like all mine seem to, i will not feed it again unless minced,i never had a problem with chicken/bone so will stick to that as i feel it is softer bone and the dogs process it better.