# Dalmatians and raw feeding ?!



## bernadettelevis (Feb 2, 2011)

Hi!
So Levis best friend is a dalmatian. And his owner is now a very good friend of mine. And recently we talked about rawfeeding.
She said that it is good if it works for me, but that dalmatians lack something to breack down a special enzyme or something in meat. so it is not safe to feed dalmatians a raw diet. I don't really believe it, but since i didn't really know what she was talking about, i couldn't really argue.
She couldn't remember exactly what it was. 
So i wanted to ask you guys, maybe you have an idea what that could be!
Are there any dalmatian owners here that feed raw?

Thanks for any input


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

For some dalmations it is the purine level in meat you have to worry about. There are enough meats low in purine that the dog can eat and he will get plenty of variety. In fact, his diet would probably be better than those dogs who get chicken as a staple as more red meat would be included.

I think poultry has the highest purine content. Also, organs usually have lots of purine, so I don't know if a barf style of diet with supplements would be good for dogs who are susceptible to forming kidney stones


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

I know two very beautiful dalmations that are fed raw!! They are members here but don't post often, I can message Monica to chime in. 

This is what I found about Dalmatians but I know nothing more about it and how to go about it. Obviously it can be done as she's been doing it for a while now and her dals are gorgeous!

_ALL dalmatians lack uricase enzyme necessary to fully metabolize purine protein fractions,
and therefore, ALL dalmatians are prone to an increased urinary urates and stone formation_


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

luvMyBRT is the one to answer questions like this. I'm sure she'll chime in sometime today. :smile:


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## DeltaNDoc (Nov 14, 2010)

Dalmatians cannot convert uric acid so it has the potential to build into stones. Therefore they need a low purine diet (which is what makes the uric acid). Kind of like gout in humans. Actually, chicken is your meat lowest in purines (white meat) so I feed sometimes up to 75% of my diet as chicken or turkey. My dals are not confirmed stone former so I don't have to be as strict. I would stay away from pretty much all red meats and organs if they are confirmed. Right now I'm actually feeding a 40 to 50% red meat diet and they are doing just fine! But I do know mine came from good lines with no history of stone formation. Many people think they need low protein but it is really low purine they need. I have to feed barf with veggies because we can't feed a prey model. However, I have introduced heart with no bad results. (i know, considered a muscle) 

You can Google dalmatian raw diet and get plenty sites about it. Look for dashing dalmatians, paisley dalmatians, and there are a couple other breeders. A raw diet is actually very popular for dalmatians my two favorite dalmatian breeders, Carrie Jordan and sue mcmillon feed raw diets and their dogs are some of the best in the country.


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## DeltaNDoc (Nov 14, 2010)

And not all veggies are good. Spinach is really high in purines. You have to find purine charts and decide for yourself.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Here is something that Sara (LoveMyBRT) wrote up for Jon & Natalie's blog: When is Prey Model Raw NOT ideal? | Prey Model Raw There's some great info in there.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Thank you all for the mention of my name! I feel so loved! :grouphug:

Yes to what Monica has said. Duncan, my BRT, is a stone former. He has to be on a very strict modified BARF diet.

If you read through the link that Ania's Mommy has posted it explains it all. Dogs who are confirmed urate stone formers have to have a diet low in purines and very high in water intake. Foods that are highest in purines include red meats, organ meat, brewers yeast, spinach plus many more. Duncan's diet consists of a veggie puree (only veggies lowest in purines), some added supplements and he gets chicken quarters a few times a week. 

The main thing you want to find out about a dog that has hyperuricosuria is if they are actually stone formers. Some Dalmatians (who are all affected) form stones, while others don't. The best bet is to have your vet do routine urinalysis to monitor the dogs urine for urate crystals. If crystals are found it is best to do an ultrasound to see if there are any stones formed yet, as urate stones do not show up on x-rays.

If no crystals are found than it is a safe bet that your Dalmatian can do really well on a barf diet (still no high purine foods). If crystals are found then you need to really monitor things while you get the dogs diet under control and tweaked to what works best for them.


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## bernadettelevis (Feb 2, 2011)

Thanks everybody! So next time this topic comes up, i know what i'm talkingabout


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## Montana (Apr 10, 2011)

This is such a great informative thread! I never knew that about dals. Learn something new everyday!  Thanks for posting this.


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