Dogs down Memory Lane

How did we keep dogs fifty years ago?  They were tough and healthy then, often living in outbuildings and none of the zillions of pet products on offer now.  There were no pet supermarkets, the occasional pet shop smelled of sawdust and Jeyes Fluid.

How long have we had readymade dog food? It’s convenience product, pet food processing is a relatively recent industry.  In days gone by we fed our dogs on meat from the butchers with a few table scraps thrown in.  It wasn’t that dogs weren’t cared for, in fact, there was as much effort went in to keeping dogs as there is nowadays.  Fewer trips to the vet then than nowadays too.

Dog food was different and we think it was better.  The food was fresher and more wholesome (to a dog that is).  Now it’s all supermarkets and processed factory made food in cans and pouches and who knows what’s in it.  Why is there such an obsession with feeding moshed up chunks in cans and pouches – or even worse,  dried with all the water taken out.

Our dogs in those days (forty and fifty years ago) were generally healthier even though there were some deadly diseases around and not many dogs were vaccinated.  Dogs were as much loved and valued then as they are now but there was more common sense in looking after them.

Dogs are carnivores and raw meat is the dog’s natural food.  It has to be said that meat was easier to obtain then and cheaper too.  Butcher’s shops were plentiful, they had scraps and offal and the dogs were fed whatever we humans didn’t want.

In an old (1930’s dog book) it says that dogs should be fed raw meat with biscuits (they would be plain wholegrain in those days) or brown bread and a small portion of green vegetables.   Even though other food could be substituted occasionally, this should be the basic diet.  In addition carrots could be given, but it’s advised never to give potatoes.   Unpolished rice could be substituted for bread and the meat could be lightly cooked if preferred.

It says that the biscuits should not contain any meat (they’re getting that already) but it’s good for them to have vitamin D and calcium.   What sort of meat?   As cheap as possible is the advice – and in those days it was sheep’s heads and bullock’s heads (one head will make enough meat for a kennel full of dogs!)   Shin beef and other odds and ends (necks) are recommended for an excellent and cheap soup, it says that dogs will do well on it and I agree.

No artificial ingredients, no animal derivatives, no preservatives, everything fresh and using ingredients that would otherwise be discarded.  Fresh locally sourced meat is the most desirable food for dogs – it’s sustainable and helps avoid climate change too.