# 10 Year Old GSD, saved by RAW diet, instead of being put down... A TESTIMONIAL



## lone Ranger (Nov 29, 2012)

Well, Dakota, "Cody" is my best Mate here in Australia. He is an oversized Black and Tan Show dog type (before I knew about the working dog type). I wanted him to live on a little longer, to teach my new Working Dog sort Black GSD Pup his personality and tricks..

A month ago, my Son (24) thought Cody should be put down.. Bad smelling, itchy, ear problems, swollen elbow, shedding profusely... I had been on Holiday for three weeks looking at wolves in Yellowstone Dead of Winter. He had been kept on a regular kibble diet by a caretaker, and was reacting badly to the kibble. The 7 year old Bitch Tonka seems to thrive on the kibble but not Cody.. Note that this is a dog by dog variation, some thrive some do not get along with the kibble. Tonka has no problems, very nil on odour, little shedding, nothing.. Cody had hot spots, joint problems, was on monthly slow release anti-inflamatory and pain relief, and no longer wanted to play. Shedding all over, ear and odour problems, and was looking poorly.

Anyway, Cody was in bad shape. I started a RAW diet, meat and bone and chicken carcasses 79-80% and organic butcher organ meat. *In a month of Raw Cody is now going on walks every morning and night, shedding down to very little, ears good, joints good, and in the last week on walks with the 13 week old Black GSD Pup Caesar on a lead, Cody has started dancing and frolicking with the Pup, and dancing and playing with Tonka the Bitch, and generally back to his old self of a couple of years ago...*

Now I am sure he has joint problems, and I may have to continue the monthly medicines, but he now is in good shape, putting on weight, hip bones not sticking out, and full of energy. He is teaching the Pup all of this command responses to hand signals and basic obedience. Still a bit picky on eating volumes of the raw, but is greatly improved.

I am puttin out a Natural Petfood called Nutro, Adult Large Breed Chicken and Rice, that has a first ingredient of dried chicken meat, and second ingredient of rice.. I am putting out a pail of that to snack on, but he gets a big feed of about 2 lbs every morning RAW meat on the bone like: Cheap Y bone chuck steak on sale, blade steak, chicken carcasses, are a mainstay. But now I have cheated and have butchered an old cow of mine that had bottle teats and could not calve anymore.. *Cody is thriving, you will still recognize him as an older dog, but now he frolicks and plays and yelps if I don't let him out for the Puppy walks morning and night on my 30 acre horse property. RAW saved him.*

They all get a small percentage of organ meat, and alternate meats of chicken and lamb, but their main diet bulk is beef meat and bone. From playing around with it, about 2 lbs a day looks to be about right. I have to encourage competitive eating to get him to eat much over a pound, but some days he would do two.. Tonka gets maybe a pound, pound and a half... The Pup only eats a handful, and only nibbles on the kibble now and then. Most of his meat is on the bone so he can chew the leftovers... Cartiledge bone is preferred and he will virtually eat it all..

I hope this has been a help to all of you wondering about the RAW diet. It is really helpful for a dog that is allergic to something in the kibble, does not get along with grain fillers or something. While it may not be necessary for all dogs, in that some will thrive and get along with kibble.. *I am convinced it will prolong their life a sizable percentage if given RAW from birth.. My new Pup is on 90% Raw, at most 10% kibble... And a healthy all natural one "Nutro" when that.. (Nutro, made in Australia) *

*Anyway, Raw has saved Cody.. Hope it is a help to you, take it to heart, living proof in Him..*

Kind regards from Australia, Horseman out on the "Last Frontier"


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## lone Ranger (Nov 29, 2012)

Cody had been going downhill for a couple of years... About three years ago he developed a limp, that turned out to be elbow displaysia. Drugs and Pentasan/ Cartrophin, injections and he got better, but I started to limit his amount of exercise. In the past year, he started going down fast. After a month on raw, each day he is looking better.

Even this morning, back to his youthful self, out of the yard to go on a walk with the 7 year old Bitch Tonka, and the new pup, Cody was dancing and prancing, even half hearted chasing his tail, and frollicked around on the walk playing with the pup on the lead. He is doing better than I have seen him for at least a year. He obviously was reacting to the dry dog food, and maybe the Raw will give him another year or two... Honestly, his hips have filled out a little, skin itchyness, shedding, odour, ears, problems seem gone and everything is better. He is acting years younger and seemingly is only getting better day to day.

Hope this is a help to some of you thinking about diet. Kind regards, lone Ranger


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## Loneforce (Feb 12, 2012)

I think that is really great! I am glad cody is doing good. I hope you get many more years from your Cody.


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## SS-GSD (Dec 10, 2012)

Great news for you and Cody! Hopefully he can have a couple more good years with you. Any before and after pictures?


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## lone Ranger (Nov 29, 2012)

Hello SS-GSD

Really I did not want any pictures when he was going down hill rapidly over the past year... When I got back from the Holiday, he was in really bad shape. Losing hair, hot spots, ear problems... About mid last year: Last Vet visit out for a sick calf, found hip problems, and swollen front elbow, ear problems, eyes weepy, points of hips showing, backbone more prominent... He was just looking old...

Now, he is vibrant as a new penny... :wild: Only going of five weeks of two pounds of raw meat and a few bones, and about 10% liver and organ meat, and Nutro all natural health food sort of dog food in his pen as backup.... AND WOW, I have a mid life looking Dog of YEARS AGO!!!! 

He is back to romping and dancing, raising up and playfully playing with the pup, dancing and prancing around.. :wub:

Only five weeks of two pounds or so a day, his coat has stopped the extreme shedding, glossy, hot spots gone, eyes clear, ears clean and even, and he is acting like a much younger dog again... Wow! Here is a picture of him this morning.. Lookin' Gooood Mann....


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## lone Ranger (Nov 29, 2012)

Now 6 weeks into the RAW diet... And he is thriving and playing with the new puppy... He still has a couple of hot spots, you can see one on his hip, but that is probably because he insists on digging his own bed under the elevated country house and there are some ground fleas I think...

Summer is almost over, we are in fall and if he is still here next summer I will spray the whole underside of the house.. Probably not worth the bother now.. Not sure if that is even the problem...

Anyway, here is a 10 y.o. with all kinds of problems that is looking good enough to help educate my 15 week old puppy... Here is a Dog that six weeks ago my Son said we should put down, and he is thriving and prancing around..


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## Mog (Aug 10, 2012)

Great to hear! He definitely doesn't look like the dog you described previously  Our new pup comes home next month and I'm starting him out on Raw from day one.


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## readaboutdogs (Jul 8, 2001)

Did you just change straight over to raw? Do they have stomach issues or stool changes? That is interesting, clipper is 12, an inside dog, has arthritis in his back legs, wonder if it might help?


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## lone Ranger (Nov 29, 2012)

readaboutdogs said:


> Did you just change straight over to raw? Do they have stomach issues or stool changes? That is interesting, clipper is 12, an inside dog, has arthritis in his back legs, wonder if it might help?


Look, from all my research some dogs just get along fine on a good grade of kibble, where others have all sorts of problems and allergies, and I am sure the kibble shortens their life. In all fairness, the main killer of dogs seems to be Cancer from 8-12 years, food has to be the main contributor as very few smoke...  The issue is inflammation, and any allergic reaction to grain or kibble could be causing inflammation on the joints, so yes it might help IMO.

My Dog has genetic Dysplasia, he is unluckily the 4-5% the GSD Society here says will still happen, even though to be a Society Breeder you have to have something like 10 Generations with very low hip and elbow scoring. His dysplasia is elbows. When I got home from my last Holiday, his eys were runny, hair dropping out in gobs, ears a problem and scratching on it got infected, and he smelled bad. Also one knee was swollen. Some of it is my fault, I used to think long runs were beneficial and let him run alongside a quad bike or horses for a couple kms. I use to throw the ball for a long time. He would stay in motion back and forth around a big arena as I trained horses. He really got toooo much exercise maybe. He went lame a few years ago, and x-rays determined the cause to be elbow dysplaysia. Pentasan injections (like cartrophin) and NSAID drugs for a few months and limited exercise after that and he was fine for a couple of years. Until the last year.

Anyway, Cody had been going downhill for the past year. After six weeks here is his condition: He is on a monthly anti-inflamatory and pain relief pill now. And other than that you would say no symtoms. His stool was fine, I did not see him lose a meal, smell and bad shedding went away. His ears and eyes look normal. Look, medically, inflamation is the extreme aging issue. His problems might have been more minor and just being exacerbated by the allergic reaction to kibble. He is happy romping and dancing and playing with the pup, and seems to be doing fine. Time will tell yet, but he seems a lot better. 

I hope this is a help... Kind regards, and good luck with your Dog...


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

Handsome boy! Glad he's doing better.


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

Hope that you and your boy have many, many more years together to make awesome memories.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

What an awesome story. Thanks for sharing! You obviously love your dog very much and hope you get a few more quality years with him.

Our GSD, Molly seemed to develop chronic colitis starting as an older pup. I started giving her dehydrated raw and 1/2 kibble. She showed good improvement. After a few months totally took her off kibble and her colitis is gone. She does dehydrated raw and prepared, frozen raw. The frozen raw is pricey, but still cheaper than going to the vet every 3-4 weeks.

I wonder how your vet would react to the change in diet. Are vets open to raw in Australia? Our 1st vet, did not like it. Our 2nd vet, knew better and did not comment at all about it.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

lone Ranger said:


> He still has a couple of hot spots, you can see one on his hip,


If he has hip problems then he might be biting there due to pain.

You might want to add something to help with his joints. Salmon oil is a good thing to add for overall better health (coat, joints, heart).

I would also look into some of Lew Olsen's products for joint help: Arthritis & Joint Problems : Holistic, natural remedies for dogs and cats., Natural nutrition, food and supplemements for dogs, cats and horses.


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## lone Ranger (Nov 29, 2012)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> If he has hip problems then he might be biting there due to pain.
> .


*Lauri, as usual you are on top of things... Good advice..*
To be honest it did occur to me, but previous experience has taken precedence so far: This is the end of summer here, and this "Ole Boy" has insisted on digging burrow beds under the house to lay in with the lower 2/3 of his body as it is cooler than his bed in the garage. Not only is there a precedence of hot spots itchy in summer, but also there is a ground flea here. They will die if they bite him, but they still bite. 

I will have to put up with it until it gets colder. If he starts coming in the garage on his bed again when it is cold, and the hot spots dissapear, then we have to say it is the ground flea and heat hot spots... If the hot spots continue in cooler weather, then I will assume you are right and he is nibbling on the area reacting to pain spots. The evidence for that is that his hips are not so bad, only one knee is and there is a hot spot there.... But... He has the worst dysplasia in his front elbows, that is the only cause of lameness, and he has not chewed on them..?? We will have to wait the next couple of months out. Even today though, puppy out for a walk, and Cody and Tonka playing, Cody was throwing himself up and down and dancing all around with body language that said *HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY* as we walked down to feed the horses. I still have to attribute his renewed health and vigor to the RAW diet. !! 

We will continue to report his condition as it may help others that love ... :gsdsit::wub:


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## readaboutdogs (Jul 8, 2001)

I'm glad your boy is doing well! Clipper has always been fed dry, some canned here and there. Has never ate raw, but as he is older now I would like to make his golden years better! I didn't know if there could be problems switching over or adding some raw and still give the dry. Thanks for you info!


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## lone Ranger (Nov 29, 2012)

readaboutdogs said:


> I'm glad your boy is doing well! Clipper has always been fed dry, some canned here and there. Has never ate raw, but as he is older now I would like to make his golden years better! I didn't know if there could be problems switching over or adding some raw and still give the dry. Thanks for you info!


It would not be the same with all dogs, but Cody switched right over fine, with no problems... 
*Except that now he looks about three years younger..* :wub:

Dakota has responded really well to it, and instead of bony projections where his hips are, he is starting to round out. He might look the best he ever has. Here is a picture this morning, Dakota to the left, Tonka to the right, and my new 16 week old Working Dog "Wolf Caesar"... My Wolf Pack..










*Kind regards from Australia, lone Ranger out doing "Dances with Wolves"*


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## lone Ranger (Nov 29, 2012)

Well, 8 weeks now on the RAW diet...

I may not be able to save Dakota, as degenerative joint disease is not reversible. The hot spots, may in fact be him chewing on the pain.. Or it could be coincidental as he nibbles on his tail and other spots. He lays in the dirt in a dug shallow spot and there are ground fleas. They die when they bite him, but the still bite. It is fall now here, I will spray the whole area for ground fleas before next summer if I determine them to be the cause of the hot spots... 

Anyway, he is now up to playing with the other Shepherds. The RAW/ BARF (how you feel in the morning cutting up the raw meat..:rofl 

Anyway: Here he is at about 38 kg, a little lean, as I have never been able to put weight on him.. Playing with a Red Sable Bitch, Tonka, that I cannot keep the weight off.. 
And the Black Working Dog, is my new Alpha Male to be, Wolf Caesar.. The RAW/BARF diet does work, and the biggest killer of dogs between 8-12 is cancer, from the toxins and rancid oils in the dry food... I will back up the RAW with Nutro, the best Chicken and Rice Natural Dog food I have found in Australia.. Anyway, here he is, looking good...


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## lone Ranger (Nov 29, 2012)

*I am sorry to report, that Cody (Dakota) was put down on Friday last.* 

He had swelling in his back end and back legs, and ultrasound showed wide spread cancer... While I gave him some additional life switched to RAW diet in January, I am quite sure the 10 years of dry kibble is the cause. There is an alarming number of dogs dying here between 10 and 12 years old due to cancer, no matter what the brand of dry kibble. They should live to their late teens even twenty.. 

*I blame the dry food for the cancer.* When I got back to Australia from Yellowstone dead of winter in January (to see the wolves by Arctic Snowcat and snowmobile), my Son said Dakota should be put down with all the dry food problems like: Inflammation in joints, ears, eyes, dropping his coat, hot spots, and so on. While on the RAW diet saved him then he got or already had cancer and was just put down. I blame his ten years on kibble for the cancer, the perservatives, rancid oils, wheat, and lousy fillers, THAT caused the cancer I am sure of it...

*I will feed the rest on RAW.* It was sad to lose Cody, what a LOYAL AND SMART BEST FRIEND he was... ! I gave him five months more life, and he taught my black Working Dogs quite a lot.. I could not let him suffer, here shown with Shaka my new Foundation Bitch about a month ago...



*Good bye Dakota, I will always love You, and Thank You for all the loyalty and Service you showed me all these years...* 

Kind regards to all... Sorry for the bad news, but I thought I owed it to you for this Testimonial.. lone Ranger, out on the Last Frontier doing Dances with Wolves with my GSDs and Quarter Horses...


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm sorry you lost Cody. My previous dogs have all died from cancer, two of them made it to 14+. My sons ferret Bart, died today, he to had cancer, crazy.


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## Contrary (Jun 12, 2013)

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm so sorry you lost your handsome boy, thank you for giving him as wonderful a life as a dog could have.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Oh I'm so sorry!! 

((hugs))


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