Hi Diane, Pretty incredible, isn’t it? Diabetes can be turned around in people too. With the right diet and exercise, great changes are being made in this world.

The chocolate lab simply started a raw food diet. Within 5 days her blood sugar was returning to normal. I see it over and over. When we feed dogs the diets that Nature intends for them to eat, they get well. It generally happens pretty quickly.

Processed foods are the culprit behind most illness: cancer, diabetes, kidney and liver disease. The dogs and we humans simply can’t process those kinds of food without diseasing our bodies. Since the 1950s, dogs and humans have suffered a great deal of illness and early death. That’s when dry dog foods, McDonalds, Kool Aid, and the TV dinner started being sold in the US.

A local breeder came to me just a few months ago. He’d started having dead puppies in the womb. The vets couldn’t figure it out. I suggested that he stop feeding processed dog food to his dogs and go to a raw food diet. Within just a few months, the animals are strong again. Crazy.

The thing I find most amazing in all of this is that our veterinarians continue to sell foods made of corn, they sure do keep a nice clientele that way. Three vets told me to my face that if they didn’t sell that food, they wouldn’t have a practice. They know what keeps dogs sick. It happens in our human medicine too. When doctors prescribe medicine for people without diet and exercise changes, they are simply keeping that person sick. Money talks. Just nuts!

There is a website you might like http://www.maximizedliving.com/story.aspx

I follow the Maximized Living nutrition plan and daily exercise and it works! (I don’t recommend things that I don’t experience first.)

The information is the same for our dogs as it is for us. We are all made the same way. A dog and a human digestive system have not changed from the very first of us on this planet. We were not intended to eat corn and certainly not in the quantities that it’s available to us in processed foods. It’s in nearly everything we eat. A cob of corn at a picnic is a nice thing. But corn is in nearly every label of processed food. Look for corn, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, anything ending in ose is a sugar of some sort…it’s not good for us.

People and all animals are intended to eat things that rot. Simple foods that grow, including meats, birds and eggs. Not processed foods and sugars. Corn is an exception, if you study how corn came about, you’ll get a better explanation about why it should NOT be in our diets. When we do it right, we get well and stay well.

Corn is cheap. Why are people paying huge amounts of money for dog food or breakfast cereal that’s basic ingredient is corn? You’re paying for the advertising, marketing and the box or bag. Cattle growers feed corn to fatten a steak for us but those cattle are killed early before they start showing signs of illness. How can anyone expect a dog to eat corn twice a day for it’s whole life and still be well? It can’t.

Speaking of corn fed cattle, I have stopped eating it. I eat only grass fed beef. It’s good for me and it tastes so much better! No hormones or antibiotics in the meat I eat. Ever wonder why our human girls are starting their cycles earlier and earlier? Think hormones in our food.

I personally try very hard to eat right, I exercise daily. I treat my dogs the same way. I’ve helped turn dogs with illness into dogs bursting with health. Rewarding. That’s what we want for ourselves, our families and our animals. It’s a simple change.

Something that dogs need to eat that people don’t is raw bones. Dogs simply cannot be well unless they are ingesting the raw bones that Nature intends for them to eat. Don’t let your vet or the massive dog food marketing machine scare you away from what your dogs really need to be well.

SitStay.com carries the book Raw Dog Food. It’s a simple explanation for how to feed our animals. There have been wonderful books written about the raw food diet and SitStay has sold them all. This one is the simplest to understand and start with, get it to give yourself permission to start feeding your dog the way Nature wants them to eat. I think you’re going to be incredibly happy when you see the changes in your dogs.

I’ve been on a mission for over 15 years to help people keep money in their pockets instead of paying vets to diagnose and treat things they don’t even know about. My opinion is backed up by dogs (and people) who have found wellness.

I hope this helps.

Hugs to your dogs (and the cats too),

Darcie (Founder of SitStay.com)

Melinda, I’ve tried about every teeth-cleaning option available (including regular brushing with a rechargeable rotary toothbrush) and the ONLY thing that cleaned my dogs’ teeth was giving them each a raw beef knuckle bone occasionally.

If you have a local meat market (NOT the grocery store, must be like the old-fashioned ‘butcher shop’ where they cut their own meat from whole carcasses) try there; if not, do a google search for ‘raw beef knuckle bones for dogs’.

The knuckles are better than the long bones (sometimes called ‘marrow bones’) because it’s a lot harder for dogs to break off a piece – and/or break a tooth – on the knuckle bones. They mostly scrape the sides of their teeth on the knuckle (which in some cases is as large as a 16-inch softball!), and that’s what does the most good. Best of luck to you & your dogs.
Kathy B with a Belgian & a Half in central Illinois

Dear Melinda and Kathy, It’s true. Raw knuckle bones will help keep teeth clean. Thanks. – Darcie

Dear Melinda, I don’t carry Greenies, I like more natural chews. The consistency is there because of what they’re made of. Take a look at some of these chews at SitStay.com and you might like some sweet potato treats, too. They have a great texture for chewing and gumming. Try some and see if your dogs are happy.

Gibbs loves them! Thanks. – Darcie

Dear Lori,

If your vet is recommending Science Diet at all, I’d personally find another vet. In my opinion, it’s not a good food.  Find someone who understands nutrition and then you’ll have somebody who can really help you and your dog.

Yes, I’d say the new problems are related directly to the food. What was he eating before? Maybe the culprit for the stones in your dog?

Nature intends for our dogs to eat raw food. When we cook it, process it, we are changing what their bodies are supposed to do. Our dogs in this nation are sick and getting sicker and they’re dying…much of that is related to the foods that we’re feeding them.

How can it be that a sick dog who has been eating processed canned and dry foods gets well when it starts eating raw food? It’s all related.

If your dog was mine, I’d get started on a good raw food now. So far the dogs I’ve helped in the past 15 years, the dogs who have moved to raw food and raw bones, are losing the illnesses and moving on with life.

My Readers have written the same letter to Science Diet that I wrote to Iams, see Open Letter to Iams. (My post about the answer they sent to me.) What did my Readers get in reply to their letters? They got coupons for more food. No answers. Wonder why that is?

That’s my two cents. Again. – Darcie

Hi Darcy!
Which product do you recommend for a Miniature Schnuazer who is an indoor dog? (for meals and chew bones) It seems like a lot of bones are too messy for indoors and with his typical Schnuazer beard it’s difficult to give him raw food that doesn’t get in his beard and make a real mess. – Deborah

Dear Deborah, I like raw food for dogs. It’s so good for all dogs that a little hairy mess is worth a quick clean up after dinner. Or hand feed, that will help the mess. Click on Feeding category here at The Dish to see more about that. Dogs do best when they eat what Nature intended for them. You can make your own or use a commercially prepared one.

If you don’t want to go raw yet, any food I sell at SitStay.com will be a pretty darned good second choice. Right now I like Nature’s Variety raw frozen because I started that one, it’s changed through the years but dogs are still doing well on it. And I like Stella and Chewy’s raw, dogs love the taste and they are doing well on that, too!

SitStay Bully Sticks are great for carpet or hard floor. All of our chews are really good, read the descriptions, it’s all there. SitStay Big Chompers can be a little greasy, the dogs love them, pull out a towel and let them lay there and chew, chew, chew! SitStay only carries the good stuff.

I had a massage earlier today (gosh, I needed that so badly) and Gibbs came along with me, he chewed on his SitStay Bully Stick for half an hour and then went to sleep. This is the same SitStay Bully Stick he’s been chewing on for 4 weeks. When all of his adult teeth come in, I think I might have to invest in SitStay. Oh, wait a minute! I already did!

Thank God for SitStay Bully Sticks where the meat comes from Nebraska, the Good Life and God’s Own Cow Country.

Thanks. Thanks. Thanks to all of you who support this wonderful store. You guys are the best! I love you and your dogs, Every One! – Darcie

Anyway, the reason I actually wanted to write you was to say thanks. Mattie had the best food I could find in town without going completely raw. When she had an accident in the house, I almost couldn’t stomach the smell when cleaning up. I finally gave in & ordered Nature’s Variety Lamb and Oatmeal Medley from SitStay. What a difference! Within just a couple of days, no more stinky poop. I thank you. My wife thanks you. Our kids thank you & the grands could care less. LOL Really, Big Thanks. We ordered 2 more bags which should be here by Monday. Hugs! – Michael & the gang.

Hi, Darcie, I did the same thing you did…I ran out of the SitStay ‘Top Crest” bones for my boys and stopped in at Petco …they had a nice display of bones…”roasted” and about a foot long. I thought they would be OK and each boy got one Christmas morning. Before I gave my second boy his, the first one had crunched, cracked and splintered his!! Oh, my! Not good!! I took all away quickly- had a handful of splintered bones in my hand. Boy I will *never* buy any bones again from anywhere than SitStay! They are safe, and my boys love them! Thank you Darcie for having good safe products for our loved ones…at least the furry ones!! – Sylvia

Dear Michael and Sylvia,

Yes, I’ve been a grandma for almost 15 years! My son, his Dad, is the best son ever. I love them to pieces.

Yes, inferior products are a nasty experience all around. I like the products that I choose for SitStay. I am very, very picky with extremely high standards. I only love great quality and would rather live in a box than hurt you or your dogs.

We get Kudos all the time, every day for the past almost 15 years. It never fails to make my heart glad. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. – Darcie

(Dear Readers, If you want to tell your friends, family, facebook friends, and everyone else in the world where to find the right and perfect products for your dogs, please pass this on right now! I love trying to trip up the guys in the warehouse with thousands of orders. Let’s do it today! Thank you very much! – Darcie)

When we left for Oklahoma to take Great Aunt Bea and Pistol Pete back home I was hurrying to get ahead of the bad weather that was to hit Nebraska and northern Kansas and I  left the SitStay Bully Sticks and SitStay Big Chompers sitting on the kitchen counter. Remember that Gibbs is teething, his adult teeth are pushing out his baby teeth big time, he needs his SitStay chews.

Chew on me, chew on my coat, chew on his tail, chew on my shoe, he wasn’t hurting anything but he had to chew. I did what all good mothers do, I tried to substitute. I stopped at the nearest pet store which happened to be PetCo. Yes, I know, please don’t give me a hard time about that, the baby has to chew and I thought, “How bad can it be for just this one time?” Oh, I wish I hadn’t gone there!

Anyway, in Gibbs and I went. Mom, Aunt Bea and Pete stayed outside. Gibbs kept rubbing his poor little gums on me, “Get me something to chew!” And I did. I chose what I thought would be the least offensive chew stick, a Red Barn Bully Stick. I sniffed it. It had an odor but wasn’t too bad. I bought two, one for Gibbs and one for Pete.

Ten minutes later in the car, out the window they went. OMG! Talk about stink! The ladies and I were gagging. The dogs were chewing on them but both would stop and look at us as if to say, “Hey. These aren’t my SitStay Bully Sticks. What’s this stuff?” Even they didn’t like the stench. Gibbs shook his head a few times. I did, too. PU! Oh, geez, PU!

As I’m gagging and taking the sticks away, my Aunt Bea says in her smoothest Oklahoma drawl, “Honey, I am so glad you stick to your guns and only carry the good stuff at your store. I don’t think I can stand those Red Barns things again.” She leaned over to kiss Pete, changed her mind and said to him, “Isn’t that right, Pete.”

We rolled the windows back up after about 20 minutes, just about the time we were turning into icicles. Never again. I’ll stick with my own tried and true chews, thanks. SitStay rules. And I’ll never walk away without them again, Gibbs. Sorry little buddy. – Darcie

It came from this address if you’d like to write an email:

“PetCare <petcareservice@2jzqxhicdoo5yl9r1oqzc3nlf.in.salesforce.com>” <petcareservice@2jzqxhicdoo5yl9r1oqzc3nlf.in.salesforce.com>

Subject: Hello from Mary Lou at Eukanuba, 06496426    [ ref:00D7JViV.5007EoF59:ref ]

I don’t think we’re going to get the answers we asked for and it looks like they didn’t take it seriously enough to have someone who can’t be fired send the reply or even to put a last name on it.

What does that mean?

I’m not going to post the letter. It’s not a complete answer, far from it. They didn’t even have the courtesy to sign the last name! How crazy is that?

I’ve been told that there was an exodus from Iams when Proctor and Gamble took over. The word is that they changed how it was made and a moral choice was made.

Dear Iams, stick up for yourself here. Tell us the truth, please. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. We want a letter signed by someone who can’t be fired, please.

- Darcie

(I didn’t get any coupons for toilet paper. )

Dear Donna, Cooked bones can splinter. Heat changes bones. Nature gave dogs teeth and the digestive system to chew, swallow, digest and use raw bones and raw foods for good health. A dog fed a raw food diet is way more likely to end it’s life quietly at home without illness, pain, or medication….just like our Kari (almost 18 year old Golden Retriever) and my Dancer, Joe, Pete, Lucy, Abby…their lives were done and they went to sleep. Just like that.

Pork bones don’t make it into my house because I don’t eat a lot of pork, occasional bacon but that’s not good for dogs so I don’t share it with them. There are lots of people who give raw pork bones to their dogs with no troubles at all. Cooked bones are bad for dogs. Raw bones are good for them. Raw small and easily chewed up and swallowed bones like poultry wings, necks, and backs, rabbit bones, and even mice and healthy squirrels (man, where did all the squirrels come from?) are necessary to our dog’s overall health. Dogs have to eat bones for their brains to work right. Dogs who don’t eat raw bones often and usually suffer mental problems like anxiety and slow thinking and physical problems like digestive upset and allergy symptoms. And the big one, stinky poop. Dogs who eat processed, what I consider crappy, low quality dog foods, have the stinkiest poop and it’s mushy and large. Dogs who eat raw bones have tight, small poop. And it doesn’t stink. Dogs who eat better quality dog foods don’t have the completely stink free factor but it’s head and shoulders over the crappy food. Think stink. Poop is a great indicator of wellness. If your dog’s poop stinks, he’s not as well as he could be.

Think about poop like this. When was the last time you went walking in the country? Did you smell that stench from all the wild animal poop? Nope, you didn’t because wild animals eat what Nature intends for them to eat and their poop doesn’t stink. Next time you happen onto a little pile of scat, get a stick and examine it. Sniff. Little to no smell, even if it’s fresh. Your dog can have poop like that. Even if you walk next to a cow or horse pasture with those animals pooping out there, you rarely smell it. Why? They are grazing on grass. Now, if you live next to a dairy or a feed lot, yikes! There’s some stinky poop made from grain and it’s big and wet and nasty.

Man stores grain. Animals don’t. The only time animals would have access to grain or seed is at harvest season, just before a long cold winter. Grain and seeds add fat to the body. Fat is fuel to keep warm. Our dogs live in the house with us, they don’t need extra fat. Read your dog food label? What’s in there?

Dogs who eat raw bones usually have the freshest breath, too. That’s a bonus.

The larger bones like femurs and knuckles are recreational bones for dogs, the dogs can get the marrow out and they chew and chew to clean the outside of the bone, that’s good for them. The chewing action is essential to good health and a happy mind whether it’s a raw knuckle or femur or a bully stick from SitStay (which can be chewed on the carpet).

The lie you heard about not feeding chicken bones came from a truth. After Sunday dinner Mom or Grandma said, “Now, don’t feed those bones to the dogs.” Those were cooked bones and they were right, dogs should not get cooked bones.

Another lie you may have heard is that dry dog food will keep your dog’s teeth clean. Do you eat granola, breakfast cereal, or anything like it? Do you still have to have your teeth cleaned? Yes, you do. It’s not true. Dry dog food does not keep a dogs teeth cleaned. And not only doesn’t it, it’s the most processed of all dog foods. Raw is best, home cooked food is next, canned is next, and dry is at the bottom of the list for nutrition. The more processing, the less nutrition no matter how many vitamins and minerals they put back into it after they’ve processed the original food.

That said, all dog foods are not created equal. Those makers who really do start with good, fresh, healthy food…they all say they do but they don’t… those who do start with good, clean, and fresh foods have a better end product. You can see some of the better foods at SitStay.com. Dogs are doing well on these canned and dry foods. I still like raw food better and we do carry some freeze dried raw foods in the online store, SitStay.com. We do carry the raw frozen in the SitStay brick and mortar store at SouthPointe Pavillions Mall, Lincoln, NE.

And how about this lie also perpetuated by the ones who make and sell dog food, also based on a truth? “Don’t feed human food to dogs.” Ridiculous, isn’t it? The dog food makers claim they start with good, fresh food and then turn it into canned and dry dog food, having to put vitamins and minerals back in because they’ve cooked them out. Isn’t the food at your table the best freshest food you can get? It’s like setting a place at the table for your dog, only he gets his in his bowl after you’re done eating so he doesn’t come begging at the table. Feed your dogs your leftovers. No cooked bones, please. Eat right and your dog will, too.

These are lies used over and over by vets, the dog food companies, and those who sell processed dog food to get you to buy a bag labeled “dog food”. The lies are easy to perpetuate because they are based in truth. Those guys can’t make money if you’re not doing it their way, they use what you think you know to make you believe the lies.

Nature knows what she’s doing. If Nature intended for dogs to eat cooked foods, they’d have pockets for their matches. Thanks. – Darcie

Dear Iams, My Readers have written to you for answers to the ingredients in your dog food. And why you make the foods that you do. They get no reply to their questions, no answers. They asked you for a signed letter stating that you don’t use the 4Ds, you know what that is: dead, dying, down or diseased animals. And does that 4D designation qualify for chicken and other proteins, too, not just beef?

Chicken by-products. What is a chicken by-product? We want to know that you’re using only healthy chicken in your foods, no ill chickens that couldn’t be used in the human food chain are in your foods. Right? We want to know that there isn’t any, not even some, but no manure in the dog food that you make, including that which would be inside a chicken during processing for food. Your chickens have been cleaned of manure and feathers before they’re turned into dog food. Right? And the chicken has been kept cold from slaughter to processing the dog food to keep the chicken from rotting. Right? While you’re answering that, we’d like to know that’s true for all the other proteins you use, too.

And no euthanized animals like milk cows or dogs in the food or any other animal killed with drugs, right? No animals that were sick and medicated before they died are used in your food? Right? And no plastic bags and collars or anything that could possibly be considered non edible by human standards that might come along with the bodies of the animals that go into your food. Right? Of course, you know where your proteins come from, you know the source, so you’ll tell us that it’s clean and that nothing man made came along with it and got into the dog food. Right?

We’d like the letter written by hand and signed by someone who can’t be fired from the company. A handwritten letter will go a long way to stopping any confusion about your product. If you send the letter to me, I’m happy to verify who the signer is and then post it here at The Dish by Darcie. Of course, I’d first like a tour of your plant and your rendering plant and the place where the proteins are processed before they become “meal”.

Perhaps we can have a contest and let a few other folks come along with me for the tour. We’ll pay our own way, of course. You’re being kind enough to share how your food is made, we don’t expect that you will put us up in a hotel and feed us while we’re there. We just want to know what the dogs are eating when it’s brought from one of your bags to the dog’s food dish.

What do we expect? We’d expect to tour your lovely clean dog food plant where happy people work, see the clean coolers and storage areas where you keep all of the meat and other foods cold and dry as it’s handled from slaughter to the process of making bagged dog food.

I’ve posted below the list of ingredients you show on your website for one of your foods. Please explain to us what “chicken by-product meal” and “chicken flavor” are. Please explain in terms even a grade school child could understand, that way there won’t be any misunderstanding about what it is.

How is chicken fat processed to add it to the food? Does it come from other chickens that are being used for a different purpose? Isn’t the fat already in the chicken that you make the food of, that’s your first ingredient? Why add more fat?

Why do you add Caramel to the food? What is that made of and what is it used for? Color? Dogs don’t care what color their food is so we need some clarification on that one. When we think ‘caramel’, we think candy, sugar.

Where do you get your Brewer’s Yeast? Is it kept in a cooler from it’s source so it doesn’t change in quality before it’s added to your dog food? What is Brewer’s Yeast and why do you put it into dog food? Is it true that it’s the leftovers from making alcohol so it’s made of grain?

And maybe you can help us on this question. Lots of dog and cat food companies use Potassium Chloride in their foods. I think it’s called muriate of potash when it’s used as fertilizer. Please explain the difference in the Potassium Chloride that you use in this food and why it’s safe for dogs and cats to eat. Is it true that dogs with liver, kidney and heart problems shouldn’t eat Potassium Chloride and if they get an overdose it can lead to seizures? And that side effects can include confusion, anxiety, uneven heartbeat, extreme thirst, muscle weakness, numbness, severe stomach pain, ongoing diarrhea or vomiting, bloody stools, and coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds? That’s posted on your label if it’s true. Right? As one of the $$$ making leaders in the dog food world, I’m sure that you’ve done your research on this. We’d like to know what you found out and why it’s safe to add to dog food.

I’m curious, too, about corn. On your website you claim that corn meal is what you use, not whole corn and that the corn meal you use is more akin to “corn bread”. And that you think it’s good for dogs. Can you tell us more about that? Here’s your website where you tell us corn is good for most dogs but not all of them. I don’t understand. Beef cattle are fed corn to give us a nice fat, tender steak? The steak is tender throughout the meat, the beef growers are very proud of that, some steaks can be cut without a knife they are so tender, the fat is throughout the steak. When dogs eat corn aren’t they getting fat at that level of their muscle, too? How can that be good for them? Haven’t we learned that fat at that level of the body causes a lot of illness issues? Please tell us what your thoughts are on this.

And what is “Fructooligosaccharides”? That’s so close to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Just kidding you about that. What is Fructooligosaccharides? Is that a sweetener? Why do dogs need a sweetener in their food?

And for the little brother. Do you put road kill into your foods? If you do, is every animal tested for rabies and illness and separated from the food ingredients before it goes into the food? Any raccoons in your foods?

What is “meat meal”? And is it used in any of your foods?

One last question. Why do you add salt?

Iams Proactive Health Adult Chunks: Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Caramel, Calcium Carbonate, Flax Meal, Choline Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract.

My Readers and I look forward to hearing from you and seeing your handwritten letter. Yes, we know that’s old school but hey, you have a few minutes for the people who pay your wages. Right?

You can send that letter to SitStay.com, 5831 N 58th ST, Lincoln, NE, 68507. Address it to The Dish by Darcie. I’ll see to it that it gets posted.

And hey, if all the answers are good, I’m looking for an investor in my company. If you’re doing the good thing for the dogs, look me up and we’ll talk. I’m all about the good thing for the dogs.

Thanks so much. – Darcie Krueger, author of The Dish by Darcie

(Note to Readers. I tried to email this same letter to Proctor and Gamble but their email addresses bounce it back to me. I had to send it from their contact page, gave them my birthday and everything they asked for. P&G are the makers of Iams and Eukahuba. We don’t want to make them mad….they make Tampax and Charmin, too. Hey, P&G, I’m sure that you will but if you feel you can’t send the hand signed letter with answers to our questions, I can use some coupons for Charmin. Thanks.)