Boston terrier and raw meat

Question
I acquired a 5 and 1/2 yr. old female Boston terrier. We feed her Lamaderm dry
dog food, and have been giving her a raw egg occasionally, although we did give
her one daily for awhile. Also, she gets raw, lean beef, about an ounce or two at
a time, every other day. She takes to this diet enthusiastically. I wanted to know
if this was appropriate food for this breed, if the raw beef and chicken was O.K.
and if raw egg inhibits absorption of biotin.

Answer
Hi Cindy;
If the raw meats are home grown, you butcher them, and they are USDA inspected, and you are certain they are fresh, they should not hurt her.
If you are buying it at a supr
ermarket or meat market. I certainly wouldn't feed it to her.
Sure she loves it, but that doesn't mean it is good for her.
Dogs get Salmonella, and all the other things humans get from meat that is underdone. The raw eggs are not a good idea either.
a boiled or poached egg has the same nutrients, and it is a LIT safer for her.
I never heard of that brand of dog food.
That is not to say, it is not a good one.
After the scare with the contaminated foods, I switched mine to a natural food made right near us, in Meunster texas.
The name of the foos is Meunster.
It has the same nutritional values my Notro Senior formula has, but they buy NO foreign grown grains.
Their quality control is higher. That contamination came from grains imported from China.
The company ( Meunster) personally inspects the fieklds of their growers, and make certain the grains are grown organically.
At 5 and 1/2 years, sahe is getting close to a senior dog status, and you should have her on a senior dog formula.
e sure you calculate the meats and eggs into her daily required amount.
One egg a day is very good for the coat, but they are also high in colesterol. That can cause an heart attack in her just as it can in a human. A whole egg is quite a lot for her. Better to just let her have 1.4th to 1.3rd of an egg.
Too much red meat, and really, too much chicken too, can raise her colesterol level and cause severe problems.
the more active she is, the better she can use up the colesterol, but if she is relatively inactive, and lays around a lot, I would drastically cut out the goodies.
Her weight must be watched carfully.
Instead of giving her the meats, how about making her a stew.
Put ( prefferably chicken) that had had all the fat possible removed.
I skin a chicken, cover with just enough water to cover it, add a piece or two of celery, ad carrot or two ( or 6 or 7 baby carrots) and a teaspoon of Adams butter flavoring. ( the taste of butter without the colesterol or callories) and simmer till the chicken is falling off the bone. When the chicken is done, I take it out, bone it and return the bones to get mnore flavor and nourishment out of them. I add cut up potatoes.
I take the bones and veggies out and put the broth in the fridge to chill so I can get the fat off.
I cut up the meat, or leave it in large pieces as it comes off. The veggies take up the flavor of the chicken, and when the broth is chilled, I get the fat off, and add a little of this to some of their dog food to equal what that feeding is supposed to have.
I put the bones in the garbage inside a cupboard so they can't get them, because contrary to what some people that call themselves experts say, cooked chicken bones are NOT good for dogs.
All the dogs I have ever fed this to love it, and eat veggies and all.
I consistently have dogs that live several years past their breed's life expectancy.
I cook for 4 dogs, and I am old, so they don't get this every day.
For one, cook enough veggies in the stew to make some for each meal.
Put meal sized portions in the freezer, and you have a lot of feedings for her.
You could even substitute the stew for a feeding and b\not mix it with dog food.
3 of my 4 dogs are seniors,but 2 of them are large dogs, Australian breeds, and one if a Sheltie, and one is a little Lhasa. so I scramble 6 eggs with a little bit of olive oil, and feed the Lhasa 1/2 egg, the Sheltie 3/4th of an egg, and split the rest with the other two.
they stand in line and take turns getting bites.
they get a bite calibrated to their size, but they all get an even number of bites, so nobody feels like they get les than the others.
Charlotte