DeDe Murcer Moffett: Raw Food Diets for Dogs – Should You Make the Switch?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

The truth of the matter is that pet food manufacturers must take a product that a dog would never eat and put stuff in it so the dog will actually eat it and act like they like it, right? But I'm going to tell you something: it's not highly digestible, and we have seen unbelievable health changes…

[00:00:30]

Voiceover:

Welcome to the Doggy Dan Podcast Show, helping you unleash the greatness within your dog.

Doggy Dan:

[00:01:00]

[00:01:30]

Hello, and welcome everybody to another Doggy Dan podcast. As always, I'm so excited. We have DeDe Murcer Moffett today on the show, who is from Raw Dog Food and Co. And so, today we're going to be learning all about dog food and the mysteries of dog food. I know so many of you have got questions about that stuff. I know I still do. Even after 10 years, I'm still … 10 years of fascinatingly exploring dog food and what's the best food? I've still got questions. So, today we have DeDe, CEO of Raw Dog Food and Company, and wife of Rick Moffett. She is a certified pet and raw dog food nutritionist and a veteran raw feeder for over 20 years. DeDe hosts the popular Raw Dog Food Truth podcast, and is a two- time best selling leadership author, vocal recording artist, and corporate motivational leadership speaker for Fortune 500 and organizations across the country.

[00:02:00]

DeDe's also the niece of the late, great New York Yankee baseball player and award winning Yankee Network Sports Announcer, Bobby Murcer. And a fun fact, DeDe actually sang the national anthem in 2011 in front of 49,000 people at Yankee Stadium in honor of her late uncle, Bobby. DeDe, welcome to the Doggy Dan Podcast Show.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Dan, how are you? It's so great to be on your podcast. What a great name, Doggy Dan, right?

Doggy Dan:

What a great name, DeDe Murcer Moffett.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

We're just going to sit here and pat each other on the back. But I like that, Doggy Dan. And so, yeah, what a perfect combination for you and I to be talking today.

Doggy Dan:

Yeah. Yeah. A lawyer did once ask me, she said, “So, was your real name Doggy Dan?”

[00:02:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

And you said, “No, but I'm thinking about changing it,” right? “I'm thinking about changing it to Doggy Dan.”

Doggy Dan:

Yeah. Oh, that's funny. I thought I need a name that nobody's going to forget, so when they want their dog trained, they go, “Who's that guy we met on the beach three years ago?” And it actually happened, funnily enough. Somebody actually said, “We remembered you because we'd met you years earlier.” So, tell us about your story.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:03:00]

I was just going to say that that's the same thing with the name of our company, because people always say, “What do you do?” “Well, we sell raw dog food.” And they say, “What's the name of your company?” And we say, “Raw Dog Food and Company.” So, it's really simple, right?

Doggy Dan:

Yeah, that's great. Tell us about yourself.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

What part of my story you want to know about? I mean, I've kind of got all these different facets of my life. But you know-

Doggy Dan:

The first thing I'd love to know is, how did you get into it? How did you get into it, DeDe?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:03:30]

[00:04:00]

Well, all right. So, the whole raw feeding started back in 2000, when I met one of my neighbors whose dog was on death's door. Seriously on death's door, right? And he had gone to every vet. And they were just like, “Well, you just need to take your pet home and prepare for death.” To which he said, “Not going to happen.” He started really researching about the food that was going into his dog's body. And what he found was that kibble, one of the reasons that our tagline is, friends don't let friends feed kibble, is that it's very … It's filled with toxins. It's processed. There are so many things that are inappropriate for a carnivore, which is what we own, right? Carnivores. Cats are carnivores, dogs are carnivores.

[00:04:30]

Anyway, he began to feed his dog a raw diet, meat, bones, organ, fat. And so, here was this dog and he looked great. And he told me the story. And at the time, I had a Dachshund. And I didn't have any problems with my Dachshund yet, right? Because my Dachshund was young. But I said, “Nothing is too good for my dog. And if that is the case, I'm going to start feeding my dog a raw diet.” And I did. And I began studying about it.

[00:05:00]

Now, we didn't start this business until 2013. But I had been feeding raw all those years. And as you mentioned earlier in the introduction, I had a corporate job. I was on the speaking circuit. There were a lot of other things that I was doing in my life, all the while still feeding a raw diet. But then, Dan, something happened in 2008 and 2009, and that was the financial crash.

Doggy Dan:

Yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:05:30]

And my husband and I were both in an industry that that affected very much. And it was like, screeching halt to that industry. And so, Rick was in working for a hedge fund at the time. And he said, “You know, I'm not going back. I'm done. I'm just done with corporate.” We'd been doing it for a long time. And I stayed in for another year. Then I started the speaking career. But once we decided to make a move from where we were at the time, which was in Texas, out to Colorado, we began to talk to the people that we purchased our raw dog food from and started the distributorship out here in Colorado.

[00:06:00]

And I think what's very different about us as a raw dog food distributor is that we're big on education. So, I have an incredible health team. You know, I don't know why it is, Dan, people get really confused about raw diets for dogs, and it's really, really simple. It's really simple.

Doggy Dan:

Okay, well hit us with a couple of the really big ones just so we get really interested early on, right? What are two or three of the things which might shock us about some of the kibble or why the raw meat's so good? What is it?

[00:06:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Well, okay. Look, here's why it's so good. Number one, your dog is a carnivore and they are made to eat dead things. They are made to hunt. Look at their teeth, Dan. I mean, you deal with dogs every day. Have you ever looked inside their mouth?

Doggy Dan:

Oh yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

They don't have flat molars and they don't have a hinge jaw to chew and chew and chew.

Doggy Dan:

[00:07:00]

[00:07:30]

You know what makes me laugh? I actually always wanted to do this, DeDe, is line up like five or six bowls of kibble, maybe some bread with some beans and carrots in it, and then a bowl of mincemeat, and then a bowl of … You can have organs, fat, and bones and stuff, and see which one the dog goes for. Just let the dogs … Like, take 10 dogs and one at a time, see which one do they go for, because I know my dogs literally always hunt down the raw, high fat, high meat, high protein content foods. They always know what … Even in a bowl of food, if I put a piece of meat with some other stuff, they always pick out the meat, the high fat, high protein first. Fascinates me.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:08:00]

You must deal with extremely smart dogs. All dogs are smart. But here is one fact about kibble that, let's say your dog went for the kibble. I can tell you why they go for the kibble, Dan, because it's high in sugar, it's got taste enhancers in it, it has flavors in it, because the truth of the matter is, the pet food manufacturers must take a product that a dog would never eat and put stuff in it so the dog will actually eat it and act like they like it, right?

Doggy Dan:

Yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:08:30]

But I'm going to tell you something: it's not highly digestible, just as you were talking about the fat in the mincemeat, as you guys call it, the protein. The protein, organs, bone, and fat. I mean, dogs are made to eat this stuff. And we have seen unbelievable health changes in animals that move from a kibble-based … And when I say kibble, I'm talking about even the best kibble, Dan, because people will call me and they'll say, “You know what? I'm feeding a premium kibble.” And I always ask this question, “Is that like a premium donut?” I mean, like maybe you guys have these premium donut shops over there. But you know, we have a-

Doggy Dan:

Oh yeah.

[00:09:00]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Yeah, right? So, people will say, ” Well, you know, I'm feeding him a premium kibble.” And I'm like, “Well, you're paying a lot for sugar. You're paying a lot for processed foods. You're paying a lot for synthetics,” because all these added vitamins and minerals are synthetics. And the majority of the synthetic vitamins and minerals come out of China, okay? Or they come out of an industry or a part of the country that is not highly regulated.

Doggy Dan:

Yes. Yes.

[00:09:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Synthetic vitamins and minerals don't work in a dog's body the way real vitamins and minerals do. And when we're talking about protein, you want it highly digestible. So, think about this, Dan, which one do you think digests better in a dog's stomach? Hard kibble pebbles, or real meat, bone, organs, and fat?

Doggy Dan:

Yeah, I hear you. And you know, one-

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

And you know how you can tell?

Doggy Dan:

Yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Go ahead.

Doggy Dan:

[00:10:00]

Well, one thing I notice is those pebbles, how much water they'll actually soak up if I put … Because I'll be honest, I still feed my dogs some kibble sometimes. We've got a bag like for emergencies. And sometimes I … I always try to soak it in water. But sometimes I look at how much water it soaks up, and it's incredible.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:10:30]

Okay. When you look at that the next time, Dan, here's what I want you to imagine in your head: how that kibble that you're putting into your dog's body is pulling the water out from your dog's tissues and organs and everything else because it's trying to hydrate inside. So, dogs that eat kibble, honest to goodness are in a constant state of dehydration. Now you start looking at kidney and liver problems. Well, look at that. That's not the only thing. But that, if you don't get the diet right, come on. What are we thinking? Why are people so afraid of raw diets? Why do you think they're so afraid of those, Dan?

[00:11:00]

Doggy Dan:

Well, personally, I think a lot of it comes down to convenience, doesn't it? That people think that having a bag of dry … It's like throwing it … Just to have it in your cupboard and you just stretch across to your cupboard, rather than having to walk to the freezer. But yeah, I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Yeah. Are we that lazy? It's a good question.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Are we that lazy? Have we gotten that lazy in the world?

Doggy Dan:

Yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:11:30]

[00:12:00]

And here is a little mantra that I would like for all of your listeners to remember: convenience kills. Convenience kills. It really does in a lot of ways. You want to drive through McDonald's every day? I don't think that's good nutrition, okay? So, I think that we've become very lazy in the world today because there are too many conveniences. And we want everything lickety-split, just like that. And we don't want to have to think. And we want somebody to tell us what to do. And God knows, we can see that happening in the world today. But I want to tell you this, you are the mouthpiece for your dog. You are the one that is speaking and feeding your animal. You have to be the champion for your pet, okay? That's what Doctor Judy Jasek, who was on my podcast every week, says, you know? Be a champion for your pet.

Doggy Dan:

Yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:12:30]

They can't say, “Oh my gosh. This kibble's killing me.” And quite frankly, Dan, I think there's a lot of people that can say, “Well, I have only fed kibble for years and years and years. And my dogs have lived for a ripe old age.” I think that there are those dogs out there.

Doggy Dan:

For sure. For sure. But there's also people who've smoked for 40, 50 years, and they live to a ripe old age as well. There's always the anomalies, hey?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:13:00]

My aunt Peggy, you couldn't kill her, I swear. She smoked, I mean, I think three packs a day. She was a huge alcoholic. And she lived into her 90s. And you were just like, “You can't kill this one.” Right? So, god bless her soul.

Doggy Dan:

I hear you. I hear you. Can I ask you a question? Tell me, a lot of people when I train their dogs, are asking me about the preservatives and what's the bad preservatives. Is there a booklet or a way of checking what is in people's kibble, so people who've got kibble could actually have a look at some of the letters or numbers to find out what the stuff is? Do you know what I'm asking?

[00:13:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Yeah, I do. So, turn the bag over, Dan. Any of those things that you can't pronounce are preservatives, okay? So, any of the … So, like, I could probably … Name one and I can pull it up for you. Do you have a certain … Let's look at Purina, okay? Do you guys have Purina over there, Dan?

Doggy Dan:

We do.

[00:14:00]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:14:30]

Okay. So, if you have a Purina Pro Plan, okay? This is one that the veterinarians love to sell for gastrointestinal problems, right? All right, so if you go onto the nutritional info and you start looking on the back, these first couple of meat byproducts, water, barley, chicken, rice, soy protein. First of all, you don't want soy in anything. You don't want vegetables oils in anything, which this has. Right after that, you've got a butt load, okay? As I like to say, a sphincter load of zinc sulfate, niacin, vitamin B3. Any of these B1s, B3, B5, any of these riboflavin supplements, you can just see it. There's a ton of them in this particular blend.

[00:15:00]

[00:15:30]

And most of my pet parents, if you took a look at this, you would say, “I don't know what inulin does. I don't know why they put guar gum in there. I don't know why there's fish oil,” which we would say, “Never put fish oil.” Totally unstable in a food. This particular one's in a can. Come on. If you don't know what it is, Dan, and you can't pronounce it, you probably shouldn't be feeding it to your dog. I think you know what duck is. I think you know what pancreas, spleen, kidney, bone, and tripe is. Now, a lot of people don't know what tripe is. Tripe is the stomach of any four-chambered animal, which is called a [inaudible 00:15:35] animal. We typically use beef tripe, okay?

Other than that, we may have a blend that has 10% fruits and veggies. We want to make sure that those are low on the glycemic index, right? Dogs don't need sugar. What do they need? They need protein and fat. So, this is what I would say.

Doggy Dan:

Is vitamin B1 not good for dogs though? Is that what you're saying?

[00:16:00]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

I'm saying that in its synthetic form, it is not bioavailable. If you look into-

Doggy Dan:

Got you.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

… The raw diet, and you-

Doggy Dan:

So, let me just jump on that for people who don't understand what we've just said there. So, B1 you're saying is a vitamin. And in its natural form, which would be … Can you give us an example of B1 in its natural form?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:16:30]

[00:17:00]

Well, when you look at proteins, okay? When you look at proteins and what you're pulling out of proteins or what you're pulling out of organs. So, if you were to go to my site, okay? And you go into the learning center, there is an actual … It says amazing whole food vitamins and minerals from the raw diet, okay? So, it's going to tell you where all of these B vitamins are. So, B1, okay? So, here is where you can find B1 in the raw diet: liver, rabbit, chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, goat.

Doggy Dan:

Got you.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:17:30]

Ostrich, buffalo, eggs, beef, elk, salmon, halibut, haddock, and sardines. And then it goes on and it'll show you vitamin A, B2, B3. And you're going to see also the minerals, okay? That are involved in the raw diet. A lot of people talk to me and they're like, “Oh my gosh, I need iodine for my dog.” And I'm like, “Well, that's a trace mineral. How much do you think you really need of iodine,” right? And it's in salmon, it's in seafood, it's in eggs, right? So, you cannot get, Dan, every single thing you need for a human or a dog in one meal. So, if I were to ask you, Dan, how many meals do you think that you eat a day are complete and balanced?

Doggy Dan:

None.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Would you even know?

[00:18:00]

Doggy Dan:

I'd have a-

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Do you even-

Doggy Dan:

I've thought about it many times, because I use the example of, I love spaghetti bolognese, but if I ate it every single day, I'd get tired of it. And I know my body would probably start doing strange things because it just doesn't have … It's not the perfect meal. And that's got me thinking, is there a perfect meal? If you like roast chicken and potatoes and veg, if you have it every single day, I'm sure you'd get ill because you'd need some different sorts of food.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Variety, variety, variety.

[00:18:30]

Doggy Dan:

Yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:19:00]

Cut out the processed foods. Cut out the sugary foods, right? Cut out the offending foods from your diet and give your body real food that has real vitamins and minerals in it. And allow your body to do what it was created to do. It will boost the immune system, it fights off toxins, it fights off bacteria, right? You can't live in a sterile world. How do you make yourself stronger?

Doggy Dan:

Yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

You subject it to things that it has to fight against. And we've become so bacteria-phobic in this world, we don't really understand that bacteria is our friend, right? If you knocked out all the bacteria in the world, we would die.

Doggy Dan:

Yeah. Yeah.

[00:19:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:20:00]

And I think that that is one of the issues that pet parents get scared away of the raw diet. Why? Because your traditional veterinarian will say, “Oh my gosh, Dan, you'd better not feed that raw food to your dog. All the people in your house are going to get sick from salmonella, maybe E. Coli.” And some of the big celebrity vets, who I've had on my podcast, will say this, “The only way that you are going to get salmonella or E. Coli from feeding a raw diet to your dog is if you lick your dog's butt.” And that is exactly what they say. So, don't lick your dog's butt. I mean, come on.

Doggy Dan:

I was wondering what you were going to say. I thought you were going to say, “If you start eating the dog's food.” But yeah, well, exactly. You're only putting it in the dog's bowl and giving it to them. I mean, yeah, we do become … We're a bit strange, us humans sometimes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:20:30]

Dan, how many of the dogs that you see are licking their genitals or licking their butt or eating poop or running after and eating a dead animal that has maggots on it? I mean, come on. They have a PH of one, right? That would totally burn your fingers.

Doggy Dan:

Which is totally acidic. Yeah, very acidic. Yep.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Right.

Doggy Dan:

[00:21:00]

DeDe, I just want to summarize. What you've said has made so much sense. And it's interesting because it ties in with kind of the journey that I'm going through, which is, I've gone from very unhealthy eating, you know? Eating a lot of processed food kind of probably 20 years ago to eating much better food over the last 20 years. And I just got onto a journey of stopping … Well, I know a very, very healthy 65 year old man. He's so fit. He's actually painting my house right now. And he works like eight hours a day, nine hours a day painting, and he's 65 or something like that. And then he heads off and he plays soccer for an hour almost every evening. And then he comes back the next morning and he's always healthy.

[00:21:30]

And he is on this beautiful diet, just like you said. And what he's done is, he's gone to the next stage of his own diet, which is … You see, I've gone to vitamin pills and minerals in a little tube. What do you call it? A little pot. You know what I mean, a little twisty top pot.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Yeah.

Doggy Dan:

[00:22:00]

And a bottle, a bottle, a plastic bottle. And he said to me, “Look, you don't want to be getting all your minerals and vitamins and all that stuff from a bottle. You want to be getting it from fresh food, fresh vegetables, because then it's in the most available form.” He says, “Half the stuff you're eating, your body just can't take it in. It doesn't even recognize it as food.” So, it's a very similar … What you're saying regarding the dogs makes total sense to me because it's what I'm realizing about myself, that yeah, nothing can replace the real food unprocessed, and same for our dogs, I think.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

No, it's so true. And if you look at, on our website, where I do have a section called supplements.

Doggy Dan:

Yes.

[00:22:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Now, my top nutritionist would say she hates that name because in the concept of supplements, like what you're talking about, that they're not bioavailable in their synthetic form.

Doggy Dan:

Yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Most of what we have on our site though, Dan, are freeze dried whole food, okay?

Doggy Dan:

Yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:23:00]

[00:23:30]

Freeze dried whole foods. So, I'm all in favor for that. And I will tell you, if I had Doctor Paul Saladino, who is the carnivore doctor, the carnivore MD, on my show not too long ago. He has some supplements called heartandsoil.co. Heartandsoil.co. Now, what's great about these supplements is they're for people, right? They're for people and they are so cool because they're like freeze dried blood. They're beef organs. There's bone marrow and liver. And they're the same concept that we talk about with the dogs.

And the reason that he came on my podcast was because I heard his podcast. And he was talking about how great the raw diet was for dogs, and how it's so closely related to us as humans. Now, whether you're someone that believes in veggies or not, whatever. He's more on the carnivore side. But I love his supplements.

Doggy Dan:

Well, I was talking veggies for humans. Myself, I'm a vegetarian.

[00:24:00]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

No, no, he's talking veggies for humans too. He has some concepts that he doesn't … He's not loving those.

Doggy Dan:

I just wanted to clarify, I'm not saying dogs should be a vegetarian. That's what I was trying to-

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Oh no. No, no, no. And you know why? Because you were just asking me about these vitamins and minerals.

Doggy Dan:

Yes, yes, yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:24:30]

[00:25:00]

So, in the carnivore diet for dogs, meat based diet for dogs, these are sulfur amino acids. They cannot … In plant food, those are not sulfur amino acids. So, there's a lot of different types of vitamins and minerals that they would never be able to utilize, especially the thing for their heart. So, taurine, right? You've heard this big controversy, do dogs need grains? Well, no. They don't need grains for any stretch of the imagination. What they need is animal protein so that they are able to pull out two different amino acids, cysteine and methionine. And they put those together and they make taurine for their heart. They make that for their heart.

Doggy Dan:

Yes. Yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Cats can't … You know, they have to eat things that have taurine in it. So, that's brains, organs, and stuff like that. But anyway, that's how it works. But I'm telling you, Dan, there is an entire group out there that because they're vegan, they think their dogs need to be vegan. And I'm just like-

Doggy Dan:

Yeah, it's horrendous. I agree.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Wow.

[00:25:30]

Doggy Dan:

I say it's horrendous. I mean, I just don't agree. It's like saying I like watching soccer and drinking beer and sitting on my couch, so I'm going to make my fish do it. And you get your fish, you come home from school and you get your goldfish and stick it on the couch and pour beer in its mouth. It makes no sense at all.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

No, it doesn't. But-

Doggy Dan:

[00:26:00]

You only have to look, fish swim in the sea and they don't drink beer and they don't watch football. So, treat the animal like the animal that it is. Respect the animal. And don't say, ” Oh, I'm a vegan, I don't believe in eating meat, so I'm going to make my dog be a vegan.”

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Yep.

Doggy Dan:

[00:26:30]

I'm actually quite passionate about that. That is just the stupidest thing … I shouldn't say it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard because I've heard some far even stupider things. But think about it. This is nature. This is mother nature we're talking about. If you watch animals running around in nature and they're running around eating meat, then that's because that's how they've evolved for thousands and thousands of years. And that's how they've become the animal that they are. You don't say to a cow, “Oh, I know in nature you eat grass, but we're going to feed you cornflakes.”

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Exactly.

Doggy Dan:

It doesn't make sense. This is the respective mother nature that we need to come back to. Back to nature. Nature knows best.

[00:27:00]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

But I'm sure you being a dog trainer, Dan, that you see that people project their ideas, their personalities.

Doggy Dan:

Oh yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Their all different … Onto their dogs. And I'm sure that you're like, “Look, this is not a human. This is actually an animal, okay? And so, animals respond differently, they think differently, they eat differently.” But don't you see that? That people are like, “Oh my gosh, no, Dan, you're going to hurt my dog. Don't make them mind.”

[00:27:30]

Doggy Dan:

Yeah. Yeah. Brilliant. For people who've been listening and they think, “What was the website again?” It's rawdogfoodandco.com. Just for those of you who want to go to that learning center, because I've been on the site, and it is a beautiful site, DeDe.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Thank you.

Doggy Dan:

So, hats off to you for putting all that work in there. We'll give it another shout out at the end. But I love what you're saying, and I totally get it. And I will make even more effort to … I am. I'm telling you, I'm going to make even more effort to feed my dog even more raw dog food, because I do … I am a bit lazy.

[00:28:00]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Well, I think you should.

Doggy Dan:

Yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Don't be lazy, it's not that hard, Dan. It's really not that hard. If you make it yourself, it can be challenging, right? Because you've got to go source the organs. You've got to have a bone grinder, unless you're going to feed your dog some of the softer bones, which are going to be the poultry bones. Certainly beef bones that are not travel bones. Travel bones are the things that animals walk on, right? The femur bone, the knuckle, and that sort of thing. So, it can be challenging.

[00:28:30]

Doggy Dan:

Do they like that? The big bones? My dogs love the cannon bones. Is that good for them?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

So, here's … It's not whether it's good for them or not, it is a question of whether they crack their teeth on them or not.

Doggy Dan:

Yes. Yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Okay? So, you have to look at what kind of a cruncher, chewer dog do you have?

Doggy Dan:

Got you, yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:29:00]

Right? And the other thing is, don't leave your dog outside of eight hours a day with a big knuckle bone that they can just sit there and gnaw, gnaw, gnaw. And then they're probably going to crack their tooth, right?

Doggy Dan:

Yep. Yeah, I did that once. My dogs came in and they were covered in blood because they'd chewed their own gums. And their faces had been pushed up against these bones for so … They love, they absolutely love the big bones. But I understand. So, you're saying you actually have to … It's almost bone appropriate for each dog can be slightly different, I guess. Yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:29:30]

[00:30:00]

Yeah. So, you know, one of the big calls that we get, a lot of calls, and certainly Doctor Jasek and my top nutritionists, we all get these calls about, “Oh my gosh. My dog's going to choke on these bones in the blend.” I'm like, “No, they're not going to choke on the bones in the blend.” I mean, when you really look at raw bones, when they are crunched up, smashed up into the blend, there is no way, right? By the time they hit the … So, okay. If you're going to feed a single bone, let's say like a raw meaty beef bone or a turkey neck, they still need to be totally and completely raw, not roasted, okay?

[00:30:30]

There's a lot of these places that do different things to denature the bone. They need to be raw. So, here's the rule: either you get a bone that's larger than the esophagus or smaller than the esophagus. And dogs are really, really smart. I'm sure you know this, Dan, that dogs are incredibly smart. And people will always say, “Oh my gosh, my dog. You could have killed my dog because this bone and this bone.” And I watch dogs all the time. Watch them eat a stick. They tear it apart, they move it around in their mouth, and they spit it back out if it's too large.

[00:31:00]

Granted, dogs by their very nature are gulpers. And as soon as they can swallow something, they will. So, don't give them something that is not going to be digestible, like deer antlers, okay? Or roasted bones, things like that, things that are very hard. Most dogs, when we see obstructions or when we see problems, they're not coming from bones. You know what they're coming from, Dan?

Doggy Dan:

What?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:31:30]

They're coming from toys and balls and tennis balls, right? And little plastic toys that they've chewed up that they get, or diapers or underwear or things like that, or even the blankets that are in their pens, right?

Doggy Dan:

Yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

These are the things that are not going to digest and that are going to cause a blockage in the digestive tract, right?

Doggy Dan:

Great.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:32:00]

Because our daughter's a vet, she's seen this a lot. So, those are the really dangerous things. But raw bones are very malleable to a dog, they're going to crunch those. And yes, they're going to gulp them. But I would just say, look at the size of the bone. Okay, let's take for instance a Rottweiler, all right? Big face, big jaw. And you give them a chicken foot. Chicken foot's pretty small. And we have Rottweilers that will take two chomps and then they swallow it. Well, they're probably not going to choke on that, Dan, right? And they're going to hack it up.

[00:32:30]

I had a lab that I swear, this lab, he would take a chicken back. And he would crunch it and swallow it, hack it back up, crunch it, swallow. He did that about four times before he finally got it down.

Doggy Dan:

[00:33:00]

My concern is those bones like beef brisket, we call it here. It's like ribs, I think. And sometimes my dog, I think … I don't feed my dogs many bones because I feed them the big, big cannon bone. But everything else, they crunch it and it seems to splinter and that's my concern with stuff like beef brisket. All of those other bones. I've got powerful dogs. I've got a Catahoula cattle dog, a Texan Catahoula. And they crunch it and it splinters. And it's as sharp as a razor. And the thought of them swallowing those sharp shards is like, oh my god.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Is it raw? Or is it?

Doggy Dan:

Yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Okay.

Doggy Dan:

I think, yeah, it's raw.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Okay. It needs to be raw. Raw, raw, raw.

Doggy Dan:

[00:33:30]

So, it's lamb and beef bones. Both those ones, the lamb in particular seems to splinter badly. But I've got a very big, powerful jawed dog. So, is that where I just have to go, “Well, he can eat the big cannon bones. That's good for him, but not the other ones.”

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

So, Dan, I've never seen a truly raw bone that hasn't been sitting outside in the sun, that hasn't dried out, those need to be taken away for sure because they're hard, they're denatured. You know, when you take a raw bone, yeah, there's going to be some sharp ones.

Doggy Dan:

Okay, yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

We've never seen a dog rip his innards with a truly raw bone.

Doggy Dan:

Really?

[00:34:00]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

No, because as soon as they hit the acid, it's like rubber.

Doggy Dan:

Softens. Yeah, interesting.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Yeah. But cooked bones, denatured bones, heated bones, all of those, roasted bones that look so nice. Don't give those.

Doggy Dan:

That makes sense.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Don't give those. Those are hard. Yeah.

Doggy Dan:

[00:34:30]

Tell me, DeDe, the vets never seem to recommend the raw diet, or not many. There's a couple of vets around out in Auckland where I live in New Zealand where they do recommend the raw diet. But most just seem to have racks and racks of the kibble. What is the story there? Why do vets not seem to promote it and be so against it? What's going on there?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:35:00]

Part of it's their training. And part of it is the fact that they are owned by corporate veterinary clinics, okay? So, corporate veterinary clinics are truly just another arm for the pharmaceutical industry. So, when you look at how they are trained in vet school, they are trained in this manner, “Here's a problem, here's the food that you give. Here's the problem, here's the pill you give. Here's the problem, here's the shot that you give,” okay? It's never, “Well, how do we support the true nature of the dog in his digestive system, help boost his immunity so that he can get well?”

Doggy Dan:

Yes. Got you.

[00:35:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:36:00]

All they are trained to do is to keep putting in the toxins. And they have a financial incentive. And most vets coming out of vet school are going to be at least $250,000 in debt, okay? Now, you go to a clinic. That clinic has quotas. Why? Because they are owned by a corporate clinic. You very seldom, at least over here, see independent veterinary clinics anymore. They all are corporate.

Doggy Dan:

Wow.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Then the new person coming in is told, “You work on production.”

Doggy Dan:

Oh gosh.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

It's another way of saying, “You have a sales commission coming to you.”

Doggy Dan:

Wow.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:36:30]

So, there's a big commission when they go into the emergency room. There are big commissions when they … It's sort of like being in a hair salon. So, the people in a hair salon, they're going to sell you products, right? They're going to sell you shampoo and mousse and all this kind of stuff. Same thing in the veterinary world. So, that's one.

[00:37:00]

The second aspect of this is very much what we're seeing in the world today, whether you're a vaxer or a non-vaxer, or you're a masker or a non-masker, you're split into groups. And most people don't like to be put in a situation to where they are the lone ranger. So, if you are a vet that totally recognizes it doesn't make sense to keep putting in a processed, highly preservative filled food into a dog's body, you're not going to speak out because everybody else around you is drinking the Kool-Aid and saying, “Oh my gosh, the raw diet is bad because it's not completely balanced,” which is totally a myth, Dan. We just talked about that. Nothing is completely balanced. It's called variety, variety, variety.

Doggy Dan:

Yeah.

[00:37:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:38:00]

You know? So, this is the reason that that happens. And the only way that I have seen the vets who are a raw advocate, the only way they get there is either they leave that clinic and go out on their own, or else they're going to be … Or they're a long-term vet, okay? So, like Doctor Judy Jasek, she used to own a big animal hospital here, animal clinic. She sold that and started working out of her home, so that she could do the holistic type of treatment. And that means raw food, that means minimal vaccines, and certainly working with Chinese herbs, whole food supplements, over pharmaceutical meds.

Doggy Dan:

Got you.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:38:30]

[00:39:00]

Because you know, you're in a catch 22. So, here's a typical scenario: you have a dog that's itching. Itching, itching, itching. You've been feeding it … Okay, feeding kibble, itchy, itchy, itchy. Now you go to the vet and they put them on Apoquel or Cytopoint, which is the allergy medications that totally, totally disrupts the gut biome. Does the dog get better? Yes, temporarily because of the medication. But eventually that medication starts wearing off. And what we see over long-term use of that is a dog who develops things like cancer, okay? So, you're in a catch 22.

Doggy Dan:

This is very similar to the humans, where we eat bad food and-

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Very.

Doggy Dan:

We don't deal with the real underlying cause and put the healthiest food into our bodies at the start, which would … You know, it would mean we don't end up with these problems. We eat bad food, and then eat stuff which kind of, it's like an Elastoplast bandaid solution, temporary. But it causes other problems, and then we just keep doing that. And of course, yep.

[00:39:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Yeah. It's such a crazy thing. But the problem, Dan, that I see is this: we have lost our backbone. We have lost our voice.

Doggy Dan:

Yes.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:40:00]

We have lost our courage to stand up in the face of someone who looks like an authority figure, i.e., the white coats that are in the veterinary world, or even our own doctors, to question the narrative, to say, “Something is just not right here.” And if they … I have so many pet parents that will call me in tears, call me in tears because they have been bullied. They have been told by their vets that they're a horrible pet person and that their dog is going to die because they're feeding a raw diet.

Doggy Dan:

Oh my gosh.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Now, if that was me-

Doggy Dan:

[00:40:30]

Tell them to ring me. I could tell you, let me tell you people out there. Let me tell you, I will … I really want to do this. I really want to make this video where you just … We'll get five bowls and we'll see where my … I don't think I've got the smartest dogs in the world. I think dogs know. I think dogs know which food is the best for them. I think most dogs go for the meat. That's my gut feeling.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Well, and-

Doggy Dan:

I don't know if you've ever done the test. Have you ever done that test, DeDe?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

I should do it. And I will do it.

Doggy Dan:

[00:41:00]

Oh, do it. Do it. And this is just my recommendation, do one with chicken, do one with a mix, do one with the heart, liver, lungs. And then do four different types of the worst kibble, the best kibble, and a mix of kibble. And just, I reckon 10 dogs, I reckon nearly all of them would go, “Meat, yep. This is the best bit.” And they know because they're not influenced by other … You know? They're not influenced by what we tell them. They just … They're so tuned into their bodies.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Well, and let me say this, that if you are a kibble feeder, right? A processed food feeder, you decide that you're going to move over into the raw diet.

Doggy Dan:

Yes.

[00:41:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:42:00]

All right, and I have this, I see this all the time with my pet parents. So, they take them off the kibble and they go right onto the raw, which is what we suggest. Now, fast them for 24 hours to get all that other crap out of them, but then go. Here's what I find: a dog who has not been eating a meat based diet will not have the digestive enzymes turned on to totally be able to digest real meat and bones. So, what you might encounter is a dog that either vomits or has loose stools for a couple of days. This is what I find that scares the bejeezus out of pet parents. And they go running back to the kibble. And as my top nutritionist says, “Listen, if they vomit, let them vomit. If they want to re-eat the food, let them re-eat it. But they're trying to detox. They have to detox.”

Doggy Dan:

[00:42:30]

Well, it's the same as people who've been on … I don't know whether it's heroin or cocaine, you know? When you come off that stuff. People, they go through the chills and the shakes and they feel terrible.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Right. And some of them run right back to it.

Doggy Dan:

[00:43:00]

Yeah. Doesn't mean that those drugs were good for them, the heroin or cocaine. It doesn't mean it was healthy for them. It just means when you come off this bad stuff, it can … Hey, DeDe, we're going to have to wrap this up soon. But I do have a question I would love to ask you. And that's basically, for people who are going, “Yeah, yeah, okay. I'm really interested.” What is the next step for people who are really interested and may be looking into this more or may be moving into it, you know? You've got your website. Is there somewhere on there they should go next? How does somebody who goes, “Well, I've only ever fed my dog kibble,” go to … Because it's a big deal for some people who just don't know. I mean, I'd probably figure it out. But somebody who's a bit wary, what should they do next? I'd like to give people the next kind of steps.

[00:43:30]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

I always try to scare off my scared pet parents. I really do, Dan. And so, this is what I say, “Do your research.”

Doggy Dan:

Okay.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:44:00]

Because you need to be 100% on board, because if you are not, okay? If you are not, Dan, every single thing that happens to your dog, right? Let's say the dog goes out and licks up some Antifreeze or eats a rat that's had rat poisoning in them. People come back, “Oh my god, the raw diet. It did this to my dog.” And I always want to say, “Let's look at your vaccine schedule. What kind of medications are you on? All of those toxins versus a pure, raw diet. Which one of these do you think is making your pet ill?” Okay?

Doggy Dan:

Antifreeze or rat poison or healthy meat. Yeah. Well, it's the same as a human. Most of this meat, humans could actually eat, couldn't they?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:44:30]

Absolutely. It's all USDA. Now, are there some companies that sell dead, diseased, down and dying? There is a company that does that. Can I say that, that even would make your dog sick? I can't really say that. I mean, first of all, there can be cows that have broken their legs. So, they have hauling companies that will go get that animal. But the majority of the time, and the reason I don't sell that type of food, and I'm not going to consult on that type of food is because in order for a farmer to actually realize a return on investment, that cow has to be able to walk off of that trailer and into the new home, okay?

[00:45:00]

[00:45:30]

So, if they have a sick animal, they are going to pump them full of antibiotics. And I don't … You know? So, let me just put that statement out there. I think my top nutritionist says this all the time, a bad raw diet is always going to be better than a kibble diet. But here's what you need to understand, it needs to be a true meat, bones, organ, and fat. And yes, you could go to my site. Go to any of the raw feeding companies, the true raw feeding companies. There are some differences. Don't get HPP. HPP is high pressure pasteurized. That is a sterile product. There are no live enzymes in that, okay? So, that's one type. That's like Fresh Path, that's like … You know, there's the Farmer's Dog that's cooked food.

[00:46:00]

And maybe sometimes people have to step down from kibble into a cooked food first. But I will tell you that if you have dogs with issues, skin, allergies, digestive issues, eventually you got to get on a pure, raw diet, because I've seen so many dogs that do better getting off the high sugary processed foods on a cooked diet. But then they've got to move to a raw diet so that dog can really begin to heal, especially if we have some pretty big allergies going on, okay?

[00:46:30]

[00:47:00]

But again, I would say do your research, read the scary stuff. Dan, if you look at some of our products, we're going to have some disclaimers on there that will scare you to death. There's two reasons why that's done. The FDA wants all the raw dog food companies to be gone, right? And they will come in and their recalls are ridiculous. Answers Pet Food, which is a huge company, had a recall. And they were fighting the FDA because in the pet food, there is a zero tolerance policy for bacteria. Now, does that make any sense, Dan? That we need good and bad bacteria. And in a raw diet, you are going to have bacteria. But not all bacteria is bad, not all strains are bad. And they certainly don't give you a, what's the level, right?

[00:47:30]

So, let's say salmonella. Most chicken that you buy in the grocery store is probably going to have a higher load of salmonella than any dog food. Why? Because they know you're going to cook it, all right? But regardless, I have not seen a dog in 21 years get sick from salmonellosis. None of my vets that talk about a raw diet would say that.

Doggy Dan:

[00:48:00]

No, if you'd seen what my four dogs have eaten over the last decade, oh my goodness. And they don't get sick. It is incredible. So, yeah, like you say, the acidity of their stomachs being one just wipes out everything. Yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:48:30]

Well, the vet's biggest scare tactic is, your dog's going to get salmonella, or somebody in your house is going to get salmonella. And we talked about, just don't lick your dog's butt. Use good hygiene. I mean, come on, people. It's the same way if you are not a vegetarian, okay? And I will say this, Dan, you know what's really interesting is that I would say 40% of my customer base are vegetarians themselves.

Doggy Dan:

Wow.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

But they honor their dogs and know that they are carnivores. So, sometimes this food makes them want to gag. But they love their dogs and they want their dogs to be happy and healthy, you know? Healthy more than happy. But yeah, it's ridiculous.

Doggy Dan:

Yeah, I'm the same. I'm a vegetarian, but I still cook my children meatballs and roast chicken and bacon. They love all that stuff. So, I hear you.

[00:49:00]

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:49:30]

Yeah, so that's what I would say. Just use your logical brain, pet parents, people who are listening. And I think, Dan, you made a great comparison that it's just like people's food. Are you going to do better on whole foods, real foods? Or are you going to do better on cereals, right? Cereals, processed foods, anything that's been denatured, right? So, we always say, shop on the outer ring of the grocery store, right? What is that? That's real food. It's not in a package.

Doggy Dan:

[00:50:00]

The outer ring of the grocery store. I love that. I just whizzed around my grocery store and thought, “Oh yeah, all that stuff around the edges.” Beautiful. DeDe, what a beautiful place to finish up. It has been enlightening is the only word I can use for it. And yeah, you've made me think, “Gosh, yep. I'm going to do this.” I'm going to start finding some raw dog food for my dog. And I'm going to go on your site and have a look. Rawdogfoodandco.com is the site.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Correctamundo.

Doggy Dan:

Yeah.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:50:30]

Yes, you'll see my German Shepherd, she's now 13. She's our logo. But she's great. She's great. I have another three-year-old. But yeah, it's great. And I think, Dan, the last thing I will say is that once you see the health of your dog change, the coat change, the breath change, the twinkle in the eye, no longer will you feel like you want to just be lazy and scoop out that hard kibble stuff. You will have fun opening it up and seeing your dog get excited and seeing their health change. That will totally change how you feel about feeding them.

Doggy Dan:

[00:51:00]

And if you're interested and you're feeding your dog kibble, do the test. Put a cup of water in with … Do a one for one with your kibble, and watch how much water gets soaked up. And then you'll start … If you're doubting me, then you'll start to go, ” Oh my gosh.” And then, put two cups of water for a cup of kibble. And watch how much water it actually soaks up. It is off the charts. It's almost scary.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

And you know what, Dan?

Doggy Dan:

It's like … Yeah?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:51:30]

[00:52:00]

People worry about bloat, okay? Bloat. If you want to talk about bloat, we see bloat 97%, 98% of the time coming from kibble food. Why? For that reason that you're just talking about right there. Number one, it's not digestible, so it creates a lot of gasses in the dog's stomach. Now they bloat. And then what can happen next is called torsion, where the stomach begins to twist. And you have about six hours before that dog dies, okay? And sometimes you're not even going to know. I mean, the dog starts panting, it's running around, it's whining. Yeah, it's in a bloat stage. But if it's a highly digestible food, like a raw, species appropriate diet, you are not going to get bloat. But the majority of bloat, and certainly torsion deaths are coming from kibble fed dogs.

Doggy Dan:

DeDe, it's always fun chatting to educated and knowledgeable and experienced people like yourself, who really understand their topic. So, thank you for coming on the show today. Is there one last thing you'd like to say? Maybe the website or what to do?

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

I'd love to have Doggy Dan come on The Raw Dog Food Truth. Would you be willing to come on my podcast?

Doggy Dan:

[00:52:30]

Yeah. Would love to do that. Would love to do that. I'll come and tell some stories, yeah, and what I do. Love to do that.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

You know? Because I think that there's a lot of pet parents that think that their dogs are little kiddos.

Doggy Dan:

Oh gosh, yeah, you got it. Yep.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

[00:53:00]

Okay? So, I would love to have you come on and help sort of explain the whole psychology behind dogs. And really, how it relates to even feeding, because there's a lot of people that will say, “Well, I got to give them this treat. This dog can't have that treat. And he's so jealous. And I don't want to hurt his feelings.” And I'm like, “Come on, people. These are dogs. They are part of my family, but they're not human.”

Doggy Dan:

Yeah, there's a difference. There's a difference. There's a key difference.

DeDe Murcer Moffett:

Right, right. So, we'll look forward to having you on there. And just remember, everybody, at Raw Dog Food and Company, your pet's health is our business. And friends don't let friends feed kibble.

Doggy Dan:

DeDe, thank you so much for being on the show. Listeners, thanks for joining us. And as always, love your dog.

Voiceover:

You've been listening to another episode of the Doggy Dan Podcast Show, bringing you one step closer to creating harmony with your dog.