Hehe . There is quite a cult out there to feed dogs raw food by purchasing cheaper meats from butcher and such. Our vet doesn't have a problem with the dog eating it but says we might get sick from it. I have been researching it and people say it is a myth. And that dog's saliva is antibacterial and that it is liable to lick its you know what anyway. So chances of picking up disease from the dog licking you and such does not increase.
I'd consult with a vet for the specific breeds I guess. Some should be pretty hardy while others might have lines domesticated for so long that their immune systems may not be up to handling what's basically carrion. I never even thought about disease jumping from pet to owner. Hmmmmm.
Most vets are unfortunately pretty clueless about diet for dogs in general and raw especially. We've been feeding our dogs raw for over 9 years. It helps to have a nutritionist (my wife) in charge. There are a number of Internet lists for feeding raw, some breed specific.
Glad to see another vote for raw food. The breeder that we are getting the puppies from feeds all of her dogs raw food. She says she used to use kibbles but by 6-7 years old they would get diabetes and problem with the teeth. They showed me their 13 year old dogs (the breed lives to 12-15 years) and they had perfect teeth.
My wife visited a vet and she didn't raise an issue and said would research diabetes problem. But then scared her/us by saying we could get sick from exposure to raw dog food. Hence this post. I found a bunch of online articles that say this fear is unfounded.
Thanks for the book recommendation. Will buy it tonight .
Both my parents and my sister feed their dogs a raw diet. One of my parent's dogs is pretty much allergic to every kind of food and I know the only way it's not constantly in discomfort is by feeding it a specialized raw diet. I wish I knew more than that for you.
I fed my dog when he was a puppy raw and cooked food. He wouldn't eat dry food and still doesn't. Do a google search on the BARF diet for dogs. I now feed him a combo of cooked,canned,and fresh food. He has been allergy free and is very healthy. I will not feed him any dry food or treats given the ongoing Chinese situation. I have always been partial to good canned food because it is cooked and steralised in the can.
Amir,
Stay away from Walmart dog food or treats. The Chinese problem has resurfaced recently with jerky treats responsible for killing hundreds of dogs.
Yes. I feed all the kittens I foster a mixture of raw, wet food and kibble. Reasons:
Raw - giving them a leg up in the world. Cats are obligate carnivores.
Wet - raw gets expensive (unless I make it myself) and mixing up the wet is good to create less picky eaters and also get them different proteins.
Kibble - because of the picky eater thing - gets them used to all kinds of food - you never know what their adopters will end up feeding them.
I would feed my two raw if they would eat it, but they got used to kibble (all that artificial flavorings. ) at the shelter before I got them and it's hard enough making them eat wet food.
canned or packaged; there are many different qualities of packaged moist pet food, including some that are almost raw (heat "pasteurized" rather than cooked) and there's quite a bit of controversy in the raw feeding world about how "raw" those are.
Yup. Just like for yourself though, read the labels on pet food. Not all canned food is created equal. Some get the protein from vegetable matter and have corn/wheat gluten that makes up the bulk of the food. They are sneaky too. A label that boasts "meat comes first" might read "chicken, corn, meat by products, corn meal, liver, fish, corn gluten...."
We have feed raw for about 20 years now they like it less vet bills longer life better life. I buy what ever is on sale at the market whole chickens , pork , sometimes prme rib is on sale and fish raw eggs they like it all.
We have feed raw for about 20 years now they like it less vet bills longer life better life. I buy what ever is on sale at the market whole chickens , pork , sometimes prme rib is on sale and fish raw eggs they like it all.
Thanks Garth. We did put our puppies on raw food and they have been super happy and healthy. I found a local butcher that has a full catalog of raw meats for dogs and very reasonable prices. I augment that with sale items at Costco and grocery stores (asian and US). It is some work to clean up after them as they like to drag away the raw bones and such but I don't mind.
I have had two dogs a Doberman and Shepard three cats one of which is a Bengal on this diet only problems have been old age. I would not go back to dog or cat food the only time the get it is kibble if I am out of town. I have only two cats at the present time they eat better than I do.