Feeding raw. What do you think of this?

I have been doing some reasearch on feeding my dogs raw meat. I came across this website http://secondchanceranch.org/rawmeat.html and it scared me. Can anyone dipute this and give me the hard facts about what is the best way? Raw versus kibble. I am feeding my dogs a high grade food now and they seem to be fine on it. I would really like to do what is best for my dogs. I am undecided. What way is trully the best?

 

Honestly i don't know the best choice. I've always fed dry food, I think raw may cause stomach worms and other complicatoins.

 

hummm...this is interesting. I've been questioning this whole raw feeding thing. I had never heard of it and I wonder about how healthy raw products can really be. I did start my puppy on the California Natural yesterday (I still have to mix the Eukanuba of course) and she seems to like it a lot. We'll see how she does on that. This whole raw feeding kinda scares me especially since Bella is so tiny (2lbs.) and her stomach is so sensitive. I would love to hear everyone’s comment on this article. Good find!

 

Everyone considering raw feeding has found that page and panicked. I will look to see if I can find specific rebuttals, but in the meantime...

Nothing in life is without risk. Dogs can choke and die eating kibble. Dogs can bloat and die eating kibble. Some dogs have contracted e.coli from kibble and died. You can be walking your dog on the sidewalk when a car swerves, runs up on the sidewalk and kills you both. The trick is to weigh pros and cons, benefits and risks (and the relative likelihood of each), and choose the best course for you and your family (pets included).

Dogs are at a lower risk for getting sick from bacteria that may be in raw food - their digestive tracts are shorter and more acidic than ours are. Let's not forget, they lick their own butts. People could get very sick if they tried to do that!

As for bones being dangerous - COOKED bones can splinter and get stuck. RAW bones are generally safe. Again, nothing is 100%. Dogs have choked on kibble and died. Rawhide kills many dogs as well. Some people say to avoid the large marrow bones because they can break teeth and some dogs have managed to get a lower jaw wedged inside the center of the bones. Then again, some dogs manage to get their heads stuck in fences - right, Sarge?!

As for cooked food - this is not appropriate for dogs. Cooking destroys some nutrients and changes others. Also, cooked bones should not be fed, and meat alone is NOT a balanced diet for your dog. Meat alone will HARM your dog very quickly, especially puppies.

Now let's think about what we know about people food. Do you think that vitamin-fortified cereal is a good substitute for fresh fruits and vegetables? How many times have you heard that fresh foods are better than taking a vitamin tablet? How many times have scientists decided that this food or that food is good or bad? How many times have they revised their "recommended daily allowances"? Do you REALLY think scientists know exactly what nutrients every person needs in the exact amounts in order to be healthy? Of course not! It's the same for dogs.

There is a difference between "adequate" nutrition and "optimum" nutrition. Adequate nutrition will keep your dog alive and reasonably healthy for a number of years. As the dog ages, it will get arthritis and possibly kidney disease, blindness, thyroid problems, or even cancer. Along the way, he may develop food allergies and need to be on some specialty food.

With optimum nutrition, your dog has everything they need for a healthy immune system. A healthy immune system means less antibitoics and pesticides are needed to keep your dog healthy. The diseases of aging are less frequent and often absent in dogs that have received optimal nutrition their whole lives. Some dogs already suffering from arthritis, or epilepsy, or some other disease, have seen a reverse in their conditions when going on a raw diet. Some that are allergic to chicken in kibble, for example, can eat chicken raw without a problem.

Dogs evolved in the wild to eat raw food. They are genetically identical to wolves. Raw meaty bones keep the teeth clean and the immune system healthy.

Many of the diseases that dogs and cats frequently get now were not present 60 years ago, before kibble was widely available. Australian vets have seen this transformation more recently, as kibble only became popular there about 30 years ago. Dr. Ian Billinghurst noticed his dogs started getting all sorts of diseases when he started them on kibble. He didn't connect it at first, but later he did and when he switched his dogs back to raw foods, they were healthy again! Cats only recently became more popular as indoor pets. At that time, people brought them in from the barn and started feeding them kibble and vaccinating them every year, etc. Now cats are getting many of the diseases that dogs are, that were unheard of when they were mostly barn cats that hunted for themselves!

Here is a site where you can check out answers to common myths about raw feeding: http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/rawdog/

Another site that explains it well is here: http://www.bullovedbulldogs.com/sarf.htm

You can also read "Raw Meaty Bones" by Tom Lonsdale for more info on why raw is better.

 

Oh, and stravieso, I don't advocate feeding "raw products" either. It is better than feeding kibble, but it's still the same food day in and day out. I feed my dogs a variety of raw meaty bones and organ meats that are the same foods people eat. I can buy it in grocery stores or butcher shops or what have you. I do not feed the commercial raw foods.

Variety is a good thing. Has your doctor ever told you to eat a VARIETY of fresh foods in order to stay healthy? That's because every food has a different set of nutrients, and when you eat a variety of foods the nutrients your body gets balances out over time. Eating a carrot and an apple every day and nothing else from the fruit or vegetable groups does not make a balanced diet.

 

And here is a comment about that site that I got from a post on the rawfeeding group I belong to, that was a HUGE help and resource when I made the switch to raw (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/):

 

Jamiya.

Found a new butcher!!!!

I get my bones and organs free again!!!

The guy (and all butcher shops) have to pay a disposal fee and spend alot of $$$ on chemicals to pour over carcasses that are going to be disposed of. So I went in there Wednesday to get Smokey some new stuff and just asked if he had any "crap cutts" and meaty bones from carcases....HE said he would thurs morning and to come pick them up! I expected to pay like $25 for what he gave me. I had 30 lbs of cut up femur, neck bones, treachea, tounge, and kidneys. Not to meantion end cuts of briskett, steaks and loins!!!!! I could eat this stuff!!! Its WONDERFUL!!!
I asked how much, He told me as long as I came by 2 times a week and picked up at least that much. It would save hima bout $40. So I agreed.

Not only that. He agreed to blend up carrotts, corn, and peas, and greenbeans and put them in a roll of ground beef or turkey, pork....so Now I've got a way to get Smokey to eat a bit of veggies with his meat. I'm trying to take him completely off the kibble. While Pedigree is ok, and he snacks on it, I have been knoticing that his sttools are still "squishy". He's also getting plaque on his teeth.

SOOOO I'm soooo happy again!! Thats going to save me BIG TIME!!!

I'm going to smoke some of this meat and make jerky out of it for him as treats.

 

I'm so JEALOUS!!! I need to find a good supplier here. :|

 

in reply to you on feeding raw

8) I believe it's up to you on what research you come up with and what your comfortable feeding your dogs. Personally I've never given my animals meats, but thats me out here in califorina meats are exspensive but a-also I've always just given my animals 1/2 dry 1/2 water 2tablespoons of wetfood and mixed together it has always worked for me. I feed them pedegree dry and wet which out here thats pretty exspenive. Just go with what you can do and your best you'll be fine!!!!! aussylover

 

aussielover: I feed my dogs kibble. For awhile I was feeding 1/2 raw and kibble until I found out one of my dogs was allergic to beef, so I put both of them back on kibble.

I did a lot of studying on kibble to find a quality one and I have to say Pedigree is not one of them. The main ingredient is corn which is nothing but filler and only fills a dog up fast. The more they eat, the more they poop it out.

I use a food called Nutro Ultra. It's all natural ingredients, lamb, chicken, and salmon. Pedigree also has a harmful preservative in it. Also Utra is one of the kibbles that have probiotics in it where Pedigree doesn't. It promotes healthy beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract.

Nutro Ultra costs a little more than Pedigree but you don't have to feed so much of it to your dog. They also make a great can dog food, too. I can honestly say I could eat this dog food myself and be eating healthier.

 

sams, with all that food you will be getting maybe with the newsletters you can send out raw food "samples" to everyone, just kidding! But that is awesome!