Raw meat for dog food?

Well people have been telling me to feed RAW to my Papillon who is very over weight, she is almost 15lbs! Papillons are supposed to be no more then 8lbs.
I was told by many that RAW will help her in her weight along with obvious exercise.

I was talking to breeder and we think my Pap had thyroid problems along with her dry skin. Taking her to a vet of course.
because if she indeed has a hypothyroid then RAW wont change anything and she will just continue to gain weight and break her back.

gahhhh

Depending on the type of dog (a lot of small dogs tend to have issues with being on raw food, but some, especially Boston terriers, are perfectly fine on it) a raw diet, when managed properly, is great.

You have to make sure that they still get their veggies (dogs aren't full carnivores, more omnivorous) and make sure you get good quality meats for the dogs. You can get it in frozen patties at most pet food stores, or you can just get some from a good butcher.

To supplement the meat, you can either make your own mix (which can be a lot of work but if you're up for it at least you can pick and choose what you put in) or you can get some good quality mixes. The two that I recommend are the Urban Wolf or Essex Cottage Farms food base mixes, they're super nice but can be a little pricey. In the end though it's high quality stuff, and I've even tried the Urban Wolf's cat formula (Urban King) for my ferrets because on its own it's already high protein and grain free, and I just added some ground turkey, and they were doing good on it (except the older guy, because he just wasn't used to that kind of protein level, but he's almost 9 so I kind of expected it).

If it's an older dog it might be best to either put a little less meat because very high amounts of protein can sometimes bother them, or keep it on whatever it was on before. Most grain free diets are extremely rich, and this is a grain free diet. Raw will more than likely not help your dog lose weight, but rather gain it as you mentioned.

If you want to try a raw diet with out the hassle of figuring out how to make it. Look at Honest kitchen
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/prod...FQhy5QodthlcDQ

I have 4 small breed dogs on it. I wont feed anything else they all have thined out and skin problems on the one dog has vanished.
They have samples you can try

Raw is the best food you can feed a cat or a dog.. remember, they are made for this..

they are carnivores, their bodies do not digest the way ours does.. Raw has good bacterias that can not be found in kibble.. it is good for the teeth, digestion etc..

definitely look into it.. it is a great thing :D They look, and act a ton better!!! just like we do when we eat healthy!!

Raw's the best way to go. It's just finding a cheap, reliable source of raw food. Freezing the meat eliminates and kills most of the bacteria. So I would worry about your dog getting sick unless you leave the meat out at room temp for a long period of time. And when your dog/cat goes to the bathroom, check it to see what needs to be added or subtracted in it's diet.