raw foods

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Originally Posted by Gooseman

haha... one or two? haha...

You see, here's the thing with feeding animals like this. Dry food is everything your dog needs in a balanced amount. If you add raw meat to the mix your throwing off your balance. In order to counter this your dog is going to start eating alot of grass to get the necessary fiber it needs. Your going to be having some problems to deal with. The dogs weight fluctuations, the dog getting the runs from time to time and just generally his new diet is less nutritious than his old. Your just going to need to make sure that you keep an eye on what else your dog decides to ingest for nutrition supplementation that dog food gives that red meat doesnt.

hope this helps

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When commercial dog food (which is primarily crap IMO) is killing dogs, then raw diets and human foods sure make a lot of sense! It's natural to them anyway... IMO. My dogs get all kinds of people food with their ever changing brands of dog food and they never get sick ever ever, no vomiting, runny stools, refusing to eat, lethargy, grass eating... although they'll never stop eating the green onions that grow out back LOL... they love them. It would make more sense to me that the raw diet would be more complete than that by-product, wheat gluten, ground corn, crap that comes standard in almost every bag of commercial dog food.

OP, you will want to research what kinds of variety you need to do this right, but I commend your effort to feed the healthiest food you can. With all the critters dying from their food here lately, I've strongly considered switching my 4 dogs and 5 cats (includes fosters) to some kind of prepared by me concoction, but so far have not done so... I'm sure it'd be better than that sick sick feeling I get every time I buy a bag of food... and then I watch to see if the girls eat well and how much are they drinking and are there any signs that something isn't right... I guarantee if it was baby food we'd have it settled but animals are still dying and we're still finding out about new recalls... it's upsetting to say the least... Check with your vet what the dosage of beano you can provide your dogs with would be... my understanding is it's a pretty safe med, but ALWAYS consult your vet before taking net-strangers medication advice :D

jmo

Then don't buy commercial dog food...

I buy Wellness, Innova is good too, as Canidae, Flint River Ranch, etc. Don't buy crapola and you won't have problems.

I've read countless studies where a test group was fed their normal high quality dry food diet, and the other test group was fed a raw only diet with and without vitamins/minerals/etc added. One study was done on cats and over time, the raw food eating group started having heart valve problems, blindness and other problems associated with taurine, an essential amino acid, deficiency.

If you want to feed raw, do it right, feed a whole animal so your dogs/cats are getting everything they need like they would in the wild.

But anyway, that's just me :)

Wow! What a response!


Ok, feeding raw can be a little tricky and confusing..I have read about BARF (which is feeding ratios such as 60% meat, 30% bone 5% organ meat 5%vitamins....as an example) Barf sounds complicated, time consuming, and expensive. Basically, you are feeding raw foods with additives such as flax seed, supplements, and vegetables.

Then there is the prey model diet which is basically just feeding animals carcasses (hmm, yum....carcass). This is simple and is the one I am going to try first. From what I have researched, you just feed animal parts or whole animals (cornish game hen anyone?)YOu can feed a variety of animals to your dogs as long as you introduce it slowly so as not to upset their tummies...
I have seen people feed goat,deer,bison,ostrich,chicken,turkey,duck,fish,lamb,cow,etc.

Now a word on balance. Every meal you feed your dog does not have to be 100% balanced....this is AAFCO's deceitful misleading..you know that symbol you see on dog food? AAFCO balanced nutrition.....blah blah blah...just buzz words to get you to think you are doing what is right. I also LOVE how some companies put on the bag "For a long, healthy life" Yeah, corn will keep my dog in tip top shape. Sawdust gives my dog that extra fiber he needs! PSHHHH....look, dogs have become domesticated, which affects their behavior, NOT their diet. In the wild, wolves do not count calories, and they do not make sure they have equal parts protein to phosphorous every day..They do however, tend to switch up their prey items (not by choice but by availability) Over the long haul, variety is key to promoting balance.
We as humans do not even eat balanced meals everyday, and yet, we THRIVE, don't we? We also aren't forced to eat the same dry kibble day in and day out ...how boring!
The more I read, the more I learn. I don't believe everything I read though, I am no sucker. But I DO beleive that veterinarians get paid to promote certain dog foods...I BELIEVE vets do not know as much about nutrition as they should (I mean, you are what you eat, right?) Eating healthy promotes health, so in doing this for my dogs, I am hoping it will help change my fiance's diet as well..
I guess I am on a health kick

When you feed chicken and any poultry whole, like the game hen you're talking about... What are the concerns/precautions about the bones? I'd always heard that bird bones were very dangerous.

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Originally Posted by gibbrishclown

When you feed chicken and any poultry whole, like the game hen you're talking about... What are the concerns/precautions about the bones? I'd always heard that bird bones were very dangerous.

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Good point! I've always heard that also!

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Originally Posted by daaangconcepts

Good point! I've always heard that also!

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My girl Cristal got away with it once... stinkin azz dog! I was eating chicken wings on the floor (I get pretty decent respect when I'm eating) but then I had to show a friend out (not sure why people need me to get the door for them to leave but whatever) and she ate my bones... she may have survived because she never chewed, but I was just sick. I'd had a few beers, so I had to stop drinking and the party stopped for me because I was afraid I was going to have a middle of the night vet run :mad: She was fine... still is. :rolleyes: rotten azz mutt :D

Cooked chicken bones are dangerous. They become brittle and splinter easy, which can in turn puncture the esophogus, stomach wall, etc. They are harder to digest and should NEVER be fed to your dog. Raw bones, however, are soft and plyable. Dogs have stronger stomach acids than humans do. In fact,bones are good for your dog if fed correctly. This is where they get their calcium, phosphorus, etc. It is also what keeps the teeth clean and healthy. There is always a possibilty that a dog will choke, however, dogs have choked on kibble and died from it. Dogs have choked on so called "teeth cleaners" like greenies and nylabone which the companies lull you into thinking are SAFE!

People often worry about salmonella, e.coli, etc. Again, the stomach acids are a wonder in dogs. They can handle it, unlike us mere humans.:) Also, I read somewhere that dog saliva contains lysosomes which kill harmful bacteria that get into their mouths from eating raw foods...I still have to research that before I am confident about it.

Anyways, how many wolves do you know that died from eating raw food? If this were the case, wolves would be extinct.

I've heard the BARF advocates say that raw bones are okay, but I've also seen dogs come into the ER with horrible problems from eating them too. "Raw bones don't splinter the same as cooked bones do" is what I commonly hear...maybe they don't splinter the -same- way, but they sure as heck do make some ugly looking spiky shards...not at all pretty when mixed with bloody vomit secondary to eating said bones.

Also, when you feed cornish game hens, how do you compensate for the entrails? I don't know of anywhere to safely acquire E. coli and Salmonella-free chicken guts, yah know? I suppose you could feed whole rodents and rabbits, maybe quail?

Either way, it sounds like too much work and mess. My dogs thrive on their good commercial kibble, and I don't intend to change it....

I was just curious if anyone else fed raw. I am new to this. I am not trying to change anyones ideas, just state what I believe to be true. SLARTIBARTFAST, you keep doing what you do. What do you feed your animals?

Feeding bones is a bit of a concern, but it is a risk I am careful about. I think the dogs are doing an excellent job crunching the bones down and I would intervene if I thought they would gulp anything down. My dogs are pretty meticulous. You really have to "know" your dog when feeding a diet like this I think.

My dogs often eat pork and beef bones... more pork ribs though when momma makes barbecue ribs :D *drool* Those are rather sharp in places too when they're destroying them... so far so good... I only asked the question because I've heard soo much conflicting info on the subject!