Raw Diet vs Commercial Dog food

So earlier today I had a discussion with my younger sister who is training to become a vet (focusing on big animals mainly horses). My family has always had dogs and has always fed them store bought dog food. More and more people are finding out that the store bought dog food is terrible for dogs (and really for anything living *Rats come to mind lol) So my sister just started feeding her dogs a raw diet consisting of cow tongue, chicken, beef liver/heart, and green tripe.

I'm interested to see how many dog owners here on BP.net feed a raw diet to their dogs. I'm hoping the get a Siberian Husky puppy in the next year or so and am seriously considering going with a raw diet for him/her.

Feel free to discuss.

I'm huge for holistic pet food!

My dog lives with my parents, but she and my mom's dog mainly get kibble with a supplement of raw/semi cooked food. So this would be a kibble + raw duo of dogs.
We feed them Natural Choice/Nutro kibble. While it's more expensive than other brands, its definitely better than the more popular brands you see at petstores(purina, eukanuba, etc etc.)<- garbage. What you pay is what you get.
Another good brand is Call of the Wild. As for the raw, we have to feed organic (mainly chicken). The non organic stuff has too much junk and may carry unwanted 'goodies'.
Both dogs are in great conditions. Very healthy looking coats and teeth. Sound movement and very alert, active pups.
They(and my ferrets) also get rat pinks as treats when I have an overproduction of feeders.

Not dogs, but I believe this is still relevant to the whole "raw = healthy" thing. My ferrets were switched from a kibble diet to a whole prey diet. The transformation was incredible. The majority of US ferrets come from a commercial breeder, Marshall Farms. And they're all started on a horrible kibble (Marshall Brand) before shipping out to petstores. This kibble is full of junk, sugars, carbs, fiber, etc etc. Ferrets are Obligate Carnivores. Sugars and carbohydrates are not good for them and will eventually cause serious health problems and disease. So by providing them pure meat, my ferrets have became more active. Their coats became softer with more shine. The body odor and amount of poo has gone down significantly. Since kibble is full of stuff they can't absorb, the poo is almost down to nothing but fur(from prey).
They are fed mainly rodents: Rats, mice, or rabbits. But sometimes they get a chick or a duckling now and then. They don't like any sort of cooked meat or skinned/chopped pieces of raw meat. They will only take raw in the form of a full prey body with guts, fur, feet, tail, whatever. (the heads are their favorite)
Something to take note of: European ferrets vs American ferrets.
European ferrets seem to be much more healthy than US ferrets. Ferrets in EU are mainly a working animal compared to here, where they are a companion pet.The majority of these working ferrets are fed raw and don't see the many health issues and diseases you see in US ferrets.

Also, by chewing on meat, it prevents dental disease. And dental disease can lead to a whole bunch of other physical and health problems in the future. (I don't have exact answers, but I read it in a scientific journal and heard it in a seminar presented by the world's best ferret researcher. This can apply to other animals as well). Anyway, chewing on meat cleans teeth. Kibble does not fully clean along the gum lines because the tooth breaks the kibble piece before it reaches the gums. This is also why many kibble fed dogs have tartar problems along the back teeth along the gums.


All in all, I'm for a raw diet. Just be careful on where you get your food sources. Don't want sick animals and all. :)

Side note: someone called me a hillbilly for feeding my ferrets AND snakes prey animals. (uh...what else would I feed??)

If I wasn't living on a restricting students budget, my dog would never see kibble again.

I have a friend who breeds Alaskan Malamutes for a living and she's fed them raw for at least 10 years and she's never had an issue with it. As soon as I am out of school and have a little more money I'll definitely be moving away from kibble and feeding raw :)

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Originally Posted by satomi325

I'm huge for holistic pet food!

My dog lives with my parents, but she and my mom's dog mainly get kibble with a supplement of raw/semi cooked food. So this would be a kibble + raw duo of dogs.
We feed them Natural Choice/Nutro kibble and its definitely better than the more popular brands you see at petstores(purina, eukanuba, etc etc.)<- garbage. What you pay is what you get.
Another good brand is Call of the Wild. As for the raw, we have to feed organic (mainly chicken). The non organic stuff has too much junk and may carry unwanted 'goodies'.
Both dogs are in great conditions. Very healthy looking coats and teeth. Sound movement and very alert, active pups.
They(and my ferrets) also get rat pinks as treats when I have an overproduction of feeders.

My ferrets were switched from a kibble diet to a whole prey diet. The transformation was incredible. The majority of US ferrets come from a commercial breeder, Marshall Farms. And they're all started on a horrible kibble (Marshall Brand) before shipping out to petstores. This kibble is full of junk, sugars, carbs, fiber, etc etc. Ferrets are Obligate Carnivores. Sugars and carbohydrates are not good for them and will eventually cause serious health problems and disease. So by providing them pure meat, my ferrets have became more active. Their coats became softer with more shine. The body odor and amount of poo has gone down significantly. Since kibble is full of stuff they can't absorb, the poo is almost down to nothing but fur(from prey).
They are fed mainly rodents: Rats, mice, or rabbits. But sometimes they get a chick or a duckling now and then. They don't like any sort of cooked meat or skinned/chopped pieces of raw meat. They will only take raw in the form of a full prey body with guts, fur, feet, tail, whatever. (the heads are their favorite)

Also, by chewing on meat, it prevents dental disease. And dental disease can lead to a whole bunch of other physical and health problems in the future. (I don't have exact answers, but I read it in a scientific journal and heard it in a seminar presented by the world's best ferret researcher. This can apply to other animals as well). Anyway, chewing on meat cleans teeth. Kibble does not fully clean along the gum lines because the tooth breaks the kibble piece before it reaches the gums. This is also why many kibble fed dogs have tartar problems along the back teeth along the gums.

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That is pretty much what my sister has found with her dogs (A full grown Golden Retriever and a Chocolate Lab) Both of them have shown great improvements in health and attitude

im in the same boat as your sister lol going to school to become a vet, i am a vet tech tho. as for raw i did do a research paper on it while first year in tech school. there are main advantages to feeding a raw diet, better nutrition, real vitamins, you can prepare it your self. but then agin those can be bad sides also, unless you grown the cows/bulls, chickens and everything else your self you have no idea what they are eating. and if buying from a store sometimes they are injected with steroids to get more meat out of they animal. plus you do not know what type of living conditions they are being kept in. but same goes for store bought. i feed my animals store bought, so does my gf who is also a vet tech, but i do not feed the store bought that most people buy(pedigree,purina,beniful) i buy food that i know that are safe that i have talked to representative of the company about there food. my cat is on taste of the wild(he's allergic to carbs) but compared to other no carb cat food that was the one i felt best about when i read the ingredients and reviews (that close vet friends and family member have told me) and my dog eats blue for the same reasons. but what comes down to mostly is cost i believe, a bag of dog food can cost you $35 a month, where as if you make your own it cost time and money(and depends on the food market prices). this topic has been going on for a very long time.
It comes down the the person's dog, if you have the time and money to feed RAW(also known as the BARF diet) and you feel your dog will do better on that type of diet, do it. but if you feel that a good quality store bought(there is plenty of them) is a better fitting for your circumstances then do that. its comes down to personal preference and what you believe is a better diet for your dog.
just remember diet goes so far, you also have to think about pre disposed diseases(ask the breeder if they have been screened for them or if they run in the family's pedigree)
my grandpa black lab has been eating wet canned pedigree 2X a day and is 14 years old. my pit/boxer mix that passed away(a year ago this sat) was on a strict dry good quality store bought. and he got lymphoma.

sorry for the long post, but remember either way you will be happy and your dog will be too:D

Tom

Feeding a raw diet is okay IF you get it from a supplier that sells raw meat specifically for dogs, cats, etc. If you are buying meat from your local grocery store/butcher shop, most likely it will contain pathogens such as E. coli on it. The meat grinders/cutter, knives, etc. are NOT sterilized since the meat that they are cutting up are meant for PEOPLE and they are expecting people to cook it to the right temperature to kill these pathogens before it is consumed. Plus you would also need the proper supplements and vitamins in the proper amounts. Unless you get it from a legitimate supplier, like Primal, then everything needed is already ground up for you.

It is also not a good idea to mix raw and kibble or change it every other day or so since a dog's stomach takes a long time to adjust to food changes.

I think feeding kibble is fine if it is a HIGH quality food diet such as EVO, Taste of the Wild, Blue, etc.

Taste of the Wild! Yes! That's what I meant to write. I don't know why I said Call of the Wild?! lolol...

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Originally Posted by dizzydynamo

It is also not a good idea to mix raw and kibble or change it every other day or so since a dog's stomach takes a long time to adjust to food changes.

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It really depends. I believe it is possible to feed both kibble and raw together. I know a fair number of AKC breeders that feed their pregnant females raw and cooked meats to supplement on top of kibble. I know its not for every dog. Some dogs are more sensitive to change than others. But I've had a good experience with it. But then again, my dog seems to have an iron stomach compared to others I've seen...(she eats everything. literally)

However, I can see how it could upset a stomach if the dog was on a certain kibble and only that one type of kibble during it's entire life then suddenly ate raw. Most dogs aren't like that though. Lots of dogs are given more than one kind of food to eat throughout their day or life. And if you start both types of food, kibble/raw, young, it wouldn't be any sort of problem.
Dogs are a lot more resilient than you describe.

I feed my dogs Blue Buffalo and Taste of the Wild. Much higher quality than other kibble.

I've never tried raw before but I would never feed a dog many of the dog foods people buy.

Right now we are using Wellness Super5Mix (lamb, barley, and salmon meal recipe/green bag) and we like it. Our bull terrier (prone to skin issues and a sensitive stomach) hasn't had any issues, unlike when we got her as a puppy- breeder fed her science diet... you wouldn't believe how gassy she was all the time :weirdface

Growing up my family's GSDs got chicken breasts, eggs, and yogurt mixed in with their kibble, but I can't really say I'd I noticed how it helped/harmed them at the time as I was younger.

My bf and I have a Heeler/lab mix who eats Natural Balance, and I mix in yogurt. I have seen the benefits of beneficial bacterias in lots of animals, so I am hoping it helps him too. He used to have horrible gas, but since being with us it has vanished. I would love to supplement his diet more as enrichment, as he is active, has beautiful gums/teeth, and a very soft coat.

The cats eat Before Grain, but they would laugh at me if I tried a raw diet with them.

I feed Taste of the Wild.

Before I moved out we had a GSD that was allergic to lamb which is in about 90% of all commercial dog foods. Rather than pay a ridiculous amount of money for EVO or Taste of the Wild (or worse, Orijen, all of which are good brands but absolutely expensive), my mom worked out a deal with the hunters in the family and they carved up a deer or two for us per year to feed to her. When we lost her (bloat) and got a Chow mix several months later, we just kept feeding the raw venison.

Now, they do all the preparing for us (they feed their dogs the same + whole carcasses of the small prey they catch like rabbits) and we go over there to pick it up whenever they tell us they have enough. If we start to run low before they call, my parents buy a small bag of Taste of the Wild (which is kibble that's mostly venison) and start to mix it with the meat so that if she has to pop down to kibble for a bit then her stomach won't be upset. That hasn't happened too recently though, not since she got out of her growing stages.

The pit mix that one of my sister's own gets "dog stew", which is more or less raw unseasoned beef/turkey/chicken, ground bone, little bit of rice, and occasionally some leftovers if they have meat as a main ingredient. Chi mix and GSD/GSP are fed One Beyond, which is medium-ish quality food.


All of the dogs that were switched to the meat diets had a very noticeable improvement in their overall health. The GSD's coat got extremely sleek and shiny and when she was suffering the aftereffects of bloat and developed pancreatitus (from the bloat, awful condition :c ), even though we knew she was dying on the inside, she still looked very much like a healthy dog until the very end. The pit mix has a significant improvement in both her weight (without exercising she dropped from 80lbs to 60lbs, could be around 45-50 for a healthy weight) and her skin allergies.

The Chow mix has severe hip dysplasia and still runs around, jumps, and plays like a normal dog. She needs a hip replacement but doesn't look or act it. Her coat is soft and shiny and the vet is impressed with her overall state of health considering her hips are so bad and she's got a lot of genetic health issues on top of that.

Never underestimate the power of a natural diet on your animal :gj: I will never forget the improvement I saw in my cat when I switched her to a mix of EVO and Taste of the Wild (both high quality kibble for dogs too), and if I wasn't living on a college parttimer's budget I would be feeding her raw (she rejected the venison, the brat). A lot of people say that their dogs "do just fine" on the crap brands, but I have not heard one person who switched their animals over to raw or even just a good brand properly and was displeased with the results or surprised at how much healthier their animals were just from the better food.

I fed a prey-model based raw diet for a couple of years until I went back to school. My dogs did well with it. I didn't see any amazing improvements in them or anything, but I had been feeding a very expensive and high quality dog food prior also. One thing to consider is that it takes a lot more prep work to be balanced and can get pricey if shipping is involved. I ended up going back to kibble just because I didn't have the time or space anymore to order and thaw in advance/mix ingredients/separate dogs for feeding somewhere easy to clean, etc. I offered raw meaty bones, organ meats, and specialty items like raw green tripe. I didn't just feed cow though- I would give them rabbit, chicken, beef, lamb, fish, etc. and still think that variety is very important for this kind of nutrition.

If I was rich, I would have purchased most of my dog's food from here:

http://www.aplaceforpaws.com/shop/in...bdf5a6e6192538

I would place orders when I could afford it and their stuff smelled and looked so fresh and incredible.

I will probably go back to feeding raw again in the future when I am out of school. One thing that I can say for sure is that my dogs loved, loved, loved it. Their teeth also stayed much cleaner than they ever did on kibble.

Lauren

I started a thread on this in the dog forum quite a while ago. If you search for it you may find it. There is a lot of good info in that thread. I only wish I could afford to put my dog on a raw diet. Since I cannot do that, I feed my dog Taste Of The Wild High Prairie Formula. Her coat and allergies have greatly improved since being on this food.

Before i throw in my two cents: Aaron youre gunna get a husky and you live in Florida? That dogs gunna go outside and play for like 30 seconds then be panting to death in the shade lol. By no means am i telling you what to do, you know that, but im just wondering if you have given any thought to that?
As far as the dog food. I grew up with a german shepherd. Shes gunna be 13 in may. She was fed purina her whole life. She has really bad allergies and we found that seems to work best for her. Shes always gotten "human food" supplemented into her meals. Ive never tried giving her raw meat. But shes gotten cooked meat alot and shes been a really healthy dog (aside from her allergies which cant really be controlled). I would definetly love to try giving her raw food but a drastic change this late in her life would be too much for her i think. I'll have to keep this in mind when i get a dog of my own :)

We do a little of both. They eat Blue Buffalo regularly but I try to give them raw twice a week. I would like to do raw at every dinner, but have been slacking recently. Ive read the kibble takes longer to digest or just sits in the gut longer than raw, so that's why we give it after they have taken their pre dinner poops.
Ours have never gotten an upset stomach from going from kibble to raw, kibble to raw, or different organs. The crumbly "bone" poop is a super easy clean up compared to kibble.
The bones keep their teeth super clean! No dog breath for a raw dog!

I did a ton of my own research before feeding raw and then asked a few vets in my area what they thought. What I got was surprising. "NO! You will give them pancreatitis!" Even though one said "The most common case we see with dogs with pancreatitis are eating Beneful."
I am obviously not asking the right vets and it just goes to show that vets are not always 100% right.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

As far as the dog food. I grew up with a german shepherd. Shes gunna be 13 in may. She was fed purina her whole life. She has really bad allergies and we found that seems to work best for her. Shes always gotten "human food" supplemented into her meals. Ive never tried giving her raw meat. But shes gotten cooked meat alot and shes been a really healthy dog (aside from her allergies which cant really be controlled). I would definitely love to try giving her raw food but a drastic change this late in her life would be too much for her i think. I'll have to keep this in mind when i get a dog of my own :)

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Was she checked what she is allergic to? Our GSD was allergic to Dust mites, Mold, and Fleas. And we lived in Florida.
Ever think the allergies were from the food? I have found many dogs that were seemingly allergic to CORN and WHEAT! Check your dog food label and try to get one without. Dogs that are constantly itchy, have a bad or funny smell, or balding patches of fur IME are allergic to the food they are eating.

We have a 15 year old staffordshire bull terrier that has been fed high quality kibble for his entire life. The last 4 years he has been on a grain free kibble. Before that we had a tibetan mastiff that lived 14 years on kibble - not a bad run for a 135lb animal.

We initially started our new patterdale terrier on a raw diet - as our vet is an advocate. However, doing raw right is not as easy as some people make it out to be. Your sources have to be good, you need to have the proper proportions of different types of meat (RMBs, tissue, organs, etc.) and in the end, I found it no cheaper and much more of a headache than feeding a grain free kibble.

After speaking ot the vet, and feeling that we got an unbiased view from someone who has a specialty in canine nutrition, I think that most people will not see a difference between a high quality kibble and a raw diet. Our staffie bull and our old tibetan mastiff were from lines free from inbreeding, solid stock and were exercised their entire lives.

In the end, diet is just one facet of your dog's health. A genetically sound animal fed a nutritionally balanced diet coupled with proper mental and physical exercise will result in a happy healthy dog that will live a long time.

A raw diet will not address a lack of exercise and will not undo the genetic issues caused by inbreeding or selectively breeding animals for looks at the expense of health.

Before anyone claims any diet as a panacea for an animal with health issues, go to Youtube and watch Pedigree Dogs Exposed.

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Originally Posted by aldebono

Was she checked what she is allergic to? Our GSD was allergic to Dust mites, Mold, and Fleas. And we lived in Florida.
Ever think the allergies were from the food? I have found many dogs that were seemingly allergic to CORN and WHEAT! Check your dog food label and try to get one without. Dogs that are constantly itchy, have a bad or funny smell, or balding patches of fur IME are allergic to the food they are eating.

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x2 One of our GSDs turned out to be allergic to lamb, the Chow mix is allergic to corn, wheat, and wheat. Food allergies are becoming more and more common in dogs.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Before i throw in my two cents: Aaron youre gunna get a husky and you live in Florida? That dogs gunna go outside and play for like 30 seconds then be panting to death in the shade lol. By no means am i telling you what to do, you know that, but im just wondering if you have given any thought to that?

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I have considered this. I have a good friend who breeds them here in Florida, and she has shown me what steps she takes to deal with the summer heat. It can be done if you are careful and know what you are doing.

It is a legitimate concern, but I feel that I can make it work.

Thanks for all the input guys

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Originally Posted by aldebono

Was she checked what she is allergic to? Our GSD was allergic to Dust mites, Mold, and Fleas. And we lived in Florida.
Ever think the allergies were from the food? I have found many dogs that were seemingly allergic to CORN and WHEAT! Check your dog food label and try to get one without. Dogs that are constantly itchy, have a bad or funny smell, or balding patches of fur IME are allergic to the food they are eating.

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Yes she is allergic to fleas and dust like yours. She get her allergies the worst, the same time of year i do lol.
Like about right now >:(

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Before i throw in my two cents: Aaron youre gunna get a husky and you live in Florida? That dogs gunna go outside and play for like 30 seconds then be panting to death in the shade lol.

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That is actually the reason I haven't gotten my own husky.
I live in California, so the dog will love winters. But our summers are killer even with just dry heat. (I'm thankful for no humidity).
My house has no air conditioning, so I have no means to keep a husky cool.
Hopefully in the future though :)

I feed my dog blue buffalo brand. She seems to love it, anybody else? Or something better out there?

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Originally Posted by Rob

I feed my dog blue buffalo brand. She seems to love it, anybody else? Or something better out there?

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Yes - Blue Buffalo Wilderness

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

Yes - Blue Buffalo Wilderness

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I would love to see an update on how your dog is doing skip! The whole earth dog thing was very ineterestinh. Hows her training going?

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

I would love to see an update on how your dog is doing skip! The whole earth dog thing was very ineterestinh. Hows her training going?

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I'm overdue for an update on the thread. :(

She appears to be about 80% trained by instinct. We are working on tunnel recall and her ability to back out of the tunnel at speed.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

I'm overdue for an update on the thread. :(

She appears to be about 80% trained by instinct. We are working on tunnel recall and her ability to back out of the tunnel at speed.

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Cool stuff! And yea updating the old thread would probably be a better idea so you dont have to re-explain everything lol
Such a neat and rare breed of dog!

My dog has been on a 100% raw diet since the beginning of the year, and was doing a 50/50 raw/kibble(TOTW) diet since about mid last year and was on grain free kibble since I got him at 4 weeks.. until we started the 50/50.
Everything about him is better, skin, coat, eyes, poo, muscle tone, EVERYTHING. That is saying a lot since he is a byb blue mutt, and blue dogs generally have skin issues. He used to have to take ACV and be bathed in it and rubbed down with it to help with his yeast issues around his balls and butt, now he is happy and has ZERO yeast on him :)
He is bangin' and is probably the softest dog you will ever touch.

My cat is also on a 50/50 diet and just ate her first whole prey the other day. She ate some hopper rats and LOVED them :) I have some pictures and video but I dont know if it would be to gory lol

My dog and cat are both carnivores and they will be fed as such. Some people think they need veggies and stuff, and the proof is in the teeth. They have ZERO plant processing teeth and their digestive tracts cannot break down the plant material. Not needed IMO and they get along fine without them.
Although Bear does get different plant cutting when I make a salad and have ends and not people edible bits, but its not a regular or even remotely big part of his diet.

Feeding raw also cut back on intestinal fullness and just looking "bloated" or "full" all the time
Bear on kibble
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...16376236_n.jpg

Bear on just raw, right after he started full raw
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...50892265_n.jpg

We feed our dog (3 year old Black Lab/Pit mix) Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Hypoallergenic Selected Protein Adult PV Dry Dog Food...venison and sweet potatoes, basically, in spite of the mouthful title! Smells HORRIBLE but he loves it. He used to get skin/ear infections, over-production of yeast in his ears and various other areas of his body, gas, overweight, several cases of bloat, etc. This stuff is expensive but worth every penny for the difference it's made in him and he is family, after all. Poor guy was a mess for a while before we got his diet figured out but thus far this seems to be the solution for him. Haven't tried a raw diet...not opposed to it, just haven't looked into it much prior to this thread.

For me, raw is too much trouble and I'm not sure it is worth the extra effort. I've researched quality foods at this site: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ and feed high quality kibble. The dogs eyes are clear, with no tear staining, coats are clean and shiny and they are healthy. The key is quality, whether you feed raw or kibble.

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Originally Posted by Don

For me, raw is too much trouble and I'm not sure it is worth the extra effort. I've researched quality foods at this site: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ and feed high quality kibble. The dogs eyes are clear, with no tear staining, coats are clean and shiny and they are healthy. The key is quality, whether you feed raw or kibble.

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Lol its not even that hard, but most of the people in this country and elsewhere like the "open bag, pour" method more.
To me it is, being that my dog is dilute he already has issues just based on breeding. He was never allowed to be on a grain in diet, God it was horrible when he was and that was at 4-6weeks old. He was taken off and put on grain free and had been up until mid last year.
Dogs didnt evolve on little cooked cereal bits, they evolved on raw foods and yea the higher quality kibbles are a great thing for people who dont want to take the time breaking down animals to feed their dogs. I just refuse to pay that much for a processed food when I can spend half that and get twice as much food.
That website is a great tool to help figure out what your feeding and where it stacks up in the overall scheme of the kibble brands.
I am glad I stopped feeding TOTW, the quality of the feed is really going down hill and even when it was up and no issues with quality I still had to bathe and feed my dog ACV to keep him from being overtaken by yeast, now I dont ever have to give ACV and can just give it as a supplement not a medication to cure his yeast.
To me its worth it, my dog is in better health and condition that he was on kibble.

But yea, quality of ingredients is the main thing, regardless of what you feed.

My Danes were weaned onto raw, and that's all they've ever eaten. It's a little more work than opening a bag and pouring, but knowing that my boys are eating a high-quality, correct diet gives me a little extra peace of mind, especially when dealing with the needs of a giant breed that is prone to bloat. I will never again feed kibble to a dog if I can avoid it, and haven't in more than 10 years. Not to say that all kibble is junk - there's certainly some good stuff out there. I simply feel that raw is the *absolute best* option available, and my boys deserve nothing less than that.

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Originally Posted by Kara

My Danes were weaned onto raw, and that's all they've ever eaten. It's a little more work than opening a bag and pouring, but knowing that my boys are eating a high-quality, correct diet gives me a little extra peace of mind, especially when dealing with the needs of a giant breed that is prone to bloat. I will never again feed kibble to a dog if I can avoid it, and haven't in more than 10 years. Not to say that all kibble is junk - there's certainly some good stuff out there. I simply feel that raw is the *absolute best* option available, and my boys deserve nothing less than that.

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Are you by any chance a member of DFC? Lol there are a million and a half raw feeders there who have Danes!
One thing I have noticed is when the people with Danes feed raw their dogs live so dang long! I havnt met a Dane over 6-7 and some people who feed raw have Danes 11+ years old, which is amazing when you think about the state of the breed in this country!

I am having to supplement my dogs raw with premade raw because I cannot cut up pork bits in the house I am staying in and he has issues with beef because he is a tard or something, but I was so dreading having to get him on 50% kibble or full kibble and I am so glad I remembered about the premade lol

I've nosed around on it a bit but that's it & usually stick to breed-specific forums. :) Are you in any of the raw co-op groups online? If not let me know & I'll send some info your way. Great way to network & score some good deals on raw in your area.

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Originally Posted by Kara

I've nosed around on it a bit but that's it & usually stick to breed-specific forums. :) Are you in any of the raw co-op groups online? If not let me know & I'll send some info your way. Great way to network & score some good deals on raw in your area.

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Yea I dont fit in very well because I like my APBTs to be true to breed standard, not mushy wittle cuddly poo's and such lol
They are very "fur mommy" and I am not very lol

I am not currently, I have been looking around for people in my area who feed raw who know butchers and stuff but no luck, most people are much farther out than my driving area. It would be awesome if you could sent me some links or something I could sure use more places to get meats for my cat and dog!

:):):)

Info sent via PM. Hope it helps you find some other resources in your area. :)

I'm really intrigued by a raw diet, but by no means have to money to afford to switch to it.

However, I do make cut backs to ensure the dog food I get is good for them. Both dogs I have are rescue mix breeds (GSD x Shiba Inu and Lab x Sharpei), I talk to our vet all the time about their nutrition. Since I attend Oklahoma State, we go to the vet clinic run on campus by the uni. They've got us on Hills Science Diet, and since they're one of the top three programs for vet school in the nation whose to argue with them. I really like the HIlls, it's relatively expensive but I always can get coupons and store discounts on it too.


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Originally Posted by Kodieh

I'm really intrigued by a raw diet, but by no means have to money to afford to switch to it.

However, I do make cut backs to ensure the dog food I get is good for them. Both dogs I have are rescue mix breeds (GSD x Shiba Inu and Lab x Sharpei), I talk to our vet all the time about their nutrition. Since I attend Oklahoma State, we go to the vet clinic run on campus by the uni. They've got us on Hills Science Diet, and since they're one of the top three programs for vet school in the nation whose to argue with them. I really like the HIlls, it's relatively expensive but I always can get coupons and store discounts on it too.


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Actually raw feeding is FAR cheaper than feeding a kibble diet. For the 48$ I would spend on a bad of TOTW for a month for my dog, I can usually get about 2months of meats and organ.
At first its a tad expensive because you have to figure out where to buy large quantities of meats, but once you find the stores or co-ops you can usually save a ton.

I try and do my own research on nutrition because 99% of the time the Veterinarian isnt very well versed in it, and I dont trust anyone who learned all their dog nutrition information in school from dog food companies..
The dog food companies pay for the nutrition education when your in school, teaching you only about THEIR kibbles, why would you trust them?? Of course they push Hill's and Pedigree, thats who pays them(the Vet.) when you buy it and all they ever were taught in Veterinary school! I trust very few Veterinarians when it comes to what I put in my dogs body.

I would never feed Hills, for that price you can get a really good quality GRAIN FREE kibble that would actually be good for your dog.

I dont know if I am allowed to link other forums, but here I think you should go check them out, post a thrad and see if they can help find you something better than Hills
www.dogfoodchat.com

I get if you dont care, and if you think "well this works, why change" but some of the stuff they use to make that food is horrendous and I would probably feed my dog McDonalds before I would feed anything Hills/Pedigree.. but again, thats just me.. I just want you to go ask and look around on the site and just become acquainted with what your feeding your dog, dont assume that because its sold in the Vet office or because they say its good and the best, that it actually is..

Just my 2cents.