Raw Diet vs Commercial Dog food

[The Serpent Merchant]

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.

[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. 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??)

[Ashleigh91]

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

[The Serpent Merchant]

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.

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

[1nstinct]

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

Tom

[dizzydynamo]

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.

[satomi325]

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

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.

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.

[ShelbyCraig]

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

[bad-one]

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

[Anatopism]

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.