Possible Negative Side Effects Of Raw?
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Dec 3rd, 2009 |
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I know lots of people are huge advocates of raw feeding. I know a few breeders who have fed raw for over a decade, but the mainstream population feeding pets raw seems to be a new phenomenon. What are the possible negative side effects of an uninformed person feeding raw incorrectly? Is there a right way and a wrong way to feed? Websites and other sources seem to offer a lot of conflicting info. What’s the most reliable site for raw feeding info? Dr Billinghurst’s or another?
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Hmmm, great question, I really like it. I’d probably start with the BARF diet. I don’t agree with it. It contains too much bone and it has veggies in it. Dogs aren’t boneavors, they’re carnivores…which kills the argument for adding veggies as well, lol. Feeding a raw diet incorrectly…hmmm, I’d say the people who mess up with the raw diet are the people who don’t feed organ meats! You MUST feed organ meats, they contain vitamins and minerals that aren’t found in raw muscle meats. Also I usually recommend against feeding ground meats. Whole meats are much better. Prey modeled diets are the best in my opinion. 70% muscle meat, 20% organ (half of which is liver), and 10% bone. I hope I helped!
ONLY negative side effect I can think of would be choking, and the odds of that are the same as they are with any other food.
Dogs do NOT get salmonella, people!! They can eat ROTTING meat, no problem!!
I suppose if you were to feed raw incorrectly, it could give your dog diarrhea (not feeding the correct ratio of meat/bone/organ or starting out with too much variety for a newbie), you could end up with nutrient deficiencies (not feeding a balanced diet) or toxicities (feeding too much of one thing such liver which has a high vitamin A content). And then, there’s the “choking hazards” — turkey necks happen to be just the perfect size to get lodged in a boxer’s throat (or other medium-sized dog). So that’s one part that boxer owners either avoid or monitor feeding of. It’s really not that hard to figure out beyond that — just toss ‘em some meat and let ‘em go at it.
Sites that I’ve found most helpful:http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.htmlhttp://www.rawfeddogs.net/http://www.greentripe.com/http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/forumdi…
The problems I see with most people who feed raw are:
1.) Not enough research–some folks think that tossing a steak in the dog’s bowl every day is enough. It’s not. It’s a delicate balanced diet.
2.) Using basic grocery store meats. I don’t trust this, because the meat you get at the grocery store is packaged with the assumption that it will be cooked before eaten. Because of this, the standards on contamination are much lower than I would like them to be. If doing this, and not doing pre-packaged, it would be best to use fresh kill (game) or obtain from a butcher or farm.
I did raw for a while with one of our girls. We were having trouble finding a food she could eat because of allergies. She was allergic to grains AND to potatoes. And, the grain free foods all had potato. She did well on it, except that we had trouble keeping weight on her. We did the Nature’s Variety, and despite the weight loss, she was much healthier than I had ever seen. Her teeth were bright white. Her hair was darker and thicker than it ever had been.
For those who are willing to put the TIME in to do raw, it’s great. But it’s not to be taken lightly.
i like the Nature’s Variety raw diet. it is all human grade ingredients and made specifically for a dogs needs. i dont believe i would trust anything home made like when people feed thier dogs just raw meat from the supermarket. i would be afraid they were not getting the correct amount of vitamins and nutrients and could possibly contract some sort of virus or sickness because the meat does not come frozen or anything and can grow bacteria. Nature’s Variety is always frozen up until u thaw it to be fed.
If you don’t introduce it right – you’re bound to end up with a nasty case of diarrhea.
Also, if the diet is not properly balanced, vitamin deficiencies could be a problem.
Giving a dog pieces of food that are too small could result in choking if not careful.
…that’s about all I can come up with off the top of my head
(the benefits far outweigh the negatives)
People need to understand that the digestive tract of a carnivore is NOT the same as our digestive tracts…bacteria that would be harmful to us is not necessarily a high risk for carnivores – they’re NOT the same!!
Freezing meat doesnt kill all bacteria. The surest way to know the meat is bacteria free is to kill the prey and feed the dog that immediately.
Well contrary to the popular belief, dog don’t get salmonella.
hi,
Despite their growing popularity, raw food diets for your dog may actually pose a threat to your dog’s health. According to a study published in the November/December 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, raw foods can be a source of the potentially deadly Salmonella infection. Link Welborn, DVM and former AAHA president, says, “While raw food diets are becoming increasingly popular among pet owners, there is a growing body of information showing that these diets pose a health risk not only for the pets that consume them but to their owners as well.”
here’s more info:http://dogtime.com/raw-food-diet-dangers…
hope this helps.
I’m no expert, just a huge animal lover and owner. My only advice would be that if you wouldn’t eat it raw, don’t give it to your animal raw. Seems to me the bacterial contamination risks would be pretty high for any uncooked food no matter who is eating it.
Curtis M, alias boxer, Runs with Scissors; Fantastic posts. I have been feeding my kennel of over 20 dogs for 15 yrs. None of the reported ill effects, but I would expect nothing less than bahh humbug from the AAHA, as there\’s no money in healthy animals.