What Is This Whole Big Issue Of Feeding Dogs Raw, Or From A Specific Brand?
Okay, I have two dogs, a one year old Lab, and a 12 week old Boxer. We switch around their dog foods a lot, depending on what name brand is cheapest, what coupons we have, etc.
Among some of the brands we use include Beneful, Pedigree, Almo (which we prefer not to feed), IAMS, Eukanuba, and some others. Occasionally, they will get a tidbit of a french fry or some hamburger or something, but that’s it.
I am not kidding. To some people, this seems like I am desecrating my poor pups bodies.
What is the big hurrah over the raw food diet? I understand that there was the scare of the dog food being contaminated, but with the economy in the state it is currently, it seems a complete waste of money to provide meats that I can scarcely afford to have, let alone an animal who has a wholesome meal for $.60 a can, plus $18 for an almost 18 pound bag. It is so much more economical, and time saving than working over creating a meal for a dog. I love my pups as much as the next person, do not dare criticize me of that, but when I cannot afford lamb, or enough beef for both me and the dog to eat, than why should the animal win over myself?
I am the one caring for the animal.
Would you cat owners buy a fillet of salmon and some shrimp, and then stop by your local pet food store and stock up on some rats to feed your cat? Probably not. That is what the cat ate before it was domesticized to what it is now, and what they continue to eat when they catch their own prey, but under no circumstances, I believe would a cat owner choose to make cat food over just buying it.
Maybe I ranted, but in any case, I want to know the answer. You can’t really change my mind on how to feed my dogs, but I would like to know why other people see this way of nutrition as the ONLY way.
Thank you.
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I actually do buy frozen rats for my cats as a treat.. I do the raw diet because it’s healthier AND cheaper then a prepared food they can actually eat..
My dogs have food allergies, the cheapest I’ve found a dog food for that was decent and had limited enough ingredients was California Natural. The only ingredients in that are Chicken and Rice. It’s also about $18 for a 15 lb bag.. Feeding whole chicken and organ is CHEAPER then feeding the foods you are feeding now.. It’s also very simple. Basically, you just feed the ratio of meat, bone and organ you would find in a whole prey animal.. When I’m short on money, like now when I’m on unemployment, I feed mostly whole chicken quarters and 10% organ. The chicken quarters cost me .53 cents per lb and the organ sets me back about $1.99 per lb. With my dogs, two of them are small and one is medium sized. A meal is as simple as a drumstick for each of the smaller ones, a thigh for the medium sized dogs and a couple guts each.. It’s cheaper then what you feed your dogs, and is about as close as you can get to a natural diet instead of mostly corn which dogs would have never eaten in the wild and which they have to be tricked into eating..
Putting my pets on a raw diet corrected 2 of my cats urinary tract crystals, cured my dachshunds bladder issues, improved my collie’s degenerative spine AND her food allergies/missing fur/hives AND fixed my scottie mixes mystery skin condition that baffled my vet for 4 years..
In other words, I feed raw because it works out to be cheaper then junkie Walmart foods if I need it too or I can add more variety when I have more cash. It’s cut my vet bill by over $2500 just last year. My pets are healthier, happier, their teeth are clean and all we needed last year were standard vaccines.. When you go from 5 emergency visits per year down to none, you really notice the difference..
There are very few good pet food companies, most of them, like any business, are trying to make the most profit. I don’t want the health of my pets dictated by whether or not they decide to save money by ordering unsafe supplies.. I would rather feed my dogs food I can examine myself. In the over 2 years I’ve fed my dogs and cats raw food, I’ve never had one with a single bout of diarrhea. Which is kinda funny since my cats always had the squirts off and on before. Really makes me wonder what was in the pet food if raw chicken and whole rats doesn’t give them the squirts..
wow, you should be greatful that you dogs don’t blow with diarreha everytime you switch their food! I dont think it matters what dogs eat, if you can afford it and its good for the dog than go ahead.
The store brands are not very good nutritionally. They are like us eating fast food every day all day, not good for us even though we could survive. Look at the ingredients, dogs can’t digest corn well so why is it one of the top ingredients? There should be meat at the top, not junky corn and grains and un-named animal parts.
If the dogs handle it well, then I don’t have a huge issue with the bad foods as long as you know that you are buying bad food. Be an informed consumer.
And I don’t think price is a good excuse. Dogs are luxury, if you can’t afford good care then don’t have one. Like I said, I am fine with people feeding it as long as the dog is healthy but that is a very weak excuse!
Supermarket diets are like feeding your pets fast food. Imagine living on McDonalds or Burger King your whole life!
My dog has clean teeth, fresh breath, at eleven years old romps like a pup, has keen curiosity, an eagerness to learn, and chases her ball until the sun goes down.
We feed her the best that we could afford, like we feed ourselves. The price of her raw food is cheaper than if we fed her a premium brand of dog food. People fertilize plants and give them grow lights. They feed their children the best that they could afford too. My dog is part of the family. She’s just a dog, but her health is important too.
Cats are fed the raw diet too. We don’t feed whole prey animal carcases, that’s too gross. You could google raw diets for dogs. They have the immune system and gastronomical system meant for raw diets, i.e. a little bacteria won’t hurt them. Remember that some dogs ingest poo. They’re dogs, not humans. We feed a variety of raw meats and cooked vegetables, raw bone and organs.
When we fed her premium brands of dog food, we slowly switched out each food for another. She was always an occasional puker on kibble, but if we didn’t switch the food slowly, she really made a mess puking on the carpet.
Now she doesn’t puke. Her ears are erect, swiveling all the time. Her body is in perfect form. She looks like a puppy now, she doesn’t just shlump along.
We have changed to Solid Gold. I have added some foods on occasion. I cook the meats and vegetables. I spend more on healthier food, because in the long run I feel like I will be saving money on veterinary care. Better nutrition equals less health problems IMO. Cats are natural hunters even with domestication. Most dogs are not. I wouldn’t criticize you for choosing what you feed your dog.
Beneful is not poison, but it IS the equivalent of feeding your small child McDonald’s and Taco Bell every day for their entire lives. It’s got a lot of useless calories and very little nutrition. It’s better than starving them, sure. But it’s not the best thing you could possibly give to your dog, and I’m assuming you care enough that you would WANT to give them the best you can. I spend more money on pet food than my own food… my cats and dogs eat raw food as a primary diet, with a bowl of premium dry food kept out for snacking on. I probably spend about $150-$200 per month on pet foods. Is that the “right” way to be a pet owner? I won’t judge that, it’s just the way I do things. I have no sympathy for people who “can’t afford” to take proper care of their pets- if you can’t afford them, don’t get them in the first place.
cats do not eat seafood in the wild. ever see a lion go swimming for shrimp? iams tests on animals, along with many other brands. i buy cat food that does not support animal testing. Felidae and Natural Balance.
add: if you don’t believe that most national brands support cruel animal testing, then do some research. and while you are researching find out what animal by-products and poultry/chicken meal is made out of.
I personally don’t feed raw, but I don’t have a problem with those who do. I applaud them for their extreme care for their pets. However I would never switch my dogs food around so much because it is unhealthy for them. Very unhealthy. I choose dog foods that are good for my dog with no fillers and what not.
I just read an article about this very subject, but I can’t locate it right now. Basically, the raw food diet is supposed to give animals their natural diet, if they were still out in the wild. Proponents of this diet feel very strongly about this. On the other hand, studies have shown that the raw food also contains lots of bacteria and studies have found that animals who have consumed a raw food diet have died from the bacteria.
Another reason I disagree with the raw food diet is that animals did not live an extremely long life while in the wild. I am sure it was not strictly due to their diet, but I am not willing to risk it.
Lastly, my vet has told me that the animal food that is purchased at the pet stores and specialty markets have the best nutritional values formulated for our babies.
Bottom line, some people feel animals should have their “natural” diet and others feel like science has improved their past diets to fit today’s needs.
I hope this helps.
You have young dogs at the moment. Wait a couple of years till the commercial food starts taking it’s toll and you start going to the vet, and paying their outrageous fees. At that point, the price of raw will look very cheap by comparison.
JMHO