I Have Read A Few Articles On Raw Feeding Dogs What Are Your Opinions? What Do U Feed Your Dogs?
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Oct 3rd, 2009 |
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we are getting a Bichon frise in a few weeks and i am thinking of putting her on a raw foods diet which consists of no kibble or processed dog foods! only raw fresh meats! does anyone else believe this is a healthy and cheaper option? what kinda foods do u feed your dogs?
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I feed raw!
It’s much cheaper than a high-quality kibble.
I feed any raw meats I can get my hands on. Here are some sites to get you started, if you want to research some more. TONS of research needs to be done.http://rawfeederr.webs.com/http://rawlearning.com/http://raw4dogs.com/http://rawfeddogs.net/http://rawmeatybones.com/
GOOD LUCK!
I have considered raw but there are a couple of reasons why it just not would be practical (and no, it’s not the cost):
He doesn’t smell, has great teeth and is generally a very healthy dog.
1) He spends a lot of time at my parents house who, while they take good care of them, are not dog-savvy in that they’d consider anything other than commerical food. They’d think it too much work and it wouldn’t be fair to disrupt his diet being fed raw at one home and commerical food at another.
2) Commerical dog foods are nutritionally-balanced whereas if you feed raw, you have to work out that balance yourself so your dog gets he correct amount of the right vitamins. I am currently clueless as to what that balance is and how to go about creating it, so I would need to do some research before deciding to go raw.
He’s currently fed two British brands – Butchers and Chappie. Neither are the “best” but after living the shelter life for two years and being fed whatever they had in donated food, his stomach is used to much worse, so it really doesn’t effect him. He also gets a few tins of tuna/pilchard/mackerel a few times a week and leftover meat whenever we have it for a meal.
Tulip you have no idea what you’re talking about so please: Stop talking. There’s no such thing as a “strict carnivore” or a “obligate carnivore” these terms do not exist in real science. Dogs are carnivores, plain and simple. They are not omnivores and they have no dietary need nor do they recieve any benefit from eating plant matter of any kind. Dogs and wolves do not eat the stomach contents of prey (which is a huge myth and the reason most diets, even raw diets, contain vegetable matter). I’ve seen 3 species of pack canines on 2 continents in their natural environment and I’ve yet to see one eat the stomach contents of large game. Period.
A raw diet of meat, organ, and bone…pure and simple is the healthiest diet there is. Make sure to supplement with salmon oil for the omega acids and that’s it. All other supplements are up to you.
I do feed raw to my german shepherd/akita mix (7 yrs old). I mix it up for variety. A couple of the pre-made raw diets I get and use a couple of times a week are from Tropical Traditions and Nature’s Variety. They come in patties (with ground bone in it). Since it is good for them to eat the meat off the bone and chew the bones for good dental health… I feed her chicken or turkey wings/thighs/drums with bone, along with a couple of lives, hearts, gizzards a week. She also eats lamb shank, buffalo, beef, etc. She gets a wide variety and she is a happy and healthy girl!
You wont like my answer but I kill and skin rabbits and squirrels and allow the dogs to eat all the organs, the bones, the connective tissues, and the meat. I only do this about once a week. The rest of the time they get canned Wysong Rabbit (which is 100% rabbit meat and organs but NO artificial ingredients…..except for the guar gum that makes it all hold together). It also has no grains in it. I alternate this with cooked chicken and brown rice (to add a little fiber and carbohydrates). Since killing and skinning animals probably isn’t something you want to do, look online at some of the raw canned diets that are offered by various companies. As already mentioned, tripe is a good choice but it stinks like old armpitts. In spite of that, my dogs like it. The only reason I feed actual fresh carcasses of rabbits and squirrels is because it’s the only true diet that is 100% complete, and organic. The Wysong rabbit in a can that I feed is great because it also contains organ meats, but it doesnt have any ground bone, tendons, or ligaments in it. Every processed dog food lacks SOMETHING……but the carcasses of squirrels and rabbits lack nothing. You can feed raw chicken thighs (with the uncooked bone), raw hamburger, and raw chicken or beef livers and meet pretty much most of your dog’s needs. I do this sometimes too, but the squirrels and the rabbits are free!
One of my dogs is raw fed. (I wish they both were, but my older dog just has a very hard time transitioning)
I get a fair amount of the bone and muscle meat I feed for free from people cleaning out their freezers. I feed my raw fed dog for far less than my kibble fed dog.
I think it is possible to have a healthy dog on kibble, but there is no doubt in my mind a raw diet is superior to any kibble.
we feed a raw diet. Properly research it though.
My dog had chicken and beef tripe tonight. Or well it was offered lol, she doesn’t like the tripe or chicken but she ate the chicken at least haha
It’s a lot better for them and I spend a lot less on this than the food I was buying.
Tulip, it amazes me that you continue to post such IGNORANT rants and raves against RAW when you really have no idea what you are talking about, obviously.
The biggest thing I’ve seen against RAW diets (like the argument that Tulip spewed out), is that meat and offal are deficient in Calcium. Great. That’s why RAW feeders give BONES as well. Wow, bones as a source of calcium? Go figure.
The key to a RAW diet is variety. All this hogwash about complex carbs and strict nutritional needs that need to be fed in this exact amount from this exact source at this exact time of day… is just that, BS hogwash. If dietary needs were really that complex and hard to figure out and obtain, how would any animal in the wild survive? How would humans survive on the diets most of us eat? We WOULDN’T. We would all die of nutritional deficiency.
I finished a nutritional course this quarter at school, right after chemistry last quarter. It was funny, because in chemistry we learned about enzymes. Ruminants (animals with 4 chambered stomachs, AKA almost all herbivores) need those 4 chambers to break down the complex cellulose that encloses every cell in vegetation. They also need extremely long digestive systems, jaws that can move back and fourth (chew), and the correct enzymes, all so they can digest plant matter. Carnivores, like dogs, lack all of those features. They can’t properly chew, their digestive system is extremely short, and they don’t contain the proper enzymes to break down cellulose. Long story short, dogs can’t digest vegetation. Funny, because in my nutritional class, we were told that grains are required to make a nutritionally correct and balanced canine diet. Funny, because I thought they told us in chemistry dogs couldn’t digest vegetation… It just goes to show you how some of our top “pet experts” (vets) are taught BS information about canine nutrition. I wouldn’t say ANY dog food is nutritionally balanced. When you are giving your dog cooked grains, it’s not species appropriate.
The Prey Model Raw Diet is the way to go. It does just what the name implies, it models the prey animal any wild canine would eat. 80-90% meat AND bones, and 10-20% organ meat. And again, variety is key, and adds up over time. One night you may feed all hamburger meat, but the next night you may feed chicken backs with liver and gizzards thrown in. Curtis recomends supplementing with Salmon Oil (wild salmon oil is the best), and I do that during the winter when whole fish is hard to come by, but in the summer, my boy gets two whole fish a week.
As far as cheap, it is EXTREMELY cheap. I feed my GSD for about 15-25$ a month.
Here is a website I’ve created, and there are some really good links as well.http://diaryofarawfeeder.angelfire.com/i…
For some reason owners believe that meat is good and that they are doing the best for their animal by feeding the “best steak” or “fresh liver” to their pet. Meat as part of a balanced diet is good, particularly for cats which are strict carnivores. It provides an excellent source of protein and other nutrients, but it must be mixed with other ingredients to create a properly balanced ration..
The reason is that meat and offal are deficient in calcium, and relatively high in phosphorus. As a result, if you feed an exclusively meat or offal diet your poor pet will have to maintain it’s blood calcium levels by removing calcium from it’s body stores. As you know, most of the body’s calcium reserves are in the bony part of the skeleton. So, your pet’s clever hormone system will remove calcium from the bone to keep the amount circulating in the bloodstream “normal”. The result is decalcification of the bone, which leads to thin, brittle bones. These bones can fracture very easily – even the act of walking can cause a fracture. Unless the dietary problem is corrected your veterinarian won’t even be able to repair the fractures because the bones won’t heal properly. Eventually, untreated animals will become totally debilitated, and possibly paralysed if the spine fractures
Provet advice : NEVER feed an exclusively meat or offal ration to your pet. Ask your veterinarian about his/her recommendations for feeding your animal.
Provet advice : NEVER compile your own ration for your pet without getting the formula approved by an independent advisor – your veterinarian!
The main part of dogs diet is Meat, with cereals, vegetation, fish, some dairy and roughage also required.
Although meat is a source of protein, it has very low levels of calcium, a mineral our pets require for proper bone and tooth development. Calcium also plays an important role in blood clotting, muscle contraction and transmission of nerve impulses. But simply supplementing with calcium won’t work. Mineral nutrients are interrelated. Calcium and phosphorus have a scientifically established relationship in the formation of bones and teeth, provided a proper balance is maintained. This balance is usually not present in meat. If large quantities of raw meat are fed over time, skeletal problems may develop
Liver is often thought of as a “healthy” meat because it has a high level of Vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin that is stored by the body. And for humans who eat other things as well, it can be healthy. But when liver is fed to pets in excessive quantities over a period of time, Vitamin A toxicity can result. This can lead to improper bone development, lameness and bone decalcification.
Raw meat carries the threat of bacteria and parasites, including salmonella. The risk of salmonellosis is always present when pets are fed raw meat diets. Certain species of tapeworm can be found in raw meat and passed on to a pet who ingests the meat.
Raw meat diets do not replicate the diets of dogs in the wild. While it’s true that dogs consume muscle meat when they eat wild animals for survival, they also consume the bones, intestinal contents and internal organs, which come closer to providing a complete and balanced diet. Wild dogs are also known to eat grasses and other vegetable matter.
When people eat, they combine meat with vegetables, fruits, breads and other foods to give them the balanced nutrition they need. If we were to eat one particular food consistently, chances are we would become malnourished or develop health problems. No single food or food group can provide all the nutrients we need in proper proportions.
when we got a puppy (husky chow chow mix) he refused from the first day on to eat ANY dogfood, canned or dry.
so we are feeding him now every day cooked meat/chicken and one day with rice, one day with buckwheat and one day with oats. meat 30 % and cereal 70%, he always has some nearly raw bones to chew. once every two weeks we give him about 250 gr of raw meat. from the supermarket, just ot make sure it is clean (more or less…)
on to the food a few drops of oil, olive, thistle or rape seed, vet says it is good for his coat.
and as a special treat, he will die for that, he gets half a grilled chicken, without the hollow bones. for THAT he will do anything when he just sees the bag….
and funny enough our kitten did the same. he saw what we were feeding the dog an he wanted the same.
and he loves these ‘bones’ that are made of compressed bone meal and there he gets also his vitamins and the rest.
Hello! Please read this:
I fed my dog Raw foods to, she loved it, and it made her teeth better! There is one thing you should know: It made my dog fatter. I don’t think you should feed your dog raw foods, because the foods can have bacteria, such as e-coli, salmonella, listeria…So, it’s better if you don’t. You don’t know how clean the factory who made it is.
If, as a treat (maybe once or twice a week), you want to give your dog meat, boil some chicken with vegetables. My dog LOVES it, so don’t risk giving your dog raw meats.
Hope this helps!