Dog owners: do any of you feed raw?

[PamNY]

I'm interested in other human food diets, too, but mainly raw. I have two friends -- both educated, smart women -- who swear by raw feeding.

I'd always dismissed it as woo-woo, but the glowing reports from these two have piqued my interest. Both these women had difficult dogs. One bought a bulldog at a pet store (this was years ago and she knows better now). The other has very reactive bulldog; her interest in positive training has led her to become a dog trainer, and even in this economy she's done well. Both are educated professionals and diligent about veterinary care.

If you wonder why I'm raising this question in a bike group, I'm moderator of the bulldog group I belong too, and people get in such heated arguments about dog food. I already know what they think anyway. Plus lots of people here seem well-informed about food, health issues, etc.

Pam

[smurfalicious]

Yeppa! Been a big raw advocate for a very long time! My terrier's teeth were nasty and after a month on home prepared raw including raw bones, they were and still are gorgeous. You'd never my dogs weren't pups looking at their teeth.

The big thing with feeding raw over dry is the nutrition. Heat processing robs food of enzymes and vitamins. Raw doesn't have that problem. Also most dry dog foods are packed with grains and other things the dog simply doesn't need. Dogs were designed to eat raw meat, bones, and the partially digested vegetation of their prey. My dogs kindly gave me an example of that one morning, ick. Because dogs digestive tracks are so short bacteria is less of an issue.

Currently because of my roommate situation and life in Colorado being much more expensive my dogs get a combo. Hank doesn't tolerate grains well so they get grain free foods and I switch every bag. Currently they're eating Nature's Variety Instinct Rabbit. I also use a product called Honest Kitchen that is a dehydrated food. The meat isn't technically raw because it's prepped in a human food facility, but it's heated to very low temps. So they get 50/50 Honest Kitchen and Nature's Variety. I also give them salmon oil and a vitamin/joint/digestive enzyme supplement.

Usually I feed raw patties but since our freezer is feeling fickle lately I haven't been. I use Stella & Chewy's patties because NV's prices just went up and S&C has a process that kills bad bacteria without harming the enzymes and such.

I could go on forever, but I'd probably leave stuff out. My dogs are doing great, you'd never know Lucky was 8. Their coats are gorgeous and they're energetic, not spastic. Like I took their Mountain Dew away and gave them fresh squeezed orange juice.

Anyway, my store has some really good resources, and you cruise for product info and reviews while you're there:

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/Knowle...%26+Diet+-+Raw

This site also helped when I first started feeding raw:

http://www.pet-grub.com

This is sad, but good reading:

http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Meaty-Bone...5714365&sr=1-1

This is incredibly useful too, but he's big into grains and I don't agree:

http://www.amazon.com/Pitcairns-Comp...5714413&sr=1-1

Good luck!

[Eden]

I have cats rather than dogs, but I did try raw food with them. It went well for the switch over period, when they were getting some raw food and some of their regular. Unfortunately they started throwing up when they were transitioned to all raw food, so I discontinued it.

They do get an all canned 100% meat diet (cats are not omnivores like dogs - they are obligate carnivores). I think they definitely are healthier for it. They are not overweight and have very glossy, very soft, dandruff free coats.

Recently I've been giving them dehydrated chicken breast dog treats - the same company makes cat treats, but the dog ones are bigger. It gives the cats something that they have to chew on. I figure its probably good for their teeth.

[tulip]

I'm a new dog owner. I feed my dog Taste of the Wild dry dog food, and supplement it with raw stuff (beef bones and chicken necks from the meat dept. of the grocery store). I haven't tried an all raw diet with him yet because I've been living for 6 months without a kitchen, and I was worried about bacteria and the mess. I know you can buy prepared frozen raw patties, but they're pretty expensive. I'm interested in learning more about raw diets for dogs.

Does anyone know if turkey necks are also good as raw food for dogs? I saw some in the store, but I wasn't sure if they are okay.

[Andrea]

Thanks for the links, smurf!

I'm thinking I may switch my dogs to a raw diet- I didn't realize it was so easy (you can prep/freeze ahead of time)

[ItchyBits]

Check out Judi's blog - she has 2 dobes that she feeds raw food
www.milesandmadness.blogspot.com

[Biciclista]

I've been feeding 50% raw food to my cats for about 2 years now. Their coats are gorgeous, i have no obesity problems (and I have a cat who was overweight when we started).

I feed my cats whole ground chicken with a concentration of heart and liver. The only thing they never get are the thighs (which I eat) It really makes me feel good to know that they are eating food that I would eat, after the melamine scare, I have a thing about that.
Meanwhile, I am also feeding them some dry cat food, it's made locally and i always add water to it before I feed it to them.

It's a pain in the butt to grind the meat up, but so is doing laundry, etc, etc.. it's just another chore that i do.

[Eden]

I'm pretty convinced that my male cat's UI problem was from tainted food... I read recently that *kids* in China who got the tainted milk have been suffering from not only kidney problems, but also bladder stones....
If my kitties had been able to keep it down, they would still be getting raw, but it just didn't work out for them. They love the food they get though (Ziwi Peak) and it is very high quality.

[roadie gal]

I admire people who can do the raw diet, but it just isn't feasible for me. I feed the dogs and the cats the best kibble I can, that they will tolerate. Right now they're all getting Innova EVO.

I belong to a dog forum where this is an endless discussion.

[nancielle]

I don't do a full raw diet with Chloe; she showed no interest in many of the foods offered to her. Because she is intolerant of grains, she's fed a grain free kibble (and was fussy about the different ones tried.) Her scratching was eliminated when grain based food was removed. She does get some raw meals and bones (she loves chicken and turkey necks.) I also do some home-cooked meals for her as well.

Hunter (the cat) showed w a y too much interest in her raw food (seriously I never even considered raw for him. Don't know why.) So now I make sure I have enough for him to share in as well. He especially likes beef and makes a little chirping noise as he eats. He also drinks a lot. He especially likes splashing water from Chloe's bowl.

[tulip]

For now I feed dry food to my dog, with a raw beef bone every few days, but I mix the dry food with 1/2 cup of warm water. He seems to like it, and I know he's getting water that way. I also put a bit of flax seed oil in his food. His coat was pretty frazzled when I got him. It's getting really glossy.

[roadie gal]

I also put a bit of flax seed oil in his food. His coat was pretty frazzled when I got him. It's getting really glossy.

In the winter both of my dogs tend to get dry skin. I give them salmon oil, about 1/2-1tsp in their food.

[mtbdarby]

Pam - you can buy the meat already ground with the bones in. My vet sells it in either patties or a 2 pound log. Your choice of beef, chicken or lamb (smells the worst!). They also sell a bag of rice with a packet of nutrients that aren't in the ground meat and instructions on how to cook it and store it.

Lisa - dogs don't get salmonella like we do but you do need to wash their bowls after feeding them raw food so bacteria doesn't grow.

I fed both dogs raw food but obviously didn't grind it myself. I barely had the time to cook it and freeze it since I'd make a big batch for both dogs and it only has a few days shelf life in the fridge. I did it for about a year and saw great improvements in my dogs by I feel the damage had already been done with commercial food. I stopped doing it after I lost one of my dogs and during the year I did, I supplimented with an all natural dry food. These days I use the all natural dry food with some people food - brown rice, veggies, fruits, and cottage cheese on occasion.

If you want the brand of the ground meat I'd be happy to make a call for you.

[PamNY]

If you want the brand of the ground meat I'd be happy to make a call for you.

Yes! I would appreciate that. One of the friends I mentioned in my post is planning a 13th birthday celebration for her bulldog. That's really old for a bulldog, and very inspiring to me. I might make the switch soon.

Now I have to fret about taking my dog food business away from the small, independent retailer who treats every customer like royalty (and delivers my food within 30 minutes, regardless of weather). She sells some frozen raw food, but it's pricey. Hope I can buy at least something from her.

Pam