Pets
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Anyone feed raw?
Anyone feed their dogs raw food or people food (rice/meats)? Thoughts?
With all the recalls, I am seriously thinking about it and have also heard dogs do well on it. One of my dogs has allergies, and I have heard it would help dogs' coats.
TIA
Re: Anyone feed raw?
Raw meat being better than dry food is a misconception. Actually a strict diet of raw meat in not healthy for most domestic dogs. If you really want to prepare their food yourself, you need to consult your vet before you do anything. Dogs today are actually omnivores with sensitive digestive systems. For most dogs, consistent raw meat would make them sick.
there are many different diets for dogs will allergies. Your dog may need potatoes and fish, or lamb and rice, or some other specific combination. As far as making it healthy for their coat, try a raw egg over the top of their dry food. Vegetable oil and fish oil is also an option. Again, consult your vet before making any changes, especially if your dog has allergies.
If you give an animal a raw egg that is not used to raw, you can cause diarrhea. You can feed eggs as part of a raw diet if you wish.
We feed our cats raw, and are really happy with it. We purchase our food through a supplier, and it costs us less than 75 cents per cat per day. Our vet is supportive of our choice to feed raw. They poop less, stay more hydrated (important for cats), and have amazingly soft coats. They eat much less because they aren't getting any fillers.
Their bodies are designed to process meats raw, unlike humans. We have not had any issues with them getting sick from it.
KatelynS07 feeds raw, too, and she has dogs, so she could probably give you some more specific advice if you want to page her.
You will need to feed roughly 80% meat, 10% bones and 10% organs, with half of that amount as liver. There are many raw feeding forums on yahoo that you may find helpful. Most are really pro-raw, so keep that in mind.
There are premade raw foods out there such as Nature's Variety, but they are really pricey. You would be better off finding a local source for your food. Some ladies have even found local farms to get food.
Good luck with your decision!
5 cats. 1 baby.
Kibble has only been around for 60 or so years. What do you think dogs ate before that? That short amount of time isn't enough for a dog's digestive system to evolve.
They still have sharp teeth (for tearing flesh), and short, acidic digestive systems (designed to digest raw meat).
I wouldn't recommend getting nutrition advice from a veterinarian. They take one or two classes in nutrition, and the textbooks are written by companies that make kibble. Talk about a biased source.
This is close to the most ridiculous load of uninformed crap I've ever read On here. Dogs don't magically become omnivores bc we invented kibble. Lots of old regulars on this board feed raw successfully, if I were more informed and felt comfortable with it I would definitely do it. All of us have fled to the pro boards because of the stupidity here (points up) Hopefuly someone will post the link bc I can't find it on my phone...
This is close to the most ridiculous load of uninformed crap I've ever read On here. Dogs don't magically become omnivores bc we invented kibble. Lots of old regulars on this board feed raw successfully, if I were more informed and felt comfortable with it I would definitely do it. All of us have fled to the pro boards because of the stupidity here (points up) Hopefuly someone will post the link bc I can't find it on my phone...
Sensitive digestive systems? Seriously? How many dogs lick their butts. How many dogs eat random crap they find on the ground? Dogs have short digestive systems that can tolerate far more than ours. dogs are not omnivores, they're scavengers. They can (and do) eat almost anything, but they do not have flat molars for grinding vegetables. They do not chew, and whole veggies come out pretty much the same way they came in. In order to get any nutritional value from veggies, they must be processed, and at least ground up to a pulp. If they need a blender or food processor to derive nutrients from a food, they probably weren't designed to eat it.
You're right, raw meat alone isn't sufficient. They need organs and bones in a proper ratio, but just as our bodies don't need EXACT ratios, neither do theirs.
None of my regular vets advocate raw feeding. But at the same time, theyre perfectly healthy with beautiful bloodwork and good teeth, so the vets have nothing to complain about. The entire time they were raw fed, they never had to see the vet except for their annuals, unlike when they were on kibble and we were constantly in for one reason or another.
Have you seen my monkey?
I have a whole email of information that I'd be happy to send to you. We have 3 dogs, 4 cats, and 6 chickens. The cats and dogs are exclusively raw fed, and the chickens have raw meat as a part of their daily diet.
All of our animals are incredibly healthy, have no build-up on their teeth, don't smell like dogs, have smaller, less stinky poop, and stay much more hydrated. Eating raw also provides them with a mental and physical workout to get through their food.
There are a lot of great websites, but I really like preymodelraw.com.
True story. I told my vet about my plan to transition my cats to a grain-free food (Just to "run it by her") and she told me I should be feeding them Science Diet.
But anyways, OP, do a little research. There's a ton of info out there on feeding raw, and if you can acquire the things needed to make raw foods (different meats, organs, bones, etc) from sources close to you, it will be tons cheaper than buying food. GL!
Ditto all PPs (except ambrvan).
We got our Boxer as a puppy and transitioned her from kibble to raw at 3 months old (just like switching from one brand of kibble to another, a transition period is always good to get the dog's system used to the different food). PPs are right that dogs' digestive systems are much shorter and much more acidic than ours for the primary reason of allowing them to eat raw/scavenged meats that would make us ill.
Whereas our dog's poop was soft and mushy (and there was lots of it) when she ate kibble, it's now much smaller, firmer, and uniform. She requires a little more bone in her diet than the "normal" 10% ratio, but as you'll read, that's just a starting point guideline. Some dogs need more and some need less; some can eat a meal of just organs (once they're used to them, because they're very rich!) and some always need their organ intake spread out along with meat and bone.
KatelynS07 recommended the Prey Model Raw site and I second her recommendation. It was that site and the Raw Feeding forum on DogFoodChat.com that gave me the confidence to start feeding a raw diet. Zoey's teeth are gorgeously white and clean, her fur is soft, her eyes are bright, and she only needs a bath if she's gotten particularly filthy at the dog park, because there's no typical "doggie" odor.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Humans and domesticated animals are equally as capable of digesting raw meat. Humans do not do this in general because science has proven the risks of eating raw meat (food poisoning, hydatid cysts etc). While dogs and cats are not as susceptible as humans to some of the bacteria commonly accused of causing food poisoning they are still susceptible.
Studies have also shown that animals on raw diets are more likely to spread disease to thier families especially children and other immunocompromised people.
Don't get me wrong raw can he done safely but to deny there are more risks for some infections is foolish.
Because kibble is real safe. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57429961-10391704/diamond-dog-food-salmonella-recall-expands/
5 people hospitalized, at least 14 sick.
Have you seen my monkey?
I never said it was 100% either. I just feel like there has been some misconceptions tossed around this board. Both about kibble and raw diets.
Those outbreaks are comparable to food contamination outbreaks we have in the human food chain.
I can think of 3 outbreaks in I think the last year in the human food chain. HOWEVER even taking those into account, our food is much safer than it used to be. And even if meat is not handled appropriately through production most of the harmful contaminants are made innocuous by cooking the meats. Which is my point.
That is why it is important to do your research, which it sounds like the OP wants to do. And we have not had any issues with any human in my house getting sick due to feeding our cats a raw diet, besides me not being able to look at raw meat when I was pregnant.
5 cats. 1 baby.
Sorry if I seemed like I was knocking raw feeding entirely. I never said it was bad. If done properly, food is food. I should have said it COULD be bad for many purebred dogs, rather than domestic. And I don't mean all pure breeds, either.
I was focusing mainly on the fact that OP has a dog with allergies. Depending on what kind of allergies, raw meat could pose harm. At the vet I used to work for, we had several patients who could not have any sort of beef or lamb or chicken. They could only have fish. Might I add that the doctor I worked for was not against raw feeding. But we consistantly had the same patients returning with the same digestive issues and bacterial infections from their diet over and over again.
Raw is not necessarily bad, but as I said, it CAN be more harm than good for some.
I still say you should seek advise from a vet, especially if your dog has allergies. If your first vet says it is a bad choice, seek a second opinion. I'm not saying to fish for what you want to hear, but eventually you will find someone who will give you accurate information.
I disagree that home cooking is "as effective" as raw. Home cooking properly to ensure that a dog is getting all of the necessary nutrients is not easy. In terms of the health of the dog, it's more risky to home cook than to fed raw from the research that I've done. My vet was very supportive of raw but would have been more concerned about home cooking for these reasons.
I just want to add that I've been feeding my dog nothing but raw meat, organs, incentive since he was 5 months old without either of us getting sick from it. Just use common sense like you would when handling raw meat for yourself. Wash the hands!
I hate the misinformation being spread about such a wonderful, healthy way to feed dogs and cats.
Huh? You make my head hurt. Bad for some purebreds but not domestic? how about imported dogs? And raw is easiest if a dog couldn't have any chicken. many foods have eggs in them. Chicken eggs. And most people who feed homecooked use eggs as the calcium source. I assume chicken eggs. Quail eggs, duck eggs, and ostrich eggs are harder to source.
Have you seen my monkey?
I meant to add this to my response. We clean their bowls immediately after eating, the counters and the floor where they eat.
5 cats. 1 baby.
We feed raw and the difference in our dogs is amazing. We feed outside (or in the garage during storms) so we don't have to worry so much about clean up. We also have had no illness related to raw. When the neighbor dog comes over while his family is on vacation, he eats raw too, and and fosters are put on raw right away unless they have special issues, in which case they get chicken and rice for a few days until they can handle raw.
We prep our food once a month and it's so easy. We just have about 60 gladware containers (two dogs) and buy enough food at once. We spend about an hour or two dividing the food into separate containers, then toss them in the beer fridge and chest freezer. When feeding time comes (only once a day with raw for us) we just pop open a container for each, set it outside, and they have at it. Clean up is much easier this way, especially since one dog for some reason always pees on his dish after he eats. Freak. With the reduction in vet expenses, raw feeding has actually become less expensive than kibble for us.
Our vet doesn't recommend raw feeding, but when he does our annual bloodwork and tests (I do the full workup to be sure we're keeping our measurements correct and because we have a senior) he always gives rave reviews on their health and can tell from their tests that they are raw fed. (I think he might be coming around after the number of raw fed pets that he's seen!)
There are many good websites you can find about raw feeding, but there is one book in particular that I love. Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Schultze really gave me the confidence to do jump into raw feeding.
The one other thing I'll point out that you'll discover is that there are two different camps in the raw feeding world. There are those who want to throw in tons of additives like vitamins and supplements, veggies, etc. There are others who just say to stick to only animal products. (meat, bone and organs) Personally, we stick mostly with just the animal products, but we also throw in a few veggies just because our dogs love them, and the occasional fish oil pill so they shine a little extra.