Does anyone here feed there dog* a diet of raw food, or have informed information/opinions/studies or book recommendations on the subject? If you do, what do you feed, and how much does it cost (and how big is your pet)? If your pet was on another diet before, have you seen any changes. I think it goes without saying that people need to speak with their vet, before changing their pet’s diet, instead of making these decisions on a whim, so lets get that out of the way.
*If you’re feeding another animal a raw diet, feel free to share too. If there are other threads on this subject, please share them. It’s impossible to do search on “raw” so there might be a couple.
I’m interested in this diet, too. While I can appreciate anyone posting a simple link, I like the OP, am interested in personal experience. I’ve read the BARF FAQs, but the diet can be controversial, so I wanted Doper input.
Forgive me if my “simple link” was insufficient to your needs. Did you browse the FAQs? The first one has several book recommendations, which were expressly requested by the OP.
What makes you think that the information provided is not based on personal experience?
My friend is a dog trainer and feeds her dogs a raw diet and I have spoken to quite a few people at the local dog park that do feed their dog a raw diet and highly recommend it.
When my last dog died of cancer I had a irrational idea that his diet could have contributed to his death. The man I got him from fed all his dogs a raw diet and his dogs never had skin problems and lived longer than my dog did. I seriously considered it, but to be honest I just really couldn’t bring myself to give him raw meat.
Someone gave me a couple recipe’s that I could post if your interested.
I wrote Raw Dog Foodhttp://www.raw-dogs.com/default.htm … recommended in the Leerburg site.
Many of the serious working/show dog people I know feed raw, or a combination raw/kibble. The English Bulldog who won BIS at Westminster last year is fed a raw diet.
Cost - depends on almost too many factors to mention! Depending on where you live and what sorts of things you feed, it can be cheaper than feeding decent kibble. Or, it can be lots more expensive. I have 170lbs of Rottweiler (split between two dogs, haha) and spend on average $100.00 a month. I could do it for less, but I buy meats like rabbit and goat from a local supplier; a bit pricier and not necessary. I do no supplements at all except fish oil when I remember. Some regimens make it awfully complicated, but it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive at all.
Benefits:
No doggie odor, excellent dental and oral health (which translates to generally better overall organ health), great skin and coat and muscle. Many dogs with allergies, poor immune systems and inability to maintain good weight do very well on this diet.
However the diet is not a magic bullet and misinformation abounds, (including in the NJ Boxers site.) I’m working on my own, better FAQ.
I have a no-nonsense, non-militant yahoogroup http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BARF-lite/ on dog nutrition and general dog issues, if anyone wants to browse or ask more questions. I’m not trying to shill this site, it’s already a busy and chatty list! One can join just to read the files and archives for information. Caridwen, a veterinary researcher at the vet school in Colorado wrote a paper eight years ago outlining a link between a grain heavy diet (pretty much all kibble) and cancers in dogs…I have Rottweilers, a breed highly susceptible to various cancers. A respected and knowlegable Rottweiler person turned me on to the notion of raw, she’d gone that direction with all her dogs because she was seeing too many dogs dying young.
I’ve fed dogs raw since June 2000 and the idea of feeding pellets seems extremely bizarre to me now! I compete in agility and obedience, train and have many dog geek friends. Un-kibble diets are common with dog sport people.
I also have a 10lb cat who eats some raw, some canned - doG help me, he’ll only eat Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys. And Betta and gold fish, who also eat raw in the form of algae (the goldfish) and bloodworms & skeeter larvae (the Bettas.)
I found a pretty good article on Salon.com a while back. I though it was very balanced, well-researched. It made me decide to not do it, but because of the article, I found some very good dog food for my pooch.
I tried to do it a couple of years back. It was a PITA and Kitty didn’t like it. I try to incorporate natural food into his diet though. He gets stuff like eggs, carrots, peas and rice along with dry food. I really think it helps his coat stay shiny.
Thanks for the information, all. Bonobo_jones, it’d be interesting to see your faq when it’s finished. Thanks for the link to your group too.
Are there cases of dogs doing better on kibble than on a balanced raw diet? It definitely is difficult to evaluate things, since as one of you said, there are so many different plans out there.
Thanks for the information, I’ll definitely join your group. I did join another one a year or so ago to get information. I’ve been feeding my dog a combination of Natural Balance and what I make for her. I try not to rely too heavily on prepared dog food but try to give her a balanced diet.
According to the ad-
“Premium dry dog food.Actor Dick Van Patten’s line of Natural Balance dog food is expensive, but reviews say its ingredients are the best you can buy for your dog (aside from making your own homemade dog food). Notable for its organic ingredients, quality meats and lack of by-products, the top ingredients in Natural Balance dry dog food include chicken, brown rice, duck, lamb meal, oatmeal, pearled barley, potatoes and chicken fat, supplemented with healthy extras like whole ground flaxseed, dried kelp and vitamins”
I notice that Natural Balance has a raw formula. Have you heard anything about this?
I feed both kibble and raw - three of my hounds do great on their high-end kibble with some raw meaty bones tossed in, but one is seriously allergic to grains. He’s exclusively raw fed. I like the results I see. He’s a healthy boy, maintains the right weight, and has an awesome coat (and extra-clean teeth!) Raw feeding can require a lot of research and time, if you want to do it right… but it’s worth it.
That was a good article, thanks. Their concerns seem to be caused by the risk of illness because of the uncooked meat rather than the diet. That’s what I’ve been more interested in. You will loose some nutrients cooking the food and eliminating the bones but I’m convinced that regular food is healthier than dog food for you dog. There are board certified veterinary nutritionists that for a fee will put together a diet for your dog. www.acvn.org.
I don’t know if my previous dogs diet had anything to do with him getting cancer.
Not only was it heartbreaking but I spent thousands of dollars with chemo and cancer treatment. The Oncologist didn’t seem to think diet had anything to do with it and maybe it didn’t.
I’m just more careful with this dog. I guess it just makes me feel better.
I wrote an article on prey model raw diets last year for the Dogo Argentino Club of America’s newsletter. Here’s a link to the article. Warning: PDF file. The ArmadilloHound/NajaDog is the pooch pictured ;).
Prey model raw is all about emulating a wild diet as best as you can with what’s available. The article is full of unfounded claims and anecdotal evidence, it’s true, and I can’t prove any of it. What I do know is that my dog is astoundingly, outstandingly healthy. His coat is gorgeous,he smells sweet and clean (skin and breath, anyway ), he poos in tidy, convenient amounts, he’s got boundless energy. He doesn’t get tear stains, which is nice for a white dog. He hardly sheds. He’s lean and muscular. People occasionally stop us on the street and ask us if we feed raw. They recognize his condition. Most pet dogs that I see around here, even some working sport dogs, carry a pretty hefty layer of subcutaneous fat and their coats tend to look dull and greasy. It’s all the carbs in kibble.
I never understood the objection to raw food by so many people. Come on! They’re carnivores! And besides, when’s the last time your MD told you to eat more highly processed, pre-packaged foods like so many DVMs suggest is the only possible road to good canine nutrition?
My raw fed boy has less upset tummy issues, produces less… erm… waste (and when he does, it dries and turns to dust - how cool is THAT!) Now – my kibble and raw guys are fed a really high end kibble, so I’m not noticing a huge difference with regards to coat, shedding, all of that. I am, however, noticing a huge HUGE difference in the state of their teeth - I brush the kibble crew’s teeth weekly, whereas I’ve never brushed raw dude’s teeth. He is two, and I dare you to find any kind of deposit on his teeth. He also doesn’t have doggybreath, and doesn’t have “doggy odor”.
Both sets of hounds have energy to spare, and so on. My Raw fed boy’s weight is also easier to control, and he is a lean, mean herding machine. The vet commented on his muscle mass and how he’s in excellent shape the last time we took him in.
), he poos in tidy, convenient amounts, he’s got boundless energy. He doesn’t get tear stains, which is nice for a white dog. He hardly sheds. He’s lean and muscular. People occasionally stop us on the street and ask us if we feed raw. They recognize his condition. Most pet dogs that I see around here, even some working sport dogs, carry a pretty hefty layer of subcutaneous fat and their coats tend to look dull and greasy. It’s all the carbs in kibble.