I know I never would have thought of putting my dog on a raw dog food diet, but there are thousands of people who believe this is the only thing your dog should eat.
I talked to my vet about this diet when I saw something called barf dog food. (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) He told me that he would never recommend this as a diet for dogs but that many other people use this diet all the time.
The justification for this food is:
1. Dogs’ wild ancestors only ate raw food
2. NO dog smell
3. There will be less feces
4. The chewing and ripping apart of the meat need to eat raw food makes stronger muscles.
5. Not as costly
6. Less feces
You don’t only use raw meat in a raw dog food diet, you also need fruit, raw bones and vegetables. The raw meat should have muscle meat, organs, intestines and fat. This would be close to what the wild dogs ate. I think a few of these things if cooked would be good for a homemade dog food.
For the people who are concerned about their dogs eating bones, especially chicken bones, the supporters of the raw dog food diet would argue that raw chicken bones are soft enough that they bend easily and are fine for your dog to digest.
They also try to motivate you to try whole carcasses for your dog, something small like a chicken or rabbit.
The reasons my vet gave me to stay away from a raw dog food diet seemed sensible to me. He said the risks of disease from bacteria like salmonella in chicken or parasites in beef, is great. Salmonella can be transferred to people and can be deadly in children or people with a compromised immune system.
When I thought about it the risks outweighed any benefit I could find. And it seemed disgusting to me personally.
Now that is just my personal preference, you may feel differently. If you do there are companies who only sell frozen raw dog food.
These manufacturers are on the internet and they will give you a list of ingredients and the benefits of their dog food.
Since we are all different it is good to know that there are also different ways to feed your dog. Please do your research though before starting a raw dog food diet.
Claire Trumenda, dog trainer, wary of the wave of pet food scares has taken a genuine interest in what her dogs eat. At her website, HomeMadeDogFoodRecipe.net, learn more about holistic dog foods and homemade dog food.
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