Which one?

[phiala]

I'm planning on getting a dog later on this summer, or next year, and I'm trying to decide whether to feed him/her a normal kibble-dog food or raw. A lot of people I know have dogs that do great on raw, and some don't agree with it all. What are your opinions on this? (BTW- the dog will be a Sheltie.)
Thanks!

[Toller 42]

I would get it kibble (don't get Iams), some other people would recommend raw though but I had a bad experience with raw food so I'll never feed it to my dogs again my chocolate lab ended up getting salmonella poisoning from it and died. I tried using beef instead of chicken on one of my current dogs and I didn't think it was improving her health anymore than kibble did so now I feed them Nutro's natural choice. Welcome to pet talk btw.

[Shelteez2]

What does your breeder feed?
I would go with whatever you are comfortable with. I like raw, but I'm lazy so my dogs only get it once a week or so. The rest of the time they get a high quality kibble (Innova).
Are you going to be getting a puppy? Nothing sweeter than a sheltie puppy :D

Welcome to the board btw.

[phiala]

Thanks :) Yes, I'll be getting a puppy, and the breeder is currently undecided, I'm trying to decide between two :D

[Shelteez2]

Neat! :)

Have you posted an introduction for yourself yet? You should. There are quite a few sheltie people here.

[tatsxxx11]

We've had lengthy discussion on the board about the BARF diet in the past. Please do post in Dogs General...Say hi :) and mention your dietary questions...lots more people there to reply and I know they'd love to meet you:) I'll try and dig up the old threads and post the links! Welcome to Pet Talk:) Sandra

[dragondawg]

Once upon a time I had a Daisy dog. She was about 6 months at the time and was due to come off Purina puppy chow. I shopped around until I found a brand named Propet (owned by Carnation Inc) which is still on the market. I selected it because it listed meat ingredients first, had the highest protein/fat on the market per their performance formula (30/15), and cost half as much as the heavily marketed brands. Also they made a money back claim that the dog was guaranteed to like the flavor. My Daisy thrived 10 years on it, and my current two puppies are also doing well on it- gobbling it down without hesitation. The point is not to put in a commercial plug for Propet, but rather to indicate any high quality dog food should suffice for your dog's nutritional needs.

The check list of concerns for dog owners per dog foods should be:

1. Does the dog like the food?
2. Is it pallatable without any side effects such as food allergy?
3. Can the weight of the dog be easily controlled?
4. Is the manufacturer well known, and does the food conform to AAFCO standards.

There is nothing magical about whether your dog absorbs a leucine amino acid from corn meal or from some other form of food intake. It's a misnomer to believe a dog has to have near 100% meat in its diet because that is what the wolf ancestor requires. There are some dog owners who have essentially made their dogs vegetarians with good results.

Per the BARF diet there are several variants around and you need to be very careful if you choose to go this direction. For example a quick search on the web can turn up references to a BARF diet containing raw Turkey. Just about 100% of the Turkeys being sold in the U.S. have some salmonella contamination associated with the processing of the meat. There's a reason why us humans are cautioned about fully cooking the bird. But it's ok to feed raw turkey to your dog? Not to my puppies ya don't!!! Raw chicken is a little better than Turkey but not much.

There is no reason to suspect a beef based BARF diet will offer any benefit over a premium dog food.

[LorraineO]

I am a kibble girl.... raw food doesnt give your dog all the vitamins and other stuff they really need.... but thats just my opinion,, the next person might swear by it....
I guess its whatever is best for your pocket and your dogs preferences,,,, and I recommend speaking to the vet about that.

[binka_nugget]

My two cents, if you know what you're doing and feed a variety of foods, the dog will get various vitamins and such. Anyone who feeds strictly beef, turkey, chicken, blah blah blah, is asking for trouble.

It's up to you though. I'd go with whatever you're most comfortable with. The barf diet did wonders for Kaedyn and kept Kai in tip-top shape. But then again, the dog down the street might have a nasty reaction to raw food. Research as much as you can.

Sometimes the bad reactions are at the fault of the owner. There was a woman who had a dog that choked on a bone. She swore the diet off and was M-A-D! Upon reading her rant, some barfer friends of mine found out that she was feeding the wrong sized bones. A person who feeds just beef bones will say the diet is bad. A person who feeds just liver (and gets a "runny" dog) will say the diet is bad. It's really important that the owner knows what they're doing.

Personally, I'm not against the diet. I think it's a fantastic diet for the right dog (just as kibbles and bits could keep another dog thriving). My dogs did well on it so I'm hoping to feed them raw again soon (once we get our new upright freezer and I research even more).

[dogs_4_me]

I have been switching between raw and kibble lately. I am all for the raw, depending on the dog that is, Emma does great on it, but again its all on prefference. Ask your breeder. The downfalls about raw is that is fairly expensive and it takes up alot of room in your freezer! It can be a hassle, when your taking your dog on vacations and stuff. To avoid major problems with raw, by high quality food!!!!!!!!!!! I dont mean ur spending lots of money, but dont give it anything you wouldnt cook and eat your self. It is more natural for dogs, as that would be what they would eat in the wild. I have Emma on Kibble and raw, and we give her kibble 3 times a week and raw 4 times. But that is jsut to cut down on cost.