Does this sound right to you?

[janelle]

This was on freecycle and he says he feeds his dogs raw meat. Is this good for dogs or is he maybe a breeder of fighting dogs?



EWWWWW ~ This was posted on one of my freecycle groups.....

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I know this is a long shot but thought it was worth a try. I lost my
job last week and am trying to save where I can- and a big one is dog
food. I feed raw and they won't eat kibble. I don't want to be forced
to sell any of my dogs. So if anyone has any meat or fish in the
freezer of any kind that is frezer burnt or past ideal human
consumption date, I would be extremely grateful to have it.

[lute]

ewww! i've heard of feeding raw food, but i think if it's not good enough for me it's not good enough for my dogs.

[JenBKR]

I have recently heard of the raw diet, but past human consumption? That doesn't sound right to me. Wouldn't that make the dog sick?

[animal_rescue]

Some think the BARF "Bones And Raw Food" diet (as it's called) some think it's good and some think it's bad. I'm interested in it and when I get older and have my own dogs I am considering feeding them that, but past it's experation date... I think that's unhealthy.

[elizabethann]

This is such a sad post. It sounds like the guy is pretty desperate. I hope he can find a job. It's not a good idea to feed your dog raw food that isn't fit for human consumption. If it can make a human sick, it can do the same thing for a dog.

I've heard of the B.A.R.F. diet. However, I would think they recommend raw food that isn't past the selling date.

[janelle]

Would the dog smell bad with such a diet?

[Glacier]

I feed my dogs freezer burnt meat all the time with no ill effects. I usually feed it raw and frozen. I love it when my co-workers clean out their freezers. Freezer burnt meat is perfectly fine for humans to eat too--most people just don't because it doesn't look nice and the meat may be tougher than normal.

The only time my dogs smell bad is when they get too much caribou--for some reason caribou gives a few of them gas.

[2crazypuppies4me]

Those poor dogs!

[Kfamr]

I see nothing wrong with freezer burnt meat, but past human consumption? If I wouldn't eat it, I wouldn't feed it to my dogs.

[Giselle]

Actually, with the raw diet, they use the basis that dogs are primarily carnivorous animals who will eat mostly any meat, whether it's past the expiration date or not. Thus, many feeders feed slightly "gamy-smelling" meat. It's not recommended, but a slab of chicken a day or two past its expiration date won't necessarily hurt the dog if it has already transitioned to the raw diet.

P.S. Not every single raw diet is called BARF!!! Billinghurst has popularized the BARF diet, but many people feed via Schultz, Pitcairn, and Lonsdale, too.

[janelle]

Does this give dogs a taste for blood and make them mean? Do they go after small animals for the blood?

[Giselle]

NO NO NO NO! It does NOT create a bloodlust for smaller prey. The only thing that makes a dog want to kill small vermin/animals/kitties is their *prey drive*, which, by the way, is instinctive and reinforced through training.

[finn's mom]

I hope he's able to find a job soon. Poor guy. I feed Finn a raw diet, and, he's no more prone to kill small animals than any other labrador. He doesn't smell bad, although he does get gas once in awhile. But, again, no more than my RB dog, Bruno, and, he was fed kibble for most of his life, until about two years before he died. He did extremely well on raw, and, Finn is doing well, also. I don't see anything wrong with freezer burnt meat (as Glacier already stated, it's not bad for humans to consume), and, if it came down to it, I'd probably still rather feed meat a little "over due" than I would kibble. Although I hope I never get to the situation where meat past the consumption date is all I can get. I wouldn't feed rancid meat, but, a few days past, I don't think is that big of a deal.

[Pit Chick]

Here's an explanation of a raw diet from another forum:

http://www.pitbullforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=9665