Anyone else feed an all RAW diet?

[.sarah]

Sure, I'll PM the links in a second. Mandy was 8 when I switched her and she is fine. It's never too late

[Giselle]

Actually, I don't like feeding pork. I just feel that the benefits of pork can be found in other more wholesome protein sources. I also remember something about pork skin that causes pancreatitis or something...I know bacon can contribute to the development of pancreatitis, but I'm positive I heard something negative about raw pork as well. At any rate, Sarah seemed to cover most of it

The switch from kibble to raw has been the best decision I've ever made for my dogs. There was a recent poll on another forum and nearly all of the raw feeders who had to switch back to kibble due to financial restrictions wished they could switch back to raw because of the fantastic results. If you think about it, kibble truly is a completely foreign food to dogs. Sure, they may not have necessarily eaten raw (many domesticated dogs thrive on homeCOOKED diets then and now), but kibble is such an odd thing to feed your dog. Carbs and proteins lumped into a crushed nuggest sprayed with minerals and vitamins? Oh yes, that sounds very appetizing and nutritious indeed :X

After seeing my Pekingese languish on kibble after kibble, I decided enough was enough. The difference between a kibble fed dog and a raw fed dog is amazing. You don't even notice the suddle differences until you experience the changes yourself. I'll post some visual "proof" later. The poster who posted it deleted the images...hmm...

[Giselle]

I don't feed a raw diet, my parents would never go for that. When I get my Toller though I'd love to start feeding her and Tango raw as that is what my breeder and other Toller breeders reccommend for the breed. Tango will be about 5 years old or so by the time comes, will I be able to switch her to a raw diet after having been a kibble fed dog for so long already?? Sarah, would you mind PMing me the links that you have? Even though I won't be getting a Toller for about 2 years, I'd like to start researching this now so that I don't have to quickly learn how to feed raw right before I get my pup...

Likewise, Lucky was 5 when I made the switch, too. It really is never too late to switch to a wholesome diet! (Same goes for humans *cough cough*)

[.sarah]

(Same goes for humans *cough cough*)

lol, yeah maybe I'll start eating healthier one day too

[Glacier]

Actually, I don't like feeding pork. I just feel that the benefits of pork can be found in other more wholesome protein sources. I also remember something about pork skin that causes pancreatitis or something...I know bacon can contribute to the development of pancreatitis, but I'm positive I heard something negative about raw pork as well. At any rate, Sarah seemed to cover most of it

.

It's the fat in pork that can cause pancreatitis. In some dogs, any high dose of fat will cause it. I have a couple who are prone to it and I have to be very careful to limit their fat intake. In extreme cold temperatures, I sometimes give the working dogs small chunks of pork fat. Takes a lot of calories just to stay warm at -40!

[lv4dogs]

When I get my dog I will feed raw. I joined the Livejournal Rawdogs group thanks to a post made on PT and I am hooked on the idea!

I'm a memeber of that community too, although since I stopped feeding raw (or cut down, they still get raw 1-2 times a week) a few weeks ago I haven't been on as much, that & I've been so busy lately. It's such a great group. I'm rauook on LJ.

[Giselle]

(These are not my pictures, please do not use them!)
A 6-year-old-ish retired racing Greyhound on a kibble diet:


The same dog after one raw recreational bone:


Need I say more? This is after THREE hours. If a single rec bone can make so much difference in three hours, can you imagine the teeth of a dog fed raw its whole life? A picture is literally a thousand words.

[.sarah]

OH MY GOD

That is an incredible difference

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

That's disgusting! I can't believe 3 hours made such a huge difference

Although, I must say that I personally have never seen a kibble fed dog's teeth ever look that bad.....

[k9krazee]

Wow! What a difference!!! That is amazing.

Although, I must say that I personally have never seen a kibble fed dog's teeth ever look that bad.....

Yeah, same here, even my (almost) 10 year old Rottie has better teeth than that 6 year old had!!

[cali]

really? I have seen a LOT of kibble fed dogs with teeth that bad.

I like this pic of Shadow, the pic was taken when shadow was just about 9 years old, 4 years on kibble and 4 years on raw

I was looking at this pic, and it struck me how white her teeth are for her age lol


and look at Happys teeth..she has the dirtiest teeth out of all my dogs because she wont do any recriational chewing whatsoever, she wont even eat her dinner if she cant break the bone with one bite.


it was funny, we are so used to how much the rest of the dogs teeth sparkle, that we look at happys and go.."I wonder if something is wrong with her teeth?" so we take her to the vet and the vet goes "WOW these are some of the best teeth I have seen" lol

[K9soul]

I do hope to feed raw someday when I have the freezer for it and the finances to do it right. For now mine are on Innova EVO but they also get lots of chews, (bones and bully sticks) and "extras" like eggs, cheese, fresh meat at times, etc. and I brush their teeth regularly, so they look very good, though I have no doubt they'd be even whiter and stronger if they had been fed raw since the beginning.


This is the best pic I have that shows Tasha's teefers. She is 7.





By the way, I appreciate all the info in this thread!

[Giselle]

I'm pretty sure it's an ex-racer thing. Many retired racers are supposedly genetically predisposed to bad teeth and, hence, bad breath. I know one 4 year old ex-racer whose teeth look like they've been around since dinosaurs walked the earth LOL. Even though she's on a kibble diet, she receives annual cleanings, frequent chews (it was her owner who introduced me to bully sticks and greenies), daily add-ins and supplements (her owner also shows dogs so she likes to supplement all her dogs), and frequent tooth brushing. Still, her owner claims her breath is still rather rancid and they just doesn't look her age. I can honestly attest, however, that raw bones do work wonders for dogs. Giselle came to me with moderate plaque that could be relatively easy to remove with a tooth brush. I stopped brushing due to laziness and tossed her a rec bone every now and then. After a couple weeks on raw bones, her pearly whites shone through and there is NO sign of plaque whatsoever.

(K9Soul, Tasha's teeth are perfect! I wish Lucky's looked like that!)

[bckrazy]

I REALLY appreciate this thread too! Especially Sarah and Sophie going into so much detail about everything. I will be switching to raw in about a month for Gonzo and the new pup, and we've decided on a pre-made raw diet to start off with rec bones. We're about to order Steve's Real Food, after talking to Kathy (Corgi breeder).

I do have concerns about wearing and cracking on the teeth... Gonzo did crack his rear molar on a knuckle bone (it was semi-frozen) and I don't want him to crack it to the root at all. I've also seen young raw-fed dogs with very worn down teeth, they're white, but super worn. I was wondering if any of you BARF/RAW-ers have any tips to prevent this?

[CathyBogart]

Star has AWFUL teeth. I need to get her some recreational bones, they're really bad. Unfortunately, the vet my parents take her to is not concerned with her bad teeth at all.