Anyone else feed an all RAW diet?

[labmomma]

I feed my two labs Flint River kibble with broth and some lean chicken thrown in. They love it and are doing extremely well. I've dropped their feeding back to once a day (mornings) and my picky eater is doing so much better with this schedule. I have the Flint River on auto ship and the shipping is free and since they don't eat as much of it as the store bought brands it is actually costing me less. I am a very happy camper with my dog's feeding situation.

[IRescue452]

I'm surprised nobody has brought this up since so many people are being educated by this thread. Processed meats are worse than kibble. None of that plastic wrapped stuff on the grocer's shelf. That's pumped full of chemicals that are unhealthy for people and shorten our lifespans and the same goes with dogs and cats. I try not to eat processed meats myself. I am in no way ready to switch to raw until I find out which bacteria can be transmitted to dogs. I also hope all you raw feeders do a lot of cleaning of anything the meat touches. I prefer the utility diet of cooked meat and raw veggies, eggs, and such. You can give a balance of nutrients with a cooked meat diet too.

[beyond_me]

That was something I was wondering. Now-a-days meat has so many chemicals in it. But also wouldn't raw veggies and friut unless you know that they are organic? But then it is even more to feed raw. I was just thinken that either way they are still getting bad stuff right??? Also I know that salmonella that gets us sick doesn't bother dogs or cat, but they can transmit. That is why I am a little worried about giving raw meat to my dogs. Our boxer knows how to get you when you aren't ready. I would hate to get sick from a kiss.

[wolfsoul]

Also I know that salmonella that gets us sick doesn't bother dogs or cat, but they can transmit.

Actually this is not true --- You are MUCH more likely to get salmonella from a dog that eats kibble. A dog's saliva contains an enzyme that destroys bacteria, and because a raw-fed dog does not have plaque, there is no place for bacteria to inhabit. A kibble-fed dog, however, usually has alot of plaque -- all of that is bacteria. You will notice that kibble-fed dogs generally have bad breath. That is the bacteria. Raw-fed dogs do not have bad breath, because bacteria can not thrive in their mouths.

[cloverfdx]

This has been a realy interesting read . I feed raw also (Tinny gets some working dog dry food chucked in to keep her weight up). I am at work at the moment so cannot go into details, but will post photos and info later when i get home (After i go dog food shopping lol).

[finn's mom]

I fed my RB boy, Bruno, a raw diet, starting a couple years before he passed, and, it was amazing the difference it made in his coat, teeth, breath, eyes, bones, muscles, joints, poop, energy, everything. I put Finn on it as soon as I got him in my care. He grew at a slow pace, and, is now about 85 pounds. He was less than 50 pounds when I got to South Carolina last April, and, was already about 14 months old. I like that he grew slowly, I think it's better for them all around. He doesn't stink at all, doesn't have bad breath ever. Even after he plays in the mud, if he swims in the lake to rinse off, he has virtually no odor. I clean his ears out because he tends to stick his head completely into the mud and totally under water, but, as far as his coat and skin, it's ideal, and, I rarely bathe him. I'm all for the raw diet, definitely. And, as faddish as it may seem, there are many people that have been feeding raw for years and years. And, they all had large breeds that were living to be 20 years and up. It's pretty amazing stuff, I think. Great thread, too.

[cloverfdx]

Ok i have only just gotton time to go into details now, gotta love the Easter break .

My guys have been fed RAW on and off for the ast couple of years, when on RAW they are active, dont smell, their skin is clear etc. Clover used to suffer from some stiffnes in her hips on cold mornings and also would get hot spots often in the warm weather. They have been on RAW agian for a good 12 months + and there is no way i would switch back to processed food again. Clover moves alot easier these days and is a physcho at Flyball lol, as for the hot spots she has not had one for years.

Tinny has loved moving in with us as she was raised on kibble and the odd bone, when she came to us she was thin and her coat was extremly dry and dull, now it is gorgeous and soft. She goes nuts at dinner time now and gets excited about their RMBs (Rec bones).

Elvis is just a pig and will eat anything, but he was also raised on a commercial puppy kibble and chicken mince/ necks. He is now eating all RAW and looks great, ok well a little overweight at the moment but that is coming off.

Feeding RAW is better for me aswell because it is alot cheaper to buy, and the extra work putting their dinner together at night does not bother me because atleast i know what they are eating. I picked up 2 large packets of lamb necks from the supermarket for $1 each last night, and a packet of Ox heart for $2.

Dinner last night though was a chunk of lamb (Spine & ribs) and that was their dinner, easier than pouring kibble into a bowl. Ok i will stop rambling now and find some before and after photos.

[wolfsoul]

I'm surprised nobody has brought this up since so many people are being educated by this thread. Processed meats are worse than kibble. None of that plastic wrapped stuff on the grocer's shelf. That's pumped full of chemicals that are unhealthy for people and shorten our lifespans and the same goes with dogs and cats. I try not to eat processed meats myself. I am in no way ready to switch to raw until I find out which bacteria can be transmitted to dogs. I also hope all you raw feeders do a lot of cleaning of anything the meat touches. I prefer the utility diet of cooked meat and raw veggies, eggs, and such. You can give a balance of nutrients with a cooked meat diet too.

The stuff RAW people feed is not processed -- processed meats are the aame thing as processed cheese, or Spam. It's the fake version of the real stuff. Processed meat isn't really meat -- it contains high amounts of sodium and preservatives. The stuff you are talking about it just inorganic meat, which isn't nearly as bad as kibble -- most kibble doesn't only use inorganic meat, but diseased and rotten meat as well. I'm not picky about the kind of meat I buy -- I try to buy as organic as possible, but it is far too expensive to rely on organic foods altogether. I am certainly NOT careful about washing everything that meat touches. I believe that in order to stay resistant to bacteria, your body has to build a resistance to it by being around it as much as possible. I'm not careful about washing my hands and counters after handling raw meat, never have been, and I have yet to get sick. My friend who is absolutely paranoid about bacteria and washes and Lysols the heck out of things became very ill after she first started cooking meat in foods class in highschool. As long as you know what you're doing, none of the bacteria in raw meat will harm your dog. If you mix kibble and raw meat together, there is a much higher chance that the bacteria will affect your dog because the kibble is harder to digest and takes hours longer -- it can hold back the raw meat. Raw meat alone is easily digested and passed through the body quickly enough that the bacteria doesn't harm the dog. There are exceptions of course, some dogs with genetic digestive problems and such may not have the right enzymes in order to digest certain things, such as raw meat. This is mostly because some dogs have been thriving on kibble so long that they continue to bear puppies that have digestive problems and can ONLY eat kibble. Dogs with pancreatitis are a good example of that. The majority of them can only eat kibble or their pancreatitis will act up if fed anything else.

[PinkSunshine]

I believe that in order to stay resistant to bacteria, your body has to build a resistance to it by being around it as much as possible.

ITA. We don't switch our dogs over to an all RAW diet until they are 6 months old. We feel it's best for them to build up an immunity towards bacteria by eating kibble for 6 months.

Wolfsoul has explained it much better than I could

[cali]

really? we switch pupps to raw as soon an humanly possable, its MUCH better for their growth, if I compare moth my BCs one who grew up on kibble and one who was started on raw at 7 weeks the builds are very differnt, and its not hereditary, there is not one single dog in Happys entire pedigree that has a structure that even remotly resembles hers. Misty is smaller, better filled out, better muscled and had an overall better growth rate. Happy was not switched till around 6 months, she is tall, lanky, and if I shaved her she would pass for a greyhound lol she grew in huge sprurts, about 3 inches a week lol

[binka_nugget]

That's pumped full of chemicals that are unhealthy for people and shorten our lifespans and the same goes with dogs and cats.

True.. but I don't think most kibbles would have the best quality of meats either.

I try to feed organic as often as I can though.. the warehouse I work for lets us take home free food every day.. and it's all organic. I don't bother eating the food I take home, but the dogs get it LOL. They eat better than I do.

[beyond_me]

I feed my two labs Flint River kibble with broth and some lean chicken thrown in. They love it and are doing extremely well. I've dropped their feeding back to once a day (mornings) and my picky eater is doing so much better with this schedule. I have the Flint River on auto ship and the shipping is free and since they don't eat as much of it as the store bought brands it is actually costing me less. I am a very happy camper with my dog's feeding situation.

I just checked out the web site and it looks great. I have been looking for a food that would be good with dogs with allergies. I'm not sure if they have food allergies but I would still like to help as much as possible. Also my dogs are pitt's and boxers so they are very sensitive to everything!!!