Oh yeah... Feeding raw is BAD

[wcladymacbeth]

So, I was talking to one of the doctors I work with in the ER. He shot some turkeys last week and I asked him if he gave his dogs any of the raw meat, like the neck or anything. And he looked at me all disgusted, and said "Why would I do that? You want me to kill my dogs?" And I said "Well, many people feed their dogs raw and their dogs do very well on it. I think the trick is making sure it's a balanced diet." And he said "Well, my dad is a small animal vet and I know that that's really bad for dogs."



I just wanted all you people out there who feed raw to know.... you're killing your dogs! :nono:

 

[CaliTerp07]

It sounds REALLY weird if you've never heard of it before!!! I was definitely weirded out before I started reading up on it. I don't think I would have told my coworkers they were doing something bad before I did the research though!

 

[FoxyWench]

my thought is...dogs are related to wolves...
wolves eat raw meat...dogs arnt so different form their basal ansestors to not be able to handle it...
hmmm A+B= Death?! who knew?!

igues its because what were not putting into consideration is all those fires wild dogs build...you know, gotta roast it well before we eat it...

LOL.

i understand its a strange concept to many, and i understand theres alot of misconceptions about it...but to say its gonna kill your dog because your dads a small animal vet and says so...
then again...mabe thats just me being a sag, i never take anything as a "because i say so" lol, i dorve my teaches insane.

 

[GreenFireflyGirl]

Wow, good thing we have puppychow now, all the dogs for the last few thousand years were just playing a crap shoot with their meals, eh?

 

[fillyone]

I just wanted all you people out there who feed raw to know.... you're killing your dogs! :nono:

:lol-sign: I'll be sure to explain to Dante why I'm throwing out his turkey neck I was going to give to him for dinner tonight!!!

 

[Toller_08]

That reminds me of this time that I was at the grocery store and saw a good deal on something for the dogs (can't remember what... knuckle bones I think), and outloud I'd said something to my mom about feeding it to the dogs. Then this woman came up with a look of complete horror, and proceeded to tell me how awful I was for feeding raw to my dogs and how I was going to kill them, and that she was surprised they weren't dead already. Of course, she didn't want to listen to anything I had to say, so I just walked away after a couple minutes as I could tell she wasn't going to quit.

I never had that reaction when I'd first heard about raw for some reason. In fact, I was intrigued instantly and wanted to learn more. I guess it would be a pretty big shock to the majority of people out there though.

 

[skKi]

Ha ha, oh dear. I don't mind so much when people are curious or even confused (ie. "You feed your dog raw meat? Whaaaa?"), but it's just silly when they insist you're doing harm.

When I worked at a dog daycare, Pit was running around too much and yacked up a fish tail from his breakfast that morning. My boss just about lost her mind when she realized I fed him a raw fish. She made me section off the contaminated area and disinfect the floor with some kind of special cleaner thing. The dogs weren't allowed near that spot for the rest of the day. It was always a giant ordeal if my dog puked at the daycare from then on. She didn't want the other dogs to get salmonella.

 

[Romy]

Ha ha, oh dear. I don't mind so much when people are curious or even confused (ie. "You feed your dog raw meat? Whaaaa?"), but it's just silly when they insist you're doing harm.

When I worked at a dog daycare, Pit was running around too much and yacked up a fish tail from his breakfast that morning. My boss just about lost her mind when she realized I fed him a raw fish. She made me section off the contaminated area and disinfect the floor with some kind of special cleaner thing. The dogs weren't allowed near that spot for the rest of the day. It was always a giant ordeal if my dog puked at the daycare from then on. She didn't want the other dogs to get salmonella.

That kind of reaction always cracks me up. I mean, we're talking about an animal that eats poop for crying out loud. :rofl1:

 

[Romy]

So, I was talking to one of the doctors I work with in the ER. He shot some turkeys last week and I asked him if he gave his dogs any of the raw meat, like the neck or anything. And he looked at me all disgusted, and said "Why would I do that? You want me to kill my dogs?" And I said "Well, many people feed their dogs raw and their dogs do very well on it. I think the trick is making sure it's a balanced diet." And he said "Well, my dad is a small animal vet and I know that that's really bad for dogs."



I just wanted all you people out there who feed raw to know.... you're killing your dogs! :nono:

You should ask him to ask his dad how all that toxic crap in science diet is better.opcorn:

 

[AnitaF]

I just started feeding my dogs raw. This is their 2nd week. The first couple of days, my collie/terrier mix got really sick and I got scared and thought I might have to take him to the vet. I was pretty sure, if I did, that the vet would ask me what he had eaten and I would be really embarrassed to say he had just started a raw diet and would be told how bad that was. By the way, the vet is my cousin, but I was still scared to take my dog there.

I have a friend who is going to vet school and I talked to him before about making my own dog food and he said you have to be careful and make sure it's balanced and that dogs shouldn't eat people food or they can get pancreatitis, etc., etc. So when my dog got sick from eating raw meat, I thought I was probably killing him with pancreatitis.

I don't think they're taught properly in vet school about a dog's nutrition, just the way that medical doctors aren't taught properly about nutrition for humans. Just my opinion.

P.S. My dogs are adjusting to their raw diet, even the one that got sick. He's not sick anymore. I think he was just de-toxing from the past 5-1/2 years of commercial dog food. My Jack Russell loves his new diet and didn't have any problems with it except for a little trouble learning to chew it and learning to eat it in one spot and not drag it off somewhere. He's doing great now!

I don't plan on stopping the raw diet . . . unless, of course, it kills my dogs.

 

[Athebeau]

I think about it this way, commercial dog food is big $$$ it's a multi million dollar corporation. They have successfully brainwashed people into believing dogs can no longer process "real" foods. A very successful marketing ploy I might add Vet's make a lot of money off prescription dog food. I worked at a Vet clinic and those bags of food medi cal that were sold for about 60.00 a bag back then I was able to get for 18.00 a bag. Plus, it makes it easier for most Vets to give a prescription diet to a dog with health issues as that is the training they received.

I am lucky enough to have a Vet who sought training after vet school. He is now a homeopathic vet, he studied nutrition and recommends different books for his clients including Dr Pitcairn. He is not a stick in the mud. But, he is also open minded enough to realize that most pet owners will not feed home prepared. He is the one who talked me into switching my dogs to home prepared.

One thing I find really weird is when you talk to older people who grew up and had dogs prior to commercial dog food. For example my Mom was growing up in the 1930's all their dogs were fed home prepared (scraps, left overs etc not raw meat though). When I decided to switch to home prepared she was shocked and I asked what did you feed and she blushed and said home prepared...and I asked how healthy were your dogs...and she replied very healthy...lol

 

[Gypsydals]

Its funny to see/hear peoples reactions to raw. Last time someone jumped all over me for feeding raw. I asked them what did they think the dogs ate 50+ years ago?? She studdered a bit and couldn't come up with an answer for me. I had to tell her kibble is a relatively new thing.

 

[Sweet72947]

Its funny to see/hear peoples reactions to raw. Last time someone jumped all over me for feeding raw. I asked them what did they think the dogs ate 50+ years ago?? She studdered a bit and couldn't come up with an answer for me. I had to tell her kibble is a relatively new thing.

This is what I usually say too! And it typically shuts people up. My dogs are doing quite well on their raw diet. If Daisy is fed any type of kibble she ITCHES and licks her feet and licks her bum. On the raw she still licks a tiny bit, but is so much better! Benji has an itchy spot on his back that always had scabs on it for an unknown reason. On the raw the scabs have cleared completely up!

 

[Boxer100]

Are you talking about raw meat as with meat that has not been cooked/boiled? That kind of meat is bad for some dogs and some dogs will not be able to digest it properly even though any dog will eat it. We gave our boxer raw pork once, and he threw up all of it and did not eat after that for a day or 2 because his stomach was upset. I know that pork is generally not good for dogs and that beef might have been better, but I am not going to experiment anymore. I would not feed meat unless it is cooked.

 

[AllieMackie]

Are you talking about raw meat as with meat that has not been cooked/boiled? That kind of meat is bad for some dogs and some dogs will not be able to digest it properly even though any dog will eat it. We gave our boxer raw pork once, and he threw up all of it and did not eat after that for a day or 2 because his stomach was upset. I know that pork is generally not good for dogs and that beef might have been better, but I am not going to experiment anymore. I would not feed meat unless it is cooked.

I suggest you do some more research on what is good and bad for dogs.

 

[MafiaPrincess]

Are you talking about raw meat as with meat that has not been cooked/boiled? That kind of meat is bad for some dogs and some dogs will not be able to digest it properly even though any dog will eat it. We gave our boxer raw pork once, and he threw up all of it and did not eat after that for a day or 2 because his stomach was upset. I know that pork is generally not good for dogs and that beef might have been better, but I am not going to experiment anymore. I would not feed meat unless it is cooked.

It would be surprising then that many of the top dog sport competitors feed raw if it is apparently so bad.

Good thread on raw pork.. http://www.chazhound.com/forums/t97367/ No.. it's not bad, but it isn't a good first choice to introduce your dog to raw.

If you'd doen a bit of research before you tried raw you might have had more success with it. Just because you didn't have success, doesn't make it bad, nor does it mean that peopel should have to cook meat for their dogs.

 

[Dekka]

I feed raw to all my dogs. Every foster that comes in gets raw. But as Mafia pointed out you don't start with a protein source that is notorious for dog's having issues with.

Dogs can puke and have problems if you switch their kibble to fast or to something they have issues with digesting. Its interesting that looking back I can tell what my guys were being fed by their results at trials. (for a while I switched a few times from high quality grain free kibble to raw and back again due to supply issues) Never noticed till well after the fact.

 

[ihartgonzo]

Are you talking about raw meat as with meat that has not been cooked/boiled? That kind of meat is bad for some dogs and some dogs will not be able to digest it properly even though any dog will eat it. We gave our boxer raw pork once, and he threw up all of it and did not eat after that for a day or 2 because his stomach was upset. I know that pork is generally not good for dogs and that beef might have been better, but I am not going to experiment anymore. I would not feed meat unless it is cooked.

Raw pork is definitely a meal that is best fed to dogs who either have an iron stomach, or who have developed a healthy amount of good flora in their digestive system! Pork is one of the fattiest meats, and high fat does often equal digestive upset, particularly in a dog who has only been fed kibble up until that point. Before being fed Raw, Gonzo would get sick from being fed some cooked meats, much less raw meats. Slowly introducing the diet to him, allowing his good flora to build up, and his body to "detox", has made his once sensitive tummy completely bomb-proof.

Fat/skinless Chicken and Turkey are popular for introducing Raw, as they are easiest on the tummy. It's also a good idea to feed digestive supplements until your dog has built up good bacteria.

 

[puppydog]

Are you talking about raw meat as with meat that has not been cooked/boiled? That kind of meat is bad for some dogs and some dogs will not be able to digest it properly even though any dog will eat it. We gave our boxer raw pork once, and he threw up all of it and did not eat after that for a day or 2 because his stomach was upset. I know that pork is generally not good for dogs and that beef might have been better, but I am not going to experiment anymore. I would not feed meat unless it is cooked.

Hell, my girl has a cast iron stomach but if I fed her raw pork right off the bat she would also puke. The only pork she can't eat now is cooked pork. It makes her loose her lunch immediately.

My boy is very dicky with raw so I stick to beef or chicken with him and mix in kibble. He seems to need the stability of the kibble and can't have enough variety in the meats to justify feeding him completly raw. I hate that, but he dictated it to me.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

Are you talking about raw meat as with meat that has not been cooked/boiled? That kind of meat is bad for some dogs and some dogs will not be able to digest it properly even though any dog will eat it. We gave our boxer raw pork once, and he threw up all of it and did not eat after that for a day or 2 because his stomach was upset. I know that pork is generally not good for dogs and that beef might have been better, but I am not going to experiment anymore. I would not feed meat unless it is cooked.

Tossing out raw pork to any dog who has not been acclimated to a raw diet is not a wise move. Dogs fed exclusively commercial food diets can be lacking in the essential gut flora necessary to effectively digest raw meats.

Having fed an exclusively raw diet to dogs aged 3 weeks to 12+ years of age for over 15 years, I speak from a certain first hand experience level when I talk about raw diets.

I have switched a number of dogs from commercial to raw. I prep the dog with good digestive enzymes before switching. I have never acquired a single dog that did not adjust quickly to a raw diet.