Raw Food Diet pros and cons???

Question

I have been about changing my dogs dry food to a raw food diet. I have looked on line and there are both good and bad things about it. Can anyone here give their personal experience with this??? Also where they get the food, is it just from the grocery store or do you order it one line? If so what website do you order from? Also do you like it and is it worth to change the diet of the dog? I appreciate any help and thank you in advance, I will give the 10 point to the best and most detailed answer.

XOXOXO

Answer 1

I've been feeding my dog a raw homemade diet for about 8 months now, and I love the results.  My dog's coat  is super shiny now and has gone from feeling coarse to feeling sleek.  Her teeth are blindingly white, and she has less joint pain than before.

I mostly shop at the grocery store and try to stock up when there are sales, but I do not have a big freezer.  If I had a big freezer, I would order in bulk from a restaurant supply company.

I get more nauseated when smelling canned dog food than when cutting meats, so the raw diet works for me.  

There are a lot of things that are helpful to own besides a large freezer like:

Sharp knives

Knife sharpener

Poultry shears

Meat grinder (heavy duty)

Weight scale

Food processor or blender

Large stainless steel bowls

If you want to figure out approximately how much it is going to cost to feed your dog raw, you need to estimate how much your meat is going to cost per pound, know how much your dog should weigh, and multiply the cost by 2-3% of your dog's ideal body weight.  For example: I spend about $2.00/lb. on average for meat.  My dog weighs 75 lbs. and only eats 2% of her body weight daily.  75 lbs X 2% = 1.5 lbs.  My dog eats 1 1/2 lbs of meat with bones per day.  1.5 X $2.00 = $3.00/day to feed my dog the way I shop.

I highly recommend the book Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Schultz.  It's a great book and it's cheap too.  Only $9.00 where i bought it.

Add: The only con I can think of is the time it takes to prepare meals and process meat, but that's not really a con to me.  It's just a part of it.  The anticipation on my dog's face while I am working on her food makes it all worthwhile.

Answer 2

Pros- cleaner teeth (from chewing on bones)

- shinier coat

- smaller stools

- lower vet bills (they usually get sick less often than kibble-fed dogs)

- you know exactly what your dog is eating - no crappy meat by-products, corn or grains

Cons- can be hard to find a good source at first

- possibility of food poisoning- just handle the food correctly, and you won't have a problem.  Besides, think of all the pet food recalls, you get potential poisoning no matter what you feed.

- possibility of choking on bones (but again, you can have this same problem with kibbled foods)

I get most of my dog's food from the grocery store.  I am looking into butchers as well.  I have bought a couple pre-made raw foods to try out, but I don't like that she doesn't have the bones to actually chew on, to keep her teeth clean, and I still don't know for sure what's in them.  Plus the premade foods are expensive!

http://www.4loveofdog.com/benefits.htm

http://www.dogguide.net/raw-diet-basics....

http://rawfed.com/myths/

Answer 3

After many months of research I just started my two mastiffs on raw a little over a week ago.  They love it.  Their stool has been a little loose but besides that they are great.  I am feeding them chicken only for the next month to get their bodies used to it.  Then I will gradually introduce different protein sources.  I went to Sams Club and got whole chickens, cut them up and divided them in freezer bags.  I have read not to order pre made raw online because it has vegetables and other additives in it that aren't needed and it also expense.  it is so easy to just take some meat out of the fridge or freezer and give it to the dogs.  They get a great work out chewing and tearing and they seem more content.  There is a great yahoo group called raw feeding.  It is a great resource.

Answer 4

Pros

Clean teeth

Healthier dog overall

Nice coat

Happy dog

Can be cheap depending on source

Fun to prepare

No need to worry about contents of commercial dog food

Save vet bills (no teeth cleaning, less health problems

Cons

Can be messy

Takes time to prepare

Can take up a lot of storage space (we had 3 raw fed dogs, not enough freezer space for all of the food)

Good sources are hunters, you get the leftovers.  Still lots of meat on the bones and the bones (that the dogs eat).  You can take the head, feet and other unwanted bits.  Dogs love 'em.  

Don't order online or buy premade unless you have the $$$.  It's cheap to make, about the same that we were spending on high end kibble, but the premade is really expensive and no better than you can make.  

Find a raw friendly vet that can help you through the process if you are unsure.  Plus YAHOO has raw feeding grounps.  These people will help you out with anything.

Good luck!  It really is the best way to feed.

Answer 5

I have taken care of a raw fed dog and will be doing the same with my dog. most people will says its expensive or your dog will catch something and they are wrong'

Raw is aas expensive as you make it - if you are buying expensive meats you wouldn't get for yourself even then yeah you are going to be broke. Bruno's owner goes to the grocery store for the majority of what he eats except for the rabbis and tripe she buys online from Prey4pets

I knew bruno before and after and I can honestly say he's alot calmer and he's also a nice healthy size for a mastiff and had none of the growing problems seen in large breeds when they are fed the proper food or the protein intake isn't the right amount.

Personally I think someone who feeds raw veggies to their dog vs someone who does pre model and not ground meats or premades is more likely to end up with a dog with Salmonella or Ecoli because of the more recent reports of both of these being found in veggies more than meats.

People go on about Trichinosis in pork - that hasn't been seen in almost 20 years in the common pork products simply for the fact its caused by feeding GARBAGE to pigs as food plus other things. Your more likely to find it in wild game which is why you are highly encourage to deep freeze it for at least 20 days at 5 degrees.

Bones - raw bones are much softer than cooked bones and thus much safer. Anyone who says bones aren't healthy never paid attention in school - bones are made up of what? Calcium and other minerals which a dog needs. Its more than just the marrow they need the whole thing.

Dogs aren't wolves we've changed them - outside yes, digestively not so much. Dogs still have short intestinal tracts meant for digesting meat, not vegetation. Raw meat does not sit in a dogs stomach like kibble does where it does not even digest fully - fillers. In less time than it takes us to digest cooked meat raw has already made its way through.

I could go on but this is already a wall of text so i will point you towards this site http://rawfed.com/myths/index.html

Answer 6

Good for you for going back to your dogs natural instinct. We as people have domesticated dogs, but they are still carnivores. I switch between a raw diet and kibble for my dogs, mainly because I have 5 dogs, and to feed an all raw diet would be too expensive for me.  When choosing a raw diet, you want to make sure that there is a balance between meat, organs, and ground bone.  You can still feed raw meaty bones for treats to clean their teeth as well.  I personally feed Natures Variety brand food.  One thing to remember is if you decide to do a mix, feed kibble in the morning and raw at night, or vice versa.  if you mix the two your dog can get sick, as their digestion is not meant to handle the two being mixed together.

My experience with the raw diet has been nothing but positive.  Some dogs that have been on a low end kibble, such as Purina, Iams, Science Diet, Pedigree, Ol Roy, Bil Jac, Royal Canin, or Beneful (to name a few) have had severe digestion problems, only for the simple fact of not being used to a healthy diet.  That would be like us eating cereal for our whole lives than going out for mexican food!  The transition has to be gradual.  If you are feeding one of these foods, dont worry, switch to an upper end kibble with little to no grains, then try raw after about 3 months.  

Like I said before, I have 5 dogs: 3 chihuahuas, 1 pitbull mix, and 1 lab husky mix.  All of them except fo the male chihuahua LOVE the raw food.  If you are unsure of where to get it, try local feed stores, Pet Supplies Plus, or local dog boutiques.  Also, if you want to try it for free, go to google.com, type in "natures variety coupon"  then click on the link that says "try it."  there you can get a coupon for a free 3 lb bag of raw food and the location nearest to you that sells it.  that way, you can see if your dog will even like it without spending any money.

Also, you can check www.hungryhound.com, i know they ship a lot of their products, but im not sure if they ship the raw food.  i hope this helps you!

ADD:  IF you do decide to make your own raw food diet, be sure to add in the right ingredients in the right portions.  You have to add 1/2 of at least 95% lean meat, 1/8 organ meat, as straight organ meat will be too rich and give the dog the runs, and at least 1/4 veggies, not limited to but including green beans, carrots, broccoli, and 1/8 bone or ground bone.  when using raw chicken be sure to wash hands because of salmonella, but dont worry about your dog, they cant get salmonella poisoning because their food doesnt sit in their stomachs the same length of time us as humans.

check out the link below, this woman is awesome and a pioneer in the raw food diet.  any questions you may have about  a raw diet for your dog will be answered there

Answer 7

Well, I also looked into the raw diet when we got our dog a few months ago.  I really liked the logic behind a lot of the things that I read, but I also wonder why it's so controversial if it's this great idea.  Is it just ignorance, or is there really something bad about it?  I guess a good indicator is that everyone who has used it has great things to say about it and their experiences with it, and those who are against it have never tried it, they just assume it's not good because it doesn't make sense to them.  And, a lot of people who are raw food advocates talk about the structure and inner workings of a DOG's body, while most people who are against it talk about the fact that raw chicken is bad for HUMANS.  Kinda counter-intuitive, right?

Anyway, I compromised and feed my dog a grain-free high protein diet of Wellness Core.  She loves it, her coat is gorgeous, she's healthy.  She was on Science Diet before, so at least it's an improvement from that.  Even Wellness took her a little while to get used to, so maybe I'll still try to incorporate raw also...

Good luck.

Answer 8

We at one time put our dog on a raw diet and it was WONDERFUL!  

Pros:Makes coat shiney, helps them to look leaner, NO GAS, less p**p and when they do it disintegrates and def doesnt stink like kibble fed dogs do, no need to worry about re-called kibble, all around healthier for your dog, about the same cost as kibble if not less.

Cons: figuring what and how much to feed, finding bulk meat in the stores of diff items, having room in freezer

We stopped giving it to our dog simply because he does comp weight pull and there just wasnt enough fat for energy for him.  I would recommend before starting doing some extensive research on it so that you are sure your pooch gets the proper nutrients needed.  There are also dog foods that compare greatly to raw feed that I think do just as well.  EVO  http://www.evopet.com/        and Blue Buffalo   http://www.bluebuff.com/products/dogs/wi...  both of these have VERY FEW by products and have great ingred in them.   If we could we would with out a doubt still be feeding raw.

here is a great raw feeding website as well   http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/...

Good luck!