A conglomeration of post under Dog Products - thread dog food. Go look at that thread too I tried to condense it here.
The answer is do the research and decide for yourself what you are willing to do prep wise, buy and freeze, and research the nutrients you need to add to the diet to make sure it is complete. For a puppy you really need to make sure all your important ratios are right or there could be significant risk for several musculoskeletal problems and other growth and health issues due to lack of minerals and vitamins that won't be in a meat diet. It is critical to have the correct calcium %age of calories, correct calcium/phosphorous ratio, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Look at the dog food thread I listed at top too. I'll quote the guts here and if I missed something you'll find it. I included a good diversely opinioned reading list at the bottom here (not dog food funded) from total raw feeders, combo feeders (some kibble), and all home cooked diets.
The point I really want to drive home is you can't healthily just start feeding raw without doing some research. Just like vegans and meat eaters you'll find totally opposing opinions, dire warnings, and not every one is right for every dog. If your dog thrives and looks and is healthy you'll know. As you saw there are allergies to additives, food allergies, and other considerations that need to be made for dogs with compromised immune systems if you make your food. There are a few things most people agree upon and the rest is under huge amounts of research mostly funded by commercial dog food companies. So consider the source. The ultimate source is a canine nutritionist or holistic vet
http://www.ahvma.org/ A vet is not a nutritionist. I say this not to criticize vets but to point out that not every vet can be a specialist in everything just like you don't want a neurosurgeon doing your orthopedic surgery. Nor do you want a dog food company telling you the best feed for your dog.
I dislike most commercial kibble because I go to the web sites I'll give you and read the ash, animal digest (rendered unspecified undecomposed animal contents including poop see bad ingredients
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients). I also dislike emulsifiers, surfactants, preservatives because I don't eat any of this stuff myself. You can find kibbles without most or all of this. All the grain hulls, wheat gluten, corn gluten etc are waste products from processing or cheap sources of bulk that the dog does not digest so it's coming right back out in poop. Expensive dog food may not be that expensive after you evaluate what amount of calories is bioavailable to the dog. Raw feeders usually have dogs with very small mostly odorless poop. That tells me something. They're using most of it.
Frankly I would rather raw feed but for a puppy it's so important to get those %ages right that I actually added some very high quality grain free kibble to my puppy's diet, green tripe, genflora probiotics, and supplement with canine probalance. many of the kibbles contain poisonous preservatives and pesticides like BHA and BHT banned for humans because they are carcinogens and ethoxyquin which is a pesticide. With raw food are things to consider too like being sure to sanitize dogs eating surfaces and prep surfaces. Bacteria is in there if it's not cooked and most dogs systems handle it fine, your system will not. If you have a bearded dog that just woofed a whole bucket of raw meat then you might not want to kiss him for a while. The same bacteria are also on rawhide chews and the raw food you cook for yourself so you get the idea about clean up already.
Most vets HATE raw diets and will argue with you until you're ready to walk out. They have reasons so read up and decide. My decision was made when I read that 63% of all Goldens die of cancer and much of this is diet exacerbated. 6 million dogs every year are diagnosed with cancer.
http://cancer.landofpuregold.com/
There is also the potential for contamination from companies that get ingredients from other countries where there is little quality control. i.e. the melamine biggie that killed thousands of dogs and cats a couple of years ago.
FDA complete recall site
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html
More info on the food fraud
References: I tried to give a wide spectrum -- with help from friends' reading suggested list and much advice over a long period
Note that each meal need not be totally balanced with raw. The balance can be completed over 2-3 days or a few meals as long as the needed nutrients for that amount of time are met fairly quickly and over those few meals/days. The idea being that the body doesn't sense a deficit right away, you do need to meet the need before the body responds to a lack of any nutrient.
Raw specific
Kymthy Schultz Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats
Dr Tom Lonsdale DVM newest Work Wonders Feed your Dog Raw Meaty Bones (not sure I like his concept but I’m no expert)
Susan K Johnson Switching to Raw
Chris & Beth McDonald Raw Food, Make it easy for you and your Dog
Dr Billinghurst Eat Drink and Wag your Tail Improving your Dog's Life through Nutrition
Raw Friendly & home made
Dr Wysong the Truth about Dog Foods
Dr Marty Goldstein
Monica Segal books and Pamphlets
Steve Brown & Beth Taylor See Spot Live Longer
Dr Strombeck DVM
More emphasis on grains than others
Wendy Volhard & Kerry Brown DVM The Holistic Guide for a healthy Dog
More General INFO
Liz Palika The Consumer's Guide to Dog Food
Ann Martin Foods Pets Die For
Dr Nicolas Dodman Well Adjusted Dog
The kibbles I like and have seen recommended by raw feeders and combo feeders are Innova, EVO, Wellness, Orijen, Canidae, Flint Rock River, Ziwi Peak. some dogs do not tolerate ingredients esp animal protein types. most dog allergies are to single non-dairy proteins according to the internal meds dept at UC. I went through 6 mos of double dog diarrhea and food testing only to find it was the tap water at our new house. OY! Fewer ingredients and ones that sound like food you recognize are better. I try to stick with just one like beef or poultry or etc so that if there is an issue it's easier to eliminate potential single things. there is some argument that exposure for some dogs to huge varieties of protein sources may increase potential for later sensitivity so leave some untested in case you need an unexposed source later.
wholedogjournal does have back articles you can buy for $10 or $7.50 if you subscribe and it's well worth the low monthly cost. it lists and evaluates top/best 2008 grain free and top/best other kibble & 2008 commercial foods. they also list what companies now disclose their ingredient sources which many did not do before. all US (if u r in US I believe it's a US mag)ingredients are better and grass feed protein animals are best. (other countries do have very good regulation just not referred in the mag-china is a def one to avoid) you'll also need a fat source like wild salmon oil, cod oil, or flax oil for omega fatty acids. human food or food scraps is not a great idea for a main diet staple. adding yams, yogurt, eggs, cottage cheese, etc are all things you have to calculate in. some people use no veges some do. natural fiber sources are better than supplements like the yams. human supplements usually contain sugar and wheat/grain products which sort of defeats the idea of raw feeding.
I've tried to offer an opinion without being pushy and give alternative good choices to that. I understand many people don't have an extra freezer like I do and don't have time to cook for their dogs. Once you get the recipe down and the procedure down it's really second nature. I prep in bulk and just make frozen portions or baggies and it's not that time intensive. I also think if you buy smart you can raw feed for about the same price as good commercial food of the same quality as raw. This doesn't include old roy and all the crud foods.
Hope this helps and doesn't overwhelm. Just do your numbers or consult a canine nutritionist and/or a holistic vet and learn from them. As you can see there is a lot of opinion and literature. Some of it we just don't completely know yet so your philosophy is important. I don't eat processed foods so I've made a decision for myself-as for the dogs I tend to lean the same way. After puppy is grown or I find a good holistic vet I'll keep adding a little Canidae to her food.
If you have a raw co-op near you or can get a raw mentor it will make things a lot easier too b/c then you'll get all the time and money saving tips and menu ideas. Good luck and good health. :dogbiggrin:
