Raw Food?

I feed raw (Prey based) and if you want to ask any questions I'm more than willing to answer. Pros are what I've experienced and cons are what I've experienced and heard about.

Pros

  • better digestion – natural raw food passes through easier (I never have to pick up the yard because it disappears within a day or two)
  • healthier coats and skin (No dandruff, no oily skin, no ichy skin)
  • increased energy levels (Same as with people, better food= more energy)
  • improved disposition
  • fresher breath (This is great. No smell at all!)
  • cleaner teeth and gums – chewing bones helps a lot with this (I've had dogs come in with terrible looking teeth look amazing after a couple of months on raw)
  • weight control – no fatty grains
  • very low in carbohydrates – which often cause food allergies and digestive issues (Kratos' allergies cleared up after starting raw)
  • no chemicals, preservatives, sweeteners, fillers and additives (You know where the meat is coming from)
Cons

  • airway obstruction and choking (Some dogs tend to hork their meat. So if you think this might happen just cut it up into smaller pieces.)
  • bowel obstruction and intestinal perforations (This usually only happens when weight baring bones are given. That's a no no.)
  • inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract (Changing too quickly. Whether protien or from kibble)
  • severe diarrhea (Again changing too quickly.)
  • time-intensive (Trial and error with what is best for your dog. Find if you need supplements or not. What meat works, what doesn't. It isn't time-intensive putting it together)
  • more expensive (This one truely depends on where you live. I live in a rural town with hunters that are willing to part with some of their meat if I track for them and I'm also friends with the local butcher shop. Other people find that walmart is also good for meat and is cheap for them. It all depends.)
Again, if you have any questions just ask. :D
 
Cwofl, it is because of YOU that i finally became convinced, raw is THE way to go. I can't afford to totally feed only raw, but i do give raw now and then,
but i have two questions, Cwolf,
is raw beef okay?

is raw pork okay?


also, about 2/3 of the times that i give Buddy raw meat, he balks at it terribly. Just wants nothig to do with it, at all. I have even tried putting peanut butter on it once. It takes Buddy an hour to eat a half of a chicken breast, and this requires frequent encouragement from me,
to get him to even sniff at it.

is this normal? do you have any advice on how to get buddy to Like raw meat?
 
Tigerlily, I wouldn't feed raw pork as it can cause Aujeszky disease. Lethal to dogs. It is no problem to give it cooked.

Going completely raw(BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food)) is very hard, because you have to make sure your dog gets all the nutricion he needs.
Just giving raw beef is not enough. You would have to feed organs, give a varied diet of different kinds of meat, like chicken, beef, deer etc.(including the bones)
If you can, search for a whole raw dogfood. Over here that is frozen ground meat, wich has everything a dog needs.
Like this: http://www.primalpetfoods.com/product/list/c/7
But be carefull to check the ingredients, because they can contain grains to keep the costs low.

Personaly I wouldn't go completely raw(BARF), as it would involve giving carcasses(bones) and organs YUK:sick:
I do buy the whole raw dogfoods for my dogs, I try to have at least one meat day in a week. They looovvvee it:D
Or just give them chickenbreast, or ground beef or tripe(ever smelled that?:sick::sick:)
The rest of the week they get their kibble.
And I would like to do this everyday, but it is way too expensive for me.
I guess if I only had one dog, I would, but I just can't afford it with two dogs.

I have been told that feeding BARF is less expensive than kibble, but besides the fact that I could not stand the sight of my dogs eating a chickencarcass or a rabbits leg, there is the storage factor. I don't have the room to put up another freezer to store all this in.
 
There is specially made raw food that includes fruits and vegetables, not ust meat. They come in small coins. I would like to feed Shivon some of that maybe a couple times a week to add protein and variety to her diet. Any advice or suggestions on a prticular company???:)
 
tigerlily46514 said:
is raw beef okay?

is raw pork okay?

is this normal? do you have any advice on how to get buddy to Like raw meat?
Click to expand...

Yep, raw beef is fine. I wouldn't feed the weight baring bones but I feed beef ribs and they love 'em.

Pork can be feed but some people I know won't feed it unless it has been frozen for 14 days, others will just toss it to the dogs without thinking about it. Personally, I don't feed it because I don't get pork unless people go hog-dogging around here and it's just not in the house unless my room mate buys bacon for herself.

Moose was like this as well. Some dogs don't like the "slimey" texture of the raw meat. If this happens I usually sear it lightly and over the course of maybe two weeks I'll sear it a little less each time. Other dogs will need more encouragement. You have to sear it, put a couple of little cuts in the meat to make it easier to grab and even put cheese on top to make it smell even better. If this doesn't work though I give up. No sense in fighting I'll just feed kibble.

Anneke said:
Tigerlily, I wouldn't feed raw pork as it can cause Aujeszky disease. Lethal to dogs. It is no problem to give it cooked.

Going completely raw(BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food)) is very hard, because you have to make sure your dog gets all the nutricion he needs.
Click to expand...

Aujeszky's isn't found in domestic pigs in the US. Some feral pig though is southern states have been shown to have it though. I don't know about any where else however.

Raw and Barf are two different types of feeding. Raw doesn't give fruits or veggies usually and concentrates on 80% meat, 10 organ and 10 edible bones. It is also called prey model feeding. Barf is giving fruits and veggies that are blended together, it's usually has grinded up bone and only a little bit of organ.

I don't feed fruits or veggies unless in training or if the dogs steal it from the garden and nursery. That way they can decide if they want it or not and what they want.

Dogster- I've never feed them but I have feed the dehydrated stuff before. It's expensive sometimes. Mind you, I have 8 dogs and 3 cats that I have to feed. I'm sure it would be different for you and probably less expensive.
 
Charmedwolf: What you discribe as raw or Prey model feeding, that is what we, here in Holland, call BARF:confused: That's a little confusing:eek:

But nobody( I know of) here gives their dogs fruits or veggies on a dayly basis, because according to the experts dogs don't do anything with these. If they like it, fine, but they don't need it.
When a dog needs to loose weight, they are given green beans to make the dog feel full.
 
That's good to know! People just have to be confusing! I remember at a dog show I talking to another handler and immediately was asked," So do you feed Raw or Barf?" and I didn't know the difference. It was the talk of a life time. I hadn't even heard of the barf they were talking about. I think it might be limited to some places in the US.

Kratos actually will eat green beans off the plant, maybe he's trying to make sure he doesn't get fat? :ROFLMAO:
 
THANKS FOR GREAT REPLIES and info and help. Cwolf, i loved the 'searing' idea, and fading it out over time, very much, and glad to hear my weirdo dog is not THE only dog who balks at raw meat.:ROFLMAO: But the searing idea, might just work!! now why didn't i ever think of that!!??:rolleyes:

//"I wouldn't feed the weight baring bones"//

interesting, i did not know that! why is that, do you know?


btw------my dog also eats fruits and veggies, not all, but many of them. He won't eat citrus, at all, but other fruits--loves 'em, :) and loves most veggies, esp if warm.

He also likes to nibble grass now and then, but never vomits, and does not ever seem to have a tummy ache, he just eats bits of grass now and then. He much prefers the top tips of tall, full grown grasses, if he can find any. A vet office i drive by has a sign that says, "A bit of grass a day, keeps the vet away" but i dont' know if that is true.
 
Cwolf: Don't think I'll feed that dehydrated raw food, takes too long to unfreeze. Also, REALLY expensive.O_o

Tigerlily: I don't know about other dogs, but Shivon gets sick after eating citrus fruits (that time was a stupid mistake). I might need someone to verify this, but aren't citrus fruits BAD for dogs??? also, Shivon ALWAYS vomits after eating grass (perfectly copies my cat:rolleyes:) During the summertime, we constantly clean up after both of them when they return inside. (because vomiting ONE time in 5 minutes is out of the question):sick::sick:and:sick:.
 
ah, Buddy doesn't eat citrus fruit. at all. I've thrown him a few bits of orange or grapefruit, but he sniffs it and looks at me as if i've lost my mind.
other fruits and veggies which are not on "don't feed to dogs" lists,
buddy eats most of them. and seems to enjoy them.

buddy rarely if ever, ever gets any type of digestive upset ever.

which is probably why i was so dumb about what to do about dog diarrhea last week!!:ROFLMAO: cuz my dog never ever gets sick...and he does eat grass tips, and never vomits, and does eat fruits and veggies, and never ever get sick in any way.
my LAST dog did eat grass to puke, oh he did! But maybe buddy doesn't eat enough of it to puke? or something?
Cuz Buddy does eat a few grass tips a few times a week, and is never ever sick, and has marvelous appetite.
 
The vet told me that dogs and cats eat grass TO PUKE. Personally, I think it's disgusting. It's great Buddy doesn't puke after eating grass, maybe he's more tolerant to it???
 
I do not feed these fruits or veggies to Buddy:
no onions, mushrooms, no avacados, no grapes, no raisens, maybe some others that i can't think of right now. Obviously, no hot peppers, either.

no pits, no stems.

I've never given him olives either, only cuz i am unsure...but he looks very interested in MY olives.

and i dont' give him broccoli only cuz i worry it might give him gas.

Buddy loves carrotts, green beans, peas, apples, bananas, any warm green veggie at all.

If a veggie is WARM he will eat almost ANY fruit or veggie that is warm. He will eat a warm green pepper, but not a cold one. Same for celery, he will gnaw on celery, but doesnt' reeeeally "eat" celery, unless it is warmed up.

he only eats fish or eggs that are WARM, too.:rolleyes: not cold.

what a lil prince.:rolleyes:
 
LOL!!!! Buddy is SOO funny!!! I give Shivon the same veggies and fruits as you do, for a snack ...

but she doesn't like bananas,
or celery. or strawberries. Little PRINCESS.:rolleyes:
 
yes, Dogster, i always thought dogs ate grass either cuz of upset stomach,,
or to puke,
but not buddy. and apparently, there ARE other grass munchers like Buddy out there, who enjoy a nibble of grass now and then, but don't puke, like Shivon, or my last dog did.

*MY* dog sees grass as an hors d'oeuvre, i guess??? Buddy cna munch a grass when he is hungry, or when he is full, does not seem to be any pattern that i can notice...

tons of ideas on why dogs eat grass: (turns out, there are only 8000 theories out there on why)

http://www.petlibrary.co.uk/1/why-do-dogs-eat-grass/

.http://www.worldsvet.com/dogseatgrass.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/why-do-dogs-eat-grass.htm
 
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