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Raw sounds interesting to me. My only concern is germs. He loves to lick everything and everyone. I'm worried about him eating raw meat and spreading it around with his constant licking.
I wondered about that too.....on the raw diet my vet sells frozen...the label has all the same warnings about food handling and washing the bowl in hot sudsy water etc...and then I read that the company was doing a recall due to salmonella contamination ..... it really seemed risky to me.....and I didnt like handling it.
So I am sticking with the "Prairie" kibble with just a tease of canned food.....they like it....I like serving it to them. Happy Dogs and Happy me.
Raw sounds interesting to me. My only concern is germs. He loves to lick everything and everyone. I'm worried about him eating raw meat and spreading it around with his constant licking.
I wondered about that too.....on the raw diet my vet sells frozen...the label has all the same warnings about food handling and washing the bowl in hot sudsy water etc...and then I read that the company was doing a recall due to salmonella contamination ..... it really seemed risky to me.....and I didnt like handling it.
The company you're referring to is Nature's Variety, which is terrible. They have been bought by a corporation and while profits went up, quality went down. It's the same company your Prairie kibble comes from. There are more cases of kibble fed dogs testing positive for salmonella than there are of raw fed dogs.
There has been research done showing that dogs do not carry Salmonella in their saliva or on their skin, not even after eating 100% Salmonella infected raw food! But, when they do eat Salmonella infected food, about one third of them will show a moderate concentration of Salmonella in their feces - yet no clinical signs of being sick. In 2001 and 2002, a major commercial pet food company accused raw food as being responsible in the death of 29 people. They claimed the dogs were fed raw, then licked the humans and spread Salmonella, which we know is impossible. This means that the only way those 29 Salmonella deaths in 2001 and 2002 possibly could have been originating from infection through dogs would be that the people had eaten dog poop from an infected dog. Yum, right?
Most of this anti-raw jargon you'll find are sponsored by major pet food manufactures. Conflict of interest, no? In reality, salmonella is not a serious health concern. Whey then are all these articles being published against raw food companies? The answer is simple: money. The processed kibble companies are afraid they will lose customers if they switch to the biologically appropriate raw diet. They are preying on people's fear. Besides rabies, salmonella is the only other thing dogs and humans can both be afflicted with. I call what the kibble companies do smart marketing.
It is the kibble, not the raw meat, that causes bacterial problems. Kibble in the intestine not only irritates the lining of the bowels but also provides the perfect warm, wet environment with plenty of undigested sugars and starches as food for bacteria. This is why thousands of processed food-fed animals suffer from from a condition called Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, or SIBO . Raw meaty bones, however, create a very inhospitable environment for bacteria, as RMBs are easily digestible and have no carbohydrates, starches, or sugars to feed the bacteria.
I'm not saying raw fed is the only way to go. I strongly discourage anyone who isn't willing to do the research and work involved in providing a balanced prey model diet from feeding raw. If you think throwing the dog some chicken wings every night is feeding a balanced diet, then you are better off feeding a 'high quality' kibble. But everyone's version of 'high quality' is different. Some people feel it's okay to feed your dog food containing ethoxyquin (Taste of the Wild, anyone?) even though it's been proven to cause many different forms of cancer. I don't use premade raw, I make my own. To each his own. I feed my dogs what I consider to be the optimum diet for them.
And for those interested in learning how to properly feed raw, check out these two sites:
Just recently switched Charlie to Innova; it's a little more difficult to find, but totally worth it! Charlie likes it and his poop is more consistently (the key word here!) solid. Charlie is a german shepherd mix.
I went with the recommendation of my first vet for my Westie puppy. He suggested a couple different brands specifically for small breeds. I went with Purina Pro Plan Small Breed Formula for Puppies, then switched to Adult when he reached a year. I got a second Westie puppy, whose breeder sent her home with (I think) regular Purina Dog Chow....whatever it was, the kernels were enormous -- I have no idea how a tiny puppy was supposed to eat that. By this time, I had moved and had a different vet. I checked with her on the Pro Plan, and she agreed.
I never make my dogs special meals (I hardly cook for MYSELF...LOL!). They eat their dog food, and have the occasional dog treat, and sometimes some really special treats like a piece of chicken or cheese or some peanut butter if I need to hide a pill!
Avoderm lamb meal and brown rice. She has allergy/skin issues, and this is the one food I've been able to rely on over the years to feed to animals with skin problems.
Petsmart's house brand Authority -- Lamb 'n rice.
Treats are homemade dog cookies I make: basically use oatmeal cookie recipe only substitute peanut butter for shortening, use whole grain flour, add either banana, pumpkin or coconut, and omit any sugar.
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