Why raw makes so much dang sense- and commercial diets are just weird.

[NicoleSmith]

I'm sorry for the wrong information. I got that from a friend of mine. Thank you for clearing up my mind. Now, I know what the real essence of raw feeding is.

[CorgiPaws]

I'm sorry for the wrong information. I got that from a friend of mine. Thank you for clearing up my mind. Now, I know what the real essence of raw feeding is.

No apology needed! We were all once subject to the lies pet food companies put out there. When you know better, you do better.

[sadysaneto]

I always remind owners to feed your dog with carbohydrates such as brown rice because protein needs carbohydrates to be breakdown. Raw feeding is not all about the meat.

it may be, i don't know.

fact is my bulldogs don't get any carbs than a fruit, 2-3 times a week, and they're both 4 months old and over 40 lb of muscle.

[FL Cracker]

I was doing some online reading earlier today, this link in particular...(The Dog Food Project - Grain Free Dog Foods) ...and "the question" hit me...(not related to the link)
If raw feeding is "so bad" for our dogs... then riddle me this....
Then why are dog food companies working so hard to create a grain free kibble...then use as a sales pitch "main ingredient is chicken, veal, venison, salmon, lamb, bison...whatever.. and mimic a raw diet as closely as possible???

I also find it ironic that after the main protein is labeled (Meat of some sort) that a list of vitamins, "essential nutrients"...ect...ect...ect. are listed in the ingredients. While I think that some of the ingredient's are beneficial to K9 growth/development....I can only assume that the reason their added is because they are cooked out during the process...binding...ect.

In regards to needing carbs... CoCo get's an occasional carrot (she likes them, and it gives her something to chew for a bit) ...not because I feel she needs carbs...and definitely not because protein needs a "binder" to be digested by a K9 with a digestive/stomach enzyme PH of 0-2., respectively.
As stated...that carrot comes out the same way it went in...chewed up, and un-digested. This was one of the "test's" I did before switching to a raw diet...and the more I read...theory "tested"...the more raw made sense. Could not have made a better decision to switch.

I read somewhere where wolves have been seen eating bark, leaves, fruit, ect...in the wild... my answer to that...
I've seen deer eat bark off of a tree too... (I know their herbivores)...still atypical behavior for them...and I have watched deer in the wild for 30 years.
One winter I watched a little doe eat bark like it was a fresh apple....doubt she made it through the winter.
In both scenario's...bark was not their choice of food...it's what was available at that time...and they were hungry (starving) enough to eat it.

[magicre]

fl cracker....if i were hungry enough, i think i'd eat bark too....

after all, survival is the name of the game...

am i wrong, but isn't that what deer eat in the winter? when they can't find grass?

i should think, if a wolf were hungry enough and saw a plate of pasta primavera...he'd eat it.

[bully4life]

How come the moderators here can bad mouth kibble, but when i ask for all this scientific proof to back up your so called facts my posts are taken down. Why?????? Because there isn't any!!!!

I have to agree with you .. I'm ALSO not into evolution and science, oh,, and i HATE common sense. lol.lol.
If you can show me ANY proof of kibble before the 18th century,,,ill pay off your house. good luck

[SunshineDay]

I dont want to bash raw because I havent tried it but as a RVT and having a bachelors in animal science I cant say I am conviced of its benefits. The first thing that comes to mind is salmonella, not to mention other nasties that hide in raw meat. It has been argued that the reason humans have evolved from cavemen to modern man is due in part of our ability to "cook" meat, as raw meat can be once again, filled with not so friendly parasites and bacteria. What passes for USDA grade meats in scary now a days, I did a stint as a technician on a USDA inspected farm in central california once and OMG, the way these animals are kept and the gigantic growths and infections on them was disgusting. But thats a whole separate thread in itself... from all my learning and research (acutal university (UCD) research, not just googling crap and declaring myself an expert) dogs are omnivores, they have been domesticated and are no longer carbon copies of wolves. If they were straight carnivores they wouldnt molars for mashing up leaves, plants. Cats are an excellent example of domesticated carnivores.. do a dental prophy on one sometime to see why. I am all for more meat in dogs diet, heck my dogs routinely catch and eat whole squirrels and they love it, but to say a dog should ONLY be on raw meat (which I know many of you arent) is just plain crazy.

[BearMurphy]

I am all for more meat in dogs diet, heck my dogs routinely catch and eat whole squirrels and they love it, but to say a dog should ONLY be on raw meat (which I know many of you arent) is just plain crazy.

Why is that crazy? What evidence do you have that nutrients are missing from a diet of meat, bone, and organs? I would be interested to know what your education and individual research has shown you about canine nutrition

[SunshineDay]

It was part of my senior project at UC Davis for my companion animal concentration. The thing with feeding just meat only is that it causes the kidneys to work in overtime, this can lead to stones and routinely passing large amount of ketones. Also, uncooked bones can cause splintering (think laceration of intestines) and obstruction - had to monitor a gastrotomy on a dog who was fed raw bones two weeks ago. Of course not every dog will develop this, but it does put dogs at higher risk. But to each his own.

[SaharaNight Boxers]

It was part of my senior project at UC Davis for my companion animal concentration. The thing with feeding just meat only is that it causes the kidneys to work in overtime, this can lead to stones and routinely passing large amount of ketones. Also, uncooked bones can cause splintering (think laceration of intestines) and obstruction - had to monitor a gastrotomy on a dog who was fed raw bones two weeks ago. Of course not every dog will develop this, but it does put dogs at higher risk. But to each his own.

Other way around. Kidneys work less with raw food. Think whole fresh foods instead of processed food. Less stress on the kidneys. And as far as that dog, he might have not been able to digest them because his stomach wasn't ready for rough bones. Which is why you start with chicken. In fact I believe if you would look up the amount of dogs that were switched to raw and helped by raw with their kidneys you might be amazed.