Discussion
Yes, our springer spaniel is fed RAW, usually chicken or turkey and also lamb ribs, tripe etc.
We took her off kibble when her auto immune condition started as we wanted to avoid to much in the way of preservatives and manufactured food.
It's always an emotive subject so don't expect everyone to agree with you! We wouldn't feed ours any other way.
We took her off kibble when her auto immune condition started as we wanted to avoid to much in the way of preservatives and manufactured food.
It's always an emotive subject so don't expect everyone to agree with you! We wouldn't feed ours any other way.
Jasandjules said:
How odd, for thousands of years they've killed and eaten other animals...... A dog will also happily bury food and dig it up and eat it a few days later.
For thousands of years humans did the same.Dogs may have stronger stomachs than us, but they're still not immune to all bacteria and some of it can cause horrific illness. Not to mention the bacteria that they can pass on to you and other people in the house.
Really not worth it IMO. Dogs don't usually turn their noses up at cooked meat anyway.
rasputin said:
Jasandjules said:
How odd, for thousands of years they've killed and eaten other animals...... A dog will also happily bury food and dig it up and eat it a few days later.
For thousands of years humans did the same.Dogs may have stronger stomachs than us, but they're still not immune to all bacteria and some of it can cause horrific illness. Not to mention the bacteria that they can pass on to you and other people in the house.
Really not worth it IMO. Dogs don't usually turn their noses up at cooked meat anyway.
t. I don't think bacteria from raw meat will be a problem.rasputin said:
Dogs don't usually turn their noses up at cooked meat anyway.
Seems to me that raw meat has more nutrients!??The thing is, what "meat" do they use for kibble? I'll bet it's not quality cuts....
Saying that, we do feed the mutts offal at the moment along with vegetables and cereals. But their coats and teeth are looking a lot better.
Jasandjules said:
rasputin said:
Dogs don't usually turn their noses up at cooked meat anyway.
Seems to me that raw meat has more nutrients!??The thing is, what "meat" do they use for kibble? I'll bet it's not quality cuts....
Saying that, we do feed the mutts offal at the moment along with vegetables and cereals. But their coats and teeth are looking a lot better.
Eta dogs do get ill from salmonella just not as easily as we do!
Edited by bexVN on Monday 8th August 17:38
One of my brothers does this. Very healthy for the dog by all accounts. However, the downside is that the bateria found in the raw meat (fine for dogs) is not at all safe for humans. His family have between them had several bouts of gut-poisoning. For example, the last incident involved the dog, who had just eaten, running in and licking the face of one of them while they slept. Apparently the dog should be kept in some sort of mini-quarantine after eating.
It certainly does seem to be very good for the dogs, their coats are beautiful (and they won shows before they went on the raw diet), their teeth are good (but that's chicken carcasses, carrots and turkey necks!), their breath is better too.
Yes, handling the meat is a problem but we just wash and wash and wash our hands and the sides down a lot... It's not pleasant cutting up 5kg of cow/lamb lungs/hearts though.... But the dogs love it.
Yes, handling the meat is a problem but we just wash and wash and wash our hands and the sides down a lot... It's not pleasant cutting up 5kg of cow/lamb lungs/hearts though.... But the dogs love it.
I feed raw, but I cheat and buy ready made complete nuggets 
I cannot be arsed (and don't have the freezer space) to do it from scratch.
My stuff is all frozen, so am not bothered about bacteria. No additives so nothing that could contribute to allergies or behavioural issues. Both dogs are very healthy - good coats and teeth, etc. Also no fillers so much less waste! Amount of poop has considerably decreased since switching
I cannot be arsed (and don't have the freezer space) to do it from scratch.My stuff is all frozen, so am not bothered about bacteria. No additives so nothing that could contribute to allergies or behavioural issues. Both dogs are very healthy - good coats and teeth, etc. Also no fillers so much less waste! Amount of poop has considerably decreased since switching
Yep, we also have raw offcuts of meat from the butcher which comes in 1kg packets and frozen for ease and tripe in the same thing, little 1kg packets.
It's a real pain with rice, cereal, veggies, garlic etc.... but the bottom line is how much healthier the dogs seem and yes, they poo less too......
It's a real pain with rice, cereal, veggies, garlic etc.... but the bottom line is how much healthier the dogs seem and yes, they poo less too......
We have been feeding our dogs RAW for some time now and they are healthier for it including the grandmother who was having skin problems. Its is much healthier for your dogs and they will love you for it. The down side is that is can be more expensive, meat has to be frozen as it will go off and it needs a little more forward planning. You should feed your dogs 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% offal for a good balance. Raw chicken wings a re a great one and yes raw chicken bones are fine for them to eat, they are soft and will help clean their teeth.
In general it's a good idea to do whatever's possible/practical/affordable to give your critters the best quality food possible - for me this meant first doing some reading about what's a) 'natural' and b) biologically/physiologically needed and then c) looking at how I could best give my cats that.
I didn't/don't feel able to attempt the proper raw-food thing so instead I've found a cat food brand that seems reasonably close and (crucially) whose dry food contains almost no cereals - think about it, the most cereal a wild cat would eat would be however much fits in the stomachs of a day's worth of mice and voles, eg almost none.
Since swapping away from IAMS and the like I've seen less (and less vile-smelling) poo, dramatically better quality coats, no more bad breath, and some much-needed weight loss on my podgy fattycat Letty.
I didn't/don't feel able to attempt the proper raw-food thing so instead I've found a cat food brand that seems reasonably close and (crucially) whose dry food contains almost no cereals - think about it, the most cereal a wild cat would eat would be however much fits in the stomachs of a day's worth of mice and voles, eg almost none.
Since swapping away from IAMS and the like I've seen less (and less vile-smelling) poo, dramatically better quality coats, no more bad breath, and some much-needed weight loss on my podgy fattycat Letty.
I feed pretty much as much raw as i can, this will vary from Lamb, Tripe, Beef, Liver, chicken wings, and any veg i can trick them into eating!
BUT i do also give them a small amount of VERY high quality kibble once a day too, i feed them on ORIJEN, which if you check all of the dog food analysis sites, is one of the very few 6 star rated kibble. Made with 80% meat and NO cereal or fillers!
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
I was feeding them Royal Canin, which i thought was the best dog food you could get.... turns out... its not that much better than the likes of Bakers!
If you get a chance, look at the analysis site, it really does open your eyes!
BUT i do also give them a small amount of VERY high quality kibble once a day too, i feed them on ORIJEN, which if you check all of the dog food analysis sites, is one of the very few 6 star rated kibble. Made with 80% meat and NO cereal or fillers!
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
I was feeding them Royal Canin, which i thought was the best dog food you could get.... turns out... its not that much better than the likes of Bakers!
If you get a chance, look at the analysis site, it really does open your eyes!
Based just down the road from me.
Used to be called Darlings, good but more expensive is the reputation.
Our local butcher does bags of off cuts and chicken carcases which are ideal and cheaper.
At the moment our dogs are on working kibble and some RAW to boost the protein and help with teeth etc.
As said above its good for teeth and bottoms!
I disagree with the above comments on bacteria, our meet is frozen first and then thawed and we've never had a problem. Brother in law feeds raw to all of his working Spaniels and Terriers and they've not had a problem and most Hunt Kennels feed raw too and don't seem to have problems!
Used to be called Darlings, good but more expensive is the reputation.
Our local butcher does bags of off cuts and chicken carcases which are ideal and cheaper.
At the moment our dogs are on working kibble and some RAW to boost the protein and help with teeth etc.
As said above its good for teeth and bottoms!
I disagree with the above comments on bacteria, our meet is frozen first and then thawed and we've never had a problem. Brother in law feeds raw to all of his working Spaniels and Terriers and they've not had a problem and most Hunt Kennels feed raw too and don't seem to have problems!
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