Feeding your dog raw food

[tortoise]

You should notice changes in skin and coat beginning in 2 weeks. Odor caused by dental problems or ear funk will take longer and might require vet attention.

I'd give teeth a month to clean up.

Also make sure little fatty isn't poop eating!

 

[Dace]

OK, I'll give it more time. I am pretty sure he is not eating poop, but will pay closer attention just in case

I think I would like to add some fish....any thing I should keep in mind about choosing and serving him fish?

Or would extra big beef bones help clean up his teeth and smelly breath faster? (actually it is his whole body tat stinks)

So far he has only had chicken, cooked pureed veg, kefir and eggs.

 

[tortoise]

OK, I'll give it more time. I am pretty sure he is not eating poop, but will pay closer attention just in case

I think I would like to add some fish....any thing I should keep in mind about choosing and serving him fish?

Or would extra big beef bones help clean up his teeth and smelly breath faster? (actually it is his whole body tat stinks)

So far he has only had chicken, cooked pureed veg, kefir and eggs.

No - beef bones won't make a big difference. It's the chewing of the small bones that is so effective at cleaning the teeth.

The only I know of about fish is that raw ocean fish may carry parasties that typical dewormer won't take care of.

When I had a raw fed dog, she would hang out where we were cleaning fish and would eat the carcasses. CHECK FOR HOOKS TWICE! Another fisherman might have left one inside the fish. She was acting all wierd about one carcass and I think she had been poked by the hook that was still in it. (We got the hook out of the fish, and everything was good.)

You can also get canned mackerel at the grocery store. It is FABULOUS for skin/coat. When I worked at a kennel that fed raw, the dogs got canned mackerel 1 - 2 days a week.

And don't forget salmon oil and vitamin E.

 

[tortoise]

Dogs love butchering days. When I had raw-fed dogs, they would hang out while I was processing rabbits and I tossed them the heads. Yummmm....

 

[Mackay]

I use to give my dog raw meat on occassion... but I certainly could not afford to feed him daily like that.

Now I have stopped giving him any raw meat becasue of the bad bacteria now found in meat from all the terrible farming practices.

Of course my biggest worry is e-coli and MRSA. I understand that this will not make my dog sick. They have very strong stomach acid to kill it all and when I look at what my dog drags home I worry less and he does well with it.

But there are reports now that dogs can colonize MRSA just as humans do... would I want a dog hanging around with colonized MRSA in his nose or on his skin...?

Even the farm workers on this huge cattle ranches are getting MRSA from the animals.

But is you raise your own meat raw is great for the pets.

 

[freemotion]

This is why I feed whole pieces the I can at least wash. No ground up, ready-made raw foods for me.

After all the pets that died from the melamine fiasco and the dangerous bacteria showing up in the produce section of the supermarkets, NOTHING is safe unless you grow it yourself. I still feel that feeding raw is my safest bet, even storebought raw.

I have friends who lost dogs and cats to the contaminated pet foods. I had no worries and had no bags of food to check.

 

[citylife]

I am with Freemotion....... I would rather feed raw from the supermarket then kibble from the supermarket. the raw is cheaper if shopped right. And dont get me wrong, when I started this.......... I thought you people saying, its cheaper are full of #@%p.
You need to shop and be creative. You need to chat with the people you know.
So many of us know someone who loves to fish........ well............. what do they do with the insides? Do they eat all their fish or do they catch and release like sucker fish that they could actually save for you at no cost to them except to bring it home where you can come pick it up.
Hunters rotate their freezer as hunting season comes along. then they have meat that has lost a lot of its flavor. So, they tend to throw it out. Our dogs are not going to miss a bit of loss of flavor. I also raise meat rabbits for us and them and have city chickens that supply the household with plenty of fresh eggs. I love that!
And so do the dogs.......

the lady w/4 dogs, 4 city chickens, 5 meat rabbits, their kits and a lizard
oh, and the STD poodle we are fostering.

 

[freemotion]

Probably costs me 60-70 cents a day, max, for two medium dogs. Probably less.

 

[Wifezilla]

My gf just told me her dog Zamboni died. He was a beautiful Sheltie and only 10. She fed expensive vet-approved kibble. He died of congestive heart failure!!! His mom died of kidney cancer 2 years earlier. I know damn well it was the food that killed these dogs.

 

[citylife]

My gf just told me her dog Zamboni died. He was a beautiful Sheltie and only 10. She fed expensive vet-approved kibble. He died of congestive heart failure!!! His mom died of kidney cancer 2 years earlier. I know damn well it was the food that killed these dogs.

I am so sorry for your friend.
I have had several dogs all on kibble. Now, all 4 are on raw and have been for around 3 years. I am really looking forward to seeing the differences as they age.
I can not imagine going back to kibble now that I have fed raw. Even if it is a bit more work.

the lady w/4 dogs, 4 city chickens, 5 meat rabbits, their kits and a lizard
oh, and the STD poodle I am fostering