Raw Dog Food: Dietary Concerns, Benefits and Risks - Page 1

Interesting article for those who are thinking about feeding raw............

Raw dog food diets are a controversial choice for feeding Fido. But the popularity of the diets, which emphasize raw meat, bones, fruits, and vegetables, is on the rise.

Racing greyhounds and sled dogs have long eaten raw food diets. Extending those feeding practices to the family pet is a more recent idea, proposed in 1993 by Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst. He called his feeding suggestions the BARF diet, an acronym that stands for Bones and Raw Food, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.

Billinghurst suggested that adult dogs would thrive on an evolutionary diet based on what canines ate before they became domesticated: Raw, meaty bones and vegetable scraps. Grain-based commercial pet foods, he contended, were harmful to a dog’s health.

Many mainstream veterinarians disagree, as does the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The risks of raw diets have been documented in several studies published in veterinary journals.

Potential benefits of the raw dog food diet that supporters tout include:

Shinier coats
Healthier skin
Cleaner teeth
Higher energy levels
Smaller stools
Potential risks include:

Threats to human and dog health from bacteria in raw meat

An unbalanced diet that may damage the health of dogs if given for an extended period
Potential for whole bones to choke an animal, break teeth or cause an internal puncture
No scientific proof of benefits

click to continue.......
http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/raw-dog-food-dietary-concerns-benefits-and-risks

What is Ununited Anconeal process, Osteochondritis Dissecans, and Eosinophilic Myositis????  I have asked several times on your frenzy of bizarre cut and paste medical conditions. I guess the 3 that have a real signifigance to GSD's is too much for your brain to process, God forbid you actually read and educate yourself about afflictions to the breed you own, huh! And you bred a litter of puppies? but won't educate yourself about relevant issues?????? Very sad and pathetic.

Your are completely intolerant of others' opinions, you are unopened do discussion. Tisk, tisk.....

I guess another science supporting PURINA.
So the wild dogs known as wolf or coyote are wrong and should eat Iams. Right?.
 I have seen dogs which ate the worse road kill dead animal rotting in the ditch on the sun for days and nothing; they were fine.
 But if you serve a dog raw food which was properly  processed and frozen, then there is a problem. 
 But not as big of a problem then food polluted by some Chinese crap which killed 30 000 or more dogs and cats.Or MSG , and stuff made by CHEVRON.
Prager Hans 

not really supporting Purina. the article says that both prepared foods and raw foods both have their drawbacks.

they did say that puppies should be fed cooked foods until they are a bit older.......

Well said Han's. If the food is handled properly it poses no threat to health. Would you handle raw meat you are cooking and not be sanitary? I think not. Sitasmom- perhaps you should enlighten yourself to what is REALLY in processed food, you would be shocked right into feeding raw! 

SitasMom

Posts: 2209
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 01:33 am
Your are completely intolerant of others' opinions, you are unopened do discussion. Tisk, tisk.....

 ***** No I am open to your discussions, obviously as I  am responding. But some of this ridiculous crap you are posting about is pathetic. I have asked YOU several times to answer questions regarding 3 issues prevelant in GSD's, and you have yet to answer, and I am intolerant??????? How about trying to educate yourself about disorders that actually have relevance to the breed you own??? I think you are completely incapable of any intelligent discussion that you can't copy and paste an answer to, god forbid you actually have to research.

Ununited Anconeal - Elbow Displacia - ouch!
OCD - a deal where cartilage on the ends of long bones tuns to bone, bad stuff happens after that (a dog in our club has this). Messed up gait, pain, lameness.
Eosinophilic Myositis - messed up muscles aorund jaw makes it painful or impossible to open mouth or chew

would you like me to be more specific?

I'm not a breeder.....I've never bred a dog.


.

now back to the topic.........

how many people out there feed raw to puppies under 12 weeks?

I'm not a breeder.....I've never bred a dog

  But you did buy a bitch in whelp.. Did the bitch you purchased deliver a litter, yes, then that means that you are selling said pups, which makes you the breeder. So YOU my dear are a breeder. Don't you have a website as well?? At the very least you should be educated enough about relevant disorders to GSD'S. My male was raised  from a young pup on raw food, did just fine on it. I am sure there are plenty of people out there who feed puppies raw. Most vets are not nutritional experts, and will openly admit that fact. The disagreement comes from the potential health risk from handling raw meat, but again, are you not sanitary when you handle food you cook for yourself? I am more concerned about the chemicals and synthetic preservatives in dry foods than I am raw. Or how about some of the ingredients in commercial food? euthanised animals, antibiotics, pesticides, diseased animals, and the list goes on.

if you think all it takes to be a breeder is to buy a knocked up bitch, catch and sell a litter of puppies and have a website - well, what can I say - I'm disappointed in you!

Even I know it takes so much more!