Exploring Raw Diets - Page 2

 k9 kravings is realy great

1.  What is the risk of contracting salmonella or e. coli from his stool? I'm not worried about contaminating my house...sanitation is not a problem...but I can't stop bacteria from hopping off his poop and onto my lawn. My son is four years old and I don't want to put him at risk.

2.  Which recipes/proportions have you had success with?  Does anyone include starches like rice or oatmeal, or do you go meat and veggie all the way?  

3.  Any recommended supplements? 

I have been feeding raw for a while, I also have 3 small children that play in the same yard the dogs use and we have never gotten ill from bacteria hopping of the poop and onto the lawn.  I, like Jen, am clean but not anal when I prepare the dogs food in the house and again... no bouts with nasty bugs for us either. My dogs eat about 1.5% - 2% of body weight daily.  I used to weigh it... now I eye ball it and adjust according to how the dogs look (to thick I cut back, thin I add more).  I feed about 85% meat and bone, about 10% organs and about 5% fruits/veggies (mostly as a filler and a way of keeping one of my dogs from getting to constipated).  I supplement with salmon oil. That's it.  WOrks great for us and the dogs LOVE it!

Thanks!!  This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I picked up a variety of raw grinds yesterday afternoon.  Last night I found a local butcher who has a good variety of whole and ground meat/organs/bones for dogs. He's a lot cheaper, too...

I'll continue to supplement with Sea Meal, olive oil, and an egg, and I'll pick up some vitamins for him. I do plan to add a little produce to his meal, maybe just in the evenings, because he loves it. He eats all the Asian pears, persimmons, and plums that fall on the ground, plus everything hanging below 5-6' on the trees. He helps himself to strawberries, zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, green beans, young pumpkins... I get practically nothing from my garden!  

I feel much better about the cross-contamination issue. I scoop regularly and my son doesn't play where Recon goes (although he might this spring when he starts soccer), but I was worried about someone tracking it on their paws/shoes. Honestly, it would never have occurred to me to worry about that, or even think of it, if I hadn't been working for the California Department of Health Services during the e. coli-contaminated spinach outbreak, which happened while I was feeding a raw diet to my puppy! Let's say it made an impression. ;)

 My dogs eat a variety of meats, all of which should average out over the course of a week to include 70% muscle meat, 15% bone, and 15% organ. The dogs beg for certain useless things such as broccoli, apples, bananas, plums...what the hell, it isn't going to hurt anything, but it's just treats. I don't feed anything ground. That's just depriving the dog of chewing fun, and for no particular reason. My dogs have been eating this way for about 6 years now and they are lean and heavily muscled.

About the vet's disapproval. A friend of mine graduated recently from UC Davis vet school. She said that the ONLY education they got on pet nutrition was taught in ONE DAY by the Purina folks. Then all the students were given dozens and dozens of free product. THAT is how you really brainwash a vet!

I've heard vets say some really lame stuff, such as "Where will your dog get carbs? Everything needs carbs!" Well, no, everything needs GLUCOSE, and dogs can manufacture that from fat and protein. There is no good reason to feed carbs to dogs.

ONE DAY on nutrition?!  At UCD??? I'd heard that vet schools don't spend a lot of time on nutrition, but I never would have thought it was that little. How awful. The subject deserves more attention than one day. And sponsored by a pet-food manufacturer...talk about bias. I am officially going to take their kibble arguments with a grain of salt.