Has anybody gone onto the raw food diet?
I’m trying my terrier on it now and she’s doing well but she was doing well on a good quality cooked feed. I don’t really know if she’s doing any better as such.
And despite all the reassurances I’m a bit concerned about salmonella and the like.
What do STW dog owners think?

A mate of mine feeds his dog raw chicken from the butchers. Apparently bones are not an issue when raw because they are soft.

Given that most of the dogs my family have owned seem to enjoy other dogs’ shit more than anything else when out for a walk I’m not sure it matters whether or not something you give them is cooked or not if it is actually food.

I think it’s a waste of money, but some people like to think they’re treating their pets better. It’s more for the owners than the dogs really isn’t it?

^^ this

I wouldn’t do it personally, but that is mainly because we have small children – a dog can cope with raw food but the risk of cross-contamination isn’t worth it.

We feed our mostly on the BARF diet, they seem to like it and do well. We also use some complete food (lilly’s). Having had dogs that became ill (cancers and diet related issues), we thought giving them as close to what they’d eat in the wild seemed a good idea. Like all dogs though they’ll eat anything including shit, especially lamb poop at the moment. Given that their food is supposed to be all about us (as mentioned above), I’d not eat repetitive poor quality crap everyday so why inflict it on them. If I could ask them I’m sure they’ed say “just feed me now you middle class twerp”!

We did it for a while, mainly because I was doing a fair bit of rough shooting at the time so had easy access to a variety of meats. We also had a local supply from a poultry farm for chickens and ducks which we kept portioned up in freezer in the garage with the ice cream!

It was a bit of a faff – cleaning and portioning everything. We never really worried about salmonella or anything like that, our little one (at the time) was told not to mess with the dogs food, and it was scoffed down in minutes anyway.

I’m not shooting much now, so we’ve gone back to dry food. I can’t see any difference in the dogs condition.

Dogs are naturally scavengers and their guts are disposed to deal with any old shit, literally!

Nothing wrong with a balanced raw food diet but equally nothing wrong with a good quality dog biscuit which is designed to provide the right balance.

There is also this big misconception that lots of protein is good for dogs which stemmed from the raw diet and is a load of cobblers. It has lead to dogs suffering from Kidney and liver problems and shortening their lives.

People treat their dogs as humans and try to feed them as such which leads to expensive diets and pet foods and snazzy marketing campaigns!

We give ours raw food a couple of times a week, more for variety than anything. They absolutely love it and polish the bowl afterwards.

Our Border has been on a raw diet from birth, it’s what the breeder feeds her dogs.

We use natures harvest frozen whole carcass minced mixed (chicken & beef) with frozen mixed veg. You should make sure it’s whole carcass, fat, bone the works as it contains all the nutrients they would have had in the wild.

It’s very easy for us, we weigh out the food one day at a time, let it defrost then keep in the fridge. No smell, little hassle. We usually put a bit of kibble on top as well.

My view is that dogs evolved eating a raw diet and compared to what he eats when we are out walking there is no chance of any bacterial issues from it. We make sure we wash his bowl after every meal though. Dogs stomach acid is stronger than ours and they are very resilient to bugs.

He loves it- but then it’s food and he’s a dog.

Watching this thread with interest – I’ve heard from raw diet owners that it results in fewer, smaller dog eggs.

and polish the bowl afterwards

Mine does that with the same dry food she has every single day. Pushes the bowl around the kitchen trying to get the last dregs out.

wouldn’t do it personally, but that is mainly because we have small children

Even if you don’t have small kids there are others that do. Dried food is much better wrt “dog eggs” and disease, lots of very nasty stuff in fresh/canned food diet “dog eggs” including that which can lead to blindness in children.

Mine does that with the same dry food she has every single day. Pushes the bowl around the kitchen trying to get the last dregs out.

Yup

“Watching this thread with interest – I’ve heard from raw diet owners that it results in fewer, smaller dog eggs.” This sort of but what I can say is that they much less smelly.

So definitely “for the owners” then 😆

Not sure it’s just for the owners.
We feed our Border raw as she used to leave her kibble and just graze periodically. Now she scoffs it all in 30 seconds and job’s done. Teeth are a little better too. Less poo and less smelly, depending on what she’s scavenged from the hedgerows…

We’ve had a staff with hideous bowel and skin issues since he was a pup. Regular trips to vet, super expensive food which had to be frozen or vac packed as he was allergic to dust and food storage mite.

Vet suggested raw diet and it sorted his problems out overnight. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

Smaller and far more consistent dog eggs at the other end as well.

I’ve been feeding my dogs raw for about 5 years. They’re a german shepherd / golden retriever cross. Evie was diagnosed with hip dysplasia when she was 2. The vet wanted to medicate and operate but I chose to try a raw higher protein diet to help strengthen the muscle and connecting tissue around her hips. Within 3 months she had a lot more mobility and within a year she was running around like her brother, jumping over fallen trees etc.

Their eggs are definitely smaller and don’t smell really bad, also they don’t drink anywhere near as much water as when fed kibble and tinned food.

My butcher where I used to live used to give me it for free as I was a good customer so that was handy. Unfortunately there’s no local butcher here so I buy online and get it delivered, still works out cheaper than the alternative processed stuff.

There’s loads of info available on the web so easy to research.

We tried raw for a while but it was a hassle sitting the frozen meat. A local butcher occasionally had chicken carcasses that he gives to me rather than paying to dispose of them.

We are currently feeding her Eden Multi Meatthough, she’d eat anything. Grain free for us as her eggs are horrendous on grain filled kibble. Most other dogs are too.

A similar dog on raw diet has very little output and is far easier to deal with.

jambalaya – Member
wouldn’t do it personally, but that is mainly because we have small children
Even if you don’t have small kids there are others that do. Dried food is much better wrt “dog eggs” and disease, lots of very nasty stuff in fresh/canned food diet “dog eggs” including that which can lead to blindness in children.

Are you referring to Toxocariasis? If so, it’s spread by roundworm. Most folks worm their meat eaters which should all but negate this as it’s rare in the first instance.
The theory I’d heard on dog eggs from raw was that there’s less of it as there’s no bulking agent.

Where do you folks get your raw meat from them? I’ve seen semi local place that delivers and you get an option of either carcass based meats or you can get it minced (probably more convenient).

I’d prob be tempted by the more convenient option as ours gets plenty of bones from the butcher and I’d be tempted to order in a few raw meaty bones as a dinner treat

He’s currently on royal canin maxi adult (a great dry food ime) and in very good condition so am not sure what the benefits would be but am willing to try it.

I’ve been using http://www.nurturingbynature.co.uk/ for about a year and they’ve been great.

We use our local butcher, we tried a delivery service from a company in Gatwick but it was a bit too rich for one of our dogs.

Thanks for all your views.
I gave her a raw chicken bone today and, while she loves food in general, I’ve never seen her demolish something like she did that!
As has been mentioned, output is much reduced, much less stinky and hard (which apparently puts pressure on the anal glands so they don’t get blocked).
Going to continue for the while at least, see how she gets on.
Thanks again for all your input.

It’s more for the owners than the dogs really isn’t it? —– kids would eat skittles or happy meals every single meal, is it just ‘for the parents’ that we feed them healthy well rounded diets or because we understand its better for them?!?

Having done a lot of research previously I understand you shouldn’t feed both raw and kibble at the same time because they digest at completely different rates so you then get dogs either digesting kibble too slowly or digesting raw too quickly etc. How true this is I’m not sure but I’ve read it a few times.

I tried raw with my boxer a good few years ago now and theres nothing quite like the smell of regurgitated fish at 2am in the morning all over a rented carpet… needless to say we decided we couldn’t risk the settling in process so we stopped.

Dont have the freezer room or kitchen room or stability right now to try it again with Ziva so just feed her the best kibble I can afford and she loves it.

raw is good but salmonella is really a concern as you have said.

premium dog food is on par with raw and it is convenient for you too. I bet you won’t be able to stick with raw feeding long if you have a tight schedule. and consistency of what you feed is important too. It just boils down on how you choose his food. you can check a bunch of reviews online to see this. I found a good site here

dogstuffexpert.com

unless you will be able to keep with raw feeding I wouldn’t suggest it. Or you could do both – I include raw meat and bones for him twice a week just for the purpose of cleaning his teeth.

Raw food from puppy age, usually ‘natural instinct’ which is very easy to store and has no smell at all unlike what we initially got from the butcher.

He is 5 months now and met up with his brother who is fed on dry kibble (bakers)…ours has a noticeably shinier coat and is a good bit larger but still lean. Very happy and would not consider going back to dry food knowing that the main ingredient (cereal) is something completely useless to dogs! At dog training the trainer always comments on how healthy he looks.

Dog eggs much less frequent, drier and less water intake which means slightly fewer puddles during toilet training 🙂

I have also read that you should not mix kibble and raw food due to the difference in digestion times.

It’s not hard work, messy or time consuming…just scoop it out and away you go.

Defrost the tubs in your fridge to reduce the bacterial growth and make sure you wash his bowl after each meal.

We followed a month plan to wean him from dry to raw which included starting on more basic raw ingredients ie. tripe and then adding more complex minces…works really well and prevents any upset tums. Shame tripe stinks quite so much mind

fed them on what ever keeps them healthy. dogs might be decended from natual scavengers but they arn’t any more as such*. If my marley (GSD) was to eat raw meat he’d leave a trail of diarrhea all over the house. He gets chappie, if he gets any of the other makes like pedigree, butchers etc he looses weight

*he still likes to steal food given the chance through the night.

Please bear in mind that dogs and cats may be more resistant to salmonella than humans but they are NOT immune. Also, please slap anyoe who tells you that ther are immune to it.

Both ours are fed on raw. It’s no hassle at all once you get into the defrosting routine (which is easy enough). Wouldn’t ever go back – most mainstream canned/dry food is full of utter rubbish that can contribute to no end of behavioural issues. Kids would eat nothing but Mars bars and Coke if given free rein but would it be good for them..?

I’ve evangelised enough before about raw – do some research about what really goes into dog food and make up your own mind.