that doesn't make since to me, sorry, but even different meats, bone, fat, ect all have different absorbency and digestion rates. I have never even seen this mentioned in anything I have read.. interesting though

Steve

No you inferred that dogs live longer on a raw food diet and I felt a need to clarify that people who choose kibble aren't necessarily consigning their pet to a premature death



And if you keep rolling your eyes like that, you'll give yourself a headache :razz:

Hehe I couldn't agree with it either.


I still have to say that the biggest factor in a healthy, shiny coat is fresh air and exercise. I can tell always which dogs belong to the elderly and the shut-ins

ya the clean ones :mrgreen:

There's nothing wrong with the smell of good honest dirt...and ditch slime. :lol:

The point to feeding, or not feeding raw with kibble is that it's suggested that if you feed kibble, then raw on top of it, the raw gets "backed up", allowing harmful bacteria to develop. Not so much about absorbtion rates.

Steve, my observations are when switching from the high qualiy kibble to raw, so for me there is that "next level". Before I started raw though, I had people stop me at the lake to ask what I feed my dogs, because they were so much shinier than their dog. Most people would then make some comment about my kibble choice being so expensive, etc....

I considered the BARF diet, but with young kids around and potential health risks and questionable benefits I decided to buy a quality commercial dog food.

http://www.workingdogs.com/vcbarf.htm

Seeing as we are all self-assumed "professionals" on the subject this thread will go around in circles unless by some coincidence a canine nutritionist pops by. ;)

Steve, you can find a tonne of information if you Google "fruit on empty stomach". Of course you will find all sorts of varying information on the internet (like any other topic these days). :rolleyes: I see I did say fruits and veggies...it's just fruits. I didn't mean to put veggies there. My thoughts are not with the forums these days...

For the record, when I fed raw I used a "Prey Model + brown rice" diet, not BARF (Bones And Raw Food- raw food being small amount of fruits and veggies, but still no grains or carbs). Some people will also do BARF + brown rice, or just Prey Model. I found my dog needed some carbs to burn off (I chose cooked brown rice) or she would become too lean on the raw diet (read: very skinny).

I'm looking for an online course, hopefully I can be a "pro" real soon :)

Hopefully the theme of my comments comes through, in that feeding raw is a personal choice, AFTER one has done lots of research and comes to their own conclusions. And since thoughts and opinions vary widely, one needs to accept that what they might believe today is certainly up for review tomorrow.
Everyone should do what they feel is best for their dog, and if their is any doubt, keep researching to fine tune your choice.

The differing opinions in this thread are great, it gives anyone interested lots of sides to look at.