Raw Pet Food

[MitchM]

I'm another supporter of a raw food diet. We put our 10 week old puppy (black russian terrier) on it straight away when we got her and we have seen no ill effects from it. She is 6 months old now.
Feeding raw food is not as convenient as feeding dry kibble, but it seems like she drinks less water and has smaller poops than other dogs her size.
I'm really surprised at how strongly some vets can come down on a raw food diet. I don't buy their arguments/reasoning, especially after that melamine disaster a while ago.
It's raw meat, treat it as such. Maybe take a food safety handling course to educate yourself about it.

Mitch

[StirCrazy]

I don't do raw as it just won't work for us. but the next best thing is some of the very high quality kibble. I feed my doggie Orijen regional red, and we are switching the cat over to Orijen's can food. very high proteen and no crap.

I have two vets, they make me laugh as one is on line with me about shots, feeding ect.. the other pushes there med-i-cal and all stages, puppy, adolesent, ect.. I just stopped mentioning what I feed when I have him as we had a 1/2 hour argument and he wasn't impressed when I told him he is recomending one of the worst foods on the market

here is some info on the orijen

"ORIJEN 6 FISH CAT is formulated with a Biologically Appropriate ingredient ratio (70/30/0) of 70% meat, 30% fruit and vegetables (and 0% grain)—all slow-cooked at low temperatures to retain their natural goodness. "

and the ingreadiance

INGREDIENTS
Fresh deboned salmon, herring meal, salmon meal, russet potato, fresh deboned northern walleye, salmon oil, peas, potato starch, whitefish meal, sweet potato, fresh deboned Lake Whitefish, fresh deboned herring, natural fish flavors, fresh deboned lake trout, fresh deboned flounder, sun cured alfalfa, chicory root, dehydrated organic kelp, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, Saskatoon berries, black currants, psyllium, choline chloride, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, zinc proteinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, iron proteinate, vitamin B6, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, folic acid, vitamin C, biotin.

Steve

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

I don't do raw as it just won't work for us.
Steve

You want me to talk to her??

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

You want me to talk to her??

haha. like when has you talking to her ever worked LOL

chicken back would be more expensive than the orijen kibble for me.. not by much.. unless I want to order 100lbs and then take some out to thaw every night.

what do you do for veggies? every raw diet I have read has veggies also.

Steve

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I have been thinking of switching my 7 month old to raw because he has some allergies and my vet just keeps pushing Medi-cal. Forget it...its way over priced and I have heard its not great food. Of course he is pushing it though, he sells it!

We have a raw foods wholesaler who lives in my building and will sell to me at cost, so no real reason not to try it other than the defrosting. How long does this take and how is it done?

What about for cats? One of my cats seems to have some allergies as well but once again the vets only answer is to feed him medi-cal.

Thanks!

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

I have been thinking of switching my 7 month old to raw because he has some allergies and my vet just keeps pushing Medi-cal. Forget it...its way over priced and I have heard its not great food. Of course he is pushing it though, he sells it!

Thanks!

hehe, ya not great is an understatment. it is one of the worst foods out there from the ratings page. wanna have some fun.. tell that to your vet and watch him try explain his way out of it.

Steve

[MitchM]

I don't think that vets should be selling food products in their practices. It gives a tacit endorsement, and I think it's a conflict of interest.
For me anyways, it takes away some of their credibility for feeding advice.
We feed our dog the prepared "dinner" raw diets, which comes mixed with vegetables, bone, muscle, and organ meat. Every now and then we will put some extra raw pumpkin for extra fibre.

Mitch

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

hehe, ya not great is an understatment. it is one of the worst foods out there from the ratings page. wanna have some fun.. tell that to your vet and watch him try explain his way out of it.

Steve

I'd love to but after the last visit, I am never going back. It has become very apparent that his solution to everything is either Medi-Cal or the pheromones he sells to calm cats/dogs down for around $100 each. My problem is not whether these products are useful or not but that he doesn't really do much thinking about the problem, just reverts back to food every time. Or when my cat had a blood shoot eye, he blamed the stress of a new dog and wanted me to buy these pheromones for $100...turned out the cat had some hair in his eye and once I removed it, his eye cleared up

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

what do you do for veggies? every raw diet I have read has veggies also.

Steve

I don't feed anything but meat. Every (prepared) diet i read about mentions using veggies (presumeably as filler), however dogs don't produce enough enzyme (amalayse, I believe) to digest it. And anytime the dogs take it upon themselves to munch on some grass, it comes out the same way it went in.
The whole "wolves eat stomach contents" argument does not adequately prove anything, as many reasearchers have witnessed that the contents are shaken away and discarded, and any that is consumed is simply secondary to eating the stomach itself. Also, the volume of said contents is insignificant at best.
I feed a big variety of meat (chicken, beef, deer, fish) with organ meats and an occasional egg.
No veggies at all.
Lots of people on both sides of this fence, but dogs, as demonstrated by their dental structure, are carnivores.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I don't feed anything but meat. Every (prepared) diet i read about mentions using veggies (presumeably as filler), however dogs don't produce enough enzyme (amalayse, I believe) to digest it. And anytime the dogs take it upon themselves to munch on some grass, it comes out the same way it went in.
The whole "wolves eat stomach contents" argument does not adequately prove anything, as many reasearchers have witnessed that the contents are shaken away and discarded, and any that is consumed is simply secondary to eating the stomach itself. Also, the volume of said contents is insignificant at best.
I feed a big variety of meat (chicken, beef, deer, fish) with organ meats and an occasional egg.
No veggies at all.
Lots of people on both sides of this fence, but dogs, as demonstrated by their dental structure, are carnivores.

ahh but the link you sent me to read about this stuff mentioned grasses, fruit and veggies as an important part of there diet, just not in large amounts. I know both my monsters eat grass like there is no tomorrow and if there are any fruits on the ground from the trees they are gone.

Steve