[A.Sandy]

Are you feeding raw? Did you know that there is also a wrong way to feed raw? I’ve met people that feed raw hamburger meat and assume that it is a full balanced meal the answer is… wrong! The only 2 nutrients they are getting from raw hamburger are protein and fat. Your pets may seem well fed but dogs and cats require so much more than that. It may be cheap to feed that kind of meat but it will have it’s consequences such as essential nutrient deficiencies such as a zinc deficiency for example that causes retarded growth, coat discolorations and harshness or other things such as food intolerances or even hair loss. Our pets require a complete balanced meal that includes bones or bone meal, fruits and veggies, vitamins and minerals and of course protein and fat all in balanced proportion( this is where the science of nutrition comes into play) Another concern is hamburger meat is mostly meant to be cooked not fed raw because now a days they add hormones, steroids, and fillers, gmos, etc. so there are pet food companies that sell well balanced raw foods that are safe and ready to feed so you don’t have to worry that they are missing out on anything.

-Ana
Pet nutrition expert/advisor
pupcatnutrition.com
@pupcatfacts

[dogspotindia]

Thanks for this information, it’s truly worth for me.

[theBCnut]

It’s also c**p. Not that anyone here would feed just hamburger, or let anyone who posted here think that just feeding hamburger was OK. But there are 3 macronutrients, protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Dogs don’t need carbohydrates, so pointing out that hamburger doesn’t have them is not helpful. There are many micronutients)protein and fat are not counted among them) and hamburger has micronutrients in it(just not all the ones that are necessary) like fat soluable vitamins, sodium, minerals, omega 6s, etc. And they don’t add steroids and antibiotics to the hamburger, they feed it to the cows, so every bit of meat and bone that comes off of those cows has it, not just the hamburger. And no they don’t add fillers and GMOs to hamburger, but they do use pink slime, which is technically still hamburger.

[A.Sandy]

Ms. patty,
Of course hamburger meat has protein fat, omegas sodium etc but what I was trying to imply is that I have met a lot of customers that feed this kind of meat and ASSUME it’s enough to support a dog’s caloric and nutrient needs. And also, carbs are not a necessity in a dog’s food but it has a lot of benefits(energy, skin and coat, vitamins, omegas etc.) But quality of ingredients are key. This is my field of study and have worked with Reps of some of the highest quality pet foods, and everybody is free to give their opinion of things to learn from each other, so stop bashing me like that because I have no quarrel with you or anybody on this site, so please.

Thanks
Ana

[theBCnut]

Sorry, I have no quarrel with you either, but we all like accurate info. To educate people, you need to be accurate, especially if you are an expert.

[A.Sandy]

Sorry, my fault for not explaining all the details, there is soooo many components to nutrition but I understand, I may be an expert but I am not perfect! LOL So lets learn from each other and keep helping others.

-Ana

[villa_heather]

You should not buy meat for your animals at grocery stores because the meat at the grocery store is meant for humans. It is meant to be cooked so it will have higher bacteria and parasite amounts in it . Make sure you get meat that is targeted for pets. Cats need just meat without any vegetables but dogs need meat and vegetables. For both dogs and cats the meat should also contain organs and bones. It is easier to feed it if you get it all ground up together.

[InkedMarie]

villa heather: I’m sorry but I can only laugh at your post. I’m trying hard to post nice so I’ll let Patty Vaughn post why I’m probably thinking.

[theBCnut]

Gee, thanks Marie. What are you trying to say. I’m trying to post nice too.

Hi Heather, that is completely false on every level. Grocery store meat has the highest cleanliness standards, except for maybe, and only maybe, restaurants. Dog and cats can handle bacteria so in dog food manufacturing places, if something gets dropped on the floor, they just throw it back in with the good stuff, for people it must be thrown out. And that’s not even mentioning that they use all the parts that people find inedible. Many dogs do better with fruits and veggies but they don’t have to have them. And dogs are completely capable of crushing up their own bones to eat them.

Did I miss anything, Marie?

[ECSGuy]

We switched our two ECS boys over to raw back in May/June of 2013. Since most all of the Kibble the we had tried was recalled for one thing or another, and we noted changes in the frozen variety of BilJac we had fed for years.

We are now feeding raw and rotating Duck with bone, Venison with bone, Beef, Beef with bone. I also supplement with SoJo dehydrated Vegitables 1 or 2 tablespoons/meal, fish oil for Omega 3-6 and coconut oil for their skin and coat (mornings coconut oil and evenings fish oil).

If you are going to continue to feed a raw or homemade diet, I’d suggest a book by Lew Olsen PhD titled Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs; available on Amazon. Lot’s of good information on why to feed dogs raw, why they are able to eat raw and how to supplement (you can over do the supplements if your not careful).

In my opinion, in today’s market, the worst thing to feed your dog or cat is a commercial dog food, kibble, etc. While I’m sure they try, the bottom line is keeping production cost down. I’ve been told that many buy meat meals in bulk, and really don’t know where or how the meats were sourced and or processed. Dealers are buying the meat meals and redistributing them to manufactures.

Hope something here helps, Good luck!

[InkedMarie]

You did good, Patty. Posting nice is my new years resolution, starting a bit early!

[InkedMarie]

ECS guy, any pictures of your english cockers?

[RescueDaneMom]

Hey Patty and Marie-

Regarding the cleanliness and bacteria levels in meat, you wouldn’t count MPC or Hare Today in with those other pet food manufacturers that toss stuff back in right?

[theBCnut]

The Honest Kitchen and Weruva are the only 2 dog food manufacturers that I know of that are made in human food kitchens and are required to throw out anything that touches a surface that is not a food handling surface. Both MPC and Hare Today make grinds that include tripe and/or whole animals, neither of which would be considered to be clean by any human standard. Dogs eat things off the floor all the time and mine even lie down and lick the floor, so I certainly am satisfied that my dogs can handle it. I do not expect their meat to be germ free. As for whether or not they ever drop anything or throw anything that was dropped back in, I can’t say, but it is possible. It doesn’t worry me in the least.

[Harpers Mom]

I have never known anyone who feeds raw. What are the benefits? What all does it entail? Looking for more information and options on it!

-Haper’s Mom

[theBCnut]

It would take a whole book to explain the benefits of feeding raw, but I’ll try to hit on a few highlights and let someone else add some more.

Dogs were not designed to eat dried food pellets, they were made to eat a diet that is 75-80% water. Raw and canned food fit that need.
Dogs in the wild get some of their digestive enzymes from the food they eat, but heat destroys these enzymes. Many dogs have trouble producing the enzymes they need to deal with their food. Raw foods have these enzymes.
Dogs were not designed to eat high carbohydrate foods, but kibble is a bakery product and has to have a certain level of starch to act as a binder to hold the kibble together. Many dogs have problems just because their bodies can’t deal with the level of carbs in the diet.
Raw provides the nutrients dogs need in a natural form that dogs are designed to use.
Raw provides plenty of protein for tissue growth, regeneration, and repair.
Raw provides the body with what it needs to make its own antioxidants.
With raw, you can be in complete control of the ingredients and the quality of the ingredients.
Raw fed dogs produce small hard stools that are easy to clean up and have little to no smell.
Raw fed dogs have loads of energy and vibrant health.
All the raw fed dogs I know are lean and muscular.
Chewing on raw bones cleans teeth naturally. Raw contributes much, much less to plaque and tartar build up on the teeth.

Someone else’s turn now.

[InkedMarie]

Patty answered for me, as usual and you were so nice about it, too LOL!!

[CSollers]

Patty has done a good job in her description. Our Pugs thrive on a raw diet, and they love it!

[kelster]

I have a 3 month old Giant Schnauzer, do puppies get total nutrition from feeding just raw?

[theBCnut]

You have to balance a raw diet. And giant breed dogs have special calcium requirements so their diet needs to be balanced extra carefully. But yes, they can get total nutrition from a good raw diet.

[Becca]

I’ve been feeding my dogs raw for over 2 years. to make a long story short there has got to be something missing, one of my dogs is sooo allergic to flea bites. I have tired every natural or homemade product out there for prevention nothing works. I wont use the spot on poisons. there must be something to boost his immune system with food. here is what I feed them.
chicken back
ground duck bone in
ground turkey bone in
ground beef
green tripe
beef trachea
organ meat
liver
little amount of veggies
I have done so much research on digestive enzymes, probiotics then hear bad things about it. started giving salmon oil then find out its no good unless given vitamin e with it. now I’m thinking of trying Braggs organic unfiltered acv with the mother. I think my cat brings in the bulk of the fleas and he’s allergic too.

[Barbara]

Is raw that much better than gently cooked? I have a 13+ yr old Border Collie mix, a 11+ Husky/sheppard mix and 5 yr old lab. They eat 5 star grain free kibble and Kirkland’s cuts in gravy. They also get “gently cooked” poultry and meat as a topper a lot of the time and also unseasoned fresh “cooked” veggies. I guess I don’t feel comfortable feeding them raw and have always fed cooked…I am sure they would love it but the 2 big ones are gulpers as well…sometimes sensitive stomachs when I change kibble. I’ve had only adopted dogs for about 60 years and they all seem to live long lives without health issues, although in the past I lost a couple of them to cancer but they were also 15+ and large dogs… just wondering… PS I could not find a topic regarding raw vs cooked so I asked this question here….Thanks for your help!

[Barbara]

I cannot edit or delete my earlier comment (which is completely frustrating to me!) and now have read many of the posts from people much more knowledgeable about feeding raw to dogs than I am. I now understand why they feed their dogs raw and it really is better…but I guess I would rather spend my extra time with my dogs exploring the outdoors than all the trouble involved in making raw from scratch when I cannot afford the high prices of commercial raw and “freeze dried” options… but I do completely respect the time you take to make the effort of feeding your dogs raw.

PS I realize now that there must be a “time limit” on editing your comment even though there has not been any responses… It seems that you should be able to edit longer like in the non-member area…

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Barbara.

[Becca]

I believe raw is much better. there is a company called topqualitydogfood. they are excellent, they may have a delivery in your area. I struggled with this same issue. I fed bravo at first and it was so expensive as well as making my dogs sick. it is over processed. cooking the food for dogs cooks out some nutrients. my dog have a little bit of kibble one day and threw it up it was 10 times the size it was before he ate it, I did a lot of research and found out this is where bloat comes from. at this point feeding my dogs raw turns out cheaper than kibbles and cans. commercial raw is too expensive, I feed my dogs raw no bones in the morning at raw with bones at night, bone ratio is great that way.

[Barbara]

Thank you Becca for the information. I hope you have found a way to solve your dogs flea bite allergy from earlier this year.

[DogFoodie]

Becca,

Have you ever tried Springtime Natural’s Big Of Garlic to repel fleas, ticks, etc.?

[Becca]

no I have not tried that one. I crush fresh garlic and I ordered nutritional yeast, to see if that will work just found out brewers yeast can cause bloat. I will look into the info you sent thank you.

[DogFoodie]

Here’s link to their website: http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/bug-off-garlic-dogs/All-Natural-Dog-Supplements There’s a lot of really useful information on their website.

There are quite a few regular posters here who’ve used BOG with great success for years. You might find this thread useful: /forums/topic/springtime-supplements/

[Author]

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