Raw food

[princessre]

Casanova likes the Stella & Chewy's; unfortunatey he started having bouts of diarrhea soon afterward. I have no idea what caused it (could have been anything- he does lick everything in sight), but to me having been through these episodes, I do not think it's worth it to do raw. I also thought it was a pain to have to wash his face everytime he ate the food...I just don't want to have to think about bacteria everytime I goto kiss him on his little face!

[mymalt]

Percy is 2 1/2 yrs and has been eating ground raw since I got him at 12 weeks. He also eats some home cooked for variety. Some people don't like handling the raw, some find the concept difficult to handle, and some find it hard to get past the bacteria issue. Holistic vets believe the order of quality food for dogs is...#1- Raw, #2-Home cooked, #3-Canned, #4-Top quality dry, #5-Poor quality dry. My last yorkie lived healthy on a diet of quality dry dog food for 17yrs. Could we have gotten a few more years out of her had she been fed raw? Maybe, maybe not, but we think 17yrs was pretty good. Probably the majority of traditional vets are against raw feeding, but some are open to that form of feeding. All would agree that not every dog's system is agreeable to raw and some believe it should not be fed to old dogs with weaker immune systems. Introduction to raw feeding should be done slowly over a two week period. Being overzealous can lead to loose poops. Pros: dogs eat less food, digests faster, low poop odor, smaller/firmer poop, more muscular bodies
Cons: If you have a dog in coat, it can stain the beard. I use a homemade snood, but between the raw food and the raw chew bones around the house, Percy still has a little staining.

In the end, everyone needs to feed what they are comfortable with and what they can provide. Many start feeding raw because they believe, read, or hear it is best, but do not stick with it because they really are not 100% comfortable. Feed what YOU believe is best for your dog.

Diane