# Anybody feed their fluff raw food?



## waggybaby (Jul 28, 2009)

Does anybody feed their fluff raw food and if so which brands and how much?

My trainer and my pet store suggest it, my vet doesn't.
I have been home cooking for Sasha, but she has been having loose stools. 

I'm not sure who to listen to.

I'd appreciate any advise I can get.


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

It is possible she is sensitive to one of the ingredients in the home-cooked recipe. Do you cook the same thing, or rotate proteins?


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## waggybaby (Jul 28, 2009)

I had gotten the recipe from the nutritionist at Cornell.
I started with fish, and then rotated to turkey, buffalo, and beef slowly but she has had loose stools with all of it.


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

waggybaby said:


> I had gotten the recipe from the nutritionist at Cornell.
> I started with fish, and then rotated to turkey, buffalo, and beef slowly but she has had loose stools with all of it.


Hmm. I really don't know. Maybe it is something else, like the supplements or another ingredient? Nikki eats home cooked, and she has runny stools if she eats berries with seeds. So we avoid raspberries and strawberries. Her stools are looser if I feed her rice, which I do only rarely these days.

I don't feed raw, still thinking about it, but I think that Paw Naturaw makes a good raw food, either frozen or dehydrated. Sold on amazon.com


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## waggybaby (Jul 28, 2009)

My agility trainer wants me to try raw food from MORigins.
It is supposed to be a very small company and she swears by it. She feeds it to all of her dogs.


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

waggybaby said:


> My agility trainer wants me to try raw food from MORigins.
> It is supposed to be a very small company and she swears by it. She feeds it to all of her dogs.


I would ask the company specifically if their 100% range fed cattle means that the cows are grass-finished - did they ever eat anything their entire lives but grass and hay? The terminology has become tricky. So even if it sounds like the beef is grass-finished, I always ask anyway, just to be sure.


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## waggybaby (Jul 28, 2009)

I will ask Thanks Suzan


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## remy (Jul 9, 2009)

Hi Iris! I hear really good things about Paw Naturaw. The protein that they use are all organic and free-range. I'm thinking of ordering some for Remy soon.

PAW NATURAW distinct by instinct ®  |  Organic, Raw, Frozen Dog Food and Cat Food, Organic Raw Diets for Pets


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## waggybaby (Jul 28, 2009)

What are you feeding Remy now?


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## remy (Jul 9, 2009)

I feed him Acana Grasslands/Pacifica kibbles with Stella & Chewy's Dandy Lamb Dinner sprinkled on top. I will continue to feed him Acana but want to try Paw Naturaw with it instead


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## gopotsgo (May 21, 2009)

I have fed my sweeties Paw Naturaw for a year now and couldn't be happier. I use the frozen not the freeze dried. The freeze dried did make their stools loose but I have never had a problem with the raw frozen, and I switched them to it immediately, I didn't do it gradually. I also only use the buffalo or rabbit, I believe there is less chance of allergies to these more unusual meat choices.


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

remy said:


> I feed him Acana Grasslands/Pacifica kibbles with Stella & Chewy's Dandy Lamb Dinner sprinkled on top. I will continue to feed him Acana but want to try Paw Naturaw with it instead


I wish they sold Stella and Chewys here in Canada. I also feed Acana and rotate Cani-source dehydrated kibble. The holistic pet food store told me never to mix kibble with a raw pet food even if it is dehydrated. He said it is harder for them to digest the two at the same time. I just seperate it now. Dehydrated raw in the morning and kibble at night.
In my opinion I do not feed actual RAW meat. I'm not comforable with it cause of them eating raw, then licking household surfaces and my kids and then contamintaing them. Just my opinion , though.


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## Kitkat (Mar 24, 2010)

poochie2 said:


> I wish they sold Stella and Chewys here in Canada. I also feed Acana and rotate Cani-source dehydrated kibble. The holistic pet food store told me never to mix kibble with a raw pet food even if it is dehydrated. He said it is harder for them to digest the two at the same time. I just seperate it now. Dehydrated raw in the morning and kibble at night.
> In my opinion I do not feed actual RAW meat. I'm not comforable with it cause of them eating raw, then licking household surfaces and my kids and then contamintaing them. Just my opinion , though.


You make a good point about the contamination. Is that possible?? I'm no expert so I don't have any answers for this but I read this post with interest b/c I'm hearing so much about raw these days. And I picked up a couple of containers of Stella and Chewey's carnivore kisses and crunchies. I gave my Snowy the carnivore kisses yesterday. I believe it was the duck ones. He went crazy. I've never seen him so excited about a treat or food in general - except some home cooked chicken we gave him a couple times. By the time I got home last night my mom had told me he hadn't eaten much so I crushed one of them and sprinkled it on his wellness can food. He ate the whole thing. I don't know if he'll poo well today but he absolutely loved those treats, maybe b/c they're new? I don't know but he went crazy.


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## gopotsgo (May 21, 2009)

Kitkat said:


> You make a good point about the contamination. Is that possible?? I'm no expert so I don't have any answers for this but I read this post with interest b/c I'm hearing so much about raw these days. And I picked up a couple of containers of Stella and Chewey's carnivore kisses and crunchies. I gave my Snowy the carnivore kisses yesterday. I believe it was the duck ones. He went crazy. I've never seen him so excited about a treat or food in general - except some home cooked chicken we gave him a couple times. By the time I got home last night my mom had told me he hadn't eaten much so I crushed one of them and sprinkled it on his wellness can food. He ate the whole thing. I don't know if he'll poo well today but he absolutely loved those treats, maybe b/c they're new? I don't know but he went crazy.


I have a Master's degree in Microbiology as well as an M.D. Bacteria are on EVERYTHING. They are adapted to living in certain conditions. When a dog eats raw food the enzymes in their saliva will kill most of the bacteria. You need a certain AMOUNT of bacteria to get an illness and the risk of a human getting sick from a dog who eats a raw diet is almost non-existent. I am BY FAR more worried about catching something from the children I treat in the ER than my dogs.


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

gopotsgo said:


> I have a Master's degree in Microbiology as well as an M.D. Bacteria are on EVERYTHING. They are adapted to living in certain conditions. When a dog eats raw food the enzymes in their saliva will kill most of the bacteria. You need a certain AMOUNT of bacteria to get an illness and the risk of a human getting sick from a dog who eats a raw diet is almost non-existent. I am BY FAR more worried about catching something from the children I treat in the ER than my dogs.



Thank you. Finally an educated voice of reason regarding bacteria and raw food. :aktion033:


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## waggybaby (Jul 28, 2009)

So I guess the question still is:
Is the raw food diet good for our fluffs?


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

I believe that a raw food diet might be good for some dogs. It is very hard to give a blanket recommendation of ANY type of food. All dogs are individuals. Some may do well on a certain food, others may not. It's mostly trial and error. No one can tell anyone what is right for their particular dog. It depends on many factors. 

(I like home cooking and recommend it. But if you don't have the time and can't do it right, then don't do it. I think good quality raw food might be fine. If you can't do either, then a pre-mix like Dr. Harvey's, or a kibble like Acana might work well for you.)

Regarding ALL food, including raw, the biggest factor for me is QUALITY of food, and the source of the food. 

I am hesitant to feed Nikki raw food as her primary food, because she has a compromised liver. However, as soon as I can get my act together, I will try and feed her Paw Naturaw frozen raw bison about once a week and see how she does on it. Right now, she is eating Dr. Harvey's pre-mix with chicken, turkey, beef, or fish, with a little bit of Acana mixed in, because we are traveling a lot and it is easy.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

gopotsgo said:


> I have fed my sweeties Paw Naturaw for a year now and couldn't be happier. I use the frozen not the freeze dried. The freeze dried did make their stools loose but I have never had a problem with the raw frozen, and I switched them to it immediately, I didn't do it gradually. I also only use the buffalo or rabbit, I believe there is less chance of allergies to these more unusual meat choices.


Actually, for allergies the key is rotating through different protein sources so they are all "unusual". Buffalo and rabbit are just as likely to cause allergies as chicken or beef if they are fed regularly. It's the constant exposure to the same ingredient that causes the body to build up the antibodies that trigger an allergic reaction.


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

waggybaby said:


> So I guess the question still is:
> Is the raw food diet good for our fluffs?


It's all preference. Some do exceptionally well on an ALL raw diets some don't. I still prefer the dehydrated raw compared to kibble that is heated at a higher temperatures. Raw is still too risky for me cause even though the bacteria may be killed off by the dog's saliva like someone else stated: the dog can still touch the food with its paws or get it around the fur along its mouth and I just can't take any chance with my kids. I have two twin little girls who are constantly hugging and cuddling the dog. 
I still think homecooked, raw and dehydrated raw are very healthy for them.


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