Anyone try feeding your dog a raw food diet?

After doing a lot of research into what goes into commercial dog foods, I'm really leaning towards converting my dogs to a raw food diet. Canines do not eat rice or grain in the wild, yet that is the major ingredient in most commercial kibbles. Not to mention the allowed amounts of non-food substances like rodent feces, inedible parts like chicken beaks, and other disgusting allowable content. Just think of all the recalls in recent years, with dogs becoming seriously ill or even dying from contaminated commercial foods - is it any wonder?

I am hoping that someone with some experience in the raw food dog diet could share some tips on how to make it easier to keep up with and how to help the dogs adjust to it after years on commercial foods.

 

Do it slowly at first. You don't want to switch in a single day because it'll likely give your dog diarrhea. That's not because it's bad for them by any means, but simply because when you drastically change food, it can really mess with their tummies.

I don't go completely raw personally. I do make homemade food, though. I do still use some rice/grain, but not in the high proportions that you see in commercial foods. I use them as a bit of a filler. I also still cook some of the meat. That's for my own comfort level of not being able to guarantee exactly how fresh it is from the store. I give him raw when I know that it's fresh, but otherwise, I'll cook things like chickens usually.

 

We have changed Mishka's diet recently from canned and dry dog foods. We did it slowly as Jessi mentioned. Mishka is now fed one lamb neck rosette for breakfast and the evening meal is a portion of kangaroo mince which is naturally lean meat with some grated carrot or a tablespoon or two of mashed pumpkin. We intend keeping her on this diet for a while to see if her tummy problem stabilizes. I had heard in the past that canned food with chicken contains day old chicks that are rejected by the poultry industry. The whole chick is minced up.

 

Just because a dog wouldn't have access to something in the wild, doesn't mean it won't be good for the dog. Dogs can comfortably eat fruit and vegetables, but they wouldn't likely eat them out in said wild. They are opportunist carnivores, so if there's meat on offer, they will go for that.

There are certain foods you don't give dogs like chocolate, wheat and other cereals, raw salmon, anything containing lactose and gluten, and keep them well away from cat food.

I used to feed my dogs the raw diet, except that one of them has dietary requirements that mean I was better off feeding her a specialist dry food, with the odd raw meal in the week. When we were feeding them raw, we would give them chunks of liver, kidneys, other offal such as lungs and necks, hearts and carcasses. They need a bone element, so they would also get meaty bones, chicken and turkey wings, raw fish, and another source of calcium like raw eggs, SHELL included. They can eat the whole lot.

Dogs can eat any bone from an animal as LONG AS IT'S RAW. That includes chicken bones, they're only a hazard if they're cooked. When we fed them liver and kidney, we would also mix in pureed vegetables. It needs to be pureed, because their stomachs don't work like ours, and they don't have the enzymes to break down chunks of veg. However, the pureed veg gets absorbed, and so they get all the vitamins and minerals from it. The thing to remember with veg is, if it grows above ground, it will loosen stools. If it's a root vegetable, it hardens stools. You need to create a happy medium. It's not an exact science, but meal times will be quicker, MUCH more well received, and it's unlikely you'll see anything left in their bowl.

You can also feed them squashes and the like, but again, it needs to be pureed. There's lots of foods they wouldn't get in the wild, but not getting them, doesn't mean they won't/can't eat them. You will likely see some stomach upset, but it will settle down eventually.

 

I'm assuming that you are planning to make home made dog food.

Here in our country, rice is actually part of a street dog's (or a regular domestic dog's) diet because that's what their being fed for generations now. Most people in our country do not have the budget for dog food so they usually feed dogs table scraps and left overs. Due to the domestication of dogs, they would rather live in the busy streets than in the wild even though it's dangerous because they are good at scavenging. Like rice and corn, this is also true for beef and pork offal which some people think are too gross to be included in a dog's diet when in fact it is considered a delicacy in some countries. As for rodent feces, that's disgusting.

Okay, so back to the question. I am posting a link of a friend of mine who's been feeding her dog home made dog food and I hope this helps you in your quest to raw dog food diet. http://dachshundnola.blogspot.com/p/food-fit-for-princess.html

Good luck. You can also send her an email for more details on this topic.

 

I think it's hard to feed dog a raw food diet because you must be careful about the proportions. My Homer eats dry dog food and at least I know that it's balanced and that he gets all he needs. I'd be really scared to give him raw meat but he eats a lot of raw vegetables.

 

That's interesting about the raw bones. I never knew about that before. Any idea why raw bones are safe but cooked ones are not?

 

Cooked ones splinter. As in, when they bite into cooked ones, they can splinter and create sharp edges. They suddenly become very dangerous when you consider that it's like swallowing small knives or needles at that point. It can tear the throat or stomach lining and lead to more issues.

 

Yuck, I didn't know that commercial dog food contained all that gross stuff. I wouldn't want to feed my dogs canned food because of the high water content but I am not sure about a raw diet either. I heard that raw meat will make a dog mean.

 

I have a friend who feeds her huskies raw frozen chicken. Accordingly her dogs are healthier for it. She says its also good for their teeth. I was concerned since I had heard one should never feed dogs chicken bones. Thank you Evilsprinkles and Jessi for clarifying that fact about being able to feed bones to our pets as long as its raw. I'm not sure I am ready to go raw yet though.

 

I think that could be also trial and error. See if the dog will be better with raw diet or not. I have not tried it since I do not think raw feeding will fit our dogs here.

 

I hadn't even thought about it, but after reading your post I'm starting to feel inclined to try it. It would take a lot time and effort, because I'd need to do a lot rersearch, just like I'd do if I was the one starting the raw food diet! This kind of things need a lot research. Be careful.