# Having a hard time making up my mind on Raw diet



## Okin (Feb 27, 2013)

I am currently feeding my dog Fromm Large Breed Dog food and we have been very happy with it. I will add some pumpkin, frozen green beens or a raw egg to it from time to time. The stools are good and she seems very fit and has plenty of energy. I am always looking to do what is best for my dog so I have been doing a lot of reading about raw. 

I have had two vets and they have had very different opinions on raw feeding. My first vet, who moved out of state, was very against it. She said she had seen dogs get very sick because of it and their owners were just trying to do what was best for their dogs. Based on this I kind of put it in the back of my mind. 

So I got a new vet at the same practice and asked her about it. She told me she was not against it. She did warn that my previous vet had her father's dog on it and the dog got Salmonella and almost died. I'm assuming that is what my previous vet was basing her dislike of it on. From what I read that isn't very common for a healthy dog to get. My current vet suggested that if it is done to be very careful to balance the diet and to be extremely clean. Always clean the utensils and surfaces as well as the dog's bowl. I kind of feel that is what you would do anyway like I do when I prepare meat for my family. She seemed to prefer the prepared raw diets, probably because they are already supposed to be balanced and you don't have to deal with as much raw meat preparation. From the research I have done I don't think there is any way I can afford a prepared diet. I have not been able to find any raw feeding coops in my area. I'm not even sure what answers I am looking for here it is just hard to figure out what is best!


----------



## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

I would figure out roughly how much you would need to feed and do a price comparison to the kibble you feed. I think it will probably be more than kibble, but it shouldn't be totally out there.

I tried RAW out of necessity (my dog had a constant upset tummy on kibble) and I will never go back. 

If you can price it out, you might find it's not too bad.

I buy sometimes from Big Country Raw (I'm in Canada) and they have a deal sometimes where it's 56 lbs of food for $99. I feed my 70lb female less than 2 lbs a day, so that was about a months worth of prepared food.

If you shop around for deals on whole raw (learn how to balance it) then you will probably be even cheaper.

I don't know anyone who's gone back to kibble after feeding raw.


----------



## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Well, it certainly sounds like you are being very deliberate about pursuing feeding raw which certainly is a plus. I do believe even dry dog food can become contaminated with salmonella, this past August there was a big recall involving a few big name brands due to a salmonella scare.....so a dog might contract salmonella in many ways...raw or not.

It seems a dog which can be more at risk for contracting salmonella is one which might be on antibiotics for certain maladies....I guess the antibiotics in some cases kill the "good" bacteria as well, making the dog more susceptible.

Overall, I think salmonella in dogs is a fairly rare occurrence BUT...if it happened to my dog, I wouldn't think it was so "rare".

My current dog is the first to be fed raw for me. So far, so good and I'm glad I made the change.

I wish you the best in your decision process and since you seem to be very thorough, investigating the possible change in diet.....I am sure you will make the proper choice....whatever that may be.


SuperG


----------



## FrankieC (Aug 15, 2012)

> I am currently feeding my dog Fromm Large Breed Dog food and *we have been very happy with it.* I will add some pumpkin, frozen green beens or a raw egg to it from time to time. *The stools are good and she seems very fit and has plenty of energy*.


Or conversely, if the above is true, why not stay the course? Fromm is one of the higher rated kibbles so if you don't feel comfy with the switch, carry on.


----------



## Okin (Feb 27, 2013)

FrankieC said:


> Or conversely, if the above is true, why not stay the course? Fromm is one of the higher rated kibbles so if you don't feel comfy with the switch, carry on.


That is what half of my brain says the other half says you can do better!


----------



## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Sabo couldn't handle kibble. Poop was always soft-serve texture, coat was just Ok. Now his poop is great, even aftera digging session he's still shiny!!!!! I make sure to clorox the counter, cover with foil, separate my dogs meals, bag, take to freezer, soak equipment in hot soapy water, throw garbage out, clorox every surface I touched, empty dish washer, throw in food cutting tools and was on hot. 

Metro 10/2005-5/2013
Sabo 3/2013-now
Kia 1/2014- now


----------



## Flutter (Aug 2, 2013)

I worry about salmonella too. I work at a referral vet clinic and in the past two months (as long as I've been there) we've had 3 raw fed dogs in the ICU due to salmonella.


----------



## Seer (May 24, 2011)

There's no no harm in caution. But the hype surrounding raw appears to be perpetuated and maintained by those with allegiance to the fast food industry, IE kibble. Dogs use poop from kitty litter boxes like a snack tray, dogs love a maggoty three week old chicken carcass full of all kinds of nasty. Dogs sniff and lick each other, usually in the most opportune time . Yuck. Healthy dogs without other critical issues should have no issue with cat poop, kibble, or raw meat with salmonella. Theres a trade off with everything. 1500% plus increase in bloat since the introduction of kibble, its a contributor.

How can best not be, a diet that their body was made to digest, and use of nutritional foods/supplements we know to help improve health?


----------



## katdog5911 (Sep 24, 2011)

My girl was on Fromms and for the most part I was happy with it. Except she has always been very itchy, even on the grain free. I am giving raw a try to see if it helps. It's been a few weeks and she doesn't seem to be scratching as much. The real test will be when the snow leaves and things start blooming. 
And her poop is so much better with the raw. And less of it!

I don't really see a downside...other than cost at the moment.

I was very worried about salmonella etc. But after doing a lot of reading and asking questions, I came to the conclusion that nothing is 100% safe. Dogs get sick on kibble too. I wipe down everything after I prepare her meal and my hands have never been cleaner...lol. She eats in her crate. At the moment I am feeding pre made raw, so it goes in her bowl. I wipe down her crate every now and then....less now than when we first started. 

I had a dog that used to chow down on cat poop and he never got sick....


----------



## Kaimeju (Feb 2, 2013)

We just finished our first month on raw. It was a rocky start because we found out my dog is intolerant of chicken, but once we threw that out she did great. However I am among the masses that switched because I was seeing allergies and poor stool even with a good quality kibble. I don't think I would have switched if I hadn't been so frustrated with my dog's mediocre health and constant trips to the vet for antibiotics, ear drops, etc. 

As far as cost goes, it is cheaper for us than Wellness Simple or Blue Buffalo Basics and I think she gets much better nutrition from it. I find it fun to prepare and no messier than human food. But I am of the mindset that if it ain't broke, don't fix it! You are lucky to have a dog that does well on many types of food. And you can always try raw for a bit and see how you like it. 

A healthy dog's stomach Ph should be more than strong enough to kill salmonella. It's about 1 and salmonella usually dies at 3 or less. I won't say salmonellosis doesn't happen in healthy dogs, but I don't think it's comparable to human food safety where even one badly prepared chicken could knock you out. 




Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Okin said:


> I have had two vets and they have had very different opinions on raw feeding. My first vet, who moved out of state, was very against it. She said she had seen dogs get very sick because of it and their owners were just trying to do what was best for their dogs. ... So I got a new vet at the same practice and asked her about it. She told me she was not against it. She did warn that my previous vet had her father's dog on it and the dog got Salmonella and almost died.


I have been feeding a raw diet to my dogs for over 15 years. In that time I have fed over 2 TONS - that's 4 THOUSAND POUNDS - of raw meat and bone to my dogs and not once have I had any of the dogs get sick from it.

My Chinese Crested puppies are weaned directly to raw starting at 4 weeks of age.

I switched the Husky we adopted years ago to raw the day she came into our house. The vets estimated her age around 13 yrs. This was her before and after picture:










While we had her she came into heat (the rescue didn't know if she was spayed and didn't want to put her through potentially unnecessary surgery at her age) and developed Pyometra so she was not the healthiest dog but she never got sick from raw.


----------



## cwf (May 27, 2012)

*Premade Raw Food Brands*

Among the premade raw food brands (commercially available), what are the best, and why?

I'm homecooking, after switching from Acana, and may or may not be ready yet to try raw. :help: If I do raw, I will opt for premade raw...frozen. 
I'd still like to feed human grade food, with clean, unspoiled ingredients and non-denatured meats, however. Suggestions, please?

Thanks, all!


----------

