Raw Pet Food

[Funky_Fish14]

Marie, Steve's post is in fact what I meant. I just directed it toward raw since thats what this thread is about.

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

I can't quite agree with that being from RAW diet, people who also switch to a high quality kibble, report the same things. I think it is from moving from crap to good stuff weather it be raw or kibble.

Steve

[Funky_Fish14]

Originally Posted by marie

And if you keep rolling your eyes like that, you'll give yourself a headache

Lol!

[my2rotties]

My beloved rottie Diva, was never vaccinated, never ate dog food, and drank filtered water all her life. I thought she was going to live a good long time since I made darned sure I did everything right... she was dead shortly after she turned seven due to Lymphoma

I did everything the pure and "right" way... it did not matter.

Originally Posted by marie

No you inferred that dogs live longer on a raw food diet and I felt a need to clarify that people who choose kibble aren't necessarily consigning their pet to a premature death



And if you keep rolling your eyes like that, you'll give yourself a headache

[Crytone]

I feel that food and other choices for a pet, are the owners choice. If someone makes a suggestion you have the final say on whether or not to listen. Just try not to shoot the messenger. Remember that if you you get defensive to someone, expect that they get defensive right back.

When it comes to my own choices, I may be a bit biased since my father and sister are both veterinarians (and my dad owns several vet clinics) but I feed my cat 'vet food'. This is my choice but the fact I get it from my family (who recommend it to me) for the great price of free doesn't hurt either. My father has no qualms about what the owners decide to do with their animals and merely makes suggestions. He is, quite simply, just there to make sure your pet is healthy.

I also saw earlier in the thread someone mention about vets selling food may be a conflict of interest. This may be the case some places but when I asked my father he simply stated he'll order anything a client wants, he keeps stocked what him and his other vets recommend (or what his regular customers buy) and that his markup on food is really low (again, this is likely different in other places). So if a client decides to buy food elsewhere it's not like he's losing money. His operations are in smaller centers though so he carries it too because sometimes he's the only place in town that doesn't sell your 'purinas' and other such foods.

So make your own choice. If your pet is happy that's all that matters. There's 2 sides to a coin and you'll easily find people who say both good and bad about EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING, it's just the people saying the negative things are usually louder.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

How many of you guys "make" your own raw food diets? I just learned that a good friend of mine has done this for years now. I knew she fed raw foods but I never realized she "made" them herself, portioned it and froze it each month.

She didn't have time to get into details but said basically she does 70% lean meat, 20% vegetables and 10% organ meat. She changes the meats up often but I didn't get a chance to ask her what kind of meats she uses.

Are most of you doing it this way or buying from a store?

[Diana]

I do both.... If I had more time I would make 100% of my raw food from scratch. But alas, we buy pre-made raw medallions (lamb, venison, or rabbit) with proper percentages of ingredients. I would say the dogs get this 60% of the time. 30% of the time is high grade EVO or Orijen kibble. 10% of the time we buy ground meat (organic beef or buffalo) and I add some veggies and amino acid/enzyme oil. Keep in mind we have tiny dogs (5,9, and 15 lbs). If they were bigger I would be more inclined to give them raw meaty bones, chicken backs, or other large food to chew, and probably make big bulk portions of raw.

Some people think I am snooty for only eating organic meat and trying to feed my dogs 100% wild or organic meat.... but thats a mentality that is dooming our food industry, the lives of millions of animals, our environment, and our own health. DON'T EAT IT YOURSELF OR FEED YOUR DOGS FACTORY RAISED FOOD ANIMALS! read read read before you consume any meat products and find out exactly where they come from. it is so unbelievably important.

I won't even touch the corn and soybean industries... that is a whole other can of beans.



-Diana

[Funky_Fish14]

We make the majority of our dog's raw diet (probably 90%) and use mostly wild meats or locally farmed stuff.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Ok thanks guys.

So since my puppy is only about 12 lbs and shouldn't get bigger than about 15 and I do have the time to make my own, I may go that route if we decide to feed RAW which my fiancee and I both like the idea of.

What are the best meats to feed? I know some are mentioned above. We only eat organic meats and would do the same for the dog.

Do I need to go as far as getting meats from a butcher or are there enough meats available at a regular grocery?

I know the basics of handling and I also know dogs and cats do not have problems with salmonella, e coli and other bacterias that humans do because of their shorter intestines but what about after a dog or cat has eaten raw foods and they either lick you or chew on toys that you will come in contact with? How much of a worry is stuff like this? I am by no means paranoid of this but curious.

I found an interesting link about feeding cats raw chicken, basically just warmed up in water for a bit and then chopped, bones and all. The cats in the video seemed to love it! Kind of cool to hear them crunching on the bones. I think our cats will stick to EVO but it was pretty cool to see.

Seems to me that the pet food industry has done a great job over the years to make people think you HAVE to feed their products and raw diets are unnecessary or risky when in fact I feel the opposite is probably true. They obviously have a lot to loose if people realize raw foods can be safe and healthier.

One thing I likened it to when I was trying to convince my fiancee that it was something we should try was how I feed my fish. When I started in the hobby, I feed nothing but store bought frozen and dry foods. My fish looked ok. Then I learned vitamins were a good addition and the fish looked a little better. But it wasn't until I started to make my own foods from a huge variety of fresh seafoods that the fish really looked great. Brighter, thicker, healthier, ect. Basically the RAW food diet of marine fish I would never feed large fish such as tangs anything again but chopped up fresh seafoods. I just don't have any large fish right now

[Aquattro]

I buy chicken backs by the 40# case, which is the bulk of their diet. I then supplement with beef heart, kidney, liver and egg. When salmon are cheap, I buy whole fish for them. They get everything whole, so bones and all. Oh, and they love sardines packed in water.
For snacks, I have a freezer of venison carcass and lamb neck. For me, I buy meat at the grocery store that is marked down, we get a couple bucks off when it's got 2 days or less on the expiry date.

Some things to be cautious about; salmon must be frozen for 24 hours before feeding for risk of worms (forget the type). Pork should be frozen (deep freeze) for 30 days to kill any potential parasites (forget this type too ).
My vet did express concerns over dogs licking kids after eating for bacterial contamination.

I wouldn't buy the premade stuff since I don't know what goes in it, and it's more than double what my cost is now. For average consumer, it might be about the same cost as store bought meat.

[my2rotties]

I switch things up quite often. I cook my dog's food though, which some people don't agree with. Mine eat our food, left overs, chicken necks and backs, liver, and whatever else I can throw into the mix. Right now, I have 200 pounds of ground turkey carcasses that my dogs refuse to eat... makes me mad but what can you do?

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

How many of you guys "make" your own raw food diets? I just learned that a good friend of mine has done this for years now. I knew she fed raw foods but I never realized she "made" them herself, portioned it and froze it each month.

She didn't have time to get into details but said basically she does 70% lean meat, 20% vegetables and 10% organ meat. She changes the meats up often but I didn't get a chance to ask her what kind of meats she uses.

Are most of you doing it this way or buying from a store?