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Old August 27th, 2003, 09:24 AM
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Question How do you feel about Raw food?

A few months ago I began feeding my Golden a diet of raw chicken, fruits & veggies. She's done very very well on it and I am very pleased with the results. I was curious as to how many other people feed raw, and those who don't, what they think about a raw diet.
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Old August 27th, 2003, 06:59 PM
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Well, I've fed this way for almost three years, and am very happy with it (and so are my dogs!) I can't imagine feeding kibble ever again.

Check my website for more info.
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Old August 28th, 2003, 02:39 AM
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I have fed all the dogs I have ever owned a mixture of raw and dry food, and NEVER had problems. Hint- an extra treat is to put the grase from burgers, etc. over dry food or 'vita/ milk bone', works great as a "cookie".
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Old August 31st, 2003, 10:02 PM
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My friend fed her cat raw chicken and mashed up peas and corn for years because the cat had broken its jaw as a kitten and eating was quite painful. The cat had the most beautiful coat I had ever seen and it lived to be 19!! Something to be said for "RAW"!!
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Old September 8th, 2003, 05:10 PM
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I dont have MAJOR issue with raw food its just that your dog or cat does need crunchy food to get plaque and tartar off their teeth without it your animal might get tooth problems, and its also VERY expensive to get their teeth fixed so becareful!!
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Old September 8th, 2003, 06:32 PM
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Hi syrina....raw food (including crunchy bones!) is excellent for cleaning teeth. Most people who feed raw never have to get their dogs' teeth cleaned, and one of the first visible benefits of not feeding kibble is the breath gets better & teeth get cleaner.

Eating kibble to clean teeth is sort of like us eating cookies to clean OUR teeth... Kibble does a very poor job of keeping canine teeth plaque free.
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Old September 20th, 2003, 05:42 PM
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Raw food has been known to cause a delay in development, the pet tends to grow slower. I friend of mine with 2 goldens is feeding them raw and her breeder said that she can't show them till they are 2 becaust they grow slower.

Personally I feed dry - it works fine in cleaning teeth - as good as bones and it's not wet (which can add to tarter build up). They reason I don't feed raw is that you NEED to add vitamins and stuff unless you are feeding the WHOLE animal (liver, heart, brain ect...) which can get expencive. If you are just feeding raw steaks then he / she is not getting the nutrients that they need (wolves would eat the WHOLE carsass).
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Old October 6th, 2003, 01:20 AM
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Raw food

I know we have stores in our area that sell raw food formulated for dogs. Maybe these kinds of stores ensure the food has the balanced nutrients that the animals require. (I'm not sure though, it's just an idea.)
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Old October 6th, 2003, 10:48 PM
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Actually, the raw food manufatures (if you buy the pre-packaged stuff) says that you need to add the nutrients like vitamins because they say that only you would know what your dog needs. Thats false because years and years of research have gone into dog nutrition and all they want is for you to but more of their product. If you callculate in the price of the raw food, and the nutrients you are looking at a MUCH higher price tag.

Is a selling gimic. If the price is seperate - you won't notice it as much.
But again - my opinion.
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Old October 6th, 2003, 10:58 PM
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Well, there are scores of commercial raw food companies - most sell a "complete" product that needs nothing added. So it's not really a gimmick - some people, because their dogs have special needs (older, cancer survivors, joint health issues, ets) may CHOOSE to add supplements. But I know of no company that sells a product, and then tells you that you must add supplements. (If you know of any, let me know! I'd be interested.)

And most people do indeed feed the entire animal, or the equivalent. It's not terribly complicated to put together a diet of meat, bone & offal. You can do it right at your grocery store, though most people find it cheaper to buy in bulk. And plenty of people just feed entire animals. My dogs frequently get whole rabbits. It's less expensive that way.

And I'll beg to differ on kibble keeping teeth clean. That's just a selling tactic, IMHO.
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Old October 7th, 2003, 01:41 PM
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Are you Carina Macdonald - the author of the raw pet food book?

Cause if you are, I'm glad to meet you.

But I beleive you say on you own web that it depends on your dog and what you want to give him/her. (unless I missinterpreted you FAQ section) You aslo points out that the reasarch done on what dogs really need varries conciderable. So the point of the food that don't put the supplimnets directly in the food is valid.
They don't add it because every dog is different and you should varie the amout individually and not based on what one person in a raw food factory decised.

Some raw foods that requires supliments are The healthy Hound (vancouver bc), and Mountain Dog food(calgary ab). To name 2. Perhaps the AMerican adn Canadian markets differ? I don't known about that.

I also found on the American Veteranary Association web site that "Feeding your pet coarse-textured food may help prevent accumulation of plaque, tartar, and calculus" where as wet food sticks to the gums in small amounts and causes tarter build up. I am sure that the bones in the raw food also do this but to a lesser extent.

I personally feed premium dry because of the financial restictions I have.

My appologies for the spelling mistakes - I'm dislexic and don't have a spell check

Ps: I am on the greatpets forums as well and there have beed quite a few decussions on this topic

Samantha
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Old October 7th, 2003, 04:27 PM
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QuinnsMom: It happens to be Mountain Dog Food that I'm feeding our Golden. I'm not aware of any supplements that "need" to be added if you are feeding the meat, fruit & veggie combo. Where did you get this information from?

As for the cost, we feed our dog approximately 2 lbs of raw food per day, and it costs us no more than the dry kibble she was on previously. I know for a fact that some distributors of Mountain Dog Food do raise the price in order to make more of a profit, but if you can find a distributor that sells it at the average cost of the website listed price plus $0.15/lb freight & taxes, then it is very affordable.
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Old October 7th, 2003, 06:39 PM
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I put my Wolfhound on the Mountain dog food and got it from PetPlanet.

From the Mountain DOg food web site "If the diet contains a large portion of chicken with bone ground in, a variation of vegetables, the occasional addition of liver, fish, other organ meats, beef, tripe, eggs, supplementation may not be required. All the essential nutrients - fats, minerals and vitamins are contained in those items. Of course that means they are not cooked. We do suggest the addition of Kelp, as that is an excellent source of iodine a mineral that has been leached from the soils of most vegetable farmed land due to overproduction. The emphasis should be on variety as that ensures a full and complete diet."

So bacically they are saying that you need not add supliments, but they still suggest the addition of Kelp and to make sure that you are giving your dogs a balanced diet. WHich I find many (not all) raw food owners are doing.

My friend (she feed her goldens a different raw food, but still one that she does add supliments) adds : Kelp, Garlic, Vit Dand D and Calcium to her dogs food.

My bag of Eukanuba cost me 60$ every 2 months. I can't buy bulk chicken thighs for that, let alone all the veggies and stuff..
The tripe on the Mountain Dog food site is 32$ for 15 2lb packages (15 days worth), so that is 4 times what I pay. at 15$ for 15 days worth. ANd then add shipping and handeling. Maybe you get yours from a different supplier?

But again - this is only my own opinion and I am NOT a bad person for feeding my dog dry. My pets have lived long heathy lived (15 YO german shepard, 18 YO poodle, 11 Year WOlfhound) on dry food alone. Again - my own opinion.

Anyway - who cares what they eat as long as they are happy and healthy? (I know mine would LOVE to get at the cat poop if he could
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Old October 7th, 2003, 09:21 PM
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Hi Sam! Yes, I am "that" Carina MacDonald. Glad to "meet" you too.

I totally agree with you on the need for supplements - it's highly variable, and really DOES depend on the owner and dog/s. Many people don't supplement at all. I do very minimally, and there are times when I've gone weeks and weeks without giving my dogs anything but meat, fish & occasional veggies - and I haven't noticed any difference one way or the other. I'd never heard of the foods you mention - I'm familiar with Raw4Dogs, Aunt Jens, Oma's Pride, and Paws for Pets - all US companies.

You're totally not a bad person for feeding dry! I fed kibble for over two decades, and I hardly think I was a bad dog owner either! For me, feeding raw is cheaper - most of what I buy, I get in bulk from a wholesaler. Plus I used to spend about $200 per dog per year in teeth cleaning, and I don't have to do that now.

And we for sure have to keep the cat's box where the dogs can't get it! They regularly dine on rabbit and deer poop though, because we're sort of rural. Yuck.
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