What do you think/know about the raw food diet for dogs?

They evolved before cooking technology came along, but I’m not sure the same pathogens were prevalent back then. I’m not sure I’d be crazy about the idea.

If you can afford it, go for it.

The cost isn’t really that different. I buy huge bulk chicken packs, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, spinach, blueberries and kale from Grocery Outlet. Bone-in chicken is around $1.50/lb. Raw bones are easily digestable. Two weeks worth of chicken costs me about $10–12. I freeze the chicken off in packs of 4 days worth and thaw as needed. I share the veggies with the dog so it’s no different than another mouth to feed.

I currently feed Oda high quality puppy chow in the morning. I throw a whole raw egg in there 4 days a week. His evening meal is raw. I don’t mix the two because they digest at different rates. At peak growth he’ll eat 10 cups a day of food, but it will go back down to 7 eventually. Right now he’s at 5 cups.

Research is a little tough. Most sights tell me to seek out people that utilize the raw food diet. I don’t think I ever want to go 100% raw food diet, but it’s hard to find info on it that is unbiased.

@GloPro You don’t feed the bone in chicken to the dog though?

Of course. It’s through cooking that chicken bones become brittle and splinter. Raw bones are easily digestible and not a threat. My vet and Internet sites, as well as my breeder with 20 years experience, all confirmed raw chicken bones are not a problem. If my breeder hasn’t had a single issue over that many dogs in that many years I trust that.

He also eats raw pork and beef, bone in. The bone % is supposed to be around 30% of the meat.

Okay. I learned something today.

Not enough to start yet, but hopefully soon. I recently learned that all dog and cat food is pretty much unsourced, even the good stuff. Companies buy their meat in bulk in giant lots, and day to day it can come from a different farm, storage facility, or state (see here). This explains, possibly, why different bags of the same brand cat food would make my guys puke. In any event, it’s certainly freaky enough that I want to buy from sources I can control, like the local farms around here.

@GloPro You make it sound so easy. Have you actually found it to be so, or am I reading into your words?

So long as cats are not part of the menu, I don’t care.

@Hypocrisy_Central I’m with you on this one. There are better uses for cats…

Like sacrifices to the dice gods.

@wildpotato I’m learning as I go. Puppies are not supposed to eat 100% raw, apparently, but the chow I feed him is gluten-free and high quality. They need the high fat that chow food provides.
I discovered through trial and observation that his stools are more consistent with chow in the morning and raw at night. Raw takes longer to digest, so a good night to do so produces good solid stool the next day.

It’s really easy to share the veggies, and it keeps me eating them, too. So far the only veggie he doesn’t like is green beans. I haven’t noticed any extra gas from the veggies, either.

I’ve only been doing it for 7 weeks, so I was hoping some other jellies might give advice, too.

My dogs don’t like lettuce or tomato.

I’m a fan. My Jack Russell has been so much happier in herself since I switched to a raw diet.

I’m pleased to hear that you’re not feeding raw at the same time as kibble, unfortunately many do and it’s not good for the dogs mental state as well as physical.

I don’t feed raw, but I do pay attention to what the dogs eat. They get meat and pureed carrots most days, as well as high-quality kibble in the morning. They also regularly get eggs and rapeseed oil. Ten years of shiny coats, good teeth and overall health, so I’m not changing things up for now.

How are you preparing the veggies?

Sometimes I bring them to a simmer in sodium free veggie or chicken broth with water. I leave them al dente. That pot will last a week. I give him a ladle full before he gets his chicken, which I leave whole and he has to work to eat (outside, trained to stay on a mat I can hose down). Then I eat some of the veggies with broth, but add beans and a tablespoon of tomato paste. The blueberries I just toss in his bowl.

Other days I leave them completely raw and dice them, mix with ground turkey, or dice up the pork and mix it all up. He likes a frozen carrot instead of a bone now that his teeth are getting loose, so that’s a mid-day treat.

He’s been doing it since day one, so other than the green beans he’ll eat whatever is in the bowl. I even toss the raw egg in shell and all.

What kind of meat, and why purée the carrots? Raw eggs, or cooked? Sounds partial raw diet to me.

The meat is canned, but none of the “almost-entirely-water-mixed-with-gravy”-stuff. It is real meat. A German brand, otherwise I’d add a link.

I puree the carrots (or rather, lately, buy baby food), because I’ve been told that a dog’s colon is unable to benefit from raw vegetables unless they are grated or pureed. It doesn’t harm them, but neither does it help, apparently. I’m not a nutritionist or vet, but that’s how it was explained to me by a vet.

The eggs I cook, because I’m worried about salmonella. I don’t like the idea of food bowls coated with raw egg, but I may be paranoid there. Then again, it’s no trouble at all to toss in two eggs when I’m frying one for myself, so…

I’m impressed that he’s already staying on a mat for his meal. My lab still tries to be where the action is when she’s presented with a bone. She’s a labrador. She needs to share the joy.

From the veterinary side, I see when the raw diet has gone wrong, so I’m not a fan. Gastritis, diarrhea, pancreatitis, obstructions, metabolic disorders (poorly designed diets), heart disease in cats (poorly designed diets), Salmonella, Listeria (and at least 1 owner made ill).

@syz Do you agree that raw vegetables cannot be absorbed by a dog’s colon, or am I completely wrong there?

My dogs loved peas right out of the pods. Never a problem with that.

Wow… you feed your pooch better than most people feed their kids. Impressive.

Good to be the man in your life I suppose.

What about brown rice and yams/potatoes, and lima beans/peas? Those might be a good addition too?
I fed my cats a fresh meat diet years ago, but not raw only. Boiled turkey/chicken and fish with a quality dry food. Cats need much more protein than dogs and dogs eat more veggies than cats without a problem.

Cats won’t eat any veggies. I tell you what’s a bit scary…I had some left over chicken pot pie once. I gave it to my cat. He licked up all the gravy but didn’t touch the veggies (which is not surprising) OR the “chicken” cubes (which was the kinda scary part!)

@Leanne1986 Can you describe your feeding schedule/diet?

@Dutchess_III I had a Siamese cat years ago, “Jerome.” He went crazy over Cantalope!
I had to dice him up a bowl of melon every time I cut a Cantalope. He just wolfed it down!

@GloPro they get a lot of green tripe, (occasionally) chicken carcasses, mince (beef or lamb) and very occasionally chicken or turkey necks. They also get mashed up veggies from time to time. I crossed over from commercial foods to raw by using meat and veg blocks from a company called Natures Menu (I still use those blocks if I forget to get the meat out if the freezer!!) and that made the change much easier.

@longgone I have also heard that about raw veggies but haven’t found a reliable source either way.

I’m not a vet so can only go on personal experience from my own dogs and those I work with. Some dogs do really well on a raw diet and some dogs don’t so I would never say that it is the only way someone should feed there dog and it’s important that they get it right if they do decide to. So many get it wrong and end up with health and behaviour problems in their dogs.

This is gross, but having a 13 week old puppy sometimes I have to inspect his poop for things. I don’t see whole veggies or bone fragments, but I do see pieces of the eggshells and the occasional Crawdad leg (and an earring, some rocks, mussel shells). I don’t know if that has anything with nutrient absorption, but the veggies are getting broken down.

@GloPro It feels like in spend my whole life discussing dog poo!!

@Leanne1986 Haha Of course, I was mother goose poo for years, I’d just pick up the formed ones and toss them off the porch or break out the hose.
@GloPro Not as gross as human baby poo. My daughter swallowed a dime when she about 15 months old and I had to do diaper digging for a few days to find the coin. lol