Do you feed your dog a raw diet?

@reinydawn (11643)
United States
May 25, 2007 10:07pm CST
I know I guy who owns a kennel and he's been telling me about feeding dogs a "raw" diet. I have only ever fed my dog "kibble" (or as I know it, regular dry dog food) and lately she's had lots of skin problems. He said that it would do her some good to switch to a "raw" diet. It's non-processed natural food for dogs and it doesn't have the byproducts that seem to be giving my dog a fit. It's kind of expensive, but if I'm not paying the vet bills for the skin problems, I think I'll break even. Does anyone out there feed their dog a "raw" diet? How does it work for you? Can you really tell a difference?
2 people like this
4 responses
@sunshinecup (7871)
28 May 07
I use Kibble, like you. However I heard of the raw diet and asked around, one of, which is a huge animal lover that works with my Vet. She told me to limit the amount of food I was feeding my dog, I was actually feeding her (beagle) too much. So I limited it to a half cup per day. Then she said to add a 1/2-teaspoon of olive oil and left over vegetables like peas, carrots but no corn to her food. My beagle is slim but not bony, her fur is shiny, and all of her dry skin problems are gone. My friend said the results would be just as well as a raw diet but at the fraction of the cost and at this time I believe her. It's going on two years I reckon, I have been doing this.
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@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
28 May 07
I know it's very expensive, but even table scraps give her problems. Even though I cook from scratch - no processed meals - she still has had problems with it. We did have to limit her food - she was a bit overweight - and pay more attention to who's feeding her and when. She's slimmed down a lot, but that didn't help her skin issues. We're at our wits end and I don't want to keep trying things that don't work - that's more expensive because we're constantly at the vet, and it's very uncomfortable for her...
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@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
31 May 07
I haven't tried it yet, I'll definitely let you know though!
28 May 07
Have you tried the olive oil tip? We could see a diffrence in our dog's skin and fur in a weeks time.
2 people like this
@breepeace (3014)
• Canada
31 May 07
I don't feed raw on a regular basis, but sometimes I mix up my Siberian's food with ground raw kidney or liver, eggs and oils (olive, safflower and vegetable). I have, in the past, fed her kibble called Innova Evo. If you have a pet food specialty store in your area, it might be something to look into. If they don't have that product, ask them for a kibble alternative to raw.. there are lots on the market. They are pretty pricy, but the benefits are great -- better coat, smaller stool (and less of them to pick up, too!), better breath and their overall health improves. My girl loves Evo, but at $60 a bag here (lasts less than a month) I find it hard to justify since she's pretty healthy overall, anyway.
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
31 May 07
Thanks!! I'll check that out too!!!
@melanie652 (2524)
• United States
26 May 07
We have a dog that has pemphigus. It's a skin condition that's attacked his nose in this case. No cure for it and the only treatment is steroids and antibiotics. Basically his immune system is overdrive and attacking healthy tissue. I've read that dry dog food is full of unhealthy stuff, chemicals and preservatives and this can be what causes pemphigus. I've switched our dogs to a natural dry dog food in hopes it helps this dogs poor nose. I've also read about feeding a natural diet is much better for dogs than much of the dry dog food that's sold. I haven't been feeding it long enough to know if it's helping or not. I hope it does help though.
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
26 May 07
We switched to Nutro-somethingorother and it did help, some. She's got it back now pretty bad, though and I think there's just enough by-products in that "healthy" dogfood to irriate her. I hope you have good luck with your dog - it's miserable watching them be so unhappy...
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
26 May 07
A friend of mine has been telling me about it. My dogs both have skin problems and she has been reading about this raw diet thing... Here is something she sent me.. Here is a quote from this book. 'In person and on the internet I met successful dog breeders and owners who told me again and again that a natural, raw, grain-free diet would yield benefits from the elimination of skin problems to curing cancer to little odorless poops. These were not Earth Shoe wearing weirdos who sipped spirulina for breakfast. These were serious dog people, who taught obedience and agility classes, raised champion conformation and working dogs and deeply cared for their furry companions.' I thought you might find that interesting. 'When you remove cooked, processed meats and cooked grains from his diet, doggy ordor, yeasty ears and chronic infections are often alleviated. There is even some evidence that common afflictions of our pet dog population like cancers, diabetes, epilepsy, and severe allergies are exacerbated or even caused by feeding commercial dog foods.' She also sent me a list of books to read on it Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats I have been doing kibble as well.
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
26 May 07
Thank you so much for the info. I really goes in line with what my kennel-owner friend was saying. He also trians dogs, and has a rescue dog, so he's pretty knowledgeable about that kinda stuff.