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Raw Diet for Dogs
A raw diet for dogs can be beneficial to the overall health and wellbeing of our dog.
As mentioned in our page on Natural Diets for Dogs, more and more holistic
veterinarians are now advocating feeding natural, fresh, and preferably raw foods to dogs. Some dog parents embrace raw diets wholeheartedly, while
others are hesitant to feed raw foods, especially raw meat and bones, to their dogs.
This page looks at the pros and cons of raw diet for dogs, and tries to answer some of the questions that you may have about feeding your dog raw foods.
Hopefully, it will help you make an educated decision as to whether or not raw diet is the way to go for your dog.
The topics covered are:
Pros and Cons of Raw Diet for Dogs
Pros
- A raw diet is close to the natural diet originally consumed by our dogs' ancestors.
- Raw meat contains a lot of protein and is rich in many other nutrients such as enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and essential fatty acids that are needed
by dogs.
- Raw whole foods are full of vitality and energy.
- Many dog parents have reported less illnesses after switching to a raw diet, especially chronic diseases such as skin allergies and ear infections,
less year-round
shedding, and smaller and firmer stools.
- Dogs on a raw diet have cleaner teeth, less dental problems, and fresher breath.
Cons
- Meat is now the most polluted food source in the market - Even meat for human consumption contains toxic materials (e.g. lead, mercury, dioxiin)
and residues of
pesticide, hormones and antibiotics.
- Producing meat is not eco-friendly.
- A raw diet for dogs consisting mainly of meat and bones may be too rich in protein and fat for our pet dogs, who do not exercise as much as their
ancestors.
- A raw diet for dogs consisting mainly of high-quality organic meat, bones, and other fresh wholesome ingredients can be a bit more costly.
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Meats for Your Dog
A variety of meats can used as part of a raw diet for dogs. The key is "rotation" - try different types of meats so that your dog can get all the different nutrients
contained in different meats. For example, you can feed your dog:
- Chicken (backs, necks, wings, legs)
- Turkey (wings, necks)
- Cornish game hens
- Beef
- Oxtail
- Pork*
- Rabbit*
- Fish*
* Pork, rabbit, and fish should not be fed raw (see below).
In addition, organ meat such as liver and heart can be given to your dog occasionally, but these meats should not be over 10 percent of the diet.
When introducing raw meats to your dog, be sure to introduce one new meat at a time. For example, feed chicken meat for a week, then lamb for a week, and so on. By
doing so, if your dog is allergic to a particular protein, you can easily identify which meat he is allergic to.
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Meats that Should be Cooked
If you sometimes want to feed pork, rabbit, or fish to your dog, you should cook them first to kill parasites such as tapeworms or trichinosis organisms that can be
present in these meats.
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Are Raw Bones Safe for Dogs?
Bones contain a lot of calcium needed by dogs. Raw bones are safe for dogs to consume. However, cooked bones, especially chicken, turkey, fish, or pork bones, can
splinter easily and should never be fed to dogs.
As well, bones that are frozen hard should not be given to dogs since they rock-hard bones can break teeth.
Large meaty raw bones that cannot be broken up easily can be fed to dogs occasionally as a snack. Dogs can clean their teeth naturally when chewing and gnawing on bones.
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Bacteria in Raw Foods
According to some holistic veterinarians, dogs seldom get infected with bacteria such as E. Coli and salmonella after eating raw foods such as raw meat and eggs.
Perhaps because dogs are natural carnivores and have much stronger stomach acids than people, they are less susceptible to this type of bacterial infections than we are.
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Other Raw Foods for Dogs
There are a lot of other fresh foods that can be fed raw to our dogs. For example, for protein, we can sometimes feed raw eggs, cottage cheese, or tofu to our dogs.
For fiber, we can feed some fresh uncooked vegetables to our dogs as well. Visit our page on
Natural Diets for Dogs to see which veggies can be fed raw, and which veggies have
to be cooked.
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Transition to a Raw Diet for Dogs
There are several ways to transition your dog from a kibble diet to a raw natural diet.
The first way is a gradual transition - Slowly switching over by first adding a bit of raw food to the kibble until your dog has totally got used to eating the new raw food. By transitioning slowly, it will not only help your dog get used to the new taste, but will also allow the dog's digestive system sufficient time to adjust. If there is not sufficient time for the system to adjust, diarrhea or appetite loss may occur since the bacterial flora in the dog's system cannot adjust abruptly to the new food.
Another way is to fast the dog for a few days. Fasting is a good way to cleanse the dog's system, decondition old taste habits, and stimulate the appetite.
You can do the following:
- For the first one or two days, feed a smaller quantity of the usual food plus a bit of meat, and veggies.
- For the next two to three days, switch to a liquid fast. Give only water, broths, and vegetable juices to your dog.
- After that, for the next day or two, add some solid foods (e.g. veggies, or eggs, or small amounts of meat) to the liquid diet.
- Finally, increase the amount of meat, plus veggies, and one type of grain (*grains have to be cooked).
Some people also have reported success in switching over to a raw diet cold-turkey. No fast, no gradual transition. Just throw away the kibble and start the raw diet
from day one.
No matter which way you use to switch over to a raw diet, it is advisable to do the following:
- Keep a diary of raw meals fed to your dog (at least at the beginning), so that you can see which foods your dog likes and dislikes, and which foods cause
allergies or digestive problems such as diarrhea or gas.
- Before making the switch, ask a holistic vet to give your dog a physical check-up, and consult the vet about raw diet for dogs.
- To help ease the transition, consider using some herbs that can cleanse the body and rebuild tissue. Some safe herbs that are helpful in this regard are
alfalfa and burdock.
You can sprinkle about one to three teaspoons of dried alfalfa onto your dog's food every day, or if you can get fresh burdock roots, chop up some roots and add them
to your dog's food.
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Other Alternatives to Raw Diet for Dogs
If you are uncomfortable feeding your dog raw meat, there are alternatives. For example:
- You may want to try to just sear the outside of the meat a bit, or cook the meat completely.
- You may replace raw meat with tofu which is rich in protein. However, eating tofu cannot help your dog clean his teeth.
- You may feed your dog other natural organic dog food.
Related topics
Natural Diets for Dogs
Natural Organic Dog Food
How to Read a Dog Food Label
Vegetarian Diet for Dogs
High Fiber Dog Food
Canine Food Allergies and Hypoallergenic Dog Food
References
R. Kidd, Dr. Kidd's Guide to Herbal Dog Care (Storey Publishing, 2000).
Pitcairn and Pitcairn, Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats (Rodale, 2005).
A.D. Shojai, New Choices in Natural Healing for Dogs and Cats (Rodale Press, Inc., 1999).
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