I know I never would have thought of putting my dog on a raw dog food diet, but there are thousands of people who believe this is the only thing your dog should eat.
I checked with my vet about this after seeing an ad for BARF dog food. It is not what it sounds like but rather an acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. My vet told me that he would never feed a dog a raw dog food diet, but that there are others who feel differently.
The justification for this food is:
1. Your dogs’ wild ancestors ate raw food so that is what’s best for their digestive tract
2. NO dog smell
3. There will be less feces
4. Your dog will be healthier
5. Healthier dogs
6. Less cost
You don’t only use raw meat in a raw dog food diet, you also need fruit, raw bones and vegetables. The raw meat should have muscle meat, organs, intestines and fat. This would be close to what the wild dogs ate. I think a few of these things if cooked would be good for a homemade dog food.
For the people who are concerned about their dogs eating bones, especially chicken bones, the supporters of the raw dog food diet would argue that raw chicken bones are soft enough that they bend easily and are fine for your dog to digest.
People are also encouraged to give their dogs whole carcasses, such as whole chickens or rabbits.
My vet gave me some practical reasons to stay away from a raw dog food diet. The risk of bacteria or parasites is very high in raw meat. Things like E. coli or salmonella can be passed from a dog to a human, even if you don’t know your dog has these bacteria they could be alive inside him. These things could be deadly in some people, especially children or the elderly.
When I thought about it the risks outweighed any benefit I could find. And it seemed disgusting to me personally.
You may want to go with the raw dog food diet if so there are online store who sell only this specialty dog food.
The online companies will give you a list of ingredients and benefits of their food.
Since we are all different it is good to know that there are also different ways to feed your dog. Please do your research though before starting a raw dog food diet.
