Raw diet or cooked homemade diet for dog?

I'm getting a new dog. I fed my old dogs dog food at first, and when they were older I started feeding them a cooked homemade diet, and they did well with it. I'm planning to adopt an adult dog, over 3 years old, and I want to do a homemade diet, but I'm…

    Raw diet or cooked homemade diet for dog?

    I'm getting a new dog. I fed my old dogs dog food at first, and when they were older I started feeding them a cooked homemade diet, and they did well with it. I'm planning to adopt an adult dog, over 3 years old, and I want to do a homemade diet, but I'm…...
    General Dog Discussions : Raw diet or cooked homemade diet for dog?...

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    • Raw diet or cooked homemade diet for dog?

      Raw diet or cooked homemade diet for dog? General Dog Discussions
      I'm getting a new dog. I fed my old dogs dog food at first, and when they were older I started feeding them a cooked homemade diet, and they did well with it. I'm planning to adopt an adult dog, over 3 years old, and I want to do a homemade diet, but I'm not sure if I should do a cooked one or a raw diet. I know most people who try it love the raw diet, but I've also heard that some dogs do get ill from it. I guess it's just kind of hard for me to wrap my head around an animal eating raw meat and staying healthy.So, which is better? A raw diet or a cooked one? Assuming the dog I get has only eaten kibble its entire life, will there be any problems if I switch to a raw diet?

      Raw diet or cooked homemade diet for dog?

      Raw diet or cooked homemade diet for dog? General Dog Discussions
    • Why is it so hard for you to understand that a carnivores, like a dog or cat, eating a deit of nothing but raw bones, raw meat and raw organs own't be healthy? Its not only healthy, its all they needDogs don't get ill from raw. Its a myth. They are meant to eat raw meatCooked food is useless to a dog, so are fruits, veggies and gain since they can't digest them, have no enzymes to break down planet celleos and gain nothing from eating itA well researched raw diet is ALWAYS better then cooked food

    • my suggestion is cooked. Since any raw food you get will be from a grocery store there could be many different issues. salmanila or E-coli. just to name a few. Cooking these foods will lessen the chance of the dog getting ill. If the dog you get is kibble fed. a slow transition from kibble to homemade is best. slowly introduce it into the kibble after a while slowly reduce the amount of kibble until you have a all homemade meal for your dog. this should take you a couple months

    • There isn't a problem if you do the change over gradually over a period of a couple weeks, I prefer raw, but there is nothing wrong with cooked if you have the time to do it. Yes they can get sick from raw if the meat is spoiled, not properly handled, or refrigerated.

    • I feed my doberman raw diet and she loves it. It gives her a nice shine on the coat, no more bad breathe and the stools are not smelly! But you need to do more research if you were to give a raw diet as you can't just throw some meat to the dog, the dog will need a balanced meat and bone ratio for her diet(more bones needed for puppy, lesser for adult dog). Chicken frames are consider the best for puppy as it contains a good meat and bone ratio needed for a puppy, you can also get chicken frame mince which should be available in your local butcher, you can also add some raw sardines(yes they can eat raw fish bone), and some raw eggs to her daily meal. You also need to add fibre(such as some soaked quality dry food) and veggies together with the meat. You might also consider adding fish oil and omega blend and some digestive aid in her raw diet. Some says dogs on raw diet are much less likely to catch deadly diseases like parvo even without vaccination but I still gave my dog the vaccines just to be safe.So if you plan to feed a raw diet, do some research on the amount and ratio of the daily meal before you start as unbalanced raw diet can cause growth problem. There are also no problem on switching to a raw diet for a dog that has been eating kibbles, vets sometimes recommend a raw diet for elderly dog because its much more easier to digest. P.s if you choose to feed raw diet, puppy will need to have 3-4 meals a day, and adult can be twice a day, this us because raw diet are much more easy to digest and dog gets hungry more often.

    • First of all, it must be a diet balanced for a dog, or you would be risking a nutritional deficiency disease which could be very serious. Secondly, although feeding raw meat seems to be some odd religion these days, the fact is, unless you are butchering your own livestock under very strict conditions, there is a very high risk of YOU becoming ill. There is a sticker on the front of the package that says Special Handling Instructions for a reason. It is completely unacceptable to feed a dog raw meat if you have anyone in your household with a compromised immune system, or is elderly or very young. The AVMA recommends against it, and there's no good argument I have seen. Here is a web site that can help you balance a homemade diet for a dog - you will need to ask your vet for a prescription for the vitamin supplements that will help you round it out:www.balanceit.com

    • My dog trainer suggested a raw diet and most vets don't take a nutrition course so they can't knowledgeably respond to that. Being your dog has eaten kiddle its whole life I would introduce him to raw foods slowly. Add a piece or two to his diet of kibble and continue to add more and less kibble that way his body can adjust.

    • Dogs are classified as members of the family Canidae and the order Carnivora, but this does not necessarily translate to behavior, anatomy or feeding preferences.Judge for yourselfSome animals may look like carnivores or act like carnivores. But, are they really true carnivores? You be the judge.Wolves attack plant-eating animals, but one of the first parts they consume is the stomach contents and the viscera of those animals.1 Coyotes eat a variety of foodstuffs including small mammals, amphibians, birds, fruits and herbivore feces. Panda bears are also members of the order Carnivora, but they are herbivores who primarily consume bamboo leaves. The acid testKey pointsThe term "opportunivore" may best describe the dog's natural desire to eat whatever is available — plants as well as animals. Strict or true carnivores, such as cats, have a higher nutritional requirement for taurine (an amino acid), arachidonic acid (a fatty acid), and certain vitamins (niacin, pyridoxine, vitamin A), which are readily available in animal protein and fat sources.Omnivores, such as dogs and people, don't have higher requirements for taurine and certain vitamins and can create their own arachidonic acid from vegetable oils.Omnivore qualitiesThere are other nutritional, behavioral and physical factors that separate the omnivore and carnivore worlds:Dogs have teeth (molars) with relatively flat surfaces designed to grind up bones as well as fibrous plant material. Dogs can digest almost 100% of the carbohydrates they consume.2 Dogs have a small intestine that occupies about 23 percent of the total gastrointestinal volume, which is consistent with other omnivores; the small intestine of cats occupies only 15 percent.3,4 Dogs can create vitamin A from betacarotene found in plants. Confusion in their conclusionSome folks have come to the erroneous conclusion that dogs must be carnivores because they fall under the order Carnivora. A close look at the anatomy, behavior and feeding preferences of dogs shows that they are actually omnivorous — able to eat and remain healthy with both animal and plant foodstuffs.1 Lewis L, Morris M, Hand M. Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, Ed. 4. Topeka, KS, Mark Morris Institute, 2000;294-303,216-219.2 Walker J, Harmon D, Gross K, Collings G. Evaluation of nutrient utilization in the canine using the ileal cannulation technique. J Nutr. 1994; 124:2672S-2676S.3 Morris JG, Rogers QR. Comparative aspects of nutrition and metabolism of dogs and cats, in: Nutrition of the dog and cat, eds. Burger IH, Rivers JPW, Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, 1989;35-66.4 Ruckebusch Y, Phaneuf L-Ph, Dunlop R. Feeding behavior in: Physiology of small and large animals, B.C. Decker, Inc. Philadelphia, PA, 1991;209-219.

    • You will have a lot to do with a new dog in your home. Since you're used to the cooked homemade diet, just offer that to the new dog. I do this for breakfast and top the homemade with chunks of raw meat. I feed kibble for supper.Raw feed is fine, but I like the combination of homemade topped with chunks of raw best. It's personal preference.You don't need to switch to raw to be right ... or ok. All my dogs had only eaten kibble for years. When 2 became obese and too inactive, I switched to raw and later to homemade topped with raw. It excited my dogs. You can do homemade/raw for breakfast and kibble for supper to begin. I think you'll notice excitement in the dog over homemade/raw meals. "Clockwork" is incorrect.Homemade food has good nutritional value. Do a google search for "foods good for dogs". There are websites that tell you what nutrients dogs gain from the foods that are good for them. -!-

    • Prey Model Raw mimics a natural diet. It's comprised of 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other secreting organ like kidney, spleen, brain, pancreas etc.You aim to feed 2-3% of your dogs ideal ADULT body weight each day. Say you have an Am Bulldog pup now with an expected adult weight of 85lb; 2% of its IABW is 1.7lbs. This should be spilt up into 3-4 meals per day for a growing pup.Chicken is recommended to start with as its easily digested and has soft, edible bones. After feeding chicken for a couple of weeks, you then add tiny bits of organ. Once he's accepting that, then go on to feed red meats like beef, elk, venison, pork, lamb etc.To focus, once you have established firm stools, is lots of red meat, a little bone and a bit of organ.May people go too fast and introduce too many elements at once and end up with a dog with cannon butt. So take it slow and keep an eye on stools. Sounds gross I know, but it's the best indicator if your dog needs more bone or more organ.Here are some websites to help you with your research:http://www.preymodelraw.comhttp://www.rawlearning.comhttp://www.rawmeatybones.comhttp://www.rawfed.comhttp://www.rawfeddogs.netI highly recommend you join Yahoo's Raw Feeding group. Heaps of knowledgeable contributors there who are more than happy to help and guide you:http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeedingThere are over 26,000 members there, many of whom have raw fed their dogs their whole lives. If it was so bad, don't you think all those members might have malnutritioned dogs, sick dogs, sick families etc?The fact is, they don't. There shouldn't be any problems with switching a dog over to PMR. Do it cold turkey; never mixed raw and kibble together.Most problems seen with PMR are almost always operator error, meaning you have not done enough research on it.

    • Your choice.Either when WELL researched, is fine for your dog.I prefer a natural home prepared prey-model based, raw diet.My personal choice.However there are pre-packaged commercial raw diets, as well as the many standard commercial cooked diets.Dogs can survive successfully off kibble, prey-model raw, barf (commercial raw), or home made mix of all the above.It really comes down to your own research and PERSONAL choice.Dont let anyone railroad you, or scare you.If you do choose to go down the non-commercial route, please RESEARCH the diet you choose.However, here are a few facts that may clarify some things for you.1. Raw meat does not automatically = death by salmonella.2. Research is the key to a balanced homemade/raw diet.3. Humans can and do eat raw meat safely – Steak tartare is a delicacy.4. Dogs are far more adept and suited to consuming salmonella than humans.5. Dogs can dig up and eat old buried items, lick their bums, eat poo… and survive merrily.6. They can eat things that would make us deathly ill, so there is no need to fear feeding them raw meat.As for feeding raw to a dog, making you or your family ill...?How strange, people actually think this!?Rosalie - You have such sensible answers normally.Are you confusing feeding your dog raw with eating raw meat yourself?You do realise that you can feed raw to your dog, but still cook your own food.I am confused on how what your dog eats, has anything to do with making yourself sick??Feeding my dog raw meat is FAR from the worst thing she puts in her mouth.She licks her own butt (and sniffs the butt holes of her doggy friends & my cat).She eats horse, cow and chicken poo nearly EVERYDAY. Sometimes even random unknown poo – like fox, cat, possum, koala, roo etc??She rolls in things that apparently smell GREAT – I usually suspect old dead things, or possum pee.Hard to tell sometimes.She gets bathed about once every month or two – max.So I hate to think what I am actually “patting” each night when she snuggles next to me.(I dont think any part of my dogs anatomy would pass a salmonella test!! lol)But I don’t eat out of her bowl or give her French kisses (she tries occasionally), so thus far – I have survived (and I am getting old).If you are that scared about what your DOG eats, effecting YOU… Perhaps get a goldfish.Because raw meat is the LEAST of your worries.PS – All the meat I buy and handle for MY consumption is – shock horror – also raw initially.I wash my chopping boards, knives and hands after handling the raw meat.Not hard.Common sense.And really how many people actually slaughter their own meat these days.Those that do – hopefully know what they are doing.Or do what most people do – go to a butcher and buy your raw meat.Its human grade.Safe for you AND your dog – it’s what I do.