Does anyone here feed their animals RAW food??? (Chase: calculation, cost)

[DreamChasers8]

You are so lucky to have found one of the few Vets who did in fact continue their education regarding animal nutrition. I have always fed my dogs Orgainc Kibble (Solid Gold) no fillers, preservatives, chemicals etc. AND Raw meats and bones. They have always thrived. I will be making the switch to all Raw this Summer once our meat flock is butchered
Solid Gold is the ONLY kibble I would reccomend but that a complete Raw diet is definitly best.

[Siouxcia]

Originally Posted by pugluvr

And now, I only hope that before anyone turns away from a raw diet for their dogs, like I once did, that they really look in to it and see the benefits of it before they opt against it. I am so glad I took the time to talk to my vet and research it this time.

If you read more than the tapeworm topic in this link, Wildlife Diseases & Parasites: Liver Tapeworm Cysts, Alaska Department of Fish and Game ,there's a whole lot more information about the bacteria/parasites/etc, that wild life in Alaska may have and how they may affect you and your dog. The majority of these bacteria,etc can be killed just by cooking the meat and freezing does not.

All I ask, proceed with caution, talk with your vet and do more research than reading blogs or testimonials. It's the least you can do for a loved member of your family.

[DreamChasers8]

She just stated that she has done this along with her Vet and has been quite sucessful for 2 years...what more do you want her to do? It seems as though you just refuse to believe that people can actually be doing something good for their animals that you don't support.
The majority of raw food and bones fed to our dogs is human grade food from the grocery store, or livestock I myself have grown and fed.
I can not imagine someone who has thouroughly researched raw feeding (as you "say" you have) and still chose not to do it, knowing the amount of positive benifits it has on the dog.
Not everylink here has been from a blog or testimonial. I believe one or two were actually from Veterinarians who had done their research and wrote in support of it
As I said before this thread was about people who do Raw feed (mainly in Alaska, as I was looking for more local resources)...you clearly don't! We get that!

[Metlakatla]

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[rifleman]

When I was researching polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, I noted that the local dog team owners wanted their dogs to have an aggressive response to the pbs if those monster carnivores decided to wander in too close. So, they fed their dogs raw polar bear meat. Darned if it didn't increase the dogs' aggressive response to any luckless bear that wandered close by (these team dogs were typically tethered out on a 10 foot or so leash, the other end of the leash being attached to a stake right by their dog house).

I've also, from time to time, fed my various cats some raw hamburger, and they do seem to love the occasional bits of cooked or raw venision or caribou. Of course! Why not? It's very similar to the consistency of, say, raw vole or deer-mouse muscle tissue, so why not?

The issue of parasites is, of course, real, and must be addressed. Some pre-micro-waving perhaps?

Yep! no argument:v. lucky dogs!

[DreamChasers8]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

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What a shocking response from you

[Metlakatla]

Have another.

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[DreamChasers8]

And this pertains to the topic how Met? Stop trying to stir up stuff and move on to the politics thread where you can have your way with everyone there.

[Glitch]

I have no doubt that a raw diet is more beneficial to a dogs health than kibble. The question isn't a matter of benefit to the dog, but a matter of cost to the owner. It costs approximately $5/pound to feed a dog a raw diet, and they recommend feeding your dog between 2% and 3% of their body weight. So for my 120 pound mastiff puppy that works out to about 3 pounds of raw diet every day. At $5/pound, that is $15/day, or $456.25/month, or $1,825/year (excluding leap years). And that is just one dog.

Some people have no problem spending tens of thousands of dollars on their pets. I do. A raw diet would increase my costs by more than a factor of four. I already feed my dogs a top quality kibble with no grains, fillers, or chemicals and that isn't cheap either. I don't even spend $15/day on my own food, so I'm sure as hell not going to spend more on my dog's food. Those who spend more for their pet's food than their own food have their priorities completely out of whack, in my opinion.

[Siouxcia]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

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Yawn, nap time......