Raw Diets

18 17:22:29

Question

RoadTrip!! My new roomate is from Vermont and swears that I REALLY need to get both my dogs on a raw diet of quinoia (sp?), turkey, fruit and veggies. I was reading through some of your previous answers and one in particular caught my eye. You said that raw diets can cause nutritional issues that you can't see until it is too late. I understand that every dog is different (just like people!), but there HAS to be a basic guideline for nutrition, or else how could the dog food industry possibly claim anything as being 'complete' nutrition?? I am all for making homemade foods for my pets, but where do I start? What is the canine equivalent of an RDA??

Answer
You can easily find the AAFCO guidelines for dog nutrition if you do a search. However, dogs don't digest many foods as well as we do unless highly processed. Thus the raw vegetables that are good for us can pass through a dog undigested. Cooking will make some nutrients available to a dog, but destroy others. I view raw and other home made diets as very difficult to get right, no upside, and a huge downside if not right.

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