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Exploring A Raw Food Diet For Dogs

2016/5/4 10:12:47

People who are concerned about the health of their canine friends will want to pay particular attention to the types of food they give their dogs. Just as consumers may prefer to avoid eating too many processed foods, pet owners are also interested in providing meals that are as fresh and natural as possible for their dogs. Many people are proponents of the raw food lifestyle, and you may be curious about looking into a raw food diet for dogs.

Concerns about recalls of canned and dry packaged pet foods may also prompt pet owners to avoid feeding processed foods to their dogs. If you find that your family is thriving on a diet consisting mainly or even entirely of raw fruits and vegetables, you might want to include your dog in your lifestyle. However, even if you are avoiding meat yourself, you must provide raw meat to your dog. Dogs will not survive as vegetarians.

Veterinarian Ian Billinghurst introduced the idea of the "BARF" or "Bones and Raw Food" diet, which subsequently was renamed as the "Biologically Appropriate Raw Food" diet for dogs. It involves feeding bones, raw meat and some fruit and vegetables. The idea of a raw food diet for dogs is that it mimics more closely the eating patterns followed by dogs before humans domesticated them. Some owners put their dog on this type of a diet when their pet becomes ill, such as having chronic allergies. Owners of sick dogs then might wonder whether a healthy dog would also benefit from eating uncooked foods all the time, and not just to cure an illness.

Your dog may thoroughly enjoy it when you feed fresh raw meat, such as beef that you grind with raw bones into a hamburger patty. Raw meat will contain vital enzymes and amino acids that otherwise would be lost when cooked. One drawback to a feeding your dog uncooked, unprocessed foods is the cost. Processed food for dogs, whether dry kibble or wet canned foods will typically be cheaper than any fresh unprocessed meat that you prepare yourself.

Make sure to take your dog to the vet before you try switching over to a new feeding pattern. Your vet may want to run some tests to make sure your canine companion is in good shape for eating raw food. For example, a dog with a compromised immune system may be more vulnerable to food borne illnesses, such as raw meat that is contaminated with bacteria like E. coli or Salmonella. You must also remember to carefully wash your hands and all preparation surfaces when making such foods for your dog, to make sure you keep potential bacteria out of your family's food.

Victoria Vohn, aka My Granny Geek has researched potential purchases online since the early days of the internet, having owned and operated an IT company for 20 years with extensive expertise in internet research. Now she is sharing that research with you. Visit her website and learn about Raw Food Diets for Dogs.