Feeding a dog raw?

[NewYoiker]

Does anyone do it? I'm struggling to get our puppy to eat- she will eat the raw complete stuff I bought in an act of desperation but apart from that she'll only eat pedigree wet puppy 🙄 it has 4% meat!

Does anyone have ideas? Anyone feed butternut box?

[JuniperBeer]

We bulk buy whole raw frozen chicken carcasses.
You can buy wings etc frozen that you then defrost.

[JuniperBeer]

I would get this thread moved to the dog section of mumsnet- you’ll get better replies from veterans!

[NewYoiker]

Thanks!

[DeadCertain]

I do; I buy everything from local butcher. It can takes pups a little while to get the hang of raw.

[TeaByTheSeaside]

I'm practice manager at a vets. We are so concerned about the dangers to pets and their owners we have officially said we do not recommend a raw diet.

This is because we've seen increased cases of infections from raw diets.

Also if you have children be very careful.

For example dog eats raw chicken containing salmonella. Dog has this around it's mouth. Child strokes dog near mouth and then touches their own mouth.

Have a read of this article.

www.vets-now.com/2017/05/safe-feed-pets-raw-meat-diet-proceed-caution-warn-vets/

[Justwaitingforaline]

We use raw, no problems with it whatsoever and have had many compliments on DD in terms of teeth/coat etc. We also give him carrots to gnaw on and the occasional raw treat (pig snout/duck neck etc)
Vet advice seems to vary from practice to practice as both mine/ my in-laws and my mother’s vet all advocate raw feeding.

If you have a look on Facebook, you might find a group for ‘insertbreed raw feeders’ which might be useful!

[AlwaysHangry]

I've always fed my sbt raw natures diet complete food it's brilliant

[AlwaysHangry]

Feed not fed🤦‍♀️

[VetOnCall]

I am a vet and have fed my own dogs raw for over 10 years with no problems. I have never had issues with raw-fed client dogs either. Nutriment complete raw food is excellent - top quality, reasonably priced and couldn't be easier to use; I highly recommend it.

[BiteyShark]

Why not swop to a higher quality wet food? I feed wet and the meat content is typically over 70%.

[Blobbyweeble]

I’ve fed my dogs complete raw for years with no problems. My vet is happy with it, they say they’ve noticed no increase in problems/infections amongst clients with raw fed dogs.

[PinkOboe]

We’ve fed raw for years. Out local butcher sells ready mixed. Our dogs are thriving and their poos are tiny 😂

They wouldn’t eat kibble either

Try Basils ir Darlings. It comes frozen and is preset inoffensive

[BiggFactHunt]

I’ve been feeding raw for 5 and a half years since my youngest child was 2 and luckily none of my children have had a horrific case of salmonella poisoning.
I don’t defrost the food either, dogs have it straight from freezer.
My dogs have both only had one vet visit each in the last 5 years. They are in great health and have very white teeth and easy to pick up poos.
Kibble poos are gross.
I get my food from They Love It or DAF Petfoods and supplement with duck necks, chicken wings etc bought from garden centres and pet shops.

[Veterinari]

The issue with feeding raw isn’t the risk to the dogs, it’s not even the risk of direct transfer of salmonella as described by a PP it’s that dogs can easily become silent shedders of salmonella.

The vast majority of poultry carcasses in the UK are infected with salmonella - it’s why food hygiene around raw chicken is so strict. Salmonella is killed by cooking.

When you feed a raw diet you transfer that salmonella to your dog. Some dogs may get ill, but the vast majority of dogs acclimatise to the salmonella and it settles in their digestive systems where they become carriers and shed the salmonella bacteria throughout their lives. It’s the same with some other pathogens such as E.coli. From a public health issue this is a massive risk because your dog will be shedding salmonella/E.coli on walks, when he sniffs/licks and when he toilets, which is a huge public health risk especially if he comes into contact with immunocompromised people such as the elderly or children who can become extremely ill.

That’s why raw feeding isn’t advised. It might be wonderful for dogs but it’s a very real risk to your family and to people within your community.

Home cooked diets are a different issue and safer from a public health point of view but raw feeding of dogs has already been associated with deaths in people so i’d Think carefully about the impact your choices have on others
www.vettimes.co.uk/news/certain-canine-raw-food-diets-massive-human-health-risk/

[VetOnCall]

That article linked above is mostly scaremongering crap. Yes if you just chuck some raw chicken breasts and smoked ham bones at your dog that is an inadequate and dangerous 'diet' but to therefore conclude that raw feeding in general is inadequate and dangerous is just plain wrong. Raw diets when done properly are perfectly safe, healthy and nutritionally balanced.

The issue is that to make your own raw food does require proper research and planning, but there is plenty of information available on how to go about it. However there are plenty of complete raw brands available now which do all the work for you and provide an entirely nutritionally balanced diet, all you have to do is defrost it and put it in the bowl.

Cooked/smoked/processed bones should never be fed to dogs; they are brittle and can splinter when chewed and cause perforations etc. as per the article. Edible raw bones (e.g. chicken wings, lamb ribs, pork ribs, chicken backs, turkey necks, duck necks, lamb breast, rabbit carcasses, oxtail) however are not brittle and are safe to feed. Some other types of raw bones are 'recreational' rather than edible due to being larger and/or harder so are suitable for occasional chewing rather than regular eating (e.g. beef ribs, beef leg bones, venison leg bones), but they are still safe.

[Veterinari]

www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/01/11/raw-pet-food-trend-risks-ecoli-salmonella-owners-new-study/

[Heismyopendoor]

We don’t feed raw as like a pp has mentioned, I didn’t think it was a good fit with having kids. Also if they have germs on their face or paws and then walk around the house it could be everywhere.

I make me own dog food as our dog wouldn’t eat any dog food we bought, vet recommended we try chicken and rice as she was also struggling with her tummy and poops. She gobbled it up and since then I’ve just made my own. There are loads of recipes online.

Our dog is very very healthy, good weight, great coat and always gets excellent feedback at her check ups :)

[Veterinari]

I’m assuming that’s a cross post @VetonCall because if not, you’ve entirely misunderstood what i’ve Written.

The issue of nutritional value is a completely different issue and one that can be addressed by using commercially prepared raw diets. However many of these commercial diets are still infected with zoonotic bacteria and parasites and pose a human health risk.the main issue with raw feeding is the public health risk related to the shedding of zoonotic diseases by dogs and the transfer of antibiotic resistant-bacteria to humans.

veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/182/2/50
www.liverpool.ac.uk/infection-and-global-health/research/pet-health/raw-pet-food/

[anniehm]

I mix pedigree/winalot with dry, he grazes anyway, as long as they aren't too skinny don't worry

[VetOnCall]

I was referring to the first linked article in my post above, although I am sceptical that raw diets constitute a major public health risk. The investigation named raw dog food as a 'putative' cause in that case, it was not proven.

[Doggydoggydoggy]

I’m really confused by all this talk of salmonella.

When I had chickens, they were vaccinated against salmonella.
In fact, my understanding is all large scale farmers and breeders vaccinate their chicks against salmonella.

So how can raw chicken carry salmonella??

[VetOnCall]

Christ now there are 3 articles! I was originally referring to the Vets Now one.

[Veterinari]

So how can raw chicken carry salmonella??

Only egg producing chickens are vaccinated against salmonella
Meat chickens either carry it or more commonly, when they are slaughtered and processed there is an element of faecal contamination and it is transferred across carcasses via the water baths. It’s why there are strict hygiene practices around preparing raw chicken.

The meat used in raw pet food is generally not passed as suitable for human consumption and has significantly more risk of disease.

[Veterinari]

The investigation named raw dog food as a 'putative' cause in that case, it was not proven.
Christ now there are 3 articles!

Yeah god-forbid we should be looking at actual evidence

work coming out of major universities is demonstrating the risk of zoonotic diseases and AMR-bacteria in raw feeding.

The human death link is putatative because they cannot rule out infection from another source entirely as humans do not live in sterile bubbles with only one potential exposure source, but the APHA made it pretty clear that raw dog food was the likeliest cause
www.foodsafetynews.com/2018/10/four-stec-infections-one-person-dead-after-exposure-to-raw-pet-food/

[madvixen]

Under the animal by products regulations, dog food should be category 3. This is meat that has been passed as fit for human consumption but which is not intended for human consumption (usually because it's not parts of the animal that we eat).

It is all labelled as 'not for human consumption' as a food safety measure.