Do you use raw food - or have you found it too much hassle?

[loveyouradvice]

Hmm... I've realised that his Lily's kitchen is NOT giving him the best diet and have been reading up on Allaboutdogfood. (Great website!)

Although I love the idea of having all the benefits of raw food, I am a bit concerned it might be quite a hassle

What's your experience?
How have you made your life easier doing it?
What's your least favourite thing about it?

And what do you do when travelling ... my wee fella is a brilliant traveller but would love to take easy food with us - can he switch to freeze dried or something else for a few days?

And the reason people are asking you is because you're a vet so presumably you know why those foods are so heavily promoted by vet companies?

It's nothing to do with being owed an explanation - people (rightly or wrongly) assume that a vet would have at least a basic knowledge of food and would be able to answer questions like that.

If you don't know the answer or don't feel comfortable saying - you could just say so without sniping at people for daring to question things.

I just don't understand why a dog food whose primary ingredients are dried poultry protein, rice, animal fat and maize feed meal is beneficial for my dog.

Likely because (as I've already mentioned) you're confusing ingredients with nutrients. They aren't the same

What benefit does this food (for example) provide above other brands to justify the price?
No idea. I. Am. Not. A. Nutritionist.

It's not that I don't believe the foods can't be beneficial, it's just that I don't understand why their ingredients make them so good that they're generally double the price of other brands of food like James Wellbeloved or Millie's Wolfheart.

Has anyone suggested they are better?
And where are you getting your pricing info from? Hills and James Wellbeloved are almost the same price in pets at home. Again. There seems to be a lot of unfounded assumption here.

And the reason people are asking you is because you're a vet so presumably you know why those foods are so heavily promoted by vet companies?

Why on earth would a vet have insight into the marketing practices of companies they are uninvolved in?

Do you expect your mechanic to explain why Mercedes advertises in the way they do and how they justify the costs of their products?

What a weird assumption

If you don't know the answer or don't feel comfortable saying - you could just say so without sniping at people for daring to question things.

I've given you my answer about half a dozen times. You insist on nagging me with same question. It's tiresome. This is MN. If you don't like sarcasm you're probably in the wrong forum

No idea. I. Am. Not. A. Nutritionist.

So you don't know.

Thanks.

@raspberrysundaes

No idea. I. Am. Not. A. Nutritionist.

So you don't know.

Thanks.

I have no idea what the benefits of Hills are over other commercial foods (if any) I have never vet claimed there are any or recommended specific brands. As I have said repeatedly since 22.07 last night, I'm not recommending any specific food and you're perfectly free to buy the food if your choice from the pet shop or wherever. Astonishing it's taken so much repetition for you to absorb that simple point. I'm glad the punctuation helped.

Again with the rudeness - why is it necessary to snipe at people and belittle them for asking questions or for not understanding you?

However, I was never referring to you personally - I was asking about vet practises in general. They all sell the same foods which gives pet owners the impression that they must have some kind of special benefit above other brands.

It's clear from this thread that they don't really have any special benefit - or if they do, it's not one that's obvious or clear-cut.

I feed both my dobermanns raw they love it! I use completes which have everything in your dog needs. We feed our dogs mainly Daf or bulmers! I also give them Dorwest's keepers mix which is a herbal supplement for a healthy digestion, coat ect. It helps my vet is on board.

@raspberrysundaes

Again with the rudeness - why is it necessary to snipe at people and belittle them for asking questions or for not understanding you?

However, I was never referring to you personally - I was asking about vet practises in general. They all sell the same foods which gives pet owners the impression that they must have some kind of special benefit above other brands.

It's clear from this thread that they don't really have any special benefit - or if they do, it's not one that's obvious or clear-cut.

Because 12 hours of repetition is tedious. If you don't like my responses feel free to leave the thread

I can see you're still persisting painting me as some kind of vet practice/pet food oracle with insight into the marketing practices of vet practices generally. So I'll try this again

I. Am. Not.

it's clear from this thread that they don't really have any special benefit - or if they do, it's not one that's obvious or clear-cut.
It's also absolutely clear from this thread that no one except you has suggested they do. You're arguing with your own straw man

🤦

There's a really sinister undertone from this thread now. Sorry OP it has been spectacularly derailed. Hopefully you make an informed choice too, it's not easy. Ultimately we are all aiming to try our best for our pet and their nutritional needs.

@Veterinari

it's clear from this thread that they don't really have any special benefit - or if they do, it's not one that's obvious or clear-cut. It's also absolutely clear from this thread that no one except you has suggested they do. You're arguing with your own straw man

Again, you're missing my point completely.

As they're sold by vet practises up and down the country, pet owners assume that means there's some benefit to them - otherwise why would they be sold there above other brands?

This is just a general debate about the benefits of those foods - as far as I can see, there's no nutritional or health reason for vet practises to stock them above other brands. Which is fine.

TheNorthWind sorry almost forgot to respond to you. Our breeder has tried every type of kibble over the years, and stumbled across Happy Dog and found all her dogs are enjoying it and also faring well on it. We are finding our puppy is doing well on it too. If it's not broken, don't fix it. Not sure how it compares cost wise to the more popular brands in the UK but we are willing to pay for the kibble she enjoys.

This is just a general debate about the benefits of those foods - as far as I can see, there's no nutritional or health reason for vet practises to stock them above other brands. Which is fine.

Actually it isn't. It was a thread on the pros and cons of raw feeding. You just decided to derail it by expecting me to 'justify' the pricing and marketing of foods I have no involvement in, and the stocking practices of businesses I don't work for

I'm glad that after 12 hours of repetition, thread derailing and personal attacks you've finally got the point I made yesterday @raspberrysundaes

Christ this thread is aggressive. I think veterinari has been very polite in the circumstances.

To get back to the question at hand, I feed my dog natures menu raw frozen nuggets because they're a complete food and easily available and easy to measure. I have no small children in the house, my dog's poo is firmer and his farts don't smell as much as they did. He is in tip top condition but his food does take up a freezer drawer for a couple of weeks. He's only 11kg so has about 1/3 bag a day (works out about £1.50/day) so you would have to do the calculations for a larger breed.

We camp a lot and then I feed him forthglade which he seems fine on for a few days - I tried the nature's menu wet food but it gave him sloppy poo.

Hope that's helpful OP.

I thought it was very clearly explained last night that vets stock Hills / Royal Canin , because they are the main brands that make proprietary special diets for cats and dogs , and most food sales for vets are for special diets . Anyhow , if people want to raw feed , feed kibble or mix feed I’m sure anecdotally we can all tell stories of long lived healthy pets .

Actually it isn't. It was a thread on the pros and cons of raw feeding. You just decided to derail it by expecting me to 'justify' the pricing and marketing of foods I have no involvement in, and the stocking practices of businesses I don't work for confused

It was @Snaplittledragon who originally asked that question, not me. And again, I don't expect you to justify anything, I was just curious as to whether you knew why they were so heavily promoted. You don't, which is fine.

I'm glad that after 12 hours of repetition, thread derailing and personal attacks you've finally got the point I made yesterday @raspberrysundaes**

Again, I haven't once personally attacked you. But you don't need to keep piling on and belittling me either. Have a nice day :)

@Floralnomad

I thought it was very clearly explained last night that vets stock Hills / Royal Canin , because they are the main brands that make proprietary special diets for cats and dogs , and most food sales for vets are for special diets . Anyhow , if people want to raw feed , feed kibble or mix feed I’m sure anecdotally we can all tell stories of long lived healthy pets .

Thanks @Floralnomad. I thought so too

I'm starting to feel as if I'm trapped in Groundhog Day, or typing Greek or something . Hadn't realised it was such a tricky concept to grasp

It was very clear.

@raspberrysundaes - fwiw you have come across as really unpleasant in this thread. Just so you know.

@Clymene

It was very clear.

@raspberrysundaes - fwiw you have come across as really unpleasant in this thread. Just so you know.

And you felt the need to say that...why? What's the point in jumping in to throw personal insults at me? Does it make you feel better to randomly insult a stranger for no reason?

@Floralnomad

I thought it was very clearly explained last night that vets stock Hills / Royal Canin , because they are the main brands that make proprietary special diets for cats and dogs , and most food sales for vets are for special diets . Anyhow , if people want to raw feed , feed kibble or mix feed I’m sure anecdotally we can all tell stories of long lived healthy pets .

Thank you. It actually wasn't very clear to me but thank you for explaining it without all the insults :)

@raspberrysundaes

Which part of:

You don't have to buy your diet from the vet - vets tend to stock brands that produce prescription diets with hypoallergenic/renal/sensitive variants - that's why those brands are stocked - they have an evidence based therapeutic indcation.

You're perfectly free to nip you the pet ship instead - the point is the diets are nutritionally complete and just as importantly safe for public health

Was unclear or confusing or suggested in any way that I was suggesting a specific brand was superior? Also where are the insults in that explanation?

My dog is raw fed and has been for around 5 years. I use Poppy’s Picnic which he does really well on. Did try freeze dried raw once but it made him really thirsty and I had to get up in the night to let him out for a wee!

I treat his raw good the same way I treat raw meat I’m preparing for myself and make sure hands are washed and surfaces cleaned afterwards. No adverse effects on dog or humans.