Hi
Like many people, I have been a dog owner my whole life. Always went down the road of feeding commercially available dog foods. I have always splashed out for the 'premium' dog foods. Always assuming that this was the best thing for my dogs. I have a miniature pinscher and she has been an allergy sufferer for many years, usually having itchy ears as a symptom. Have tried all sorts of medications, and getting her ears 'flushed' at the vets, as well as specialised dog foods from the vet for allergy suffering dogs (which had no effect). Nothing seemed to work completely and I truly think that all these things were simply treating the symptoms, rather than the root cause.
I first started reading about a raw diet for dogs a couple of years back and became quite interested in it, something that the vet that I see quickly squashed (not to say she is a 'bad' vet, she has taken very good care of my dog for a long period of time). So, I didn't look into it more, taking the vets word for it.
In the end I thought, I'm going to give this a bit more reading and give it a crack. Since putting my dog on a raw diet, she has not scratched her ears once! she appears happier (although this is subjective to my interpretation of happiness), her coat seems softer and her breath doesn't smell at all. The breath was a big one, as she is an old dog (13years) and her breath was starting to really smell and she has had her teeth cleaned at the vets within the last 6 months (cost me about $450 from memory) I think the difference in her breath can largely be attributed to chewing of bones and using her jaw muscles to gnaw rather than just swallowing soft foods. I have gone for a BARF raw diet which includes some vegetable matter as it is a little closer to what her commercial food was like, and I didn't want to do something too radical with such an old dog like the whole prey diet. My dog also suffers from a slightly enlarged heart, which she is medicated for on a daily basis. Due to this her salt intake needs to be closely monitored. Many commercial dog foods are high in salt (especially snacks). That is if you even trust what is in the dog food. I have a close friend who has a young dog who is a severe allergy sufferer, itchy ears (to the point of causing damage to his ears), tearing fur out and itchy pads. I am going to get him to give the raw diet a crack, interested to see if it has the same effect on his dog.
I am currently in contact with breeders looking for a Great Dane at the moment, and I will 100% be putting my new dog on a raw diet. Probably the whole prey raw diet. I think that this will do a Great Dane and other large/giant breeds a world of good, as it promotes a more regulated growth in puppies. Regulated "even" growth is great for dogs who have a predisposition to suffer from ailments like hip dysplasia.
The simple facts of this way of feeding is based around many commercial foods containing lots of preservatives and many are grain based. Dogs are essentially wolves in dogs clothing, and such should be fed a carnivorous diet. Feeding uncooked bones help with healthy teeth and jaw muscles. The mouth is a gateway to your animal, and a healthy mouth on your pet is a positive start to a healthy animal.
Why don't Vets tell people about feeding a raw diet? I'm not sure. I know from studying at university (BSc Biological Science) you are never taught everything. It is possible that canine nutrition is not properly taught. Another school of thought is that it is not good for business, but I am not going to subscribe to that school of thought as I think 98% of Vets would have the animals best interest at heart, and to keep a dogs health at less than optimal condition is not something that most would have the heart to do.
What annoys me is the reasoning that some people and vets included give for not feeding a raw diet, like they are too far domesticated to be fed a diet that more closely mimics a wolves diet. That is garbage, through domestication and selective breeding we have changed the phenotype that dogs show, the internal physiology has not changed. There is also the argument that wolves eat the gut content of herbivores, perhaps. Small prey items, sure they will get some plant matter. Watch a doco of a wolf (or any large carnivore) eating a large prey item, the gut content is usually left behind, or only a small portion is eaten after most of it has been shaken out. If this is an issue for you, add some 'green tripe' to your dogs diet which is the stomach lining of a cow. The BARF method of feeding also includes some vegetables.
Price? for such a small dog (3.2kg) the cost difference isn't even noticed. For a large breed, it is a more expensive method of feeding, but you can make this exercise cheaper by shopping around and buying in bulk, it is like anything in life. The generally accepted amount to feed is 2-3% of your dogs body weight per day, some dogs may require less or more based on genetics and activity level, similar to peoples intake needs.
I could go on at length on the subject, but I have written enough for now.
Anyone else feed a raw diet? I'd highly recommended giving it a go, especially if you have an allergy suffering dog. The only down side is you may be dealing with loose stools for the first couple days while the gut of your dog becomes adjusted. I'd suggest even a day between changing diets a cleansing period.
I am no expert on the subject nor am I claiming to be an expert on dog nutrition. However, I have studied biology at the university level (not the be all end all by any means!), done many many hours of reading and can see the proof in the pudding with my own loved best friend. I know everyone loves their dogs like a part of the family. The enrichment that they give us can not be quantitatively measured, but it is a sh!t load! Why not do all you can to give them a better quality of life? I'm not saying for 1 second that feeding commercially available dog food makes you a bad dog owner. I'm just trying to raise a bit of awareness and start a discussion on the subject. A few years back I wouldn't have really thought that this was a real option for one reason or another, and I didn't appreciate the potential benefits that my dog could get out of it!
Apologies for the length of this post (if you have gotten this far 
)
Cheers,
Alex
Edited by Peckoltia, 05 June 2013 - 04:03 PM.
