Benefits and risks of raw feeding for dogs

The Benefits of Feeding Raw

Feeling nervous yet? That’s normal. Most people have such reflexive reactions to  changing or rethinking their dog food—“He’ll get sick if I switch.” “How will I  know if I’m feeding him correctly?”—that the dog food companies are to be com-  mended for all but signing us up as customers for life. 

Most everyone who has switched a dog from a commercial dog food to a raw  food diet has had twinges of panic. It’s understandable, and it’s transitory. Once  you actually see your dog eating and thriving on a raw diet, once weeks and  months go by and nothing horrible happens, you will begin to relax. And soon,  feeding this way will feel natural—which is exactly what it is, on a bunch of dif-  ferent levels. 

Although it sounds far afield, there is a parallel between the pressure some vets  put on dog owners to feed kibble instead of home-prepared meals and the insis-  tence of obstetricians in the 1950s and ’60s that women give their newborns for-  mula instead of breast milk. This idea that somehow we are incapable of providing  appropriate sustenance without corporate intervention—that something artificial is  better than something natural—should seem counterintuitive. Think about it: Are  you so incapable of putting together a balanced diet for your dog that you need to  feed him out of a bag every day? You don’t feed your human children that way. And  surely their nutritional needs are no less complicated, or important, than your  dog’s. 

Raw feeding “has all the appearances of becoming mainstream within the next  five to ten years,” says Billinghurst, adding that the most common reason people  switch is “the need to solve a health issue for their pet. However, large numbers of  people who have taken an interest in their own health and have embraced natural

therapies for themselves research and adopt the evolutionary diet for their pet as a  logical extension of that way of thinking.” 

Here are some of the changes you can generally expect after switching your dog  to a raw diet.

Enhanced immune system and reduced allergic reactions.

 Commercial dog food is  taxing on your dog’s system, for a number of reasons. To keep kibble fresher  longer, dog food companies must remove as much moisture as possible, baking it  under extremely high temperatures. Not only is the food overprocessed, with lots  of additives to preserve shelf life and provide nutrients lost during the cooking  process, but the quality of the ingredients varies widely.  In contrast, raw food is much more bioavailable—your dog’s body doesn’t have  to work as hard to extract the much-needed nutrients. And since all the ingredients  are controlled by you, you can eliminate the cheap grains, low-quality meats and  chemical preservatives that may account for some of the food sensitivities you see.   

Increased hydration.

 Raw meat contains plenty of water. Kibble, because of the  manufacturing process, does not. People who switch their dogs to raw food will  often notice a decrease in their dog’s water intake. This isn’t a cause for alarm; in  fact, just the opposite. It’s a sign that the dog is getting the moisture and hydration  she needs from her food, and no longer needs to supplement it. 

Smaller volume of stool.

 Kibble contains fillers, which help bulk up the food—and  contribute to the formation of copious amounts of stool. In contrast, the ingre-  dients in a raw diet are fresh, more easily digested and more completely absorbed.  Most of what goes in gets used.

As a result, dogs fed raw diets produce a smaller amount of stool—in many  cases, about a third less than kibble-fed dogs. And their stools are often hard and  round like marbles, turning white in a couple of days and disintegrating into a pow-  der if you get lax with your poop-scooping. Contrast this to the potty products of  kibble-fed dogs, which can endure for weeks and months.

Fewer anal-gland problems.

 The stools of raw-fed dogs aren’t made soft and  mushy by the preservatives and fillers in kibble. Instead, their bone content gives  them a harder consistency. As a result, when stools are passed, they tend to stim-  ulate and empty a dog’s anal glands naturally.

    Less of a doggy smell. Raw feeders swear that their dogs have less of an objec-  tionable overall odor than kibble-fed dogs.

Cleaner teeth.

 If you choose to feed your dog whole raw bones, as some raw feed-  ers advocate, you can expect a mouth full of shiny, tartar-free teeth. The reason  should be obvious: All that bone crunching and gnawing is better than any brush-  ing or flossing you could ever do. A side benefit—reduced doggy breath.    Fewer ear infections. The yeast and grain content of commercial dog foods can  contribute to chronic ear problems in many breeds, especially those with pendu-  lous or drop ears. Raw diets—especially those with no- or low-grain content—can  clear up those frustrating infections for good.

Bloat management.

 Some owners and breeders of large dogs who are prone to  bloat, or gastric torsion, believe a grain-free raw diet reduces the risk of a bloating  episode. The theory is that a raw diet does not contain fillers that can expand in the  stomach, thereby increasing the possibility of bloat.   

The Risks of Feeding Raw

  Most conventional vets are adamantly opposed to a raw food diet, and will be very

persistent in trying to dissuade you from feeding one to your dog. Billinghurst sees  this animosity as rooted in a lack of knowledge, and the myth that canine nutrition  is somehow more complex than human nutrition.

 “Vets have no training in this area,” he says. “In fact, they have very little train-  ing in nutrition outside the admonition to feed a complete and balanced scientif-  ically produced grain-based processed pet food. They are very much afraid that raw  food will pass on deadly bacteria to their patients. They assume—on the basis of  nothing more than their own prejudicial belief—that raw foods will cause animals  to be overwhelmed with E. coli, campylobacter and salmonella. They also think that  such bacteria will be readily passed from the dog to its human companions.

 “In practice, none of this has been known to happen. Dogs and cats have, until  very recently, been eating this way and doing brilliantly for millions of years—  certainly not requiring the army of vets they apparently need today to keep them  healthy!” In addition, Billinghurst says, vets often have a vested financial interest in  promoting the kibble that is displayed in their waiting room.

 Are there risks to feeding a raw diet? Of course, just as there are to feeding a  steady diet of kibble. Nothing in life is risk-free. But if you take the proper precau-  tions and educate yourself about this way of feeding, you can mitigate many of the  following concern