RAW/BARF feeders.....?

[Ol Grey Mare]

Venturing into raw feeding for out canine and feline family members.... hoping to network with anyone else here who does, or has, feed this way.....

 

[cassie]

You didn't ask my opinion and I shouldn't give it, but personally I would be hesitant to feed a raw food diet to my dogs or cats because of the risk of bacterial contamination. Salmonella would be a real concern.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You didn't ask my opinion and I shouldn't give it, but personally I would be hesitant to feed a raw food diet to my dogs or cats because of the risk of bacterial contamination. Salmonella would be a real concern.

That's a fairly common concern by those who are foreign to the concept, so no offense taken however do know that I have done enough research and feel comfortable in making this choice for my pets.

 

[Folly's place]

I'll butt in here too; there is good research showing that there's a lot more Salmonella, shigella, and other nasties where dogs and cats are fed raw diets.
Mary

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I'll butt in here too; there is good research showing that there's a lot more Salmonella, shigella, and other nasties where dogs and cats are fed raw diets.
Mary

I appreciate you taking the time to respond, and mean no disrespect in what I am about to say. That said, as I have already stated, I am not making an uninformed choice.
I did not post looking for discussion of the pros and cons of this feeding approach, nor did I ask for anyone's opinion on whether it was appropriate or not. I simply asked if there were others here who chose to follow the same path and would like to talk about it. Similar to the respect that we ask of the "pet only" folks with regards to not going to the processing posts and engaging in a discussion of the wrongs of that method and the similar respect we ask of the processing group to give the pet only folks in their discussions, I would expect that that same respect to could be extended here. I am not asking anyone to follow this method with their own pets, criticizing other feeding approaches, etc......simply seeking to find others with whom i can discuss our choice.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

We don’t use this feeding method here totally but we do feed raw meat. Depends what has been available to shoot. It is totally fresh what does get fed, be it rabbit, pigeon or deer. Never had an issue with it with our dogs & the other half has looked at a total raw diet for them especially when the full shooting gets under way & they are in full work. Also a big fan of feeding vegetables to them too.

 

[Shadrach]

I used to feed my dog on a raw feed diet. Sometimes people think this is just meat, or fish, but this dog got vegetables raw and raw eggs. The problem I had was with quick burn carbohydrates which are often supplied by grains in processed food.

 

[Stiletto]

Two of my dogs, when they were puppies, were fed raw for several months. My cat also got a high percentage of raw food when he was a kitten. Unfortunately, I was/am not able to feed raw because it is difficult and pricey to obtain a suitable variety of meats/offal and storage is another issue. Added to that, I have three large to extra large dogs, which doesn't make the logistics any easier.

If circumstances were different, I would love to feed them all a raw diet. I was impressed by the small stools, which crumbled into dust and were blown away by the breeze after several days. They disappeared within a week. I compare this to huge turds from commercial feed (albeit quality dry food) that seem to have a half life. Their teeth looked great; whereas from dry food there is build-up on teeth. They all loved eating this way and relished their meals; more than just filling their bellies it was the longer feeding time, the activity of gnawing and chewing.

I'm glad that you're able to explore this and wish you and your canine and feline family members well on this venture!

P.S. A thought I've just had, though you've probably read about it, is that if you are feeding meat on the bone, some animals need to be taught how to chew it properly (as opposed to swallow down). I spent some time holding the meat for them to chew away at and then they got the idea.

 

[Shadrach]

some animals need to be taught how to chew it properly

An excellent observation.
It also takes some time I found for their stomachs to get used to real food.
Like any changes in an animals diet, it should be gradual and monitored.

 

[igorsMistress]

Stainless is the way to go with raw, I like bowls with the rubber on the bottom so they don't slide on the floor. No scratches or cracks to harbor bacteria in the bowls.

What made you decide to go raw?