[SMoore]

I was told by someone at petsmart not to ever feed raw pork to dogs, is this true? I just started maybe 2 months ago so i've only been doing chicken backs/necks with a fish meal once a week. Sometimes i cook some rice and put raw carrots in it as well just because Pandora LOVES carrots and i've heard rice is pretty good for dogs.

I've recently wanted to switch it up a bit. I get venison meat from my parents all the time (they hunt a lot) and have a large freezer to store several lbs in at a time. I've just wanted to try things slow.

Anyway, can dogs have pork or stay away from it?

[jesirose]

I assume you're in the US or Canada? Pork is safe here, we don't have Trichinella. If you're worried, freeze it for a while first. Now, for the venison, definately freeze it for at least 3 weeks, as if they hunt that's wild game and it could have stuff, but freezing it will kill it.

I don't think rice is good for dogs.

Also, just backs and necks is a lot of bone, you only need about 10% bone.

What fish do you use? There is some fish you want to stay away from, but I forget which as I haven't tried fish yet.

ETA: Someone else posted this link: http://www.askthemeatman.com/pork_Trichinosis.htm which says: "Trichinella is killed when pork is frozen at minus 5 degrees F for 25 days OR to minus 22 degrees F for 25 hours." and " Trichinosis is not common in the US anymore, mostly due to changes in the methods of feeding of pigs over the last 30 years. (They don't feed them the raw intestines from slaughtered hogs ground up with their feed like they used to do - this was the main avenue of contamination on hog farms)."

[RawFedDogs]

Originally Posted by SMoore

I was told by someone at petsmart not to ever feed raw pork to dogs, is this true? I just started maybe 2 months ago so i've only been doing chicken backs/necks with a fish meal once a week.

Pork is great. I feed it at least once a week. It's cheap, easy to find, and most important, nutritious.

Sometimes i cook some rice and put raw carrots in it as well just because Pandora LOVES carrots and i've heard rice is pretty good for dogs.

No, rice is not good for dogs. No grain is. Dogs can't digest grains, fruits or veggies. Some veggies occasionally for treats are ok. If your dogs like them, let them have some treats sometimes. Just don't expect any nutrients from them.

I've recently wanted to switch it up a bit. I get venison meat from my parents all the time (they hunt a lot) and have a large freezer to store several lbs in at a time. I've just wanted to try things slow.

It's time to add some variety to the diet. Pork is good. Turkey is good. Beef is good. Lamb is good. Goat is good. Venison is probably the best of all. Feed it often but introduce it slowly. If I could only feed one meat, it would be venison. Introduce the other meats slowly. One new one every week or so.

Anyway, can dogs have pork or stay away from it?

Feed it. The only food you need to watch out for is wild caught salmon from the pacific Northwest. That should be frozen for a few weeks because of a parasite SOME salmon have. Farmed salmon or salmon from other parts of the world are ok.

[Shaina]

Salmon Poisoning Disease - to avoid, do not feed your dog raw salmon, trout, steelhead, or other such salmonids originating from the Pacific (particularly the Pacific Northwest).

It's caused by a bacteria that originates from a parasite that tends to infect salmonids in that region and can be fatal if untreated.

[2puppimsmom]

I feed all meats too. I haven't fed venison. Don't have access to it. I feed canned fish a lot .

[jesirose]

Originally Posted by 2puppimsmom

I feed all meats too. I haven't fed venison. Don't have access to it. I feed canned fish a lot .

I don't think canned fish is raw. What do you use?

[briteday]

If I feed canned fish it's mackeral. Otherwise there are good deals on whole tilapia and other fish in my area, avoiding all trout and salmon. They have even found the parasite in Atlantic salmon now as well.

If anyone feeds venison they need to check the CDC website to see if they are in an area where wasting disease has been observed in wild game animals...deer, elk, moose...it is found mainly in hooved animals with antlers is the way I see it defined in the literature. If it is in your area then I would want to know the person who is gutting the animals and trust them beyond a doubt and never feed brain, spinal, or nerve tissue no matter how healthy the anomal appears.

Whole chickens (most poultry for that matter) have a near perfect meat to bone ratio. But when you start exclusively feeding only certain parts you are messing with the calciumhosphorus ratio. Observe your dog's stool to see if there is eveidence of too much bone in the diet. Also too much calcium can affect the absorption of potassium, iron, zinc, and magnesium. Prey model diet is meant to utilize the entire prey animal.

[RawFedDogs]

Originally Posted by briteday

If I feed canned fish it's mackeral.

I feed canned salmon and mackerel but jesirose is correct ... canned is cooked. Oh well, i feed it anyway.

They have even found the parasite in Atlantic salmon now as well.

I haven't heard that. Where did that come from?

If anyone feeds venison they need to check the CDC website to see if they are in an area where wasting disease has been observed in wild game animals...deer, elk, moose...it is found mainly in hooved animals with antlers is the way I see it defined in the literature.

CWD is not transmittable to dogs. Wolves in the wild never get it and they eat a lot of CWD animals. Wolves actually help keep the disease from spreading faster by killing and eating affected animals.

Whole chickens (most poultry for that matter) have a near perfect meat to bone ratio.

Chicken is 31% bone. Thats pretty high content if chicken is all you feed. It is nowhere near perfect (whatever perfect is) I think it's generally accepted that around 10-15% is perfect. BTW: I feed more than 10-15% bone to my dogs.

But when you start exclusively feeding only certain parts you are messing with the calciumhosphorus ratio.

I disagree with that statement. I don't think the ratio is critical anyway. How many humans actually know or care that the ca/ph ratio is in their own diet? I think this is just an argument that pet food companies bring up to scare people away from a raw diet. As long as you feed mostly meat, some bone and some organs, you are ok. Exact amounts just don't matter any more in a dog's diet than a human's.

{quote] Prey model diet is meant to utilize the entire prey animal.[/quote]

Prey model diet is meant to approximate feeding the entire prey animal. In real life its just not practicle to feed whole animals other than chickens, turkeys, and rabbits. That would leave out a lot of very valuable and nutritious meats and make feeding raw much more difficult. Of course, feeding whole animals would be the perfect option.