[skelaki]

"I recently watched a CBS interview, in which
Debbye Turner, former Miss USA and now 'media
Vet' strongly condemned any form of Raw feeding.

It's supposedly NOT nutritionally balanced.

It can be harmful to your family..all that
bacteria.

Then it can ALSO be harmful to your pet..
( the bacteria/parasite issue)

ON top of this there have been according to
her NO studies to document any of the
health claims....

------------------------------
So WHAT's the Truth?
------------------------------

I really like the human analogy- ALL of us
agree that a varied, fresh, minimally processed
diet is FAR better than living out of a can..

TO thrive we need LESS processed/preserved/
colored/cancer inducing commercial foods.

And so do our pets- your dogs and cats.

Here are a few FACTS:

1. There are virtually ZERO cases of bacteria
induced illness in pets from feeding properly
prepared Raw Food. I, and most Veterinarians,
have NEVER seen a case. Compare that to
weekly seeing pets with a damaged Liver from
conventional anti-inflammatory pills..

2. Our pets have acidic stomachs which kill
many of the potentially harmful bacteria.

3. Dogs/Cats have short intestinal tracts-
they rapidly break up and digest the food,
leaving little time for harmful bacteria
to multiply.

4. Similarly, there are few IF any reported
cases of bacteria induced illness in people
preparing Raw food- easy to avoid by following
some simple steps."

It's nice to have a vet actually approve raw feeding for our dogs (and cats).

 

[trumpetjock]

A really good link right along this same idea. A ton of vets are behind the idea, it's just that they don't exactly advertise it on their business card.

http://mypetcarnivore.com/vets_say.htm

--edit: that being said, remember the oft used argument against vets who are anti-raw: vets receive very minimal (practically non-existent) nutrition training in vet school, so unless these vets have done primary research of their own they are just stating the same anecdotes that we raw feeders do. They probably have a much larger sample size of anecdotes, however.

 

[skelaki]

A really good link right along this same idea. A ton of vets are behind the idea, it's just that they don't exactly advertise it on their business card.

http://mypetcarnivore.com/vets_say.htm

--edit: that being said, remember the oft used argument against vets who are anti-raw: vets receive very minimal (practically non-existent) nutrition training in vet school, so unless these vets have done primary research of their own they are just stating the same anecdotes that we raw feeders do. They probably have a much larger sample size of anecdotes, however.

That of course is true but at least some vets are willing to learn more about nutrition and generally speaking (but not always, of course) those vets will be holistic. The vet in my quote is in Canada and actually started studying holisitic options including nutrition after one of his own dogs died despite everything he could do as an allopathic vet. Would the dog have died anyway? Perhaps, but he wanted more options than he had learned in vet school. One of the reaons I'm choosing a holistic vet that also practices allopathic medicine and, who has studied canine nutrition is to have more options. I just thought it interesting that there are vets willing to learn more than they were originally taught and not just condemn any options that differ. There are good vets out there both allopathic and holistic ones.

 

[Curbside Prophet]

I really like the human analogy- ALL of us
agree that a varied, fresh, minimally processed
diet is FAR better than living out of a can..

TO thrive we need LESS processed/preserved/
colored/cancer inducing commercial foods.

So there's proof commercial foods induce cancer? This is the rhetorical argument natural = best. Natural is not synonymous with optimal.

1. There are virtually ZERO cases of bacteria
induced illness in pets from feeding properly
prepared Raw Food. I, and most Veterinarians,
have NEVER seen a case. Compare that to
weekly seeing pets with a damaged Liver from
conventional anti-inflammatory pills..

"Virtually ZERO" is still not zero. If it's your dog I doubt you'd minimize the risk in favor of an alternatively contrived diet.

2. Our pets have acidic stomachs which kill
many of the potentially harmful bacteria.

3. Dogs/Cats have short intestinal tracts-
they rapidly break up and digest the food,
leaving little time for harmful bacteria
to multiply.

Virtually "many" is still not ZERO.

4. Similarly, there are few IF any reported
cases of bacteria induced illness in people
preparing Raw food- easy to avoid by following
some simple steps."

How can the risks be reported (in human or dog) if cases are treated symptomatically? Determining causation is VERY expensive, and impractical. I call Straw man.

 

[DobManiac]

"Virtually ZERO" is still not zero. If it's your dog I doubt you'd minimize the risk in favor of an alternatively contrived diet.

I think that’s the point.

There are no diets that come without risks. All we can hope is that every dog owner researches the risks and benefits to several different dietary plans for their dog. And then they can make a decision based on this evidence and how it applies to their lifestyle.

 

[skelaki]

I think that’s the point.

There are no diets that come without risks. All we can hope is that every dog owner researches the risks and benefits to several different dietary plans for their dog. And then they can make a decision based on this evidence and how it applies to their lifestyle.

Exactly. I'm not condemning feeding kibble or any other "dog food." In fact, I plan to feed kibble (TOTW probably) along with raw, which I know the purists out there condemn. I'm not a purist either way and never condemn anyone for their food choices. I'll give an opinion if asked but believe that most of us feed our pets the best food/s we can based on things such as budget and time.

 

[trumpetjock]

Exactly. I'm not condemning feeding kibble or any other "dog food." In fact, I plan to feed kibble (TOTW probably) along with raw, which I know the purists out there condemn. I'm not a purist either way and never condemn anyone for their food choices. I'll give an opinion if asked but believe that most of us feed our pets the best food/s we can based on things such as budget and time.

Not exactly sure if you want my opinion on it or not, but as a raw feeder, I would MUCH rather you feed 100% kibble than half and half. The changes required in the GI are enough that you may be putting the dog in a state of stress that is unnecessary.