Raw vs. cooked...same reason that humans live longer on a vegan raw diet than a cooked diet. You lose precious vitamins and enzymes when you cook any food.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_foodism
A percentage of all dogs, whether raw fed or kibble fed, excrete salmonella and other bacteria. And Cornell studies show that cattle fed on a grass diet had far less excretion of E. coli that cattle fed on a grain diet. So all animals, including humans, excrete bacteria. Bacteria live in our guts to digest our food. It's only when that bacteria blooms beyond normal levels that treatment becomes necessary. (and you probably don't want to read the studies done of culturing bacteria from tooth brushes left within 10 feet of a flushed toilet...let's just say that your tooth brush should stay in the cabinet...)
If you prepare raw meat for your human family you have the same exposure to bacteria on raw meat as if you are feeding it to your dog. I limit the mess by feeding my dogs outside. But if the weather is bad and they eat inside I do it in the laundry room so I can just quickly mop up and ick left on the floor. And to reduce the bacterial load on all meat that I buy, for human or dog consumption, it is immediately frozen unless eaten the same day. Bacteria and parasites cannot survive freezing. Proper defrosting techniques and handling are crucial and even printed right on the label of meat that you buy at the grocery or elsewhere.
I believe that a bad raw diet is worse than a good kibble. And my dogs eat kibble a few weeks every year when we go on vacation and leave them behind.
Why do I feed raw? I have one dog that failed to thrive, almost died, during the first five years of her life and we couldn't find a commercial food that she would thrive on. The only thin left was raw. And why should we cook it? And lose precious enzymes and vitamins? I'll be happy to post plenty of data showing that dogs as well as humans live longer on a raw diet. Yes, we should be eating as much fresh raw food as we can. But our guts are not designed the same as canids, so we should avoid raw meat. But raw vegan diet is the way to go if you want to live to see 100.
I happen to have access to running blood work on my dogs and cat any time I want. I checked them before we started raw and have checked at least every 6 months since starting raw. Their chemical health is far better since raw than it was before raw. And I'm referring to the chemical markers that we can measure for heart, kidneys, liver, ... Last week one of the older dogs had her bloodwork done and the vet remarked that she looked like a 3-year-old from her blood work. This is the "failure to thrive" dog.
The two older dogs and cat have not needed dentals or exctractions in over three years now. Previously we did dentals on them every 6 months and they always included extractions.
Lastly, I started feeding raw full time right around the same time as the dog food recalls and deaths due to melamine from China. I have a limited choice of commercial food in my area so I prefer to control what they are eating. And dog food recalls due to salmonella contamination have continued right up to the present. I'll never be able to know where (what country) a commercial dog food manufacturer is obtaining the products. So I choose to only feed them what I know.
Oh, and I forgot about almost no poop to clean up and lack of vet bills.
But I still maintain that a bad raw diet is worse that a good kibble. Raw feeding is not for everyone.
