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Originally Posted by lara2913  Personally, I woulden't consider evolution a theory, but thats a whole 'nother debate  |
Yes, another debate altogether.
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Originally Posted by lara2913 Well, some things I already mentioned, they have very thick stomach linings, strong stomach acids and different digestive enzymes to us. Those are all facts. |
Agreed. (Although feeding whole bones--different subject again--still pose possible risks to stomachs, intestines, and teeth.)
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Originally Posted by lara2913 Do you have any 'proven' research that commercial pet food is safe? The pet food recall would suggest otherwise... |
Heck, recalls happen all the time...my Totinos pizzas got recalled last month!
Seriously, depends on what you consider 'proven.' You could argue there is no proof for either side. Maybe 'extensive' research was a better choice of phrase...
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Originally Posted by lara2913 Well, some things are killed through freezing for at least 48 hours and there are many that affect humans but not dogs. Now, of course raw is not risk free, but nothing is, there is no evidence to suggest that commercial pet food is any safer, as I already mentioned, the pet food recall would suggest otherwise. |
True, freezing does kill out many (not all) things and contaminates are everywhere. Of course, if freezing first is the key, that throws out that whole 'it's what they eat in the wild' argument, huh? Cooking (home or commercial) does eliminate alot of those risks...although you then have to supplement for some things lost in the cooking process.
Guess you have to decide which is a bigger concern for you.
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Originally Posted by lara2913 Potentially yes, but it is almost unbeliveably rare and only really presents itself in dogs who are already immune compromised. |
I believe some of those recalls you mentioned were because the products were found to contain Salmonella? So either 1)
those recalls weren't needed should be taken out of the equation for that argument, or 2) it does pose some threat....
The article was interesting.
I've never really looked into how Salmonella (and other bacteria that plague humans) affect dogs differently...glad you brought this up....I'm going to try to look into it more.
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Originally Posted by lara2913 People who home cooked have to add supplements to their dogs diet because a home cooked diet is not balanced by itself, raw is, no supplentation is needed with raw, I have always thought that speaks volumes. |
True, supplements do have to be added, but the important things is that the dogs ARE getting them. If it's just a matter of what is the more 'convenient' way of doing it....
As far as it being 'balanced,' that, IMO is up for debate. Most of the non-captive wolves (since that is the example you gave) studied who eat this 'natural raw' diet are highly malnourished. So, something's missing somewhere....
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Originally Posted by lara2913 Well, depends on what specific chemicals your talking about? If your talking about for example when animals being raised for meat are vaccinated, there are incredibly strict guidlines as to how soon after chemicals are put in in an animal can they be slaughtered. Its pretty specific so that the chemicals will be out of the animals system. All the meat my dogs eat is sold as fit for human consumption (unlike what is in mose dog foods.) |
Actually, I wasn't talking about vaccines (or steroids for that matter) but that doesn't help ease my mind about it.
It may be fit for human consumption...but would YOU eat it raw? And I won't argue with you that I wouldn't eat the meat used for most dog foods either...even the so called 'high end, high quality' ones.
Heck, I can't even think about what's in a hot dog too much or I won't eat it!
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Originally Posted by lara2913 Some good questions, always nice to have a two sided debate |
Agreed! And one that is civil.
That is a rare occurance many times! Thanks for that and bringing up some thought provoking ideas and points.