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Originally Posted by kionini  I've been reading about holistic diets for dogs and I'm so confused, my head is spinning. Dr. Karen Becker advocates raw feeding, "If I were a pediatrician and a mother told me, "it's just too hard making healthy food everyday for my kid, I'm just going to feed Total cereal everyday, it's 100% nutritionally complete," we'd all feel sorry for her kid. I am a vet, and when people tell me "I've found a really good dry food, I think I'...ll feed it everyday for the rest of my pets life," why don't we feel equally sad?"In some places feeding our pups garlic, rice, etc. is condemned. Yet, looking at some of the recipes here in YT forums, these ingredients are okay.
I've got to do something about my little ones. Nini is getting fat and Nicky hates kibble, he runs and hides when I take out the bag  . Their vet says that the dangers of food poisoning with raw food are great, but Dr. Becker says it's ignorance, food companies pay for vet training, etc.
What I do know is that I grew up with pets. I never saw a bag of kibble in my house, my mom cooked all our dogs' meals, I don't remember any of our dogs ever being sick, and they died old. What gives? I don't know what to do and I'm getting desperate.
I hate having Nicky on drugs, it bothers me to no end, because I know there are side effects to every drug. There's a price to pay for every single drug we take, even an aspirin. I wait until I can't take the head-ache any more to take an aspirin, yet I'm giving Nicky medicine twice a day for stomach upset and I wonder if this can be taken care of naturally, no drugs 
How many of you have gone 'green' with your fur-babies? Is it possible to do it right? |
Considering the argument against feeding your dogs the same food every day, I think it's a weak one, first of all dogs, aren't humans, and a human's relationship with food is very complex; humans socialize with food and use food to show love. Food is a huge part of our lives. Dogs don't have the memory humans have, and aren't thinking of the meal, you made for them last Thursday, they live in the here and now, and definitely have food preferences, but will overlook them, and still love you. Let's not forget you can introduce a new food to a human, and they don't show signs of diarrhea, where dogs typically do. I don't trust any website that doesn't give the cons of the suggested food, and it's not credible to give the cons, and have a point-by-point argument why the disadvantage is completely nonsense.
The truth I believe is there is a disadvantage to EVERY food you choose, and you have to decide how important this disadvantage is to you. The disadvantage to me, with raw is that it is relatively new, and hasn't been clinically tested. Some dogs do very well on it for a short time, but how about long term, and could there be difference between how athletic sporting dogs handle raw and how more sedimentary dogs hand raw? We know from human studies there is a great deal of difference how the two groups handle high protein and high cholesterol. How about safety, companies have to be even more diligent with how they handle raw it and precautions they take. Will you be able to check recall lists diligently to know if your chosen food is having a problem? Kibble manufactures have problems too, but just because their food is cooked, it cuts down drastically the number of problems concerning safety. Sometimes the old fashioned way of making a list of pros and cons, and deciding what is best for you and your dog at this time is best way to decide, but keep an open mind for when you get new information. The most important thing to remember is that dogs do well on a variety of diets, and there is no one "best" food for all of them, you need to find a "good" food that works for you and your dog. I think sometimes we want the best, when good is good enough. Dogs with special needs or allergies have a tougher time, and that's where all these food choices we have becomes more important.