[butchpoodle]

I have been feeding raw for 8 years. My Brooke Lynn is 14 months and was started on Puke-a-nuba puppy but we switched her to raw when we were done using her kibble for training.

One very important thing I've been told by a holistic veterinarian is to NEVER feed RAW and KIBBLE together - this can result in bacterial infections in the gut.

We were making our own food, which was a chore since we had 4 dogs, but recently started making a move over to SMALL BATCHES - it's a small local (to us) company which makes their food (literally) in small batches, no mass production. Might not be available to many of you (sorry). Their food comes in bags of frozen burgers or sliders - the sliders are perfect for our small dogs, 2 ounces per mini-patty. The one we have on beef gets those. The two we have on turkey share the regular size patties.

Years ago, we fed Granddad's, which we were also happy with. Their food was frozen in a tube. We sliced it and defrosted it a little at a time. It was great. The delivered (another California company) and might be more widely available by now.

The biggest risk of raw food is to you, not your dog. If you handle their raw food, your digestive tract is much longer than theirs, and you are much more subject to e-coli or salmonella, so diligent washing of hands, surfaces, knives, dishes, etc - is very important. We have had no problems but are very careful.

Whether you feed raw or homemade or kibble or canned or whatever - the most important thing, in my mind, is that you buy the best quality you can afford. Human grade is my priority. If it isn't human grade, you do not want to know what it is, but suffice it to say it may contain euthanized animals, animals that died from illness, and parts of animals you would never feed your dog knowingly - basically, garbage.