[Britster]

I do believe that biologically, dogs are practically the same as wolves (differing only by .02%). That is proven. I do believe dogs are carnivores but I don't really like when people claim that ALL dogs will thrive on raw and not kibble or "death nuggets" as I've seen them called. And yes I also do believe in avoiding certain ingredients, and I don't really think a meal of corn, soy and wheat is necessarily in most canines best interest, however I do realize there are exceptions. And obviously if a dog is simply not tolerating another diet, that is the prime choice for your dog.

According to the co-evolution theory, dogs have evolved alongside us from wolves... in other words, they were turned from wolves into dogs by selection pressures. Selective breeding does a lot of funny things so I definitely see no reason not to believe that some things have changed internally. Certain breeds are predisposed to such things as pancreatitis (Schanuzers, Yorkies, etc), some to other health issues. Sibes and GSDs are often known for somewhat sensitive stomachs. I also know that wolves were not being fed the way that most raw feeders feed their dog... they obviously weren't given meat from the grocery store that is most likely pumped full of antibiotics anyways, but surely not as much time and prep was being put into their meals. They weren't taken to the vet when things go wrong, they weren't sleeping indoors, or given the best possible care, or given antibiotics when infections set in, etc, etc, etc. Medical care for pets is a pretty new invention, too, but I'm certainly not going to reject it in a time of need. If our dogs were out in the wild, nature really could care less about anything living a long and healthy life... it's all about survival of the fittest and if you don't make it, oh well.

Kibble is a pretty new "invention" and a lot of dogs lived very well without it. Humans that were probably living on hardly anything themselves were surely not giving up all their good food and meat to the dogs... they got scraps (of anything from corn mush and other grains) to whatever they could hunt themselves. So lucky for us, dogs are very adaptable creatures and can survive on a lot of different things.

I'm not in any way saying feeding raw is bad.... if anything, I think that if it does work for your dog, it's probably ideal. I do believe in making things as natural as possible, but like I said, "natural" is used loosely here because I wouldn't want my dog living how he would have to if he were on his own. I think a lot of dogs do fantastic on such a diet, and I love to see a dog thriving, who maybe was suffering on kibble before... I love the idea of feeding raw and I'm happy it works so great for so many dogs. Bottom line is that all dogs are individuals, and yes certain breeds are predisposed to things that others may not be, and what one dog may thrive on another may not...

There is just way too many variables out there to say that "my dog lived a longer and healthier life eating x food" or "my dog died because of eating y food". So many other factors come into play. There are going to be raw fed dogs that die young and there are going to be kibble fed dogs that live a long time (and a healthy life at that) and vice versa. Obviously it's up to us as dog owners to decide what is best for our dogs and what works best for THEM. We clearly all love our dogs very much.

I find canine nutrition very interesting and have spent a lot of time reading & researching, and even changing opinions on certain things. I am kinda all over the map, because I really do see both "sides" to the ever-going raw vs. kibble argument. But one thing that never changes, is that I do want what is the very best for my dog, and we've found what works and are sticking to it!