Answers: Q: I once read that many different parasites can be transmitted through infected animals. How can I be sure that my dog will not become infected when being feed a raw, uncooked diet?
[b]It's my understanding that many of the bacteria/parasites to which you are referring are already present in dogs and, therefore, they are resistant to salmonella, ecoli, etc. That's not to say you would want to feed your dog 3 day old raw chicken, if you wouldn't eat it then it shouldn't be given to your dog
Q: Raw meats stinks, will my dog's breath stink?
No more than it does now, especially if you are giving raw meaty bones (RMB). I can say that in the last week with Ricky eating the raw NV, his breath has ctually been better than when just eating the kibble
Q: I have been told that my dog will need more than just protein to thrive and live a healthy balanced life. Why is it that I am now being told that raw feed it all that a dog really needs? I mean it does make sence if you looked back to their original history.
Raw/barf diets do not consist of meat alone. If you read, for instance, the ingredients in the Nature's Variety or Oma's Pride frozen raw diets, they already have the various organ meats, RMBs, veggies, fruits & herbs, ground into the meat and, therefore, they are considered a complete diet. There are also many that merely offer the frozen raw protien sources (Oma's Pride, Healthy Kitchen) and you add the RMBs, veggies, vitamins, etc. to make it a complete diet.
Q:Why is it that some dog food companies sale raw feed but I am told that it is still best to purchase raw feed from my local butcher? To me, the most logical answer to this question is because then YOU know exactly the cuts of meats that are being used, how they are handled & the quality of all the products your dog is ingesting.
Q: How close does brands like Innova Evo, Nature's Variety's, Cloud's Star, and then Wellness come to raw diets?
They don't, anytime you cook the food in any fashion you are depleting or breaking down the vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Think of it this way, raw veggies are much better for humans raw (or lightly steamed) than they are cooked because we cook out all the vitamins/mineral the veggies contain.A
Q: I wont agree with giving my toy dog to high of protein levels so how will I know exacly how much should be feed?
This is the big one for me too and that's where joining the raw/barf lists or purchasing some recommended books on feeding raw comes in. I'm fortunate, my vet actually advocates raw/barf feeding, especially for dogs such as Ricky with epilepsy, Bandit with his sensitive tummy issues (which blows my mind), and other dogs living with a whole host of problems from allergies to chronic ear problems to renal & diabetic issues, so should I decided to stick with the raw diet for Ricky (at minimum), the first thing I'll do is consult with him as to what percentages of protein, fat, carbs, etc. he believes Ricky should have. Since Ricky has been on the phenobarbital, he has gained several pounds & I really need to get those pounds off of him. As it is, I've cut his food intake almost in half, but the PB makes the poor boy just ravenous all the time. I've been giving him unsalted green beans & pure pumpkin just to help fill the poor kid up with little to no calorie intake, but he's not losing the weight. The Nature's Variety site has a calculator by weight of how much you should feed and if memory serves, it said Ricky should get 8 medallions/day (roughly 1 cup of food). Because he's only getting it in the evening right now, I am giving him 2 medallions with just under 1/4 C of kibble, or 3 medallions with just a small handful of kibble mixed in.
Q: I have lizards that love to eat mice and I barely get to the store to provide them. This is just not very convenient for me. I need a food that I can buy and will be accessible in my home for at least a whole month, would you still recommend a raw diet to me?
This is the exact reason why if I go raw/barf, I will shell out the $$ for an already prepared frozen/dehydrated diet. I don't want to spend a day every weekend grinding meat, bones, veggies, etc. & freezing for the next week's meals (not to mention my raw meat issues). I know me, if that were the only way to do it, I just won't. There's not much I wouldn't do for my doggies, but giving up day out of my weekends to prepare the next week's meals is one of them.
Q: Should you still add food supplements such as Missing Link when feeding a raw diet?
Again, it's my understanding that if you are preparing the raw/barf diet yourself, it is a must for you to read up on the minimums/maximums percentages of proteins, veggies, fruits, vitamins & minerals, etc. that your dog needs & tailor your diet around that. I, personally, don't want to spend hours learning these percentages, which fruits/veggies are highest in what vitamins & minerals, how much should be given, etc. That's where the already prepared frozen or dehydrated foods come in.
Q: What is a holistic diet?
Holistic generally means that the meat sources are organically fed, antibiotic & steroid freed, and the grains, veggies, etc., are grown organically & pesticide free.
Q: What is the difference from raw diets, dehydrated diets, and holistic diets?
Raw diets are just that, dehydrated is generally accomplished by just that dehydrating the products, you add water & let sit for 10-20 minutes to be rehydrated and voila, it's raw again. The same for the freeze dried (accomplished by flash freezing). Holistic is as I set out above.
Here's a few links that I've saved - mind you, I have not read all of these thoroughly as of yet, but I bookmarked the sites for later reading.
Honest Kitchen dehydrated:
http://www.puplife.com/dogsupplies/embark10.html http://www.totallyrawdogfood.com/
Site with helpful links:
http://dogaware.com/ (especially click into Dog Feeding info)
Dr. Billinghurst's site:
http://www.barfproducts.com/ http://www.naturesvariety.com/conten...73B6wyt2385FBE http://www.omaspride.com/products.htm - this one has lots of novel proteins which is something I really like. My problem is the distributor in my area isn;t here yet, she's relocating from Arizona to Missouri. Once she's here, she has generously offered to give me free samples of my choice of products.
http://dogtorj.tripod.com/id5.html Dr. J has an excellent site and is recognized as one of the leaders in research of health issues & diet in K9s. You'll find links to natural foods, raw diet, etc. here. Definitely bookmark this page.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-...pplements.html This one is generally geared towards epileptic dogs, but still has very helpful & useful info.
http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/ - Very informative site on K9 nutrition in general, how to read/know what's in your dog's dry food kibble, etc....another keeper bookmark for me.
http://landofpuregold.com/treats.htm Some healthy, organic treats.
Also keep in mind that most advocate giving prebiotics & probiotics, especially during the initial switch over stage to aid in the digestion. With Bandit's tummy issues, I've been giving a pre/probiotic supplement for quite some time now (in addition to low fat yogurt).
The one thing you will note about all of these various raw/barf diet plans is that there is little to no grain products fed at all. How many times have you seen wolves or coyotes in a corn field nibbling on the corn or stripping the beans off soybean plants? The answer is never. While K9s are ominvores, grains have never been a part of their diet and have been found to be the number one factor in K9 allergies, IBS/IBD & leaky gut syndrome, and recurring infections (such as ears) & many other health ailments.
[COLOR=Purple]Hope this gives you a place to at least start