Why DON'T you feed your Yorkie raw?
 

So I've been researching feeding raw. Naturally all of the posts I read are very encouraging and put such a positive spin on feeding raw. I'm really considering it. However, I would love to hear from the people who don't feed raw...why not? I want to make the best decision so I really need to get both sides and as many opinions as I can. Thanks!!!

Not knocking a raw diet in any way, but decision is purely based on the convinience of kibble.

Dry kibble is better for their teeth and digestive system. Prince is 5 and has all of his teeth(nice and white) and has never had anal gland problems!

I almost did. My neighbor talked me into it so I went out and bought it.
I called the vet after I purchased it and asked him about it.
He said it was not something he would ever feed his dogs but it was
my choice. He also mentioned about salminella with the raw meat.
I threw it away and stuck to home cooking and kibble.

Plus the thought of a raw chicken leg or wing being eaten
on my kitchen floor would have me scrubbing the floor daily.

This is a misconception- dry kibble does very little for dogs teeth- although commericals will let you think they do. Small dogs still need their teeth cleaned often and even if you do clean your dogs teeth often- some dogs are just more prone to teeth problem.

Raw food is not mush- like wet food- it contains both dense and soft meat, bone fragments- however even raw fed dogs should have their teeth cleaned.

I tried to feed raw but Layla had no interest in it- and we travel a lot- and raw is hard to bring with you. Also, I dont' like to give food that is made somewhere else- so i home cook for that, and many other reasons.

I'm neither for or against raw- just somewhere in the middle- however i'm not very educated in it since i don't feed it- i'm sure if i knew more i'd hve more of an opinion.

"Plus the thought of a raw chicken leg or wing being eaten
on my kitchen floor would have me scrubbing the floor daily"

I tried feeding my dogs raw chicken wing, just once and I will never, ever do it again. It was gross, my dogs were gross, thier kennels were gross.It took me hours to clean everything and everyone up after just one bone. I couldnt handle doing that every single day. Oh and my poodle ended up with runs.
I know that some RAW comes prepacked but it still doesnt appeal me enough to run right out and buy it. Im gonna be honest, I like the convience of kibble and canned food.

It can be very expensive when you have 4(going on 5) inside dogs and 2 big outside dogs. I myself don't think there has been enough studying on the "raw" diet, and feel more comfortable feeding kibble

We dont feed raw because we dont want them givng us kisses after eating raw meat. I would also be worried they would choke on the bones and worry about salimonella

I've given a little piece of raw meat maybe on three different occasions but I just think it would be too expensive for me and home cooking is too time consuming for me. I stick with kibble because theres kibbles out there that are very good for your dog and it's just my own personal choice. Like one of the others said with traveling it's easier to bring kibble so yeah it's more easier to feed kibble in a way!

Just wanted to add too, my moms boxer, she is probably almost 8 years old and has AMAZING teeth, she has only been on kibble, no canned nothing else and my mom doesn't even brush her teeth EVER and the vet was amazed at how great her teeth are!

I feed my girls Primal raw, usually lamb. It does contain small bone fragments and other ingredients. I actually think it's an easy and convenient way to feed and they both really love it. When I travel I use the dehydrated raw but that's not something one should use on a daily basis by any means. I have never given them a chicken wing to eat.

I think there are many good diets for our Yorkies - this one just seems to work for me and both my girls are really healthy, active, happy and LOVE their food. I give them marrow bones to chew on and brush their teeth and have the Vet check their teeth too.

Primal is more expensive than kibble, but I just found a place that sells it for $10 a bag LESS than I'd been paying.

The teeth thing I think is hereditary. I don't have my dogs teeth cleaned either, guess it's a growing up in the stone age thing, but, my sister in law has her 8 year old yorkies teeth cleaned once a year, and her teeth are terrible. The 6 year old yorkies teeth have never had to be cleaned yet(the vet checks them everytime she takes her in). I dont' brush my dogs teeth either, they all eat the same thing, my s**t tzu has lost some teeth, the 6 year old yorkie has all of hers, although, she will probably need to get one pulled, and the 4 year old biewers teeth are beautiful and very white

I was going to start raw until I consulted my vet and there were dogs getting sick from bacteria from raw and knowing my Yorkie, I don't think it is for him so I didn't. I also had a friend's Shih Tzu who was totally healthy and got sick from the bacteria from raw. I don't think raw is for every dog just like some food is not for every human. I am sure you'll know what suits your dog and what doesn't.

There are a couple of benefits to feeding raw like clean teeth but, in my opnion, with the information currently available, the risks far outweigh any benefit.

There is the bacterial concern. Usually the answer to this is, dogs don't react the same way as humans do and can process this. They are fine with things like salmonella. Well, that can be true but dogs DO get sick from certain things found in raw meat and I see no reason to take the risk. This is especially concerning if your dog has a compromised immune system and there is really no way to know if he/she does for sure. A lot of times food bourne illness is not checked for first in dogs because it isn't too common, etc. when really it is possible that a dog with gi upset on the raw diet has something like this going on.

There are reports of dogs needing enemas to pass painful bone fragments from the raw diet. Now maybe the wrong type of bones were given but to me, it isn't worth the risk.

There are not long-term studies done on raw fed dogs because a small study of any value would cost way too much money for anyone to shell out without a product to sell afterwards. Yes, it can be said that wolves live long lives in the wild so dogs should eat what they eat. However, not all wolves live that long and if we really want to replicate a wolf's diet, wouldn't we need to start feeding things like rodents, etc.?

If someone can prove to me that dogs can live much longer on a certain type of diet, sure I'll listen. I am not seeing it though. Are the majority of raw fed dogs living to be 25 or 30? Isn't that how long some wolves live?

At the same time, I really don't like kibble either though.
That's my two cents.

I did try RAW for a few weeks......They loved it...... but I didn't.......They had raw meat in their coats and sometimes they had chewed meat mixed in their beard, it was awful. I felt like they where coated in salmonella and e-coli......They would try and leave the kitchen so I'd find them in other rooms with it...It was bad....

I don't know what was on or in some of the chicken but it permanently left one of my yorkies with burnt looking hair all under his chin and down his chest. It looks awful, I've tried everything to get his coat back to normal but nothing worked......

I do both. I make Millie meals (I do cook the meat but use steamed vegtables and rice) ) and mix in a bit of kibble so that I make sure all her nutrition is met as well make sure whe's eating something she actually likes. She hates plain kibble.

Also I know this say a cow when they go slaughter it the man that own that cow usually will give up the sick or ones with lumps on them (cancer) and have them slaughtered they keep there good cows and whatever is in the meat is in the blood
If I eat meat it has to be will done

Well two reasons why Izzy is not on RAW or freeze-dried RAW (The Honest Kitchen which she was on until she was diagnosed with pancreatitis).

1) being a therapy dog the hospital will NOT let anyone with a dog on RAW be in the program. This is the Cleveland Clinic rules - their infectious dept. really checks into this and I had to sign a waiver stating that she was not on any type of RAW.

2) her pancreatitis...too high fat and protein.:(

My vet (and all the vets in this clinic we go to) are not fans of Raw for many reasons but to each his own and if it works for you and your doggie then go for it.

I say whatever keeps your dog healthy and alive works in my book.

I just feel it's not for us , but I also feel it's a personal choice.
To each his own:D

I think this is an interesting article about dog diets:
DOG DIETS: IT MUST BE SAID

I wish I really knew what was best. There is so much controversy in what kind of diet is best for our fur babies just like there is controversy in what kind of diet is best for us humans. I think we all just have to feed what we are comfortable with and just like us humans, what works for one might not work for another.

My main reasons ... 1) I'm uneducated about it. I haven't read enough about feeding raw to know exactly what it does. 2) I'm too lazy for that! LOL. I prefer to just pour a bag of kibble into a bowl. However, I've done lots of research on dog food and am still learning. 3) gross.

I'm don't think raw is the best choice for yorkies for several reasons. Wolfs, in the wild would be eating appropriate sized prey, in other words, animals they can kill. So the bones they were eating would be in some type of proportion to their size. Also, in the wild, feathers and hair would pad the bones, and intestinal problems for the dog from eating bones would less likely occur. Smaller breed dogs have smaller intestines, so a bone fragment that wouldn't bother a larger breed dog, could hurt a smaller breed dog. In the wild, they would eat the whole animal, diseased parts and all, and who knows what benefits there may be to that?

The meat we buy from the grocery store, even organic meat has been exposed to thousands of chemicals, and cooking breaks them down. So these meats aren't the same, as those a wolf eats after making a fresh kill. I also don't believe that all dogs should have the same diets, I think there is great variation in the breeds, just as human athletes need a different diet than a sedimentary person. I think a wolf and highly active dogs would need a different diet than a less active breed. Studies have shown that fats and cholesterol are used differently in athletes than the average couch potato, meaning they are not as bad for the athlete.

I remember reading a study about breast milk, and formula companies trying to reproduce a formula that would exactly match breast milks properties. The formula that was closest to breast milk was found to be the worse. It's not easy to replicate something from nature. We don't always understand all the ingredients that make the natural product suitable and the artificial product unsuitable. I also believe that just because something is natural, you can't assume that it's the best. Nature works through an evolutionary process, and as long as the organism continued to survive and reproduce, the diet was "suitable." This doesn't necessarily mean it was the best. I personally am uncomfortable with the cross condemnation of the bacteria from raw, while it may not hurt a healthy dog, it could cause illness in humans.


Studies, I've seen on hybrids and wolfs suggest that the hybrid interact with humans much differently, especially regarding eye contact and what I guess you might call that "begging" look. Dogs have perfected the begging look, and have been around humans for at least 15,000 years, and if you consider the fact that a dog can produce at the age of one, verses a human of reproducing at the age of 12, this would be more like 150,000 evolutionary years, which is no drop in the bucket. I believe dogs have been living off of rodents, insects, and human scraps for these years. Even though the wolf intestines and the dogs intestines are the same, this doesn't necessary mean that they need the same food. Evolutionary changes are made because an organism born with some attribute has a clear advantage over the competition so this trait, is passed on. If there is no advantage, this trait it isn't passed on. In other words, the intestines would not change over time, unless there was a need for it. I think the research shows that most organisms are extremely adaptable to a wide variety of diets, and overeating cause more health risks, than any other element.


There does seem to be some advantages with raw, I'm particularly interested in the benefits for the teeth, and exactly why raw is good for the teeth. Overall, I think it's a personal choice, and there will probably be some advantages and disadvantages to it, like most foods. We have barely scratched the surface in our knowledge of nutrition, and I don’t think anyone knows the absolute best foods yet. Yorkietalk members, whose dogs have allergies, have been very happy with the success they have had with raw.

Are you saying, in your second paragraph, that raw food has "bone fragments"?in it??!!! That is so dangerous!
I don't feel that what I stated is a misconception...Prince is proof of that. My vet, (former and current) and several articles that I have read state the same thing regarding teeth and anal glands. Raw, without bone fragments, may be ok once in a while, but not long term or often.
I guess to each his own. The key is to get as much knowledge about it as you can, so an educated decision can be made regarding your dog.
Prince eats only dry kibble (and homemade chicken or beef jerky for treats, once in awhile) and he has his teeth brushed every night = no teeth decay nor anal glands problems.

Here's an interesting site about the different types of food:

Yorkshire Terriers: How to Feed Your Yorkshire Terrier | Quamut: the go to how to

I feed raw and love it. Dogs are carnivores and their digestive systems are very different from our systems. I think the key is to educate yourself about the available diets, avoid making sweeping generalizations about any diet, and make a decision that feels comfortable.

For those concerned with samonella, I wonder if you know that salmonella is present in almost all bags of kibble? :rolleyes:

Yup, sure is prevalent in kibble.
Even the CDC says so.
One good reason not to feed it if avoidable. :)

I don't feed raw because frankly I can't stand to touch raw meat. I also can't imagine what the aftermath would be. Meat and bacteria on her coat, paws... she hates baths enough and even being wiped down the a wipe.

We also go to other peoples houses a lot and I don't think I'd be comfortable feeding her something raw there.

It's also convenience of the kibble.

let me correct that.. dogs CAN get cruetzfelt jakob (mad cow) but its called canine cognitive disorder in dogs.
is something that prominent in the UK but its working its way into the US. cats are also affected (FSE)

oh.. talking about mad cow..
if you like wine - esp relly nice wines from france, if youve ever see "bovine" on the bottle dont drink it. the french take cow blood and use to it filter the wine.. as you know europe has a high rating for mad cow. china has already stopped the import of french wine.

speaking of wine lol
i get so off topic.... but this is funny
In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - Bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health

Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of...... poop :eek::D

yup, bone fragments... that's part of the raw diet.