To raw feed or not to raw feed?

~_Daisy_~

We have a 3 year old Spaniel, Mum was Sprocker, dad full ESS. Beautiful, well behaved, and above all healthy and loved . I frequent several Spaniel forum/ facebook groups and almost all answers to almost all questions are raw feed them....

I do understand that a dogs diet is paramount to its wellbeing, I too offer/give fresh/cooked veggies as well as fish and chicken to supplement her dried food. I have been thinking of moving towards a raw diet but am not sure if it will have any benefit to her over all health.

Daisy.

northwalesd

My brother and his wife have a 2 year old sprocker, she's a totally transformed dog now they have her on a raw diet. They had difficulty getting her to eat properly previously, she was slightly (though not alarmingly) underweight.

I'd say give it a try.

GBNI

My two are on a raw diet and they are doing fabulous. I do a mix of Paleo Ridge completes and DIY. They look amazing.

hb2

I know that a lot of commercial petfood contains things the animals would never eat in the wild. I have my 2 cats on a raw diet and they are both doing very well on it.

sheramber

People who feed raw will tell you it is the best way. After all they wouldn't feed their animal that way if they did not believe. that.

Your vet will probably not agree. Those against raw feeding will tell you how bad it is.

Before feeding raw make sure you do research and know what you should be feeding to balance the diet. It is more than raw beef.

Ready made foods can take the guess work out of it but will be more expensive than doing it yourself.

I changed to raw feeding 20 years ago and my dogs have always been healthy. Three different vets commented on how good my dog looked and asked what I fed. When I replied 'a raw diet' there was no comment.

~_Daisy_~

More research is needed I think, I do feel like I'm a convert hovering at the start line!

I know I can buy readymade/ complete raw diet meals which would do for a while until I was confident in doing my own. I would need more freezer space too.

Thank you for the replies it definately (raw) food for thought!

GwylimT

Just make sure you avoid Natural Instinct, sadly several cats have recently died from TB after eating Natural Instinct as the company were failing to test their meat.

~_Daisy_~

GwylimT wrote: »

Just make sure you avoid Natural Instinct, sadly several cats have recently died from TB after eating Natural Instinct as the company were failing to test their meat.

That is shocking....:eek::eek:

mtbbuxton

There are several raw feeding groups on Facebook, my personal favourite is BARF UK They're a mainly friendly and helpful group which is well moderated.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/barfdietchat/

hb2

I believe that vets get very little nutritional input during their training and, like some GPs, are very influenced by the reps from various companies.

The TB things recently was a shocker but I believe the easiest answer is to avoid beef products - not a problem for me as they would not be a natural part of a cat's diet but I know nothing about dog nutrition!

As Sherambler says, we all do what we think it best for our furry companions. There is rarely a true 'one size fits all'.

elsien

I've never raw fed myself but a lot of fellow bull terrier owners do because in a lot of cases it can help with skin allergies and skin conditions. Some dogs are allergic to certain meats and that diet doesn't suit them I've always been happy with feeding kibble with stuff chucked in.you can buy the raw food ready prepared if you're going to do it yourself you need to do a lot of research and have a lot of freezer space which is another reason why I don't bother with it