A more convenient alternative to a raw diet for our pets:

Blue Buffalo Wilderness: http://www.bluebuffalo.com/dog-food/grain-free-wilderness

My Siberian Husky eats the heck out of the Salmon variety. Feel quite comfortable with this set of ingredients.

I grew up on a farm and I’ve seen a dog’s behavior change once it “tasted blood”. From what I can remember we had two different dogs start playing with the different foul or goats around the farm. They would get too rough and strike blood. They would then get overly agressive towards that animal… One of which eventually killed a couple chickens and we had to put it down.

Now I completely realize that changing your dogs diet and what I mentioned are likely completely unrelated. But at the same time, if you live in a rural community with lots of other types on animals (ones that the dogs ancestors would consider prey) … I’d be a little hesitant to try this with the fear it could trigger something a little primal in the dog and they start preying on the animals around them. I would hope the hundreds and hundreds of years of domestication would make this a non issue. But I suppose there is no guarantee either. Each dog and situation are different.

Gabe,
I love your blog and I’m happy you’re putting some of that nutritional passion on your dogs. I too, think a lot about what my Boston Terrier, Bella eats as well as her overall health and nutrition. Just remember, dogs are not wolves. It’s not that simple and they’ve been domesticated for thousands of years. I have heard of many people having success with raw but it’s not so cut and dry. There is also a lot of kibble out there that is an upgrade. Bella generally eats Acana which is a great dry brand. Orijen is too. We like to mix in as much whole food as possible as well as home cooked meals. Meat, veggies, fruit, eggs, good Greek yogurt. Also, high quality oils like olive and coconut. Your dog needs balance just as you do. Try looking into orijen and acana. Fresh caught food made in North American facilities.
http://www.orijen.ca
http://www.acana.com
But don’t forget to mix it up a bit with good, whole nutrition. Also, dogfoodadvisor.com is a great site to compare and research commercially available foods. As you know, exercise is key as well!

Keep up the great work! The site is awesome!

Thanks,
Meghan

Little bit late to the party so I apologize. However, as a dog owner of two raw fed dogs, I need to input some comments to help people understand the topic from all angles, as the above commenter’s seem to be mostly kibble feeders. The overwhelming sentiment of the comments is misguided understanding of a proper raw diet for an animal. I’ll try to comment on each con argument against raw just to give raw, and Kap’s possible adventure into raw, a little more bite.

First of all, people are claiming there is no substantiation to the claims that raw feeding improves health, has any benefits, etc. Where is the evidence that dogs are doing amazingly well on processed kibble, whether Blue Buffalo, Orijen or Purina? Plus, many of the comments already stated the additions made to kibble such as [some are what I used] wet food, fish oil, pumpkin, yogurt, cinnamon, salmon oil, coconut oil, fruit, veggies and cooked meats. Kibble is supposed to have the full nutrition and if so, would not require any further foods. So it seems that people tend to supplement with fresher ingredients. Regardless, what sources prove that the last 60 years are our dog’s best years, all due to kibble? Modern vet medicine and further human advancement will also play into all arguments. By the way, my last dog died at 11 from Cushings and was on kibble and treats. We could argue that the corn based food my mother fed her while I was in college caused her body to degrade and become susceptible to disease. I’m not. Just pointing out that one shouldn’t say raw has no proven selling points because, honestly, neither does kibble. Other than convenience. One might say laziness but I’ll stick to convenience. And that’s also Marketing, telling you that kibble is the best option. Difference is raw has no food labels to WOW you with. Some vets get sponsored by kibble companies, fyi, and vets, like doctors, generally aren’t fully trained nutrition experts.

People referencing feeding grains are acceptable seems like a strange argument. There are paleo diets that restrict grains in humans because thousands of years ago people didn’t cook and eat grains the way we do now, so how likely is it that wolves ate grains? Safe to say they probably didn’t. Most of the time wolves will shake the contents of the stomach out anyway. As for dogs, dog allergies are through the roof these days with allergies to corn, wheat, soy and dairy. Safe to say the dogs already covered this topic. Grains in kibble and raw food are useless.

Blood thirst is also a myth. My dog doesn’t eat any other dogs while at the dog park, nor does he eat my cats, neighbors or bunnies outside. That’s a personality trait that is learned or performed out of instinct.

Regarding sickness of the young, old and currently sick, there may be an argument there against owning a pet, but against raw I’m not sure. Dogs eat other animals poop, have bugs that crawl on them (fleas and ticks), find dead animals, play with sticks, ingest kibble that has previously had food recalls for salmonella, lick themselves and a whole slew of non-hygienic stuff. Not really sure how raw is the only offender worth citing. Most raw owners will feed outside or on a towel or clean the floor of any germs after the meals. As for the dogs mouth, very different from us, as is the digestive track, and can handle the germs. Humans need to practice safe house keeping when housing a young, old or sick human, and my initial reaction is that a raw dog poses no additional threat if the proper precautions are taken. I’ve never been sick and no one has gotten sick in my house, nor have any of the people we meet at the dog park.

This post was about education. I’m not actually trying to argue or start a war of words. I’m trying to educate folks to the other side, from someone that’s actually fed raw and lived that lifestyle with my dog. I prefer that my dog and I eat similarly. I like fresh foods and unprocessed foods, so my dog eats his version of my diet – raw bones, organs and meat. He has lamb hearts, beef kidneys, fish, beef, pork, tripe and lots of other raw foods. He’s on the doggie 80/10/10 diet [Vegan diet reference joke]. 80% muscle meats, 10% organs, 10% edible bone. He loves every bite and is happier when he eats. His future health will depend on many factors, food being one. Time will tell for me and my dog.