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Yesterday, I shared a guest post to highlight why 96% of pet parents aren't feeding raw (if they know about this option). Today, I'm sharing a second guest post to show what finally pushed someone to make the switch to give us ideas on how to communicate with family and friends and inspire them to add fresh food to their dog's diet.
12 Reasons Why I Switched My Dogs to Raw Feeding
by Samantha Randall – YouTuber, podcaster, editor-in-Chief at Top Dog Tips
Raw feeding is not a new concept. The ancestors of dogs thrived over 10,000 years ago on raw food, which is why some dog owners believe it makes sense to put their pets on a raw diet. Despite the controversy and the debates, raw feeding offers many benefits. I’ve previously written here about why I was hesitant to switch to raw feeding, but after doing far more research into this and finally making the leap, I’d like to give you my 12 reasons why I thought it to be a good idea.
1. Raw diet improves the dog's coat and skin condition
This is the first change I was told I’ll notice I start feeding my dogs a raw diet. Their coat becomes shinier and their skin condition improves as well since due to an increased amount of amino acids from fresh protein sources. At least 30 percent of protein dogs digest goes towards improving their coat and skin. When their diet is low in this nutrient, their coat and skin are also the first to manifest the deficiency, which seems to be common when feeding cheap dry kibble.
2. Raw diet reduces dog skin allergies
It's common for dogs to suffer from food allergies because most dog foods readily available in the market are filled with additives, preservatives, and other unnatural ingredients. A dog's digestive system cannot process most of these ingredients well and it may also trigger food intolerance. While my dogs didn’t necessarily suffer from this, I see prevention being better than cure should it happen.
With the most recent studies coming out and finally showing the health benefis of raw diets, we now know that dogs have less allergic symptoms with a raw diet. Many pet owners feeding raw food for their dogs notice the reduction of skin itching, hot spots, and ear infection, which are the usual symptoms of food allergy.
3. Raw diet provides better dental hygiene
Contrary to popular notion, dogs fed on a raw diet have better dental hygiene. Their breath doesn't smell awful because of the quality of their food intake. The meat delivers a scrubbing action on their teeth so no particles stick to the gums.
Food that stays on the gum can lead to a bacterial formation that causes dental disease development. The raw bones dogs consume, on the other hand, are fresh and uncooked. So, it remains malleable, easy to masticate, and doesn't break their teeth. Raw meat also promotes stronger teeth. As dogs rip and tear the meat apart, their jaw muscles get some exercise.
4. The dog’s digestion improves with a raw diet
Some dog owners think that raw food may cause many stomach issues. On the contrary, aside from the fact that natural food is more digestible than processed, I found my pets’ digestion actually improves with a raw diet since the dogs also take a long time eating and chewing raw food. The longer they process food in their mouths, the more gastric juices are released. Their food becomes more digestible in the stomach as a result. Compare this to feeding my dogs dry kibble, where the dogs may easily gulp their food, which may result in vomiting or diarrhea.
5. There's less odor when dogs poop
Ever notice how commercially manufactured pet food makes your dogs poop frequently? Or how their poop smells really bad on a regular diet of dry kibble? This likely happens because they are fed low-quality kibbles that contain so many indigestible ingredients. Dogs that were switched to raw food do not need to go potty often so fewer nutrients become waste. Instead, their body absorbs these nutrients, thus promoting better health.
6. Their muscles are more toned with raw food
After the switch to raw feeding, the diet is primarily filled with protein and healthy fats, which help with muscle building. Dogs on a raw diet, who also have a good exercise regime, may look more bulked up in the right places. It’s likely the result of the food they consume, which works alongside the improvement of coat and skin. Their muscles are also a lot stronger on a raw food diet. They rarely experience joint pains as well.
7. It's better for managing the weight of the dog
Grain-based dog foods are rich in carbohydrates that break down into sugar in the dog’s body, which leads to frequent energy spikes and crashes. This makes the dogs susceptible to weight gain. On the other hand, there are no energy crashes with raw food. Dogs use every single bit of energy their body digests. As a result, they maintain a healthier weight.
8. Their immune system gets a boost
Dogs develop a better immune system with a regular raw diet since the food they eat is rich in fatty acids that aid in this body function. Raw feeding also lessens the inflammatory conditions in their body which ultimately helps the dog to fight joint health problems and arthritis symptoms.
Inflammation occurs when the immune system is trying to help the dog’s body heal from the free radicals and toxins that partially comes from a poor diet. If the immune system is weak, it can lead to chronic inflammation that may trigger other disease development like cancer and heart disease.
9. Dogs like the taste of raw food better
Kibbles and commercially made dog food might have flavor enhancers but these are just substitutes. Raw food doesn't have enhancers so the dogs basically get the most natural and real tasting food they can eat, particularly if it's fresh. I’m not surprised that my dogs now love the smell and taste of raw meat, whether fresh or in my homemade dog food recipes, even if that smell is still unappealing for me personally.
10. There are fewer ingredients in raw food and dogs take all of the nutrients
Dogs gain all the benefits from raw food's main ingredient: meat. Kibble and commercial food have loads of ingredients that some say can deliver the right amounts of the daily nutritional intake the dog needs. However, once food has been processed or cooked, because of the process called extrusion, it loses a significant amount of these nutritional content. That never happens with raw food.
11. Raw food has a positive effect on the dogs' behavior
Many owners observe that raw food seems to have influenced the way their dogs behave, and that’s one of the benefits I was looking forward to seeing. I’ve seen anecdotal claims that it might be because raw food has neither chemicals nor carbohydrates that spike insulin and hormone production that has been tied to behavioral issues.
After doing some research, I found a study from the 1980s that revealed that a regular diet of fresh meat makes dogs calmer. Dry food or kibbles, on the other hand, can fuel fussiness, stubbornness, aggression and other behaviors that make pet ownership a challenge.
12. There are fewer vet visits for dogs on a raw diet
Dogs tend to require fewer visits to the doctor or treatments because eating high-quality raw meat decreases their health issues. I’ve only seen this claimed by other dog owners and no particular statistics; however, it makes sense if we consider all the above health benefits of raw feeding.
Switching your dogs to a raw diet is a matter of personal choice, and the above points are just some of the good reasons that finally influenced my decision. Should you choose to do the same, to gain the most from this diet, always prepare quality fresh meat for your dogs with the right mix of organs and bones. You may include some fresh vegetables to their meals as well.
Final Thoughts
All raw feeders have an opportunity to educate others by sharing their knowledge and experience. Creating a blog isn't necessary; you can make a difference in a dog or cat's life by using your voice. By sharing your experience with others, you can provide an alternate perspective that helps pet parents see that raw feeding isn't risky, it's species appropriate.
Samantha's guest post inspired me to create an infographic that addresses her concerns (which are valid and shared by many) as well as one that promotes the benefits of raw feeding. Together, these can be shared on social media, with friends, and with family to raise awareness of the benefits of adding fresh food to a dog's diet.
Kimberly, this is a reply to your reply, but I’m doing it this way to keep it from getting too narrow. 🙂
I also use things like kefir, but I count them as supplements, and I count things like the ingredients of Golden Paste as supplements, and fruit and vegetables.
The reason my Rottie girl is on raw was also skin problems, although I did home cooked meals for my last Rottie after the Chinese debacle (definitely a lot of work, but easier to compute meeting nutritional needs). After that I swore I was too old to do all that, but then my current girl, Story, started with constant hot spots.
I cannot argue that feeding raw in and of itself stopped the hot spots (her ears, which had always been yucky but never really caused problems also cleared up) because I had allergy testing done and found no kibble that didn’t have something she was allergic to. Her list isn’t of proteins but of things the best kibbles add like potatoes, peas, and even some supposedly healthy supplements like alfalfa.
So in my case the raw diet isn’t raw because raw is good, but raw because I can make sure she doesn’t get anything on the allergy list.
If I I compared the time of treating one hot spot after another to feeding her raw, I still think the raw feeding takes far more time, but of course that’s no way to evaluate. Fixing the problem is way better.
Vet bills? I can’t say there. I treated the hot spots myself and could dry one up fine, so the expense there was only the allergy testing.
I fed her a complete raw diet I got through the local coop for a while. Then the maker changed the ingredients without warning. My heads up was the return of hot spots. So now I’m doing the little of this and little of that, and while yes, it’s worth it, IMO it’s a PITA. I have a friend who abandoned raw after years for just that reason, and like me she’s getting older.
Anyway, I would be unwilling to recommend raw to anyone and claim it was cheaper or easier, but I would be willing to claim it’s better. (Did I mention Story’s coat definitely has more shine?)
As to the 4%, maybe it’s because I belong to the local Rottweiler breed club and compete in some events and so my circle of dog friends are breeders and competitors, but I believe 50% or more of the dog people I know feed raw and not because of problems, just because they believe it’s better.
If you think about it, someone exposed to so many believers, particularly if they get a puppy from a raw-feeding breeder, is going to convert to feeding raw more easily than someone who’s hardly ever heard about it and doesn’t know anyone who does it.
Very good points, Ellen.
The 4% figure is about people who are feeding fresh food to their pets – this is raw, cooked, or simply adding fresh food to the bowl. While I don’t know how this percentage was calculated, I do believe it. I spend summers going to events to talk to people about improving their dog’s diet and 99% of the people I speak with feed kibble, some of them thinking that they’re feeding “holistic” or “natural” kibble thanks to the bang-up marketing job the brands are doing.
I do agree that it’s easier to add kibble to a dish and walk away, that wasn’t my experience, because adding kibble to a dish for Rodrigo lead to a host of health issues that I had to deal with, so it’s much easier and convenient to feed raw. I know what my dogs are eating, I don’t have to deal with the endless scratching and licking because of skin issues, or going through half a roll of poop bags because of digestive issues. Not to mention the veterinarian bills have dropped drastically. My dogs go to the vet for wellness checks only now.
When it comes to the cost of feeding raw, I’ve found that it depends on where you live. I live in a semi-rural town and have access to local farms in several states. It’s cheaper for me to feed four big dogs a raw food diet than it is to buy kibble. And I’m feeding my dogs great meat. It was overwhelming and expensive at first, but when a fellow raw feeder helped me with ideas on how to cut the cost, it changed everything. Last month, I received a cooler full of grass fed, grass finished beef (meat and organs) for free and the people who gave it to me said that they’ll continue to do so until I say stop. Score!
I think supplements can be expensive and I sometimes wonder if people are overdoing it; I certainly was for years. Over a year ago, I began feeding my dogs more whole foods to cover the supplements – sardines instead of fish oil, raw goats milk and kefir instead of digestive supplements, and so on. This is a lot less expensive, the dogs digest it better, and it’s easier to feed. Every year, I make a list of supplements that I give to my dogs and I’m excited about this year’s list because it’ll be a lot shorter than past years.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
The long comment to the cons post that I wrote disappeared after an error when I was filling out the info to submit, so I gave up and went to bed, but I’m going to try again (and copy the comment before trying to submit it).
First, I have trouble believing that 96% figure. Everywhere I see pet food these days, I see freezers with various brands of frozen raw food – not just high-end stores but WalMart and PetsMart. Not only is it hard to believe 4% of the market would provoke this, but there’s no way all raw feeders are buying frozen food from retail stores, so it’s far less than 4%.
And as to reasons people avoid raw, IMO the main ones are convenience and expense. Raw enthusiasts can argue how easy feeding raw is until they’re blue in the face. It isn’t true whether you feed an all-in-one brand such as Darwin’s (which I’ve done) or buy different ingredients and make your own (which I am doing). Plopping kibble in a bowl is easier. It just is.
As to expense, coop or not, raw is not cheaper than really good kibble. Maybe if you think the cost of the meat is all there is, but add in supplements, freezers, storage containers, etc. I never owned a freezer, food processor, or coffee grinder (for seeds), or food scale until I started on raw.
Some of the con arguments are specious. Unless you’re talking about people who feed raw without the slightest investigation how, anyone can find dog nutrition requirements, and while finding out about nutrients such as magnesium and manganese in some things raw feeders use can be difficult to impossible CA/Ph info is pretty available except for the esoteric (I bet duck’s feet are a challenge but don’t have the stomach to feed them). Fat content is easy to find. Okay, once again, maybe not for things like duck’s feet.
Contamination? Am I the only one who has ever seen recommendations to wash your hands after handling kibble because it sometimes has e. coli on it? What about the current hoo-ha about dangerous levels of Vitamin D in a lot of kibbles? What about the dogs and cats sickened or killed years ago when the Chinese were throwing melamine in ingredients that ended up in kibble? Then again, How about human food? Romaine lettuce anyone? Had a hamburger lately? Read up on pink slime?
As to weight, neither side has any advantage. Dog too fat, feed less. Dog too thin, feed more. That doesn’t work, see vet and figure out what’s wrong.