Pet food raw diet vs bagged food

[The Boy Wonder]

So I don’t really post onthe off topic much but the fiancé and I have a 6 month old pup who just got diagnosed with pancreatitis an the vet said it’s because his food is too fatty.


Been looking into things and it looks like the raw food can really help.

Does anyone have any experience with anything like this and have any advice?

[Kybosh]

I'm currently watching my gf's dogs and they are on the raw food diet. Not sure on the health benefits but these are the facts I've noticed 1) they crap way less but it's way stinkier 2) it's kinda a pain to constantly remember to defrost the frozen food.

That's all I got.

[tipenmat]

Hi I have been feeding my two dogs raw food for close to 2 years. A few things that come to mind
-when buying make sure you get a complete meal not just meat. The food has to have vegetables and other things so the dog gets his or her full nutritional needs. For example what I buy has pieces of spinach, berries, etc.
-if it is all you feed it is quite easy to make sure it is defrosted. I just feed one patty at a time twoce a dayand when done just replace it with the next one. I feed the dogs twice a day breakfast and dinner and the 10 to 12 hours in between is enough to defrost the patties.
- if you are going to feed raw supplemented with other things they recommend not to mix with regular dog food. You can alternate feedings I think. I have no idea why this doesmt work but I remember it.

[metallicat]

Our vet told us they hate the raw food animals because of the salmonella concerns every time one of those animals is in their clinic. Maybe not salmonella, but whatever bug is involved with raw meat.

We are getting a puppy in a couple of months and will do bagged food, but supplement with some veggies and things like that.

[bossy22]

Our dog has a super sensitive stomach and the only food she keeps down is the dehydrated honest kitchen stuff or the raw. Regular Kibble gives her diarrhea and sometimes she will vomit. The dehydrated is good for when we go camping or put her in a kennel.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by bossy22

Our dog has a super sensitive stomach and the only food she keeps down is the dehydrated honest kitchen stuff or the raw. Regular Kibble gives her diarrhea and sometimes she will vomit. The dehydrated is good for when we go camping or put her in a kennel.

+1 for Honest Kitchen dehydrated as an alternative to raw.

We've tried a lot of different things including raw and most of the top brands of bagged, and the dehydrated Honest Kitchen stuff is the best we've ever tried. All three of ours have been on it for the last 3 or 4 years and no problems at all. It's also hugely convenient for travelling or camping as bossy22 mentioned.

One of ours was having allergy problems with most foods, so he is on the one they used to call Zeal (they just renamed all of the different products, as we learned at the pet store earlier today). It's one of the more expensive ones unfortunately. The other two mutts are like garbage disposals and can eat anything, so they get the cheaper Honest Kitchen ones and they do great on that.

[Amethyst]

I think the biggest thing is to keep it low fat, whether you use kibble or raw. The people I know whose dogs have had it, the cause seems to be too many table scraps and "treats."

[8 Ball]

What breed?
We fed our German Shepard raw for a while, but she didn't do that great on it. We switched to kibble mixed with veg and pumpkin and she does really well on it. We supplement with a probiotic and glucosamine.

[calgarygringo]

We have beat this topic to death on many forums. I have a Shiba Inu and Lab/Golden and Shiba for 13 years and 10 for Lab and have been on raw all the way.
Started on it due to the breeder we got her from fed it and he was also a supplier to pet stores. Dogs both healthy and never any issues. The problems vets refer to are mostly scare tactics and made so you buy their dog food. Coats are better, poops less and very healthy. We do mix a little high quality kibble in at night for their supper but they love it. Be careful what you read as the majority of vets are not food experts and we have asked many over the years and some have told us they have no food training at all.
When was the last time you heard of a raw food problem? Kibble issues constantly just do some googling and lots out there. Just feed good quality and make sure they get all the food groups and all will be well.
Works great for those with allergies too. One of the best ways to avoid them.

[snootchiebootchies]

We switched our dog to Honest Kitchen dehydrated dog food about a year ago. He really hates it and will go a couple of days before finally eating but we stuck with it because we noticed immediate improvements in his health. He had more regular bowel movements and had a spring in his steps on walks. A year ago, he seemed like an old dog but now he is back to his frisky self. The only bad thing is that he will avoid eating his food and will instead try to scavenge human food. My kids are always worried about taking their eyes off their snack lest the dog steals it.

[CaptainCrunch]

I personally liked the bagged stuff better, its crunch, and if you add water to it, you get gravy.

But the dog gets jealous when I bogart the bag when we're binge watching the six million dollar man.

[Diemenz]

I echo raw the benefits of raw as well.
We switched over about 2 years ago due to our golden being allergic to chicken. The switch over was a bit slow as she wouldn’t eat it at first but within a week she was chewing down and now absolutely loves it. After about a month of being on raw her scratching decreased exponentially as did her poop trips. I would say her energy level doubled and the terrible doggy breath went away too.

I would not go back to dry food again, with her or any dog in the future. The cost is the same as it was for dry and the raw food gets delivered to my door every 4 weeks so I am not complaining. We get an all in one formula so supliments aren’t needed.

[Jiggy]

Ground chicken and veggies work great for my dog. I would highly suggest raw food. As another poster noted vets love pushing their own food.

[metallicat]

Are there issues with the raw food being all over the dogs faces after they eat? Not all dogs are super clean eaters.

[Lumby Lager]

My wife works at a Veterinarian clinic and in her opinion, a veterinarian exclusive diet like Royal Canin, Hills, or Purina (the ones you can only buy at your veterinarian’s office) are good BALANCED diets. If you do your research you will probably find that it is less expensive than a raw diet that you buy from the pet store (per meal). If you are making your own raw diet, you need to make sure that it is well balanced (which most people don’t have enough time to do). Also if you have small children, a raw diet comes with the risk of salmonella! As with anything, do your research, if you call the food companies, their dietician’s (if they even employ any) are more than happy to answer questions. We have had great success with dogs and cats on Royal Canin..

[bossy22]

We tried the vet recommended diets and they were no more effective than the kibble from the store. Both Royal Canin and Hills and my dog still got an upset stomach.

[Slava]

Apologies in advance, because I will detail this for a quick question that doesn’t need its own thread, but are all the dog parks fenced? My dog is an idiot, and while I would like to take him, I don’t need him deciding not to listen and choosing that time to take off.

[Lumby Lager]

Originally Posted by bossy22

We tried the vet recommended diets and they were no more effective than the kibble from the store. Both Royal Canin and Hills and my dog still got an upset stomach.

At least you found a good diet, did the Vet find what was causing the upset stomach?

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by Slava

Apologies in advance, because I will detail this for a quick question that doesn’t need its own thread, but are all the dog parks fenced? My dog is an idiot, and while I would like to take him, I don’t need him deciding not to listen and choosing that time to take off.

No. Some are, some not, and some partial. Also, some of the fenced parks have gaps under the fence, which might be an issue, depending on the size of your dog.

[The Boy Wonder]

Thanks all for the opinions!

We’ve started converting to raw. Seems to be doing way better. Man do I wish doggos could just say how they were feeling and what they like