Recently, the hype about giving your dog a raw food diet has increased a lot. Many pet parents have resorted to a raw diet, as it has been portrayed as the most natural and healthier feeding notion. If you feel influenced by this diet and bend towards it, read the article below.
Changing your dog’s diet is a very crucial decision that needs to be made after thorough research. We keep referring to a reliable dog websites such as We Love Doodles to know various aspects of growing your pet right as pet parents. Then when it comes to making such an important decision about your pet’s nutrition, you need to be well informed.
A raw food diet is just like it sounds. You feed your dog raw products like raw meat, bones, and certain vegetables.
People who promote the raw food diet say it has significant health benefits for the dog, but the same is not encouraged by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Here is why raw food diet may not be the best option for your dog.
What Does Raw Food Diet Contain?
A raw food diet contains various animal parts and raw food like muscle meat, organ meats, raw eggs, fresh vegetables, and dairy products like yoghurt. Most stores brought food containing a combination or cooked meat, grains, fruits, and vegetables, but proponents of raw food call it a processed and commercial diet, which is unnatural. They suggest that a raw diet is closer to how they eat food in the wild hence it is better for the dog.
An advocate of raw food also claims that keeping your dog on a raw diet can help with numerous health benefits, like reducing the risk of cancer or other allergies, but there is absolutely no evidence to back this claim.
Also, a study found that dogs on raw food have a more balanced gut microbiome as compared to the dogs that eat store brought food. This study could not demonstrate any long-term health benefits of eating a raw diet compared to other pet food; hence, it is not conclusive.
Is the Raw Food Diet Safe?
We are not saying that the raw food diet has no advantages, but its disadvantages outweigh its benefits.
In fact, putting your dog on raw food comes with both risks for the dog and the people living in the household. We have listed some risks below.+
- Bacterial Infection:
This is a no-brainer. Cooked meals are always safer to consume as they kill all the bacteria. Whereas raw diets contain bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli, which can cause the dog serious illness. Even if this does not make your dog sick, it can spread the bacteria in your household, which other pets or humans can pick up. Especially if you have kids at home, it is not safe to feed your dog a raw diet. These infectious organisms can be dangerous for kids or adults who are immunocompromised and cause serious health issues.
- Nutritional Deficiency:
The store-bought dog food has been balanced well in nutrition by health experts. When you feed your dog a raw diet, if you are not carefully balancing the meal and just sticking to providing your dog a protein, then it may seriously cause malnutrition and health problems. If you stick to a raw diet, learn to balance every meal right.
- Injury from Bones:
Bones are part of the raw diets, but they are not safe for dogs as dogs can break their teeth while chewing on the bones. Small bone pieces can also pierce their intestines or cause blockages which can be life-threatening.
What Should You Feed Your Dog?
Good quality store brought dog food is usually well-balanced, but if you do not wish to stick to that, you can always go for a well-balanced home-cooked meal for the dog. You can talk to your vet, who can suggest the best food for your dog’s good health.
If you are ok with feeding your dog store-bought pet food, stick to one that has an AAFCO label on the bag stands for Association of American Feed Control Officials.
Avoid feeding your homemade dog food not designed for pets as it may cause long-term health problems in your pet. There is a lot of information on the internet regarding balancing your dog’s meals but better confirm with your vet before you put your dog on a new diet. You may need to add some supplements to the dog’s homemade food for health benefits.
The Bottom Line:
The raw diet may be best for dogs living in the wild, but you have to understand that your dog has been living in a household as a puppy; hence, they are not similar to the dogs in the wild. Your dog’s immunity will be lesser than the ones who survive in the wild because they are not exposed to hardship like the wild dogs. Hence, the argument that this is natural to your pet dog does not really stand true. Also, you need to find a method to feed the dog a healthy diet that is free of bacteria and harmless for the people staying at home; hence before you follow this fad of feeding your dog a raw diet, just know the facts right.
There may be benefits to a raw food diet, but there are no reliable studies that showcase the same so far. There are, however, studies that have showcased possible health issues related to feeding your raw dog food.
Having said that, every dog is different, and your dog may not do well on the store brought pet food and thrive well on a raw diet. Even if you decide to feed your dog a raw diet as it suits your dog better, ensure to take care of the above cons to avoid any negative experience.
Overall, make sure to check with your vet before making any major decision on the diet changes of your pet.
