Are Raw Foods Safe For Your Dog?

By Nancy Cope 

Feeding a raw food diet to dogs has become increasingly popular with some dog owners in the last 20-30 years, especially since Dr. Ian Billinghurst and Dr. Richard Pitcairn, among others, wrote books dealing with the subject. After the serious pet food recalls that affected so many dogs and consumers in 2007, even more pet owners became interested in feeding their dogs raw foods because they are less processed and owners can choose high quality foods instead of relying on pet food companies. But, is it safe to feed your dog a raw food diet? Is this something you should be doing for your dog?

Pros and Cons
Like most things, there are pros and cons to feeding your dog a raw food diet. Advocates for raw food diets say that their dogs enjoy the following benefits:

• Raw foods are closer to a dog's natural diet; dogs (and wolves) don't eat processed foods in the wild.
• Raw foods include lots of raw meaty bones so they have more meat protein which is good for dogs; they don't rely on corn and other grains which are sometimes found in excessive amounts in commercial pet foods..
• The bones in a raw food diet are good for a dog's teeth and gums and help promote better dental hygiene. People who feed these diets say their dogs have beautiful white teeth without plaque and tartar or other dental problems..
• Advocates say that a raw food diet is good for a dog with allergies. It's true that with a raw food diet you can carefully choose the foods you feed your dog, use the highest quality ingredients, and you know exactly what your dog is eating. This is not usually true with commercial dog foods..
• Advocates make many other claims, many of which cannot be substantiated, such as that their dogs are healthier and live longer than dogs that are fed commercial pet food diets..

On the other hand, there are drawbacks to feeding a raw food diet.

• Feeding a raw food diet can be expensive, especially if you choose organic foods or you use the same foods that you would feed your own family to feed your dog. For example, if you have a large dog, it's not cheap to feed him lots of meat a couple of times per day. And if you have multiple large dogs, you're looking at a sizable expenditure.
• Feeding a raw food diet can be time consuming. There is more to preparing the food than simply tossing your dog a big turkey leg. A proper diet needs to be planned. You have to spend time shopping, buying, and storing the food, as well as preparing it. The raw food usually includes meat, a few veggies, some dairy such as yogurt, some organ meats, and even a little fruit now and then. Some owners add supplements to make sure their dog is having all of his nutritional needs met. Many owners save money by buying meats in bulk which can mean stowing away 40 pounds of chicken in a deep freezer, for example. It takes time to do these things.
• It can be tricky to make sure your dog's nutritional needs are consistently met. Most people strive for balanced nutrition over time, which means that an individual meal probably won't have all of the nutrients your dog needs but, over the course of a week or so, your dog will be getting everything he needs when you feed him different things. Human meals aren't usually totally balanced either. When you eat pizza for dinner, it won't contain all of the vitamins and minerals you need to survive but when you look at a combination of your meals, you should be eating a healthy diet (we hope).

These are some of the pros and cons of the raw diet for dogs. However, from a safety viewpoint, the biggest risk is to the people in the home and it comes from Salmonella. Your dog has strong stomach acids and he can easily eat meat that carries some bacteria, although we don't want to feed our dogs anything bad. But when you are preparing and handling raw foods in the kitchen, they are more dangerous to you. Humans are not nearly as capable of shrugging off bacteria from contaminated meat and other foods as dogs are. If a raw meat carries Salmonella, you can get sick from it, especially if you do not follow proper food handling procedures.

Good Food Handling Hygiene
Whenever you are handling raw meat and other foods in the kitchen you should follow good food handling procedures.

• Do not leave meat lying out on the counter.
• Clean and sanitize your counters in between each food you handle.
• Clean and sanitize your utensils before using them on another food item.
• Wash your hands often in warm, soapy water.
• When keeping raw meat in the refrigerator, put it on a plate and do not allow the juices to come in contact with other foods
.
• Keep your refrigerator set at 40 degrees
.
• If you do not plan to use meats within a couple of days, freeze them
.
• Do not thaw meats on the counter; thaw meats in the refrigerator

If you will follow these safe food handling procedures then it will be much safer for you to feed your dog a raw food diet.

Article by Nancy Cope a proud owner of 4 rescue dogs and owner of Pampered Dog Gifts an online dog boutique that specializes in special gifts for pampered pooches. Please visit Pampered-Dog-Gifts.com to shop for custom leather dog collars, gourmet treats, dog clothes and more for your spoiled pooch.

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