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Location: UK
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 7,369
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I have fed both commercial dog food and raw to the same dogs and the illest either has been was when Keena got very sick for two weeks and I thought close to death at times
At this time she had only ever been fed on commercial dry dog food. I did not put the illness down to the type of food she was getting and it didn't initiate my change over to raw but the re-occurant bouts of loose stools throughout their puppyhood and young lives did.
This is a picture of what Keena was producing from both ends for several days -this was before it got even worse.
...She got so sick and her inerds so irritated that she was brining up the lining of her stomach for days on end. She didn't touch food, didn't hardly stand up...The vets supplied us with all sorts of hydration powders to mix with water but she didn't want to drink so we hydrated her round the clock via a syringe. The vets were there for us on call when ever we needed, Keena really needed to be in on a drip before this stage but her separation anxiety at that stage was really bad and our joint decision with the vets was that we thought it best if she could be at home with constant care to hydrate her and look after her so I slept on the kitchen floor everynight next to her and gave her hydration every 15 mins or so but the vets were there ready if she needed to get rushed in. Very luckily
she started to make an improvement and once she did her health rapidly improved and she got completly better.
She wasn't poisoned, we had her xrayed for blockages so the only other possibility was that she had a bacterial infection! and she had never even been fed raw before. My point is that dogs can pick up all sorts of nasty bacteria even if you never willingly pass them a peice of raw meat ever.
Even kibble can contain salmonella amongst other bacteria.
Since feeding raw there have only ever been very minor bouts of any digestive upset.
There is danger in everything we do. A dog can choke and die from inhaling a peice of kibble the wrong way. I never pin pointed Keena's illness on her then diet because it could have been many possibilities. I also now wouldn't say without proper evidence that raw feeding is a danger to dogs. What I would point out is that people can get it wrong...the balance...the type of bone...amounts of bone (most people feed to much) etc and it can cause problems and or a dog simply might not do well on a particular food item and you have to use process of elimination to discover the problem.
I seriously am not concerned by the bacteria in the fresh meat I feed my dogs seeing that I have seen an infection of some sort nearly to kill one of my dogs, as I said, pre raw feeding. I freeze all meat that I get for them for ample time, which yes doesn't kill everything but enough to not be harmful to a dog who's systems are apt for far more bacteria than ours. I keep a food diary so that if anything happens I can immediatly pin point what they had. I source all meat fit for human consumption - there isn't anything they have other than tripe that couldn't be fit to be served on a human's plate. I do everything I can in my power to avoid many of the pit falls and other than that I really don't stress over it to much at all because for me the proof that it is better for my own dogs has been the complete retraction of all the digestive upsets they had pre raw feeding and the much better way in which I can tell they are digesting this food.
I'm not sure how the tests your vets have done would be able to tell you one way or another if it was their diet that caused this upset but even if it can be proved, sweeping statements concerning the diet can't be made due to their being so many people with their own individual ways of feeding a raw diet meaning that their are so differentials to be taken into concideration.
Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that how you have fed the raw diet has caused your problems if even they are down to food...it could simply have been that a batch of food from one of your sources was contaminated - I don't know...But one thing is for sure and that is that it could be a wide range of possibilities even if raw food was the sole problem.
Lastly, I know I always go on about BritBarf - but there are some seriously knowledgable people on there who can answer all sorts of questions with back up of their answers, they also have a health forum for any health related questions. If people ever feel concerned by what they hear re raw feeding this is one good place. Also for anyone just starting out. Etc. (a quick search for 'yahoo britbarf' will provide links)
People must never rush into feeding a raw diet and only take one or two peoples recomendations on the subject but do plenty of their own research. But it isn't difficult once you know the correct guidelines. For as many bad stories there are, there are good but base your knowledge on a wide range of topics.
I think it is a shame the original poster feels completly put off but understand. Just don't want people to panic and worry