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Location: Surrey
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,420
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Originally Posted by
300roses
Well, perhaps different dogs have different nutritional requirements. My gal is a toy breed / small dog and she does great on raw. It has done wonders for her skin. I will definitely continue giving her raw.
Not necessarily nutritional requirements (though activity levels, metabolism, etc will affect this slightly from dog to dog) but humans have different intolerances and allergies so why not dogs?
IMO raw is a fantastic diet but it won't suit every dog, because dogs are just as capable as having an allergy/intolerance to certain meats or other components of raw as they are to having a grain allergy/intolerance. If a dog is intolerant of chicken, then raw or not, it's going to have problems, and it may require a chicken-free diet - this could be difficult to achieve with raw, if lots of the meat and bones available are chicken, so something like a 100% fish based kibble (e.g. Fish4Dogs) may be better for that particular dog.
I think it's sensible for people to realise that raw isn't the ultimate fix to every problem but it can be a big help. It's a bit like in humans, often humans with IBS or other digestive problems are told to try gluten-free diets, or something like that. Raw feeding is a lot more controllable than kibbles the majority of the time - e.g. if you suspect an intolerance of grains, you just feed meat, bones and offal, and you'll soon see an improvement. You suspect your dog doesn't do well with lamb/beef/rabbit/etc? Try a chicken-only raw diet and introduce new meats gradually. The problem with kibbles is that often there are lots of ingredients, so it's difficult to pinpoint and exclude something in particular. Suspect that lamb intolerance? OK, you could find a chicken-based kibble but you have to be aware that lots of kibbles have "meat derivatives" or "animal fats", etc. that don't specify a species. Lots will state they contain "cereals" or "grains"but not say which one - so what if your dog is OK with maize but not oats?
You can't expect raw feeding to fix a meat intolerance if you're feeding that meat, but it does mean you know exactly what you're feeding and can help narrow down what your dog can and can't eat. As long as people are aware of that and willing to accept that raw might not suit their dog, I don't see the harm in trying it - it's just another diet to try, like trying a new kibble (obviously I'd recommend people do their research before giving it a try though)