Good luck...would be fascinated to hear the results.

That`s exactly how I feel about it - thankyou.

I agree commercial food hasn't been round that long and certainly judging by the number of white poos around when I was growing up dogs were fed a lot of bones even 30 years ago. BUT (It's a big but) I truly don't believe in those thousands of years that dogs were fed 'raw' I think they were fed table scraps and as a result I think their digestive systems must have altered.I think they were fed whatever was left..be it bones or vegetable peelings.

I do agree...it is entirely up to the individual what they feed their dogs. I have to admit I prefer feeding Cosmo the Nature Diet than the Burns,possibly because he enjoys it much more, but also becuase I can see what he's getting more (if you see what I mean).

I have a lot more thinking and musing to do. As I say...it ain't broken at the moment, far from it, our vet can't believe the condition he is in...( I still think it's the mud and poo)...so there is no real need to change anything other than I would like to see what he is eating. Perhaps I am a control freak....hmmm

my vet supports raw feeding, and he even admitted to me that even though he feeds Burns( as they sell it) he does have to add other bits to it so his dogs will eat it.

this does seem to be common practise with kibble so surely it costs more to feed kibble than raw and takes away the convience of it.

Q. How many perforation/blockage ops are caused by cooked bones and other objects against raw bones?

Ailsa I'm in no way trying to persuade you or anyone to start feeding raw I know it's not for everyone (although I do believe it's for every dog ).

However, if you ever want more info, feel free to PM me

P.S. My friend's lab eats mud too

Hectorsmum - that's a good question. As bone is a tiny part of the overall diet (10%) I seriously believe that vets try to put people off because of their personal misgivings rather than any actual evidence that feeding raw bones is dangerous. You don't see foxes deboning hens so they must manage it somehow!

I wouldn't say my vet was pro or against Raw feeding. He has a stand in his practise where he sells James Welbeloved and some other type dried foods, He knows I went over to Raw feeding totally when I got Bugzy the min pin, before that it was kibble and tripe. I told him when I took Bugzy in for his checkup that he was raw fed from weaning and I was converting the others over to raw. Michael just asked what I intended to feed them, I gave him my pre written list (see i'm organised sometimes ) He had a read through it, said it seems everything looks ok, was a little worried about vitamins minerals etc. But he trusted my judgement and knows I will only ever do whats best for my dogs.
When I took Aura in for her booster last month Michael said Aura was in great condition and he was very impressed at how she was developing.
Aura's breeder Karen took a little longer to persuade I was doing the right thing ( I switched Aura over to completely raw at 3 months old), she was obviously a little concerned on how I was raising her puppy, I can understand her worry, she bred her and raised her and only wants what she feels is best for her babies, But she's seen her regulary and told me the other week that Aura looks great
I wouldnt go back to kibble feeding again... I like the way all my dogs are thriving on the raw diet, I dont know whether this is coincidence or not, but when I was kibble feeding Ice was always at the vets with bad ears, since being fed raw he has not had one bad ear infection

My raw fed dog is the same - he had an ear infection shortly after we got him and it too ages to totally get rid of it. I think in the first six months we were at the vets about once a month because he kept picking up infections and stuff. However, I think this was due to him having to live on the streets at less than 10 months old, just finding whatever food he could.

But since feeding raw, I've only had him to the vets once (because he got colitis). Here's to many more vet free years for our doglets