after lots of research on raw feeding and loads of help from certain dogsey members i changed tigger to raw feeding,having been diagnosed epi 5.5weeks ago and being so ill and going into renal failure,needing blood transfusion,
tonight i took her back to the vet that saved her life but was dubious bout raw feeding,she was skipping round the surgery(vet not dog)singing tiggers praises,of how well shes done,how much weight shes put on,she has put on 9.5k in 5 weeks,4.5 of them kilo in 2.5 weeks on raw diet,and while she continues to thrive and does good and the vet is happy and im happy,tigger will be staying on raw,i agree there are dangers to any type of feeding,but shes happy and so are we

I get all my food from Landywoods and its all "fit for human consumption" DEFRA registered etc..

Hope Kain recovers quickly and I would be most interested to see what the results say

Hi Louise, I have no idea about raw diets so dont know anything about the stockists, Is the food from Landywoods fit for human consumption?
I saw a program on tv about the quality of the chicken that is used for making chicken pies for human consumption, :smt078 needless to say a chicken pie has never crossed my lips my point being if they can feed that to us, the mind boggles as to handling of food destined for the dog market,
I never really trust any meat handling, so we get a lambs and bullock's from the farm, this is taken to the slaughter house then, we have a local buthcher hang and butcher it, we then collect it and stick it in the freezer,. These animals are born on the farm so I know exactly what its been fed, what worming and vac's its had, if its had anti biotics or not, x shona x

That is great that Tigger is doing so well This post and the post made by Leospride make a good indication of how well dogs with diagnosed problems can do on a raw diet - EPI for example. The good thing is that it isn't only just one way of feeding them raw and you can adapt the diet many ways to suit many needs with great success.

There are lots of people raw feeding their dogs who have been diagnosed with EPI and various other problems and my own knowledge is limited in that area but there are alot of people on Britbarf who know how to properly adapt a raw diet for almost any needs and they can send you on to many relevent places to learn even more. (Are you a member there Zoey?? It sounds as though your doing a great job with your dog already but if you feel you could use help and have any concerns about the diet due to the EPI it would be a good place to ask any questions you may have - even though it sounds as though what you are already doing is working a treat!!)

Thanks for everyones input in the raw diet, I can fully understand those who like to feed a raw diet, my 2 looked fanbloodytastic on it, loved it, and I enjoyed knowing what they were getting, feeling I was doing what was best for them. I had researched it, must admit ingnored any of the negatives I had read about it.
As I said I have never had a dog so ill for so long before, this is the first time I have fed raw.
My first dog lived till 18, on a chappie table scraps, 10p dairy milk from the van every night, ice cream cone and bag of cheese n onion crisps diet...never had a single visit at the vet till he was PTS, sleep tight King.
I know they can pick up all sorts of things from everything they sniff n lick so actually knowing for sure it was the raw meat will probably prove inconclusive unless I get the meat analysed...my point is a dogs digestion can't cope with all the bacteria in a raw meat diet so the bacteria that they can't get rid of builds up in the gut and intestine, when the dog picks up a nasty bug it gives the bacteria sommit to feed on so makes it more difficult to treat the infection and takes longer to get rid of it. Unless your actually out killing your dogs food yourself the truth is you don't really know for sure that what your giving is fresh.
How much would it cost to get the meat analysed ?
This has been enough of a scare for me not to compromise Inka and Kain, Inka was sick first but seemed to cope with it better than Kain...
I don't want anyone to take anything I am saying personally as I respect the fact that everyone has their own opinions on diet ect, I'm just sharing my experience.

Have you some scientific evidence for this ? The reason that I as is my X breed that lived to nearly 20 lived wild in the country for over 4 months all she had to eat was what she caught ie mice, rats, rabbits etc(I knew she was a good hunter as she caught mice at home & when out when off rabbiting at ever opportunity) There were no houses/ farms with food for her as I caught her in a very isolated place. According to what you say she should have been dead or very ill from this diet, in fact it was commerical food that she was fed that made her ill-she was gluten intolerant amougst other problems & it was food left as bait for her that caused her all the problems-I think that was the only reason I was able to catch her

My friends Border Terriers often kill mice & rabbits that they consume to no ill effect & they too are fed a raw diet.

Joedee my smallest cavalier is a hunter & often brings in partly consumed mice that he has caught & eaten just like a cat:smt078 he never has any problems & i feed him a part raw part commerical(holistic/organic)diet

As an aside I know exactly where my dogs meat comes from as the Organic farmer/butcher I get my meat from only sells their own meat which they either kill on the farm(chickens)or at a local abortoir & they actually take the animals there themselves & the meat is human quality(not that I eat it as I am a vegan)Buying via supermarkets & other outlets is a risk for humans let alone dogs

Unless your actually out killing your dogs food yourself the truth is you don't really know for sure that what your giving is fresh.

She survived probably because what she caught was fresh

Unless my dogs had something like EPI I would never feed them raw. My logic is that unless you have absolute confidence in the source of your meat you can never be sure its free of parasites and bacteria.

In the wild animals commonly die of parasites and after our Vet recently informing us she has a dog infected by Hookworm it confirms to me the dangers of a raw diet and walking in areas that dogs may pick up carrion.

Hookworm is rare in the UK, you have to question why a dog in the South West of England that has never been outside the UK has this infection, raw diet is a likely cause.

Abstract from study on Red Fox in UK

The commonest gut parasites were the hookworm Uncinaria stenocephala (41.3%) and the ascarid Toxocara canis (61.6%). This study also reports the second occurrence of Trichuris vulpis in Great Britain.

[QUOTE=JoedeeUK;959763] she had to eat was what she caught ie mice, rats, rabbits etc

I think that's exactly what Inkliveeva said wasn't it? Quote "Unless your actually out killing yours dogs food yourself" Unquote

I recently read up on hookworms, and they can cause horrendous damage to the gut! Very scarey that!