Many pet owners worry that feeding raw meat to their dogs (or themselves) may make them sick. While raw meat does contain harmful bacteria such as salmonella, listeria and E coli that must be killed through cooking, proper handling, cleaning and food safety precautions can reduce risks significantly.
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It’s Better for Your Dog’s Digestive System
Modern dogs may differ significantly from their wild ancestors; however, with proper planning a raw diet can easily provide all of the essential vitamins and nutrients they require to thrive. And by making digestion simpler for them, their immune systems have more time to focus on fighting illnesses and disease!
The raw food movement, also known as Biologically Appropriate Raw Feeding or BARF, claims to restore your pet to their ancestral diet – including healthier skin, weight loss and better joint health benefits.
Home-prepared raw diets require extensive knowledge and skill in order to ensure that your pet receives an appropriate balance of muscle meat, organs and bones. When selecting We Feed Raw as your source for raw meat products sanitized through high-pressure processing (the same technique used to sanitize juices, guacamole, salsas and more products we consume daily!), quality is key!
It’s More Affordable
Raw meat is what your pup was meant to eat, according to many holistic veterinarians and it would likely have been most readily available during their wild days – though they likely did also consume grasses and berries as part of their diets.
Home-prepared or commercially prepared raw food diets that provide your dog with all of the vitamins and minerals he requires will contain an ideal blend of meaty meat (muscle meat with connective tissue and fat), organs and raw bones to meet his nutritional requirements for maximum success.
Some may worry that raw meat could make their dog or family sick. With proper food safety precautions in place – including washing hands and using clean utensils when handling it – you can provide your pup with a balanced and high-quality raw diet. Always purchase quality meats such as those found at Whole Foods Market to feed to their raw diet; denatured products with high levels of charcoal may negate many important vitamins.
It’s Easy
Dogs were designed to eat raw meat, making it relatively straightforward to feed your pup an all-natural diet at home. While raw food preparation takes more time than kibble preparation, it doesn’t prove difficult at all!
Raw food poses the main danger of Salmonella, E coli and Listeria infections for dogs, and humans as well. Cooking to an acceptable temperature reduces this risk significantly but contaminated meat still poses risks that could make you or your family sick; handling raw meat increases this chance further by allowing your pet to lick your face or touching surfaces that have become infected with raw meat particles.
When making raw meals yourself, be mindful of the calcium/phosphorus ratio. An ideal ratio would be 1.2:1, which you can achieve by including extra bone, meat or organ into each meal. Wild dogs and wolves regularly gnaw on bones to obtain essential nutrients while strengthening their teeth at the same time.
It’s Safe
Fear-driven claims that raw meat turns dogs into bloodsucking monsters are simply unfounded; in reality, quite the contrary is true. Achieve success with raw diet by providing your pup with a well-balanced raw diet over time; either through homemade recipes or commercial options like Instinct’s Frozen Raw Bites.
Furthermore, it’s vitally important to follow proper hygiene measures when handling raw pet food and cleaning up after your dog. Wash your hands frequently when feeding or cleaning up after them; use separate utensils when feeding or cleaning up after them; store raw food treats in the fridge away from other foods that could potentially contain bacteria or pathogens; store everything inside its own container if you plan to refrigerate or freeze before giving to them as treats!
Raw bones should also be avoided as they can splinter and cause choking or intestinal blockage in your pet. Large non-weight bearing bones such as necks and ribs may be safer options as they contain thicker layers which have less potential to shatter; additionally they offer important minerals for their wellbeing.
