My short answer: Raw Food is safe and healthy for your pet. And it's natural.
Salmonella and E. Coli are not a well documented health concerns for your pet for several reasons. Pets have short intestinal tracts which digest food quickly, before bacteria have time to multiply and they also have very acidic stomachs, which kill many bacteria.
If you use common sense in preparing raw food, washing hands and counters, don't leave food out too long and store properly, you eliminate the worst potential for problems.
Our Pets are Natural Raw Feeders
As for dogs, their DNA differs from the wolf by only 2% and wolves are basically carnivores. There is a great deal of discussion on whether dogs are true carnivores or omnivores. One phrase you will hear used is 'opportunistic feeders,' meaning they will eat what is available. My own personal belief is that a dog is more carnivore than anything but will be an opportunistic feeder due to what is available to him.
Dog's and cat's teeth are classic carnivore. Look into their mouths. Their teeth are designed for grabbing, ripping, tearing, shredding, and shearing meat. They are not equipped with large flat molars for grinding up plant matter. Their molars are pointed and situated in a scissors bite (along with the rest of their teeth) that powerfully disposes of meat, bone, and hide.
Dogs and cats are equipped with powerful jaw muscles and neck muscles that assist in pulling down prey and chewing meat, bone, and hide. Their jaws hinge open widely, allowing them to gulp large chunks of meat and bone.
Dogs and cats have the internal anatomy and physiology of a carnivore, they have short digestive tracts and their bodies lack certain enzymes which make it difficult, if not impossible for their bodies to process grains and vegetables unless they are 'predigested' by processing; cooking, mincing, grinding, breakdown by enzymes, or fermentation through bacteria.
They have a highly elastic stomach, a relatively short foregut and a short, smooth intestinal tract. This means food passes through quickly. Vegetable and plant matter, however, needs time to be processed by the body. This explains why plant matter comes out the same way it came in; there was no time for it to be broken down and digested.
Dogs do not normally produce the necessary enzymes in their saliva, such as amylase, for example, to start the break-down of carbohydrates and starches; amylase in saliva is something omnivorous and herbivorous animals possess, but not carnivorous animals.
For thousands of years, our canine and feline companions have subsisted on diets of raw meats and scraps. Around 60 years ago, pet foods began growing in popularity, supplanting the more natural diets of our dogs and cats. The past 10 years, however, have seen a rise in the raw food diets.
BARF Diet
One popular raw diet is the BARF model, Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (or Bones And Raw Food). The BARF diet which includes non-meats and numerous supplements was designed for pets and wild animals by Dr Ian Billinghurst. Billinghurst claimed that commercial kibble does not allow domestic animals to thrive, as their ancestors did on a wild, raw diet.
The Whole Prey Diet
This diet mimics what would be considered a 'natural' diet in the wild. You follow the proportions of an actual prey animal in a pet's diet. This includes organ meat, skin, muscle, and bone, without supplements. Many feed a diet largely composed of as wide a variety of meats and butchers' scraps as possible, and even occasional table scraps as supplements. Feeding a 'whole prey' diet is actually quite simple.
Health Benefits
Most pet owners notice many improvements in the health and general condition of their canine and feline companions.
These include:
- shinier, healthier coat with less shedding
- eliminated "dog" odor
- better body muscle to fat ratios
- cleaner teeth and breath
- decreased itching from certain food allergies
- normalized energy levels
- improved urinary tract health
- better resistance to infections
- increased mobility with a decrease in arthritis pain
- decreased allergy symptoms
- little to no hairballs in cats
- lower stool volume
Many pet owners even report lower Veterinary fees and lower costs feeding as compared to 'commercial' diets.
| The author of this article, Deanna Raeke, is a pet owner, pet lover and natural health advocate. She dedicates her time to animal advocacy and welfare and the study and research or natural health for people and pets. For more information for your pet's health, visit Natural Health for Pets |
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