[LovelyBear]

I personally do not consume any animal products for my own health problems. But I feel in a way forced to feed my dog a vegan diet because other vegans will criticize. But I feed my dog Taste of The Wild Salmon and she is extremely healthy and I know she will do even better eating raw. Eating kibble (junk food) gives her terrible gas, bad breath and her teeth look terrible. I hate how vets always push getting dental cleaning and not letting your dog chew on what they are designed to chew on. To get money. I mean dogs who eat raw have amazing teeth. I don’t want to be a hypocrite, but there will always be dogs and they need meat to live. It would be more inhumane to give away my dog who I will do anything for. I feel awkward going into a butcher shop or meat department lol!

Would you think badly of a “vegan” who feeds their dog meat? I mean most of the animal i’d feed her are going to the trash anyways (besides the muscle meat). So technically I personally wouldn’t be supporting the industry 😉

Also when feeding raw do you think organic meat vs non organic matters? Because if it is best to feed organic i’ll have to wait to feed my girl raw, so I can afford it. If it doesn’t matter I can start soon.

And lastly my girl is a 7 year old Rottie. She still plays and runs around like a puppy. Everyone complements her on how young she looks. Will raw get her teeth back to being pearly white?

I know this is long. lol! I have many thought circling through my mind and needed a place to release some of them.

Edit: What do you do about feeding your dog raw and keeping them at a boarding kennel? About once or twice a year my family takes trips and my girl stays at a boarding kennel. I usually bring a huge ziplock back of kibble, but if I switch her to raw i’m not sure on what to do.

• This topic was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by LovelyBear.

[pitlove]

Hi LovelyBear-

Maybe someone will touch on all points you’ve brought up but I want to touch on just a few that I feel I can answer.

As far as getting your dogs teeth healthy, nothing can replace brushing your dogs teeth and dentals at the vet. No, they are not simply trying to sucker you for money. Having your dogs teeth cleaned at the vet is just the same as us having our teeth cleaned at the dentist. Between that and brushing is the most effective way to get any bacteria and gunk underneath the gumline. Bones and chews will clean the crowns (what you see), but will not necessarily prevent periodontal disease.

There are a lot of vegans on this site who still understand that meat is a part of a dogs diet. There is no shame in that.

[Susan]

Hi, I’m not much of a meat eater, I can’t stand the smell & all the blood with red raw meat, I eat white meat like fish & chicken only & I make Patch lean pork or beef rissoles, I would never deprive my Patch from eating meat, a dogs digestive tract is short & made to digest a raw diet where our digestive tract is long & heaps bigger & can handle all the grains, carbs etc in our diet…..
I live Australia & most people feed their pets raw kangaroo mince, raw off cuts added with their dogs kibble as well as raw meaty bones for their teeth, chicken bone is the softest bone & easy to digest…or they added the Pre-made Big Dog Raw formulas or the Dr’s B Barf Pre-made raw formulas or some pet shops make their own pre-made raw meals you just thaw & put in her bowl + kibble….
Cause your girl has never eaten a raw diet & is 7yrs old maybe look at the pre-made formulas that have leaner meats & are lower in fat around 3-4% in fat that’s around 11%-16% fat when converted to dry matter (Kibble) same amount of fat she’s eating at the moment 15% fat…Wet tin food when you see 5%min fat on wet tin can 5%min is around 20-25% fat when converted to dry matter & was a kibble ….Some people say not to feed kibble & raw together as they digest at a different rate but everyone I’ve spoken with at the dog park & when Patch was going to his behavior training school seem to all mix kibble with the raw diet & have no digestive problems feeding kibble + raw meat to their dogs….I suppose it depends on the dogs……
I ended up contacting a animal Naturopath when I put Patch on a raw fresh home made diet cause of his IBD & skin allergies, he was 6yrs old, we started with lean human grade kangaroo mince, not pet shop kangaroo mince added 1-2 spoons of blended raw veggies broccoli, carrot, celery & apple + 1/2 teaspoon probiotic +1/4 teaspoon DigestaVite plus powder to balance the meal cause it had no bone or any organ meat in the beginning cause of his IBD, I didn’t want him to get diarrhea, then I noticed about 1 hour after eating his breakfast he was regurgitating water + digested raw up into his mouth after burping causing acid reflux, so we stopped the blended veggies but he still was burping up water, I had to give him some of his regular kibble to wash the acid reflux back down his throat & he seemed heaps better…… cause of Patches IBD bad acid reflux the raw diet didn’t work for my Patch but my kitten/cat 11months old is feed a pre-made cat raw diet + kibble in separate bowl + 1/2 a chicken wing 3 times a week, if I don’t give her any kibble she pinches Patches Taste Of The Wild kibble….
Do you rotate your kibbles? try the TOTW Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb, it has the same fat & Protein% as the TOTW Pacific Stream, Smoked Salmon & their mouth doesn’t smell of fish after eating the Roasted Lamb & Patch seems to prefer the Roasted Lamb….

It will all depend on the boarding kennel if they will feed your dog a raw diet normally most boarding kennels just say bring all ur raw pre made & made up in daily sections etc or just before she goes to boarding kennel put her back on her kibble 1-2 weeks before she’s due to go to the boarding kennels & just pack enough frozen raw meaty bones to be given 2 to 3 times a week, I’m pretty sure the Boarding kennel will thaw & give the raw meaty bone …
My boy was biting the raw bone a few bites then gulping the whole raw meaty bone & swallowing big pieces of bone, when I first rescued him, that’s when someone told me chicken frames are the best to feed, the bone in the chicken frame is very soft & flexible & cleans their teeth, so if she is a gulper & swallows any big pieces of bone in the beginning maybe try the chicken frames from supermarket, they digest easier, I use to feed chicken necks but my vet said to stop feeding the chicken necks as they have very sharp pieces of bone & are full of fat, with no meat. In Australia our supermarkets sell chicken necks, chicken frames & brisket bones also turkey legs are nice & big just remove the inner sharp bone…your dogs teeth will clean right up after eating meaty raw bones, my last cat had heaps of tarter on his teeth & to clean his teeth was going to cost $450 to clean & remove any teeth if needed was an extra $50 per tooth, the vet said start giving him a chicken wing for breakfast & his teeth cleaned up….

[LovelyBear]

Hi pitluv! I agree it is important to clean your dogs teeth and everything. My thought process is set on prevention. I’d rather feed my dog raw and have the good bones clean her teeth and not spend over $300 on getting her teeth cleaned. But trust me if anything happened and it was completely necessary for my girl to get work done i’d spend the money!

Hello Susan! Thank you for your input 🙂 I wouldn’t deprive her of meat either. I just shake my head when I see or hear of people feeding their dogs vegan. I won’t force my views on her, when she is designed to consume meat. But I am reading every website I can and educating myself on feeding raw before I begin. I do rotate kibbles and stay within a brand. She has eaten every flavor of TOTW and is currently on the Pacific Stream. A few months ago she was on the Southwest Canyon one and got a weird rash on her cheek. I think that is the only one with Beef in it and that was the first time feeding to her, so she might be allergic to beef. But i’m not 100% sure that was the cause. I won’t 100% know till I feed her raw beef. These past 2 weeks I have given her bully sticks from beef and she is doing okay though. They cleaned her teeth pretty good. It’s crazy how expensive it can get to clean some teeth when a proper raw bone will do the trick!

Thank for the advice on boarding kennels. The vet office we take her to has a boarding facility and I hope my vet will be okay with my girl being raw. I don’t want to board her and they undermine me and feed her kibble while she is there. I find out haha!

[pitlove]

If a dental has already been suggested it is likely that beginning stages of dental disease are starting to set in and the vet is trying to be proactive, not greedy. Now if there are no signs of early stages of dental disease then a combination of brushing and other oral hygiene methods can be started to prevent.

Do not forget there is still high risk in feeding raw bones, especially to a large breed if she is an aggressive chewer. Perforated intestines and esophagus would be my first concern.

[elaine c]

the best food by far is Answers Pet food google it. It has bone and organs meats in it as it should. It is easy to give because it is in a tube of “paper” not plastic! and you just cut off what you need. It also comes with other liquids you can buy! you are right raw food will keep your dogs teeth good!!!

[Acroyali]

There are risks associated with anything you feed; feed soft pliable bones (no weight bearing bones) and feed size appropriate (a turkey neck for an aggressive large breed chewer can be a serious hazard.)

As far as meat (quality), I do feel there’s a difference between organic and non-organic. I also feel there’s a difference between organic and grass fed. However, feeding organic pastured meats can become very expensive; source human-grade, clean meat from reliable sources and you should be just fine.

I have a lot of respect for any vegetarian or vegan who realizes that feeding their diet to a carnivore is not the best idea. Kudos to you, and best of luck!

[Cannoli]

Hi lovelybear,

You can still feed your dog fruits and veggie albeit not more than 10% of their meal.

As you being a vegan there are tons of vitamins and minerals that you are aware that can be added to your dog’s meat meals to really balance it out.

It’s really not hard to feed a dog meat the hard part is understanding the minerals and vitamins that fruits, spices, and vegetables have. I think vegans have this knowledge that they can transfer to create natural supplements rather than relying on synthetic vitamins that many homemade feeders use.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Cannoli.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Cannoli.

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