Sensitivities can definitely cause a wide range of reactions including itching and excessive ear wax which can lead to infections. They just recently released research showing that a cramping disease can be caused by food sensitivity to gluten in Border Terriers. They can mess with every organ including the skin.
Feeding raw is NOT analogous to animal abuse — far from it. However feeding an unbalanced diet can cause significant issues later on. As an example — chicken (especially dark meat like legs and the fat) are excellent sources of omega 6 fatty acid linoleic acid. This is absolutely needed in the diet for proper skin health. You can overfeed it though and in doing so create inflammatory type responses. Omega 6 has to balanced with omega 3. The diet is probably deficient in trace minerals as well.
When feeding raw it’s best to vary the diet with different protein sources and veggies. This gives a wider array of nutrients. There are also commercial balanced diets available. These have to meet the same standards as kibbled diets as far as nutrient profiles.
There are TONS of vets that recommend raw but all, that I am aware of, recommend either balancing the diet using a recipe, premix or commercial OR feeding a wide variety of foods to capture all the nutrients necessary for proper health. There are some fantastic support groups on Facebook etc that can help with this if interested.
I’ve been feeding raw for a very long time to both healthy and ill (including foster dogs) with GREAT success!! It does take some thought into getting it right but it’s not difficult.
GOOD LUCK!!!
2 months, 3 weeks ago
