[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi swampstomper –

This is a great question! I have fed my dogs a raw diet for about two years now and none have ever gotten sick and neither have I or anyone else around my dogs. Healthy dogs are fully equipped to handle the bacterial load present in fresh raw meat. For starters a dog’s saliva has antibacterial properties – there is a lysosome in their saliva that destroys bacteria (why they lick their wounds). Carnivores (like dogs) have extremely short digestive tracts in comparison to, say, a person’s digestive tract. Their digestive tracts are designed to get food in and out quickly before the bacteria have time to multiply to harmful levels. Lastly, dogs have very acidic stomach acid – much stronger than our stomach acid. In terms of nutrition requirements and their digestive system, dogs are not much different than their ancestors (wolves). Wolves not only eat fresh kill but also scavenge rotting carcasses (not that I’d recommend intentionally feeding a dog rotting meat! my dogs have, however, gotten a hold of many dead things over the years and never gotten sick). Dogs are meant to eat raw meat. The only instance in which I’d caution against a raw diet is for a dog with a compromised immune system. It’s also important to keep in mind that kibble-fed dogs are not immune to bacterial exposure – look at all the recent kibble recalls for salmonella! Salmonella is a normal constituent of the canine digestive tract and dogs fed raw and cooked diets have all been known to shed the bacteria in their feces.

I’d recommend checking out this article written by Dr. Karen Becker – holistic veterinarian and raw food advocate:

healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/15/raw-meat-the-best-and-healthiest-diet-for-pet-cats-and-dogs.aspx

As far as consuming bones – there are two types of bones: raw meaty bones (termed “RMBs”) and recreational bones. Raw meaty bones (i.e. chicken backs, turkey necks, etc.) are soft and pliable and consumed in their entirety – they should make up a large portion of a balanced raw diet. Recreational bones (i.e. marrow bones, knuckle bones or the deer leg you see Gertie eating above) are more dense are not consumed entirely – they’re more for enrichment.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 8 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.