[autumn star]

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

A raw diet is the very best thing you can feed most dogs. I HIGHLY recommend it. Lacy has been eating raw for almost two years now and has done wonderful on it! She's very healthy (even had a full blood panel in October that came back perfect), only poops once a day, and LOVES her food! I feed Nature's Variety raw medallions. My cats also eat raw. My older cat has had chronic allergies for 8 years - no other foods helped - she was itchy and didn't have much hair left. Since switching her to an all raw diet in December, her hair has grown back as thick as ever and she looks better than she has looked since she was a kitten! It's great for both dogs and cats.

Food-born illness is very rare in dogs. It is usually only a risk for immunocompromised dogs. Dog's are carnivores and their digestive system is different than ours - they were designed to eat raw meat, bones, and organs. The pH in their stomach is more acidic than ours so that normally kills most bacteria. Our food doesn't sit in our stomachs long and moves into our intestines quickly where it can stay for 2-3 days! Lots of time for bacteria to multiply in a human's intestines. However, a dogs food sits in their stomach for hours where it is bathed in a highly acidic bath before it moves into their intestines. The food then moves through a dog's intestines quickly so bacteria just doesn't have time to multiply like it does with humans. And if you think about it...dogs lick and eat all kinds of nasty stuff and don't normally get sick from it. Also, carnivores have a tough lining in their stomachs and first part of their intestines that keeps bones from perforating it...this is because they are designed to eat raw bones.

Dogs were just not meant to eat grains, fruits, and veggies. A little as a treat won't hurt them, but I just don't think its healthy to be feeding a large amount of those every day. Carnivores need meat, bones, and organs to be healthy.

I just really recommend it. If you do your research, I don't know why anyone wouldn't feed a raw diet. It's really the best thing for most dogs (and by most..I mean it's not good for immunocompromised dogs).

Great post Michelle!