Below are some really great excerpts and studies and points taken from raw feeders. After extensively reading through a lot of websites and yahoo groups I think I'm a believer that raw is by far the best for a dog. Below shows the myths about bacteria and parasites in raw fed diets and how they are more prevalent, which is not aware by many, but based on science more prevalent in pet foods - commercial and home-cooked. Sorry for the super long post!
"I'd really like to know what people think pets ate before the advent of cooked, processed, and kibbled pet diets? They received hardly any cooked food, as food was a precious commodity that very few people would waste on something like a dog (dogs have not always enjoyed the same social status they enjoy now). By and large the dogs of "old" foraged and scavenged on their own, or hunted small prey animals to supplement what little food they received at home. And before this? Wolf-dogs hunted with their masters and hung around the camps, knowing they would receive whatever raw meat, bones, and offal were left over. Thousands of years ago, people did not cook for their pets. Why should they? The animals were fully capable of obtaining their own food and moreover were a good "disposal" for unused parts of animals. The dogs ate what they were designed to eat.
What about increased longevity people ask? Well dogs' longevity has only recently been determined by research performed by the pet food companies. They use these "estimates" to show that their food helps animals live longer. But longer compared to what? No one cared about canine longevity in the earlier days when dogs only ate raw diets, so no one kept records or performed surveys. So this longevity estimate is only valid from when the surveys started, this "nutrition" has not contributed to longevity in nearly the same manner IMO that increased social status has.
The oldest living RAW-FED dog is Jerry, an Australian cattle dog-bull terrier mix. He is 27 and lives with his owner in Australia and it's thought he could be the WORLD'S OLDEST DOG! Here's a link to the story (
USATODAY.com - Outback mongrel could be oldest dog)
Those who remember the 'early days' remember long-lived dogs enjoying better quality lives until one day they just did not wake up. This slow, accumulating progression of disease is invariably linked with processed foods—something that has been proven time and again in human medicine and is being proven daily by the amount of processed food-fed pets suffering from a variety of these ailments and sitting in vets' waiting rooms. Millions of dogs eat kibble, and millions of dogs fill the waiting rooms of veterinarians, bad breath and all. These pets suffer from dermatitises of all sorts, or from cancers, joint problems, heart problems, kidney problems, digestive problems ("lack of enzymes"), liver problems, pancreas problems, coat problems, tooth problems, anal gland problems, glandular disorders, allergies, and soft doughy bodies brought on by eating a grain-based, artificial, highly-processed, additive-filled food touted as "healthy" for your dog. Thousands of dogs die from diet-induced diseases like bloat each year (and that is not to say all diseases are caused by diet, but many of them link strongly with processed diets and diet-induced periodontal disease. If pets are living longer, then why are they being considered old at younger and younger ages? A dog is now a senior by the age of 7 or 8; some even say a dog is old at 5 or 6. Cats are considered seniors by the ripe old age of 7 (tell that to raw fed cats still going strong at the age of 20!). It's my believe this premature aging is caused in large part by processed foods, which are now today mainly fed to our pets. Cancer, diabetes, obesity, kidney failure, heart problems, and arthritis (among other things) are being seen in younger and younger dogs. Dogs 3 years of age are being euthanized for malignant, systemic cancers!
Also, I believe the parasite and bacteria issue is something than non-raw folk use as a scare tactic, telling you that your dog is going to die if it eats raw meat because it will get a weird parasite. They neglect to tell you the very low incidence of these parasites in meat deemed safe for human consumption; nor do they tell you the most "deadly" of these parasites come from things like infected sheep placentas or stillborn calves. Simple solution—do not feed those things to your dog. As long as one exercises caution in obtaining their meat, parasites are a non-issue. And generally speaking, if your dog has a healthy immune system, it can deal with the parasites before they even get a chance to establish themselves. Parasites hate a very healthy host.
Yes, there is bacteria in raw meat. Yes, this bacteria can harm you. Yes, this bacteria is sometimes shed in dogs' feces. So if a raw-fed dog licks you, are you going to get sick? I suppose all things are possible, but on the whole: no, you will not get sick. This bacteria does not persist in the mouth of a raw-fed canine. The absence of plaque means the dog's mouth is no longer a hospitable place for bacteria to inhabit. Infact people don't realize it but pet foods, commercial or homemade, provide an ideal environment for bacterial proliferation!
Most of the documented cases of severe bacterial septicemia are from kibble-fed animals or animals suffering from reactions to vaccines. Kibble in the intestine not only irritates the lining of the bowels but also provides the perfect warm, wet environment with plenty of undigested sugars and starches as food for bacteria. This is why thousands of processed food-fed animals suffer from from a condition called Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. Raw meaty bones, however, create a very inhospitable environment for bacteria, as RMBs are easily digestible and have no carbohydrates, starches, or sugars to feed the bacteria. A kibble-fed and home cooked dog's mouth, however, provides the perfect environment for bacteria growth: plaque-covered teeth with sugary and starchy complexes provide both food and shelter for bacteria. The bacteria thrive in the mouth of a kibble-fed as well as home-cooked fed dogs because it provides both a perfect atmosphere and a good food source because of the bacteria in their gums and on their teeth . A raw-fed dog's mouth provides neither food nor a viable atmosphere for bacteria, which is why a raw-fed dog has odorless breath. So which dog would you be more worried about being kissed by and contracting disease from Thousands of people—even immunocompromised people—feed their dogs raw with no bacteria issues and with stronger immune systems as a result.
Commercial pet foods have been pulled off shelves more than once because of bacteria AND molds that produce a deadly toxin. Think about your dog—this is an animal that can lick itself, lick other dogs, eat a variety of disgusting rotting things, and ingest its own feces or those of other animals with no ill effects. The dog, plain and simple, can handle greater bacterial loads than we can. Can dogs get sick from the bacteria? I suppose they can. But it is rare and usually indicative of an underlying problem, especially when one stops to consider how much bacteria that dog probably comes in contact with every single day. One must ask "Why this dog? Why now? What has made this particular dog susceptible to bacterial overgrowth?" Something is not 'right' regarding the dog's health—a healthy dog does not suffer from bacterial infections or bacterial septicemia. That is just common sense. A dog suffering from "salmonella poisoning" is obviously not healthy, especially when compared to a dog that ate the same food with the same salmonella load but is perfectly healthy and unaffected. The first dog has suffered a 'breakdown' in its health that allowed the bacteria to become a problem."