Originally Posted by
Maywyn
I have recently started our cat on raw food, after he had been ill and after doing some research into what was used in cat food. Read a lot about cats being obligate carnivores, and decided to give it a go. Frankly, nothing could be worse than the content of some better known food brands I was feeding him convinced I was doing what’s best for him.
For now I am feeding him small amount of commercial dried food (high protein and no grain content) in the morning and afternoon, and he gets meat once during the day. Trying to switch him slowly, and also want to keep him partly on commercial food in case someone else needs to feed him. Trying to provide meat with small bones and cartilage mostly, not just lean meat (cats can eat raw bones fine; they only become brittle when cooked, don’t know about dogs). I'm in the UK and there are several brands here offering cat and dog food more in line with the raw feeding principle (Natural Instincts coming up a lot when reading about it all), OP you could probably find something similar if you aren't confident that you would be providing your dog with all the necessary nutrients by feeding him meat yourself. Likewise, there are supplements available in pet shops, intended specifically for use with raw diet. My cat is doing amazing, and looks amazing. It’s taking a while for him to accept less fragrant meats, due to the strong flavour of cat dried food. Other than that, there have been no problems.
As for the argument presented here about raw farmed meat not being healthy, I wonder what those people think is used in pet food. Granted, not meat very often, or very small amounts of highly processed meat and meat not fit for human consumption at all. Everyone decides what to feed their pet, I find the replies to your post unexpectedly militant.
I’m sorry I’m not able to provide more info on raw feeding a dog, but at least a vote of confidence from someone with similar experience.