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Will the varied fresh food diet my pet loves kill him?

Dr. Jeff

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I love the title of this 2013 forum post!

You all "know" the answer.

<em>"We have a 6 month old American Bulldog/Mastiff Mix and he has been on a raw diet because the processed dog foods were causing coughing and diarrhea issues and we realized that he also cannot tolerate chicken. At every meal (one in the am, one in the pm) we give him raw ground beef and/or raw chopped pork (approx 6 oz each meal), preference (from H.K.) and one raw egg with the shell slightly crushed (he loves to chomp and lick the shells). We also give him raw meaty bones once a day usually around lunch or a nice big one on a Saturday or Sunday morning when he can entertain himself outside for a little while: Turkey Necks (or part of it depending on the size), ox tails, pork chop bone with meat, pork shoulders, we also cut up a slab of ribs into two bone pieces and he loves those, along with a squirt of Salmon Oil now and then with heart/liver/gizzards once a week. He has been on this diet for 4 months now and he loves his food, is very healthy and has the most beautiful teeth and fresh breath and no health concerns or skin issues.

My problem is that my sister-in-law who is a doctor and has a best friend that is a vet (she is not our vet, we use the Humane Society and they don’t really support raw diets either although they say our dog is very healthy and doing great). When my sister-in-law heard that we have our dog on a raw diet, she immediately told me of all the salmonella warnings, trichinosis warnings and told me raw meat and any, I mean ANY bones were dangerous especially pork bones and she called her friend the vet to have her tell me how dangerous this diet was.
I would love to have your opinion/reply to this and I would really like to be able to comment back to them (and everyone else that tells me it is dangerous for my dog) that I believe and support my dogs diet as do many others including professionals. She is dead set that my dog will suffer the consequences if I do not stop immediately and put him on processed dog foods."</em>
 

Dr. Jeff

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Thanks so much for your great question. This is a topic that’s on many pet owner’s minds.

The current conventional wisdom is that feeding any of the commercial, processed, possibly questionable ingredient diets that are AAFCO-approved is just fine. We are told that it is “best” to just stick with this same food for your pet’s life.

Personally I strongly disagree. Our pets may not be people, however the basic tenets of optimal human nutrition (and thereby optimal health) still apply IMHO.

I advise my clients to feed the freshest food available (and that they can afford), in a wide variety and in moderation as advised on this site. That’s it. Simple.

The biggest mistake that I see which can harm pets is feeding the same unbalanced food every day. An example might be the small dog that only eats chicken breast. Many pets may do fine on this diet, but it can predispose to problems. That being said however, integrating chicken breast *into* a varied diet is absolutely fine.

I feed my own rescue dog (who came with a “sensitive stomach”) a mix of RMBs (raw meaty bones), organic meat blends (our local butcher blends all of their leftover pieces together) Vital Essential raw whole meats, freeze dried meats, air-dried, and yes even the occasional dry Epigen and cans from Wysong.

The well-balanced pet should be able to tolerate all of these food items. Just my opinion.

<a href="https://www.homevet.com/category/library/for-healthy-pets/diet-discussion/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Click here</a> are for other diet articles.

Have a great Sunday.

Dr. Jeff

2017 addition: <a href="https://www.holisticactions.com/?s=food" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Click here</a> for other fresh and raw food feeding resources on this site.
 

Dana

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Taking this 1 step further 6 years later.... Are there ANY natural foods that I should not feed my puppy? I know about grapes and onions.
 

Dr. Christina

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Dana - that is about it. Of course, not dark chocolate. And even grapes or onion, if they are in some leftover you are feeding, are ok. Just not a super big bowl of onion soup!!! And of course, all depends on sensitivity.

Dr. Dodds did an email about avocado - do not feed the skins or seeds.
Dr. Christina
 

Dana

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Dr. Dodds did an email about avocado - do not feed the skins or seeds.
Dr. Christina.... seems obvious :)
[/QUOTE]
 

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