What Dogs and Cats Should Eat Raw Food, Why Some Vets Don’t Like Raw…

Editor’s Note:  From time to time, Off Leash will focus one entire column around a specific topic or area that readers have asked a lot of questions about. For this edition, we’ve decided to answer some questions about a raw food diet.

What is a” raw food diet?” A raw food diet is one that is typically made up of raw, meaty bones, organ meats, fresh vegetables and, occasionally, yogurt. Some people feel this is a better diet for dogs—reflective of what canines ate previous to domestication—than grain-based diets or kibble.

“Raw feeding” has become an increasingly popular choice to feed dogs and cats. This is largely due to anecdotal evidence that pets on a raw food diet seem to have more energy, healthier coats, less allergies, healthy weight, cleaner teeth and less poop.  Opponents of raw feeding say that there is not yet a substantial amount of scientific evidence that such a diet is any healthier than other traditional processed foods. And, in that point, they are indeed correct—there is still not an overwhelming amount of evidence for or against raw food diets at this point.

It’s an interesting topic, with valid points for and against—as we will see in the questions below. In any event, it is important to understand that feeding a proper, nutritionally-appropriate raw food diet does require more planning, time, and preparation, and a long-term commitment to the same.

Read on to see if a raw food diet might be an option for you and your pet:

Are Raw Food Diets Really Healthy for Pets?

Is it healthy to feed my dog a raw diet? Example: chicken, fish, chicken beaks, chicken feet, etc. and do we need to worry about bones?

-Raw Curious

Dear Raw Curious:  It is healthy to feed a properly formulated raw food diet.  However, it is not healthy to use an unbalanced recipe, say, off the internet, or that only includes raw meats and bones with no vitamin or mineral supplementation. This is a critically important distinction.

Because of the high risk of creating an unbalanced formula when crafting a raw diet at home, I only recommended feeding raw foods from a reputable commercial production raw food manufacturer that has used a credentialed formulator to create their diets and has a nutritional analysis readily available for review.

It is important to remember there is also a higher risk when feeding raw foods one has prepared at home of potentially introducing pathogenic bacteria. The USDA allows for some bacterial contamination in raw meat for human consumption that occurs during processing, because these foods are intended to be fully cooked before we (humans) consume them. This is why human foods that are found at your local grocery store or butcher have a higher risk for bacterial contamination than commercially prepared raw food—the raw food is not meant to be cooked. Reputable raw food manufacturers will have their ingredients and final food formulations tested multiple times for these pathogenic bacteria, and often the foods are also treated in another fashion to reduce the risk of bacteria. This is why it is so important to use raw foods from commercial manufacturers rather than just grabbing something out of the meat case at the grocery store or from your local butcher.

Lastly, when feeding raw bones there is always a risk of potential tooth fracture and foreign body obstruction. These risks can be reduced by feeding non-weight bearing bones that can be fully digested—such as wings, backs, and necks—and avoiding dense bones, like femurs and knuckle bones. As with anything your pet chews on, you should always provide direct supervision so that if they do break off a potentially hazardous piece, you can take it away immediately. Raw commercially prepared foods that do include bone in their formulation have had the bone ground into pieces small enough to not cause tooth fracture or obstruction when consumed and do not pose a health risk to your pet.

-Dr. Katy

Should Homes with Infants or Immunosuppressed People Avoid Raw Food Diets?

Is it true that if you have a newborn/infant in the house that your pup should not eat raw food or that you should change your dog’s food if they are currently on a raw diet?

-Raw Concerns

Dear Raw Concerns: This is correct. When feeding a raw food diet, there is a small risk of food-borne bacteria that usually will not make a pet sick, but can possibly be transferred through contaminated food bowls/utensils/pet waste/pet saliva. Because this risk is present, and the risk to a person with either a not-fully-formed immune system (such as an infant or small child) or a person who is immunosuppressed is so significant, we do not recommend raw feeding in those specific circumstances. If you’re a dedicated raw feeder, you might want to consider a dehydrated food that contains meats which have been steamed gently before processing, or perhaps a gently cooked food that uses low heat—like sous-vide cooking—to reduce any potential risk.

-Dr. Katy