Raw Diet for Dogs

My dog, Ruby, eats raw meat and bones. Yes, raw meat and bones of dead animals. When she was a puppy she was constantly dealing with diarhea. It was terrible. She went to the vet several times, put on medication, food changed (which causes more diarhea), then she started to refuse to eat.

My boyfriend and I were thinking about the raw diet for some time, being told about it, and benefits of it from friends at the dog park. We looked it up on the internet, I got a book from Chapters called "Raw Dog Food" by Carina Beth MacDonald. It was an easy read, made feeding raw seem much simpler than I thought, and got rid of the few anxieties I had about feeding raw.

We then went and bought some chicken quarters to start Ruby on. We had to start by cutting it up, heating it up lightly in a frying pan, and she slowly started eating. I wasn't concerned about her not eating much since while she was on kibble she didn't eat at all. As she progressed with eating the bones and meat easilyI started to include different meats, finding a great store in Hamilton for meat. As well as a poultry supplier for carcasses and backs. It has ended up being a cheaper way to feed as well, since Ruby had been on Nutro and several other expensive "high quality" kibble.

While she's been on the raw diet she has started eating regularly, I can tell what causes a stomache issue and eliminate it from her diet, her fur is shinier and silkier, her teeth are VERY white, she is also full of energy, and her muscles are developing perfectly.

She has yet to go to the vet since the diet switch, and when she does go for her shots in December I will be going with my Raw Dog Food book in hand. A lot of vets are against this type of feeding mainly for the "cross contamination" of raw meat while preparing dog food. Well, being a former prep and line cook I can tell you that there are more issues of cross contamination in most restaurants that you eat in than there are in my kitchen. And so far, after almost 6 months of her eating raw dog food, we have not yet gotten sick from it.

My parents were very against this switch. Or should I say my mother. She thought it would cause Ruby to become aggressive. Which has not happened. And while watching the transformation of her form a sick dog to a healthy vital pooch my mother's thoughts have changed and now she keeps raw meat and bones in her freezer in case Ruby is there during her dinner hour.

I have met many people who feed raw, it is a very interesting way to meet people, and a lot of people who don't even feed raw are very supportive when they hear about the changes in Ruby.

I love the fact that I control what goes into my dog. And now she even gets table scraps (which admittedly really isn't part of the raw diet but she likes it, and I'm just happy that she's eating and enjoying food the way she should be). I am very passionate about my dog, and I am very passionate about my dogs health. She is one of the healthiest happiest dogs I have ever seen.