There’s a whole lot of misinformation and concern mongering on the market on causes to not feed your canine a uncooked food plan. I assumed I’d write about a few of these to indicate you that feeding a uncooked food plan just isn’t excellent, however additionally it is not harmful.
My two canines have appeared to do nicely on a uncooked food plan. Feeding your individual canine a uncooked food plan is a good possibility to think about, nevertheless it’s not for everybody.
Use this data as yet one more piece to your ongoing analysis and do what’s greatest for you and your distinctive canine.
Causes to not feed your canine a uncooked food plan
Most of those are usually not laborious causes to not feed your canine a uncooked food plan. As an alternative, they’re obstacles or small dangers that you need to learn about.
1. It prices so much to feed a industrial uncooked pet food food plan
It’s much more costly to feed your canine a high quality uncooked pet food food plan vs a dry pet food.
The bigger your canine or the extra your canine eats, the extra important the associated fee distinction will probably be. The identical is true when you’ve got a number of canines.
To provide you an thought, it prices me about $390 per thirty days to feed one of my 65-pound canines any of the industrial uncooked pet food diets. Or about $13 per day. Most of us can’t afford this for the long run. For those who can, nice!
By comparability, it prices me about $80 to feed the identical canine a higher-end dry pet food per thirty days. That is about $2.70 per day.
In case you have a smaller canine, then the price of feeding a industrial uncooked food plan just isn’t as outrageous and makes extra sense for the typical particular person.
Every of my two canines have to eat about 2 kilos of uncooked meals per day. Once they eat dry meals, they every get about 4 cups per day.
Instance price of uncooked pet food per thirty days
A pattern uncooked pet food firm prices $6.50 per pound of uncooked meals.
So, for one in all my canines that’s $6.50/lb x 2lb/day = $13 per day.
For 30 days, that finally ends up being about $390 per thirty days ($13 x 30 days = $390).
The associated fee continues to be about the identical even in case you feed a dehydrated or freeze-dried uncooked model. I appeared into these choices pondering I would be capable of avoid wasting cash and was dissatisfied.
Price of home made uncooked pet food
The price of making your individual uncooked pet food can fluctuate drastically.
In my expertise with three totally different raw-fed canines, I used to be in a position to reduce the price of industrial uncooked meals in half by feeding a home made food plan.
I don’t feed a home made uncooked food plan anymore as a result of I didn’t benefit from the course of. It was annoying for me and a whole lot of work. Some individuals benefit from the course of.
I’d purchase meat in as giant of portions as I may justify and blend in my very own fruits and veggies.
So in my case, it could price about $200 per thirty days to feed one 65-pound canine. That is about half the price of a industrial uncooked model and about twice as a lot as a dry pet food model.
Some individuals are in a position to get the price of a home made uncooked pet food down considerably by:
- becoming a member of a uncooked pet food co-op
- shopping for meat in huge portions (comparable to shopping for a butchered cow)
- searching large sport like elk
- having connections with ranchers or hunters
See our articles:
2. Causes to not feed a uncooked food plan – Home made uncooked pet food just isn’t nutritionally balanced
This argument can go both method.
After all, you do not need to feed your canine a home made food plan that isn’t nutritionally balanced. Because of this, some vets will say it’s harmful or irresponsible to feed your canine home made meals.
I feel veterinarians are proper on this. Most individuals who feed their canines a home made uncooked food plan are in all probability not feeding sufficient number of meat and organ meat or the optimum quantity of uncooked bones. It’s not straightforward to seek out organ meat, and it’s not apparent what share of bone is in every reduce of meat.
However, no food plan goes to be excellent. The widespread “equation” uncooked feeders attempt to observe is 80% muscle meat, 10% organ meat and 10% bone over time – not essentially each meal.
If you are able to do that and attempt to combine up the kinds of muscle meat and organ meat your canine eats, your canine will in all probability be simply wonderful. Right here is an article we wrote on the place to seek out organ meat to your canine.
There are additionally high-quality dietary supplements for canines out there lately to assist steadiness out a home made uncooked food plan.
3. Difficult throughout journey
Another excuse to not feed your canine a uncooked food plan is in case you journey so much.
Touring with raw-fed canines is doable nevertheless it takes slightly extra planning as a result of you must pack a cooler and ice to maintain the meals contemporary.
This isn’t an enormous deal, however nonetheless one thing to think about. Once I took my canine Remy on a number of lengthy street journeys in the summertime I at all times needed to haul the cooler as much as my resort room at night time because it was so sizzling out I didn’t wish to depart it within the automotive.
The cooler additionally takes up additional area in your car. And, when you attain your vacation spot you’ll nonetheless have to retailer the meat someplace – whether or not it’s in your cooler or somebody’s fridge or freezer.
I additionally took Remy tenting and needed to haul alongside a cooler for his meals and ensure it stayed chilly sufficient. These items are doable however inconvenient in comparison with feeding dry meals.
For those who board your canines, not all boarding kennels are prepared to feed uncooked diets. I’ve been fortunate to have a boarding kennel that’s prepared to feed my canines uncooked meals.
See our article: Feeding a canine uncooked meals whereas touring
4. Uncooked pet food takes up extra cupboard space
Two weeks value of uncooked pet food can take up fairly a little bit of area in your freezer or fridge.
To provide you an thought, 20 kilos of uncooked meals for my canines takes up about the identical quantity of area as two one-gallon milk jugs. It will feed one in all my 65-pound canines for 10 days.
If you wish to retailer greater than that, you would possibly want an additional freezer simply to your pet food.
5. Canines get sick from totally different meals
Regardless of what some vets inform you, it’s unlikely {that a} canine will get sick from the micro organism in uncooked meat. It is because a canine’s digestive system is designed for consuming uncooked meat!
Nonetheless, a whole lot of canines do get sick from immediately switching from one sort of meals to a different. So, in case you immediately swap your canine from a dry meals to uncooked meals, he would possibly get a nasty upset abdomen for a couple of days.
It is determined by the canine, however my canines have at all times achieved higher after I step by step swap them from dry meals to uncooked meals by slowly mixing the 2 over per week..
That is no totally different than while you’re switching a canine from one dry model to a different. It’s often greatest to combine the 2 over a couple of days to assist them modify to the change.
See our article:
Will my canine get sick from uncooked meat?
There’s simply extra cleanup to take care of while you’re feeding a uncooked food plan.
- It’s best to wash the canine bowls recurrently.
- Pre-made uncooked meals will are available in wrapping you’ll need to throw away every time. It often has blood on it and generally these leak and also you’ll need to wipe out your fridge.
- For those who’re making uncooked meals, you’ll have knives, reducing boards and storage containers to clean.
- You’ll wish to wash your individual fingers afterwards.
I’m not saying any of this can be a large deal. Simply that it takes additional time and never everybody has the time or power to fret about additional duties like this relating to feeding the canine.
7. A canine may crack a tooth on a uncooked bone.
A canine may crack a tooth whereas chewing any sort of laborious chew, whether or not it’s a uncooked bone, a cooked bone, an antler or numerous canine chew toys comparable to Nylabones.
Uncooked bones are literally one of many safer issues for many canines to chew as a result of uncooked bones are softer than cooked bones.
The smaller the bone, the better it’s for a canine to chew.
For those who persist with softer, smaller bones like poultry bones, your canine must be simply wonderful and you shouldn’t have to fret about him cracking a tooth. Canines will simply crunch up and swallow poultry bones, and so they often digest these small bones simply wonderful. Simply be sure to give your canine uncooked bones, not cooked bones.
Bigger uncooked bones comparable to beef soup bones or beef knuckle bones are the uncooked bones you wish to be extra cautious with. There’s a small threat that your canine may crack a tooth on these bigger bones.
Some canines will take pleasure in chewing on beef bones for a very long time and never have any points – the identical method a canine would chew on a Nylabone or an antler. However some canines are very laborious chewers and will chew the bone excellent and find yourself fracturing a tooth.
So, it helps to know your canine’s chewing fashion – when you’ve got extra of a “laborious chewer” like my weimaraner, you won’t wish to give him any uncooked beef bones.
8. Low likelihood of an intestinal blockage
The possibility of a uncooked bone inflicting an intestinal blockage in a canine could be very low. Some vets like to make use of concern mongering although. It is because most vets do not need a whole lot of expertise or coaching with uncooked diets.
So long as you might be feeding your canine smaller, softer uncooked bones comparable to rooster thighs or rooster quarters, he’ll chomp them up a bit and be capable of digest them simply wonderful.
Canines have very environment friendly digestive techniques, and they’re designed for consuming uncooked meat and uncooked bones. In the event that they swallow one thing they’re having bother digesting, they are going to typically regurgitate it after which re-eat it! Disgusting, I do know, however environment friendly!
If a canine has a blockage, it’s extra seemingly from swallowing cooked bones or non-edible items of toys like Nylabones. Nonetheless, there’s a small likelihood one thing like a big chunk of a uncooked beef bone may trigger a blockage.
9. Low likelihood of choking on the uncooked bones
On the whole, the prospect of a canine choking on a uncooked bone can be very low. Canines are fairly good at self regulating and can chomp one thing up earlier than swallowing. They’re additionally good at digesting uncooked bones.
I keep in mind I used to be nervous the primary time I gave my canine Ace a uncooked rooster thigh. He just about swallowed the thigh complete with simply two or three chomps and down the hatch it went inside 5 seconds! I quickly discovered that that is regular and completely wonderful.
Usually, you wish to feed the canine chunks of meat and bone that he must at the least chomp on slightly earlier than swallowing.
So, for my Lab-sized canines rooster thighs are a great possibility however rooster wings are fairly small for them. For a smaller canine, both a rooster wing or a thigh can be simply wonderful.
One other trick you should use is to feed the meals barely frozen. That makes it more durable for the canine to swallow and they’re going to typically chomp on it a bit earlier than swallowing.
10. Causes to not feed a uncooked food plan – most vets are usually not supportive of uncooked diets
Sadly, most vets are usually not educated or supportive about feeding a uncooked food plan. Nonetheless, as increasingly more canine homeowners are feeding uncooked, extra vets are studying about uncooked diets and getting on board.
If it’s necessary to you to have sincere discussions along with your vet about feeding a uncooked food plan, you may need to analysis totally different vets in your space till you discover a good match. I’m fortunate to have a number of veterinarians in our space, however I do know that some individuals have restricted choices.
I hope this data will enable you to perceive that feeding your canine a uncooked food plan is a good possibility, however there are actually causes to not feed your canine a uncooked food plan. It doesn’t come and not using a few challenges, however uncooked diets are a wholesome possibility for many canines.
Within the feedback, tell us when you’ve got any questions!
