Feeding Your Pet Raw Meat Vs. Commercial Kibble - Is It Safe?

Recently the commercial pet food industry has come under a lot of criticism in regard to the quality of food they offer. In 2007 after aminopterin, a rat poison, and other harmful compounds were discovered in commercially produced dog foods, there was an enormous recall of many dog food brands. Many pet owners subsequently found their pets seriously ill and it's estimated that over 10,000 dogs died as a result of consuming the adulterated food.

Even so-called "high quality" dog foods were recently discovered to have high levels of aflatoxin and had to be removed from store shelves. Organ damage in dogs can be caused by consuming aflatoxin.

This situation has made many pet owners nervous. Alternatives to commercial foods are being researched by many of them and some are now feeding a raw meat diet for dogs.

A raw meat diet? Commercial pet food producers don't want you to do that! Billions of dollars are involved for the pet food makers, and reduced profits is the last thing they want. Some of the large pet food manufacturers are actually warning pet owners to not try a raw diet, suggesting there are many risks involved.

However, pet owners who have switched to feeding a diet closer to what their pet's ancestors would have eaten are pointing to some major benefits. These benefits for their pets include:

• Fewer visits to the Veterinarian due to decreased health concerns
• Reduced or eliminated bad breath odor
• Cleaner and pearly white teeth

These are but a few of the benefits. The pet food industry retorts that this is just anecdotal evidence and don't want you to think that there is any real benefit to a raw meat diet. They suggest that the risks of bacterial infection are too great with such a diet.

Many dog owners however are very concerned about toxic substances in commercial pet food, and the claims made by those who have switched seem pretty good. The commercial pet food companies are certainly not going to fund any studies to "prove" that their foods are better than the natural food that canines have been eating for a millenia.

As well as not being difficult, pet owners are discovering it doesn't have to be expensive either to feed a raw diet. And when you think about it, the risks of contamination in raw are probably much lower than the risk of contamination in commercial pet food.

Another problem with commercial food are the labels. They are designed in such a way to make us think that meat is the primary ingredient. Although most dry kibbles have meat listed as the first ingredient, all the other ingredients outweigh the total weight of the meat in the food.

Raw meat diets for dogs should also have bones as an essential component of it. While some
might balk at the idea of feeding their dogs bones (not heavy bones that they cannot crush with their teeth), canines in the wild do consume bone material. We've been told many times that bones are a choking and splintering hazard - but this is only true when the bones are cooked. Bone composition changes when they are cooked; this is when they become more brittle and cause problems for pets eating them. Raw bones on the other hand are more easily
digested. Clean white teeth with no tartar is another perk of feeding raw bones.

Although some veterinarians will also give warnings about feeding raw (remember though, they are sponsored by the big pet food companies), it's been admitted that they really don't have that much nutritional training and those who feed raw seem to have less vet visits needed!

Click to learn more about raw meat for dogs.