Orijan Puppy

[KeeperBoy]

Dogs came from wolves. When a dog was domesticated we did not change the digestive track, humans wanted the animal to be able to live with humans, work for them, etc. Their digestive process is the same as in the wild. As for the price, yes in order to find affordable raw, you may have to work a bit. Or maybe it isn't in your budget at all. I'm not trying to say raw is the only way, but it is something to look in to and research. It should not just be written off because of the cost. That argument makes me a bit angry in fact, as neither David or myself is bringing in a lot of money. We live in a 1000 sq. foot apartment and can only afford one car. Yet we have decided our dogs' diets are a priority and make it work. We found someone local who grinds michigan meats and when we buy in bulk we can fit it into our month budget. I had to do A LOT of research to find this company and honestly, it isn't always convenient.

And I do believe in fasting my dogs sometimes. I find it really clears out their system. Since moving to mostly raw food we haven't been to the vet at all (except the yearly visit). Before raw, even on "better kibble" (Blue Buffalo, Fromm) I felt like I lived at the vet. Kennel cough, ear infections, seizures, allergies...

Rant over. Bottom line, if you don't want to/can't feed raw, fine. But until you've done months of research and tried it I have a hard time buying into the arguments against it.

[boxingBabe]

You totally missed my point I was saying not everyone can afford the expensive dog foods so they buy what they can afford and no matter what type it is it should be safe the dogs to eat . Since consumers are the ones who buy products of any type it's supply & demand if we demand it they will make it . Look at the trend in human food how it has gone more healthier in the past few years because that's what people want . So if we dog owners demand better products at better prices then they are charging now then they will make them . I'm sure he reason I pay so much for Babe's food is that it's shipped from the other end of the country so that ups the price plus the quality of the product .
I'm glad you did that much research before you made such a big change for your dogs .
I am wondering why you would have to clear thier systems out or is that something you did before you started raw feeding ?

[KeeperBoy]

We did it before raw (a one day fast) and still do it from time to time on raw. I believe it is a natural part of a dog's life, as wolves don't normally eat everyday. When Keepers isn't feeling quite right he will choose to fast himself. He shows no symptoms of feeling ill, yet he will refuse food a day. Then he will have unusual BMs and once that is over he will eat again and everything is good.

I think it is really important to realize how close dogs and wolves are. They are the same species. The produce offspring together that can reproduce. In terms of behavior, yes they are very different, but even much of dog behavior (the small body language cues and such) are taken from wolves.

[AussieGirl]

Fasting is sometimes needed and even recommended by vets when dealing with tummy upsets. We have fasted Ruby, once after her spay as she vomited the small amount of food we gave her after we brought her home so decided to keep her tummy empty until the next day and she was fine after that, and the second time was when she was bit by a redback spider and was again vomiting (reaction to the bite) so she had no food for 24hrs and was again fine after that, the vet actually told me it is better to fast them when vomiting repeatedly as they can inhale the vomit and get pneumonia, it also gives the gut time to heal and settle down without the added stress of trying to digest the contents. Ruby has also fasted herself a few times - she obviously wasn't feeling too good in the tummy and just like Keepers would eat either the next meal or next day and be fine - though she'd have me worried and watching her every move trying to figure out what was up with her lol.