Is a raw diet good for dogs?

Is a raw diet good for dogs?

What is Raw Food ? 

Raw foodism (or following a raw food diet) is the dietary practice of eating only, or mostly, uncooked, unprocessed foods. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include a selection of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, meat, and dairy products.

 

What do you eat on a raw food diet? 

Here are some of my favorite raw foods to start eating regularly:

• Leafy greens.
• Citrus fruits (several servings per day)
• Sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds.
• Avocados.
• Coconut kefir/raw and organic regular kefir.
• Raw veggies like carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, etc.
• Raw yogurt.
• Extra virgin coconut or olive oil.

 Is a raw diet good for dogs?

Raw dog food diets are controversial. But the popularity of the diets -- which emphasize raw meat, bones, fruits, and vegetables -- is rising.
Racing greyhounds and sled dogs have long eaten raw food diets. Extending those feeding practices to the family pet is a more recent idea, proposed in 1993 by Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst. He called his feeding suggestions the BARF diet, an acronym that stands for Bones and Raw Food, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.
Billinghurst suggested that adult dogs would thrive on an evolutionary diet based on what canines ate before they became domesticated: Raw, meaty bones and vegetable scraps. Grain-based commercial pet foods, he contended, were harmful to a dog’s health.
Many mainstream veterinarians disagree, as does the FDA. The risks of raw diets have been documented in several studies published in veterinary journals.

benefits of the raw dog food diet :

• Shinier coats
• Healthier skin
• Cleaner teeth
• Higher energy levels
• Smaller stools

Potential risks include:

• Threats to human and dog health from bacteria in raw meat
• An unbalanced diet that may damage the health of dogs if given for an extended period
• Potential for whole bones to choke an animal, break teeth or cause an internal puncture

Raw dog food diet: What it is ?

A raw dog food diet typically consists of:

• Muscle meat, often still on the bone
• Bones, either whole or ground
• Organ meats such as livers and kidneys
• Raw eggs
• Vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and celery
• Apples or other fruit
• Some dairy, such as yogurt