Is a Raw Dog Food Diet Good for Your Pet?

It is a current debate that is raging between raw dog food advocates and commercially prepared dog food manufacturers; is a raw dog food diet good for your pet? As with most things, there are pros and cons to both sides of the argument.

While the pro side will say that canines were historically wild animals, and therefore survived on raw dog food diets in the past, the other side of that point is that animals in the wild also would have eaten grasses and other vegetation to make up the nutrients required. As in any wild animal today, the canines of the past instinctively knew what, and how much, of this vegetation they needed to eat for their nutritional value. Since veterinarian colleges do not teach about raw pet food diets, and there have been no scientific studies, the result is that there are no diets of this kind that have been formulated by a pet nutritionist.

The two biggest cons to a raw dog food diet are the cost – roughly $100 a month for a 40 pound dog, compared to $20 to $50 a month for commercially prepared food - and the danger of bacterial infection. Both E. coli and salmonella are an ever present danger when dealing with raw meat, putting both the pet and the human preparer at risk. Bones also present a problem, as even well cooked bones can splinter or get stuck in the throat.