"Raw Meat: A Dangerous Fad"

I might be able to believe this, if the author could link me to some evidence to prove this. He or she, just states that it's bad, and they know so because of research from veterinary universities. Well, we all know who gives a lot of funding to veterinary universities, so i'm sure that's unbiased research. Whoever wrote it also never mentions these universities or vets who were consulted by name, so for all I know they are vets I wouldn't trust to do the simplest of things on my dog, much less would I consult them about diet.
 This person also claims that diet kills wild dogs and wolves. While that may be true, it can't be true too often, or the species wouldn't have survived very long. 

ORIGINAL: jamcony
...  and please provide feedback

In 8 years I've fed over ten THOUSAND pounds of raw meat and bones to my dogs.  I've had one case of choking that I was able to resolve on my own.

And that's it.

If it were as dangerous as they all claim - wouldn't I be seeing at least ONE incident of E-Coli or Salmonella?

I haven't fed raw for near as long as Lauri, and I don't have as many or as large dogs as she does. I've had one dog choke quite a few times on kibble (not badly). One dog choked on a small peice of raw, boneless meat, once. The small (size of a milkbone or less) peice of meat incident required intervention, as the dog stopped breathing. She's fine, and quite happy eating whatever I toss her way, to this day.

To be fair and honest, this website does provide links of which  doctors, universities and nutritionists are saying against the raw.   And he has (according to his statement) been studying this for 11 years. He also has letters from dog owners that feel they lost their dogs because of raw diets.
This is a tough conversation, the people that feed raw are really happy and confident about it.  But in the end, I think that just as we read the good about raw (or anything else for that matter) we should also read why some people are against it, especially the people who did feed raw and found problems. I don't feed raw, but I do feed some raw meat and raw bones occasionally, so I'm really not against it, but I want to be totally informed of what EVERYONE is saying about it, not just the people that have had good luck!

Secondhandranch is well known as one the most propagandish sites on the web!

I always have to laugh when i hear people describing raw feeding as a "fad".How can a diet that has sustained wolves and wild dogs etc for hundreds of thousands of years be called a fad?? [sm=no%20no%20smiley.gif] Commercial food has been around for about 60 years,for me this is the fad!

I have been feeding my dogs raw since i was 15 years old,thats 19 years, i have never had a dog drop dead of disease or had any major chocking problems lettalone pierced bowels or stomachs. I have had one dog die of cancer,he lived 5 healthy years with me,i gave him to a friend who fed science diet,much to my disgust and apprehension and my once healthy dog dropped dead of cancer 2 years later [&:] [:@]

Secondhandranch and others like it all seem to have an agenda,in the formers case it's selling commercial food.Honestly that site makes me gag,i cant even read a quarter way through it without blowing a fuse!

 I have had one dog die of cancer,he lived 5 healthy years with me,i gave him to a friend who fed science diet,much to my disgust and apprehension and my once healthy dog dropped dead of cancer 2 years later
 
No way of  knowing which of the two foods or either of them.caused the cancer though.

Dyan only one dog out of many dying of cancer,my bets on the commercial food! His littermates lived long and healthy lives,no cancer in the lines.I think the massive change from holistic rearing and healthy food to garbage  was just too much of a shock to his system.[&:]

If dogs had not been domesticated, would they choose canned/processed food or a raw kill? 

1. I don't know how much of it is a fad. I mean Dr Billinghurst is a vet right?
2. As for vets being leery of raw; aren't these the same guys who flog science diet?
3. In the final analysis if you don't like it don't do it.

Paula

Anybody who claims that a family (Canidae) of species evolved to eat a diet that makes the majority of them sick really needs to go back to highschool biology. Evolution by natural selection, IMO, mitigates this persons claims about wild dogs and wolves. If he doesn't understand the basics of evolution, I would not expect him to understand proper nutrition either.

We have a couple of coyotes prowling around our house. Do you think they'd prefer a can of Pedigree to the fresh rabbits they are used to?

Pumaward,

I don't know what aspect of the discussion you are referring to? Are you commenting on Science Diet andother bad commercial diets making dogs sick or raw making dogs sick?

Paula

We have a couple of coyotes prowling around our house. Do you think they'd prefer a can of Pedigree to the fresh rabbits they are used to?

Heck I got three ridgebacks that keep my fenced acre in the woods clear of rabbit and squirrel. Maybe I should ask them if they want me to skin, gut, bone and cook them.

Paula

Dr. Billinghurst has a B.S. in animal sciences. He is Australian an perhaps their education requirements are different. He is not a certified vet in the american sense but he may have the right credentials for the land Down Under. Many people have had anecdotal success with his BARF method