Talk to my vet and got a big Negative on what IM feeding my dogs.....

I forgot to mention Zoey came down with bad direaha a week ago Saturday and then we finished the med's and are still have a bit of a problem. We talked about balancing the Flora in her gut as well which Im adding a probotic.... But she said NO MORE RAW PERIOD....... but would leave that decision up to me but she had to voice her true feelings on this...... Which I already new.....

First of all, what vets have to take on nutrition in vet school, is Zilch.  Some choose to educate themselves on the subject, but not all of them.  My old vet in TBay was ecstatic that i had chosen a 'high end' food like Iams when I first got Crusher.  Now I balk at the idea of going down the Iams aisle.  

That said, if your dog is having issues on a specific Raw diet, you do need to look closer.  But I doubt it is because its raw.  The ingredients are more likely to blame and possibly the handling and storage of the food.  I feed my dogs a raw diet for the most part, only substituting with kibble once in a while, or if they seem to be on the thin side, I will give them an extra meal of kibble for a few days.   

BUT by feeding it myself and preparing it myself rather, I KNOW what is going into them.  I know exactly how it has been handled, at least since the grocery store, and since I only buy them human grade meat, and canada has pretty stringent regulations on meat, I'm happy, and my dogs are in great health. 

I have a problem feeding any prepared diet to my dogs.  Be it Kibble or something else. I don't trust the dog food companies anymore.  Call me crazy, but its just not a risk I'm willing to take after all the trouble of late.  My friend lost a dog to the recall.  And I am NOT going to lose a dog like that.  I do feed a bit of kibble, but its Canadian made and Canadian Grade.  No outsourcing to ANYWHERE.  AND the kibble is just a part of the diet, and a small part at that.

I would have to go with your vet on this particular dog... I have a minpin who does not do well on raw at all. He gets awful mucuosy runny stools every time I try to go raw with him (with the exception of Volhard diet/ppremixes).

Listen to your dog. If she does great on cooked, so be it. It's certainly a great way to feed, IMHO.

Good luck.

 Mucousy stools are pretty normal when you first switch to raw.  Its the bodies way of adjusting and processing a new food.  It may also be a part of detoxifying the body.

 Every vet I've ever seen, except for one holistic vet I went to, jumped up my butt for feeding my dogs (gasp) RAW MEAT!! and (gasp) TABLE SCRAPS OMG!!

Most of them are even critical about the kibbles I feed (various good quality things, Solid Gold usually, or NB or Blue or something of similar quality) and I've had some tell me straight up that of I didn't feed Science Diet or Purina then I didn't know what I was doing and my dogs were just going to drop dead and explode at any second!

The truth is, Like someone else said, most vets get little to no training on dog nutrition. In alot of cases, if they DO get anything, it's sponsored by certain food companies (surprise, Science Diet!) so that's pretty much all they'll reccomend.  Many, many vets don't know any more about nutrition than the average guy on the street. Vets who DO know about nutrition sat down and researched it on their own, just like we all did- they probably didn't learn it in vet school.

Personally, I wouldn't stress over it.  

 So why are you feeding what you are if your dog is having stool issues?  Maybe it's just not the right food for your particular case....

I don't think your vet is being unreasonable here.  I'm open minded to all different ways of feeding.  BUT, raw is not for every dog.  As soon as I fed Willow what actually worked for her and not what I felt she should be eating she was a much healthier and happier dog. 

 It certainly wouldn't hurt to try a dry diet and see if your dog does better. After all this work, what do you have to lose?

I agree that the vet's OMGNORAWEVER might be a little overzealous, but if they're having issues with food, they're having issues with food. I do not feed raw while the dogs are having tummy issues, for fear that slowed digestion will allow bacteria to take hold, and I'm not feeding Emma raw, right now, because she just came off of prednisone. Her immune system has taken a serious hit, and it would be a much bigger risk. Sometimes, raw isn't the best thing for a certain dog, and some dogs can't deal with any raw (especially with issues like IBD.....) 

I have hae my oldest on a lamb and rice food (will not mention the brand, I don't want to start a brand discussion) when the food scare happened, my brand was not one of them--I talked to my vet about holistic food--his reply was to stay on what I was using. because the boys were doing great!!! 

Sometimes what WE want to feed and what's best for an individual dog is the issue.   I go for doing the feed that calms down the loose stool . No matter what on the short term.   Later on when the bowel is in better condition RAW might work if done very slowly. But knowing it might not. 

Don't know what kind of dog you have but I bet it is far removed from a wild wolf . So is it really that important to feed RAW ?

my vet, rather reluctantly, admitted to me he feeds his dogs home-cooked and has no problem with raw- but if someone showed up with a dog with GI issues, certainly he might suggest changing the diet. Your vet's reasons may be incorrect, but the suggestion may be correct.

jennie_c_d

I agree that the vet's OMGNORAWEVER might be a little overzealous, but if they're having issues with food, they're having issues with food. I do not feed raw while the dogs are having tummy issues, for fear that slowed digestion will allow bacteria to take hold, and I'm not feeding Emma raw, right now, because she just came off of prednisone. Her immune system has taken a serious hit, and it would be a much bigger risk. Sometimes, raw isn't the best thing for a certain dog, and some dogs can't deal with any raw (especially with issues like IBD.....) 

Interesting point..... See I took my dogs to the groomer 2 weeks ago this Wed and within 2 days Zoey came down with the same crap her dog had then my Westie Mattie.... My groomer brought her dog to work with her and her dog had direaha and throwing up badly and she was in the same room as all the dogs but in a large wire crate. Iv fed raw now for a year with no problems but my VETS give me a hard time when my dogs don't feel well as they want to put it on feeding rather the fact that Zoey got this from my groomers dog. My groomer works at the vet clinic to clarify that as well. I was mad cause it seems the vets disreguard this as soon as you tell them what you feed your dogs. They so quickly want to put it on the food and chances of bacteria....................

 Im in a hurry so I will make this quick....

fish n dog

Sometimes what WE want to feed and what's best for an individual dog is the issue.   I go for doing the feed that calms down the loose stool . No matter what on the short term.   Later on when the bowel is in better condition RAW might work if done very slowly. But knowing it might not. 

Don't know what kind of dog you have but I bet it is far removed from a wild wolf . So is it really that important to feed RAW ?

 Zoey is a Westie and your last statement about being far removed from a wolf is EXACTLY MY VETS POINT!!! She said it yesterday. I did cook chicken and rice till her tummy and GI issues calmed down...... Plus I had her on Metronidrozole. Then I went back to raw maybe to quickly cause my vet said you need to get the flora back in the gut which Im doing with Probotics.....