I have noticed a lot on this subject. Just wondering why u don't boil the food in a little water and give water and all to the dogs or poured over what ever else u r giving them? Don't they end up with worms a lot more due to eating rawfood and can't deworming them lots cause harm?

Just curious

ttfn

The principle behind raw feeding is that not many animals in the wild have access to cooking facilities! And this food is what their digestive system was designed to deal with.

Deworming every 3 months does no harm at all!!!
Edit addition - all dogs should be dewormed every three months anyway, so it makes no difference.

I dont worm my dogs that often (except pups). They are fed on a natural diet of raw meat and a natural meal (Laughing Dog and/or Natural Choice Holistic Health Meal). They also have raw marrow bones once or twice a week and hard Dog Cakes at night. I probably worm once or twice a year and never see any worms. My dogs also have raw eggs, goats milk, cottage cheese and yoguart and generally live to a good age (I have two 10 yr olds at present which are as fit as a fiddle).

I agree, dogs in the wild would not have access to a cooker and a can opener. Their main food would be the gut of its prey and vegetation from plants around them.

What do others think?

Often a dog can have quite a heavy worm burden, with no symptoms and no 'evidence' in the stools. I'd rather not pay to feed the parasites!

Hi all, I`ve been feeding my lot raw for 18mths now(more or less) & they haven`t been wormed since just before that. 2 of my dogs will be 2yrs in April & have been fecal tested for worms a few times, with negative results & I have seen no evidence of worms in any of them. Those 2 have never been wormed in their life. All prescriptive wormers are toxic to a more or lesser degree, otherwise how else would they be able to *kill* the worms? They all carry a degree of risk, they are not totally harmless. No drugs are.
Christine, Spain.

Also, With raw feeding, a lot of people give their dogs garlic which some feel is a 'natural' wormer. Personally, I'd rather use the medicine from the vet to be sure.

I suppose you could cook the meat but it's so much easier to give it raw and the dogs seem to prefer it...well, Murphy does!

TTFN
Ruth

I am seriously thinking about changeing the dogs on to BARF,but I have grave worries yes I see the Logic of a natural diet, but some elements go against thing I have be told over years never feed raw chicken because of splintered bone, worms from fresh uncooked meat, but everyone I have read comments from seem to have no problems, is the worming element the go's with the diet every three month's, never just a personal preference or is it though there is reason not to worm so often. I have a four year old child and am worried about Toxicara .

Thanks for all the replies. I just heard of meals that u can cook for ur dogs but can't find any ingredients on it on how to do it. I would like to be able to make them some treats and special food once in awhile (weekend treats/meals). I'm not one for rawfeeding, but it sounds like ur dogs love it and that is the main thing.

ttfn

hi,
its COOKED chicken bones you should never feed to dogs, raw ones are fine but if you are concerned grind those bones up! i have a meat grinder that can whizz through chicken wings no probs. i also live near a chicken farm who lets me have chicken carcass' and they are happy to grind those up for me too. you can also get pre minced meat from pet shops. amp and bambers do a range that is already minced but has the bone in it. dont let the worries about feeding bones out you off feeding raw. i worm my dogs every 3 months but have never seen them pass any worms. you should get one of billinghurst books there is a peice in their that explains about tape worm cysts,
kelly

Hi there,

Lots of folks have worries when starting out on the raw feeding/BARF diet - myself included!
There's lots of info out there and many people on this forum who have had loads of experience.
Meat grinders are brilliant if you're worried about the bones - now I give Murph whole chicken wings and he crunches them down so problem. They digest them because the stomach acid is stronger than ours although it can take a little while for the stomach to adjust to the new diet.

TTFN

Ruth

are dogs immune to things that humans can get from raw meat? what about salmonella in raw chicken?dogs can carry salmonella cant they? is this then harmful to the humans around them, e.g. children? my breeder recommended raw tripe but i keep thinking about mad cow disease! I'm more concerned about that than worms!

From what I understand, mad cow disease was transmitted by prions that were found in nerve tissue, not stomach lining! Muscle meat and most offal was safe.

And yes, I was told by my vet that dogs are immune to a lot of the bugs that cause disease in people. And that, unless you eat the dog, you are unlikely to catch anything like that from it!!

The dogs digestive system is designed to cope with raw meat. I.e. Shorter digestive tract and stronger stomach acids. Therefore the food stays in the system for less time....I think that's right!

TTFN

ruth

I have fed raw for over 16 years without problems and only worm when necessary (which is very rare). I dont see the point in paying a vet to rip the lining out of my dogs stomach.
I introduced raw chicken during the course of the last six months. I too was unsure about raw chicken because of samonella but my vet said dogs can get it from any meat. My pups (aged 5 months) devour the wings and carcasses and everyone comments on how well they look.

I would recommend a natural diet to anyone.

My dogs diet consists of natural meals/mixers and raw meat, goats milk, raw eggs, bones, pilchards, cottage cheese and natural yoguart to name a few.

Hi there,

Just a question about the carcasses.

I'm happy to give the 'back' part of the carcass but have noticed that the ribs seem a little sharp when broken.
When you talk about the carcass - are you meaning the rib cage as well?

TTFN

Ruth

Yes the ribs can be sharp - not too bad for the adults (I have a large breed) but I prefer the backs and wings for the pups.