Is it better to feed dogs raw or cooked food?

Current research supports that real ingredients have benefits over extruded diets and that there are no significant differences in digestibility between raw and cooked diets for dogs, while there may be some potential dangers in raw feed for both dogs and parents of the mascot. Cooking meat at a safe temperature kills those harmful bacteria. By feeding raw meat, there is a higher risk that your dog will develop a foodborne illness or other type of bacterial infection. In addition, there is an increased risk that you or a family member will come into contact with the bacteria and develop a foodborne illness.

Handling raw meat, letting your dog lick your face, cleaning feces or touching any contaminated surface increases the risk of infection. If you decide to feed your dog an RFD, we recommend that you consult the safety guidelines published by the FDA, CDC or AVMA. Doing so will help minimize the risks of contamination and foodborne illness. It is worth noting that many therapy dog associations, such as Pet Partners, prohibit dogs included in RFDs from being part of their program.

This is because raw foods pose an excessive risk to the humans they are trained to help. As for avoiding harmful bacteria in raw meat, AMVA recommends cooking all foods before giving them to your dog. Others recommend freezing meats to reduce the risk of parasites. In addition to this, you will also have to disinfect your dog's feeder as soon as he has finished eating to prevent bacteria from growing.

Frozen raw dog food is sold in patties that you can divide into portions depending on your dog's caloric needs. A fresh cooked food diet can provide your dog with nutrient and micronutrient rich ingredients without any of the health risks of raw food. Both dry dog food alternatives certainly offer intriguing benefits, but one option is the clear winner. I have found very little useful information about cooked dog food and most raw feeders are too biased to offer support or help when raw feeding doesn't work.

Another big drawback of a raw food diet is that you'll have to make sure your dog is receiving a completely balanced diet with raw food, as some studies show that a raw food diet can cause nutritional imbalances if you're not researching the details of the formula. Some households with young children who crawl, older grandparents who visit often, or other family members with compromised immune systems may prefer a fresh, gently cooked dog food rather than raw food. Even dry and canned dog food (which is all cooked) has been recalled several times for contamination by pathogens and other ingredients that weren't supposed to be there, but that made their way through processing on the mass assembly line. The popularity may be due to pet owners hoping to feed their dogs food that is more like how they would have eaten in the wild.

Unfortunately, in the way food is processed today, it is necessary to cook food to effectively remove toxins. We also offer natural and grain-free dog food if you are concerned about the specific ingredients in your dog's food. If you decide to choose a raw meat dog food, just make sure you handle it safely, consider all the surfaces that raw meat touches, and wash all those surfaces and your hands regularly. Ollie has received a 5-star rating from Dog Food Advisor and has been named one of the best dog food brands by Forbes, and Reader's Digest.

My 7-year-old Pomeranian has just been diagnosed with pancreatitis and I've had it raw in the past, but the vet suggested Royal Canin digestive care dog food. You will need to be very careful when dealing with raw dog food, as this bacteria can also easily affect humans. If you are thinking of switching your dog to a raw food diet, it is important that you consult with a veterinary nutritionist first. .

Lance Bujarski
Lance Bujarski

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