Raw dog food is controversial. But the diet's popularity — which emphasizes raw meat, bones, fruits and vegetables — is growing.
Racing greyhounds and sled dogs have long been fed a raw food diet. Extending these methods of feeding family pets is a more recent idea, proposed in 1993 by Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst. He called his dietary recommendations the BARF diet, an acronym that stands for Bones and Raw Food, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.
Billinghurst suggested that mature dogs would grow up on an evolutionary diet based on what pre-domesticated dogs ate: raw, meaty bones and vegetable scraps. He claimed that grain-based commercial pet foods were harmful to a dog's health.
Many mainstream veterinarians disagree, as does the FDA. Several studies published in veterinary journals have documented the dangers of raw diets.
Possible benefits of a raw dog food diet that proponents say include:
Shiny coat
Healthy skin
Clean teeth
High energy level
Small stools
Potential risks include:
Health risks to humans and dogs from bacteria in raw meat
An unbalanced diet that can harm a dog's health if fed over a long period of time.
For whole bones, the possibility of strangulation, broken teeth or internal puncture of an animal
Since Billinghurst's book, Give Your Dog a Bone, was published, many other types of dog food have appeared, including commercially processed raw food foods that are frozen or freeze-dried and grains, vegetables and Use a combination of vitamins. which is mixed with raw meat purchased by the owner at the grocery store.
Raw dog food recipes and feeding tips are readily available online and in books. Interest from pet owners continues to grow, with new followers following the massive recall of melamine-contaminated pet food in 2007.
Raw dog food diet: What it is
A raw dog food diet typically consists of:
Muscle meat, often still on the bone
Bones, either whole or ground
Organ meats such as livers and kidneys
Raw eggs
Vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and celery
Apples or other fruit
Some dairy, such as yogurt
Raw Dog Food: What the Research Shows For pet owners who want to avoid commercial diets, Freeman, a professor of nutrition at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, recommends a homemade diet prepared by a certified nutritionist with the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. give Many of the benefits attributed to a raw food diet for dogs, such as a shiny coat, are instead a result of the high-fat composition of a typical raw food diet, she says. She notes that there are high-fat commercial foods available that produce the same effect, without the risk of an unbalanced diet. Supplements can also be used as a substitute for added fat in the diet.