# CBS news discusses raw diets



## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/is-a-raw-food-diet-good-for-your-pet/


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## lilsurfergrlsp (Dec 13, 2013)

Interesting video! I wish it was longer though, because everyone interviewed in the video didn't really provide any strong evidence to back up their opinions. 

There is so much debate about raw diet vs. commercial food. The main concern of feeding raw diets is making sure it's nutritionally balanced, which takes A LOT A LOT A LOT A TON A TON A TON of research to understand. I think that's the main concern of many veterinarians, simply because a lot of people aren't willing to put in the research behind it, they just want to feed their dog a raw diet. And I totally agree with them, and understand why feeding a raw diet, without understanding how to, is bad. 

But some of the arguments of the pet store owners and the pet owner, while they sounded good, kind of lacks some logic. Like for instance, wild dogs and cats from 150 years ago weren't eating domesticated chickens and cows. Maybe the coyotes and foxes who snuck onto farms would, though. They were eating venison, buffalo, rabbit, etc. which aren't really as widely sold as the others, at least where I live. However, I do agree that (in general) the internal systems of dogs and cats are more suited to raw diets than processed foods. And the pet owner, said "a raw piece of chicken with just the bone in it is all the nutrition they need." I don't think that's the case (though I may be wrong). ONLY feeding a raw piece of chicken gives your dog enough protein, but what about the necessary carbs, vitamins and minerals? That's why it's so important to feed the organs as well. 


That all said, I do think my dogs (and Tansy) are healthier being on the raw diet. My shepherd's coat is so much smoother, and sheds less, plus my little pup is full of energy. Plus Tansy's skin isn't as flakey. Not gonna lie, it's kind of a pain to prepare their food, especially if I'm rushing in the morning. But I think it's totally worth it. My opinion, though, and thanks for sharing the video 

P.S. I dunno why but the vet in the video annoyed me. Maybe because she ended every sentence with an upward inflection :roll: that bugs me. But she did have strong points about the bacteria.


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

I feed my four ferrets raw and yes it requires a ton of research and planning and prepping. I cook more for them than I do myself. 

A chicken with bone DOES NOT have enough nutrients in it. Dogs don't need taurine like cats and ferrets but they do need vitman A (from liver) and Vitamin B and Iron (from red meat), plus calcium from bones. A minimum of three proteins is needed to complete a raw diet. Dogs need half (I think) their meals to be red meat while ferrets need at least one whole meal of red meat a day, not sure on cats. 

Yes, the whole they would have eaten differently does not include chickens and beef but those are way closer to a "natural" diet than kibble with a whole ton of fillers. Also my guys get elk, quail, rabbit etc, as much "natural" foods I can find.

Dogs, cats and ferrets do not need carbs. They can live a full healthy on the right amount of organs, heart and proteins. 

I know, lilsurfergrlsp, knows this, this is just standard raw information for everyone watching the video. :grin:

She irritated me too. I think the bacteria thing is way over dramatized. If you can prepare your own families food, you can prepare raw food. Just be safe.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm not a fan at ALL of the woman who sounds like she's only feeding chicken legs. What the heck??? :? Can I please find her and give her a lecture on balancing? :roll: The pet owners that don't do the necessary research to do a raw diet properly are the ones that drive me crazy - they're the ones that make vets so against raw diets, because the animals end up with deficiencies. 

Raw diets are great! Anyone who's talked to me for longer than 5 minutes knows I think that. :lol: But they're not right for everyone, because they DO take research, planning, prepping, etc. I just spent almost an hour tonight portioning out raw ground herring and sardine (which looked awful, by the way...like mud mixed with poop!). And also spent some time before that trying to find a good arrangement to store 60lbs of mutton, chicken, duck, alpaca, and tripe into our deep freezer. I haven't even ordered the beef and pork yet! If you don't have the space for a raw diet, that makes it much more difficult & more expensive, since it's cheapest to buy in bulk. Like Desiree said, I know that those on here already feeding raw diets know most of this, just wanted to share for others who may read this! 

I agree with Desiree that the bacteria thing is way overhyped. It always makes me laugh too, because do the people that are going on about bacteria dangers ever stop to remember how many times in one year different kibble brands are recalled for bacterial contamination? Plus in reply to those who think there's more danger in raw-fed animal poop with bacteria being shed, I've seen at least one study that compared feces from raw-fed dogs & kibble-fed ones. Same kinds of bacteria in both, and I think the kibble-fed dog poop actually had more of some kinds of bacteria than the raw-fed poop. Just don't put your fingers in your mouth after touching raw meat or dog poop? :lol: It's not rocket science!


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## Tongue_Flicker (Jun 11, 2013)

Like what my mom would always say to my sister concerning my animals when I was in highschool, "Don't worry sweetie his pets' poop is way cleaner than ours." Lol


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## Nick120180 (Oct 27, 2014)

Lilly's mommy what's your thoughts nutritionally on the commercial BARF frozen cat foods which have a vegetable content and are meant to be balanced?

I've switched my hog to it, as every part of me says that feeding a desert animal dry food only cannot be right. I'm sure they wouldn't lap water much in the wild and would normally obtain most of their moisture through food. 

Each night my 565g hog (not fat) gets 30g frozen barf food, a mixture of NaturesMenu chicken and salmon, chicken and rabbit, chicken and duck, a pinch of mixed kibbles, then 5 mealworms hidden around his cage, a slice of chopped pepper, 8-10 peas and some rocket and spinach garnish. Every other night he gets an additional whole adult locust or 4-5 crickets or a couple of ****roaches, whatever I have to hand. Once a week he has a pinkie and twice a week a quail egg for omega 3. 
He also sporadically gets fruit and treats of steak or mince.

Does this sound suitable or should I be supplementing additional vitamins.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

The commercial foods are considered to be balanced, as far as I know, and the vegetables added to them would help with that! 

Your menu for him sounds great! I think I would be careful with giving peas every night - they are high in phosphorus, which can be easy to give too much of. Pinkies and the insects are higher in phosphorus than calcium as well, and the other foods he get aren't really high enough in calcium that they would offset that, I think. It might not hurt to perhaps dust some of the insects in a calcium powder sold for reptiles to make sure there aren't issues with that, if he'll eat them dusted. While it's possible to overdose calcium, it's usually harder to cause problems with that than it is to cause a calcium deficiency, as long as you're not going crazy with the powder.

(Disclaimer: Because I really feel the need to include one.  I'm not a nutritionist or any kind of expert, just a bit of a nerd! This is just my opinion based on my reading & such.)


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## Nick120180 (Oct 27, 2014)

Thanks lillysmommy, I'll reign in the peas (he doesn't always eat them anyway) and sprinkle a little calcium dust in twice a week. Since the Barf diet has ground bones and the pinkies provide good calcium I'm thinking he should be okay, but as you say a little extra is unlikely to hurt.
Such a shame more isn't known abouth their true requirements
Pretty happy with what he gets though at the moment, kinda feels right


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