I thought we had progressed farther than this, at least.

I've never heard anything like that. What would being elderly have anything to do with not being able to eat raw? It's not like their intestines grow longer so that bacteria will incubate in there!

I'd imagine that immunocomprised dogs would do better on a raw diet.

-Dr. Billinghurst

I don't mind that that is your opinion (or the opinion of raw feeders as a whole).
All I ask is that raw feeders respect the fact that I (among many other loving, considerate dog owners) choose to feed our dogs kibble. One person went as far as to say I am feeding my dog poison... idiot.
I will not try to force kibble down yours or your dogs throat. So respect the kibble feeders and don't force raw down ours.
There are plenty of other hot topics that deserve to be discussed and referred to as "animal cruelty/neglect" besides what their owners are feeding their pets. It's not like they are coming into your yard and placing a food of kibble down for your dog...
I don't mind giving my dog the occasional chicken "Popsicle" but other then that... no raw around here.

Nobody is forcing raw down your throat. And I'm not sure how it's an opinion that dogs are carnivores and have the digestive system and teeth of one. That is a fact.

ETA: For the record, I feed kibble (Taste of the Wild).

The only issue I have with raw feeders is not that they feed raw... it's that they try to guilt and force everyone else to do it as well.
My cousins dog died after switching to raw. High quality, human grade meat. He essentially **** himself to death. They tried to switch him back to kibble but the damage was already done. He was a Newfie/Bernese. <<is this the norm, no. Would I want to try it out, no.

Raw fanatics are CONSTANTLY attempting to force their ideas. People on this forum have been relatively restrained...

I get that you have strong feelings about this and I'm really sorry about your cousin's dog. That's awful. But no one in this thread is guilting and forcing *you* to do anything. I don't understand why you're so defensive.

Calm down LOL. I never said I disrespected the kibble feeders. I see nothing wrong with feeding kibble. It's obviously your choice. I'm not forcing raw down your throat.

If you don't understand (or haven't properly researched raw) I recommend holding back from posting about it. Needing to add a "million supplements", not being able to feed it to elderly/sick dogs, are all false statements. I'm not going to not reply to posts that are far fetched.

Sorry if I come off as overly defensive. The fact that my cousins pup died that way after all of peoples "suggestions" still makes me pretty pi**ed.
Btw-- I have researched raw extensively and have gotten both sides. I still choose to feed kibble.

You can't really prove that they are false statements. Maybe they are biased but so are the opinions you have given.
You could get a dozen vets/"professionals" proving raws benefits while I could do the same thing.
All that's remaining is that we respectfully disagree.

I'm sorry about your cousin's dog- but that is definitely NOT typical of a raw diet. It makes me wonder if your cousin wasn't feeding it properly. I've never had any issues with any of my dogs, and I haven't heard of anything like this.

You do realize that dogs can die from kibble, right? My Chloe chokes on kibble- I've had to pull it out of her throat before. Is kibble bad because of this? Of course not!

And then there are all of the tainted kibble recalls. Again, is that a normal occurance? Would you stop feeding any and all kibble because a couple of brands were recalled due to deaths of pets? Probably not.

And YES, saying that you need to add a million supplements IS a false statement.

Don't post false statements about raw when you don't understand how a raw diet works.

Okay, this made me laugh. Hard.

"Hmm, I don't like raw and am biased against it, so I will write that you need to add a million supplements. Yeah, that'll be a good post. Raw is baaaad. And then I will say old dogs can't eat it. lololol. Dogs totally aren't carnivores or anything and kibble is epic win."

Please point out where my "opinions" are biased. They aren't opinions if they're factual.

Dogs = carnivores. Raw meat = carnivore food. It's not an opinion. It's a fact.

And most vets recommend kibble because of the kick backs. No one gets paid to research raw.

I, also, add no supplements to my raw feeding. Never have.

UMM.. WHAT??

I don't supliment at all when it comes to feeding Teagan raw. All she gets is raw, and she has so much variety that she needs no suppliments.

Oh, and did you know you dont have to give variety if you feed fresh, grass fed animals like deer, and elk.

And of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Some dogs are allergic to all types of meat. Some dogs do better with chicken than fish. Some dogs do best with novel proteins like bison and elk. It's trial and error with some dogs.

And some dogs can eat everything in the world except zuccini (it makes my dogs throw up). lol.

I never once argued that dogs are carnivores. You keep going back to the "natural" feeding but yet when I said let your dogs loose and hunt for themselves you said nothing. That is TRULY natural. Maybe there are not many supplements that are necessary, I suppose it's how you feed it. Also there has to be this balance- muscle meat- organ meat- to bone meal ratio. If that's not balanced the dog will be deprived of essential nutrients.
I find it absurd that as soon as I mention a dog dying from raw then "she must not have fed it right" but yet it's supposedly so simple to feed.... huh, that escapes me.
The only "fact" that you have stated is that dogs are carnivorous. Well then let your dogs loose and hunt some deer/bunnies and eat "naturally". Not going to happen? Then you must be a horrible dog owner... sounds like bs right?

I just don't like this idea that "if you don't feed raw you aren't loving your dog". This is not a good frame of mind. I'm not ANTI raw, I just don't want to feed it to my dog.
There are parasites. Bone fragments or splinter (yes from raw bones too). There is salmonella (you say there's no effect on dogs but when they did the necropsy on my cousins poor dog there was salmonella and that was the cause of death, done by a HOLISTIC raw advocating vet btw). Dogs tend to eat massive chunks and choke (depending on how you feed it).
People don't want to compare dogs to wolves when it comes to training techniques but they will compare them to wolves when it comes to diet.... interesting.

http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-nutrition/raw-food-diets.aspx << she states very clearly that immuno compromised dogs should not be on a raw diet.

Immune* my stupid iPad keeps spelling immuno??

Yeah, not so much. Actually what she says is:

It MIGHT not be the best way. I would hazard a guess that it depends on the dog and the owner and their willingness to do it the right way.

Or just simply that it might not be the way to go lol. She also says "not every dog is cut out for a raw diet"-- that's pretty self explanatory. This is a professional. Not some forum "expert".