By: Dr. Hervatic
The raw food diet is a health craze sweeping the pet community. Dog owners everywhere have decided that this is the healthiest diet for their dogs because they believe it will make their dogs live longer and even kill diseases due to the enzymes and vitamins present in the raw food. However, they aren’t getting all of the facts! There is no evidence to prove that a raw food diet actually does this. There is, however, evidence to prove that it may, in fact, be dangerous.
A raw dog food can be very dangerous to not only your dog, but to you and your family as well. It can contain dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli. Many pet owners think that the freezing process kills all microorganisms and bacteria. This is not the case. While it kills some, it does not kill all of them, and this can put your dog’s health in danger.
Adult pets and humans can handle some bacteria in their diet, but children, the elderly, and puppies do not have strong enough immune systems and are more susceptible to disease if they come in contact with raw food. Another danger is that our dogs tend to lick their anuses after passing stool and then lick us. Dr. Hervatic, says, “One study reported that 14% of fecal samples of dogs fed raw diets were contaminated with Salmonella (Lenz et al. 2009). “
There are also several studies that prove that the all-raw food diet has nutrient deficiencies when compared to Association of American Feed Control Officials standards. In 2010, a study done in Germany found that 76% of raw dog diets contained at least one deficiency.
It is important to keep your whole family healthy, so if you have young children or elderly people in your home or those with a compromised immune system you should not be feeding your dog an all-raw diet. If you still would like to place them on this diet, please consider only doing so if everyone in your home, including your dog, is of adult age.