RAW/BARF diet scare tactics

[Rua]

So I made the mistake of rejoicing over my new found partial RAW diet success on my Facebook page yesterday. This morning I was greeted with a comment from a vague acquaintance (I really need to cull my FB "friends" list! haha) telling me to be careful about feeding RAW and he included this link of a guy who pleads for people to not feed BARF/RAW to their dogs because his dog died and his vet told him that the diet was to blame:

The Barf diet killed my dog so why do people still feed like this ? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers

Since I'm new at doing the whole RAW thing, I was slightly deflated after reading this. I'm very sorry for the guy in the Yahoo link who lost his dog. But I found it annoying that his vet was so adamant it was the RAW diet who killed his pup. Eating crap kibble could've just as easily killed his pup too! There are so many on these boards that have glowing, healthy dogs to prove that this diet is among the best for our pups. I'm just curious how many of you RAW foodies out there get this sort of reaction from others when you tell them what you feed your dog?

Anyhoo, just wanted to share this with ye, and see what everyone's thoughts are on the matter.

[kbella999]

We all know that no dog has every gotten sick from kibble.

I made the mistake of bragging about my dogs teeth to a friend who is a vet and got a lecture on it. I just look at my dogs pretty teeth and beautiful coat to remind me just how great feeding raw is. I'm in the process myself of changing over.

Originally Posted by Rua

So I made the mistake of rejoicing over my new found partial RAW diet success on my Facebook page yesterday. This morning I was greeted with a comment from a vague acquaintance (I really need to cull my FB "friends" list! haha) telling me to be careful about feeding RAW and he included this link of a guy who pleads for people to not feed BARF/RAW to their dogs because his dog died and his vet told him that the diet was to blame:

The Barf diet killed my dog so why do people still feed like this ? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers

Since I'm new at doing the whole RAW thing, I was slightly deflated after reading this. I'm very sorry for the guy in the Yahoo link who lost his dog. But I found it annoying that his vet was so adamant it was the RAW diet who killed his pup. Eating crap kibble could've just as easily killed his pup too! There are so many on these boards that have glowing, healthy dogs to prove that this diet is among the best for our pups. I'm just curious how many of you RAW foodies out there get this sort of reaction from others when you tell them what you feed your dog?

Anyhoo, just wanted to share this with ye, and see what everyone's thoughts are on the matter.

[Rua]

And what is it about the RAW diet that has people some people so wound up? I wish there were statistics that showed how many dogs died from eating raw compared to how many died from diseases eating commercial low quality kibble.

[lhczth]

Most people are curious when they find out. Only "discussion" I have ever had was with a vet who is pro raw. She just feels that the dogs need fruits and veggies as part of the diet. I disagreed. People will ask me about the dangers of bones and other questions, but I have never had a huge negative reaction. I am also very confident about what I feed and maybe that leaves no room for the nay-sayer.

[Emoore]

There's a time to ask for opinions. Then, when you've decided what you're going to do and are confident in it, there's a time to keep your mouth shut because you're still going to get opinions. I'm sure there's a polite way to say, "this is what I've decided and I don't care what you people think," but I haven't found it yet.

[Rua]

Originally Posted by Emoore

There's a time to ask for opinions. Then, when you've decided what you're going to do and are confident in it, there's a time to keep your mouth shut because you're still going to get opinions. I'm sure there's a polite way to say, "this is what I've decided and I don't care what you people think," but I haven't found it yet.

LOL! Neither have I. If you find it let me know!

I think what's annoyed me about this is that I DID ask for opinions from my dog owner friends on FB a few weeks back regarding dog foods, etc. And I got no response from this particular person at all. Then when I finally DO make a decision and then share the positive experience I've had regarding this decision, suddenly I get people coming out of the woodwork to tell me I'm going to kill my dog.

WTH??

[BlackCat]

WTH, indeed. All I have read on the subject leads me to believe you have to do your homework to make sure you are feeding a balanced diet. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to be able to do that so I feed a high quality kibble. I wouldn't ever take someone to task over their choice to feed raw instead.

[Holmeshx2]

I fed raw years ago and was rather hesitant about it. I joined the yahoo groups and just blindly followed it. When I went to find a new vet (just moved states) I had the receptionist lecturing me it made me second guess my decision and really doubt it but I kept following it just trying to make myself believe. Eventually I went back to kibble because one dog has diarrhea really bad and I couldn't stop it and kibble made it better. Then when I decided to get Jinx I made the decision to go back to raw and for some reason this time I knew WAY more then I did last time (actually understood it vs just trying to make it work) and am very confident in what I'm doing and don't have any second guesses at all about it. I thought I fully researched it years ago but apparently didn't. Knowing what I know now i over fed the dogs and did WAY to much organ which is what probably caused the digestion issues. Now I don't care what anyone says (even the vets) and I am actually armed with the medical side of it that i can debate if need be. I don't need anyones approval and I don't need to prove anyone wrong. I feed how I choose to I know the benefits and I see how good she is on it I will not push anyone onto it but will also not let anyone bully me out of it either. a long time ago I wanted to tell everyone YAY raw is great and shove it down their throats tell the vets I'm feeding raw agree with it or I won't come to you etc.. Now I just let it go if someone asks I'll mention it but thats it I might answer a few questions but not too much because I don't want people to decide to feed raw and just go throw a chunk of hamburger on the ground either. With vets it really doesn't come up my current vet knows I feed raw and doesn't care one way or another and never brings it up at all she also knows if something is wrong I try to go the natural route first for most remedies unless it will do more harm waiting for treatment.

[CookieTN]

If bones scare you (general you) that much, then grind them up. You lose the teeth cleaning benefits that way, but it's not that big of a deal.

Treader's regular vet knows about his raw diet and told me to keep feeding it because it worked for him. When the vet we went to see last checkup (different vet clinic, they were closer) I just mentioned that he's fed a homeprepared diet when asked. Her response wasn't totally against it, but I think my not being specific kind of scared her as she was telling me things related to balancing the diet and also talking in favor of kibble. Obviously I don't agree with a lot of what she said, but she was polite as she could be.
Vets really don't know all that much about nutrition, though. I'm not claiming to be a nutrition expert either, I just feel I have reason to disagree with them. My dog has been rawfed for about four years and he's doing well.

[CookieTN]

A dog may be different from a wolf in some ways, but they still have a carnivorous digestive system. I rather doubt that the information for the digestive system to change from that of a carnivore to that of an omnivore exists at all in the DNA.

I know someone on Dogster whose dog also died from eating a raw bone, he choked on it. It happens sometimes. But the dog could choke on kibble or even boneless meat, too. People can choke on the food they eat, like a piece of chicken. It doesn't mean they should stop eating chicken.
Once Cookie appeared to be choking on kibble. She was obviously able to breath, but as she didn't seem to be able to get it out on her own I ended up doing the Heimlich maneuver on her. Maybe it wasn't the best idea, but I was scared and it worked.

But all rambling aside, I am sorry for the guy's loss. If he doesn't want to feed raw, that's his decision and nobody has the right to guilt him for it.



I am less outspoken about raw than I used to be. For one thing, if everyone fed raw, imagine how high the meat prices would go! Yeah, do not want. Also I don't want people who don't know how to balance it yet trying it out. When it comes up I always stress researching it before feeding it, but still.