Which is better: high quality kibble or a "supermarket" raw diet?

[lemonadeicedtea]

Purely hypothetical question for those who have experience between kibble and raw -

Would the benefits of a high quality kibble (i.e. Orijen, Annamaet, or whatever brands you consider to be the best of the best) still be outweighed by a raw diet of conventionally raised meats (non-organic or grass-fed, etc) of a variety that could be found at your local supermarket (basic chicken/beef/pork)?

I know this is oversimplifying the issue but I'd love for some of you to weigh in.

[volcano]

When pet food companies say their food is "organic, hormone free, human grade" that is still completely scraps, its not chicken legs and beef ribs etc. I dont shop at whole paycheck so I dont care about buying my dog organic hormone free meats. She gets her stuff from fiesta market and its all under 75 cents a pound for necks, legs, livers, feet, etc. Just to cover my ass on the raw diet I bought some pupsup glanzen supplement, Ill limit it till shes not a puppy.

[GusGus]

That's a really good question. I don't really have an opinion for you, but i will say..that there are some qualities of supermarket meats I will not eat.

[jocoyn]

My preferences would be in order

Scrap from Quality Antibiotic free, hormone free, grass fed livestock or pasture fed chicken - preferably organic

Kibble made from same

Raw made from supermarket meats (probably irradiated at some stores because they are not required to "tell" us they irradiate and ever since I had the tomato that lasted 3 months on my kitchen counter.....without rotting....just sayin......

Quality kibble from regular meats.

[lemonadeicedtea]

Originally Posted by GusGus

That's a really good question. I don't really have an opinion for you, but i will say..that there are some qualities of supermarket meats I will not eat.

Haha... I know what you mean.

To expand on my original question - given that all food choices are a balance between nutritional benefits/convenience/cost, if you wanted to implement a raw diet but it wasn't prudent (time, financially, or otherwise) for you to source a broad variety of proteins or use speciality vendors, would you still be able to reap most of the benefits of BARF? And would that diet be better than premium packaged food?

[marshies]

Originally Posted by lemonadeicedtea

Haha... I know what you mean.

To expand on my original question - given that all food choices are a balance between nutritional benefits/convenience/cost, if you wanted to implement a raw diet but it wasn't prudent (time, financially, or otherwise) for you to source a broad variety of proteins or use speciality vendors, would you still be able to reap most of the benefits of BARF? And would that diet be better than premium packaged food?

I think it depends on how unprudent you are. If you were feeding a good variety when it comes to organs, bones, and meat, then I think there are still benefits. However, if you were just tossing the dog chicken legs every night, the no.

I tried transitioning Puppy to raw. I had her on liver, spleen, kidney, eggs, and chicken frames. She didn't do as well as she did on kibble, and I attribute it to a lack of variety and my lack of time, finances, etc.

I feed Orijen now, and I'm really happy with the results. I would rather feed her balanced kibble, than wacky raw. My first choice is always raw though.

[dazedtrucker]

That's a darn good question.... I fed Axel a supermarket (mostly) raw diet his 1st year. He looked great and thrived. I had to go to kibble about a year ago. I honestly don't think he looks as good (coat wise at least). I feed raw a few times a week now, and I notice an improvement in coat and teeth. I don't like the quality of meat you can buy at the store, but I can't pay 10 bux a pound for organic quality either, and I thing raw does them good.. love to see more input on this

[Rua]

Great question!
This is something I'm having difficulty with at the moment. I don't have affordable access to high quality meats for the dogs right now since meat suppliers have been banned from selling to the public. So I have been just having to give them whatever I can find from the supermarket. And it usually just ends up being chicken wings/legs/backs, pork tongue or beef mince and eggs. It's quite limited. And it's expensive. (I got totally ripped off on chicken wings last week. Eleven euros for only 25 chicken wings is ridiculous.) Feeding raw to your dog in Dublin is next to impossible if you don't wanna go broke.

So for now, they are still on half high quality kibble, with one meal supplemented with whatever raw I have on hand.

[jourdan]

I think Avery would still prefer supermarket raw over a high quality kibble. I'm no raw master feeder but I like the results I've seen in Avery with raw so in my mind any meat is better then no meat.


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[Marnie]

I don't think anyone really knows. A lot of people think they know and they do what they think is best. After all, our best is all any of us can do. Your veterinarian will tell you not to feed raw and there is a lot of reasoning behind that advise. Ask your vet and consider his/her opinion. Dog food manufacturers pack a lot of low quality food sources into their product but they do studies to be sure that their food contains the correct amounts of trace nutrients that are essential to the dogs health. You cannot be sure with a home made diet that the dog is getting everything it needs. If any diet is lacking in some important nutrient, it might take several years for you to find your dog has developed some diet related condition that cannot be corrected.