I've read the link. Dogs will bloat on kibble. How many times have vets opened up a kibble fed dog and found the stomach full of kibble? Bloat is horrible, but studies so far have not shown that raw fed dogs are more likely to bloat than kibble fed dogs, though some people do feel that feeding raw actually lessens the chance. And there is more thought towards bloat being genetic than due to what a dog is fed.
I've been feeding Keeta raw for four years not - no issues. Actually, I was having issues on kibble: constant loose poops, spay incontinence that was not responding to medication, horrible, HORRIBLE teeth for a young dog, all miraculously improved since she has been on raw.
Gryffon was weaned onto raw, and continues on to raw after I got him. At first, he was very much a gulper, but he has slowed down and is taking his time chewing. For Gulpers, people often find that feeding frozen will slow their dogs down. So not the extended experience of some (like Laurie), but a few years of raw feeding without any worries.
One thing that I have seen in general about raw feeding and dogs' medical issues, is that pretty much no matter what medical issue a dog may suffer from, the vets, unless pro-raw, will blame it on the raw diet. There was an article in our local paper about a lady who was warning the public to avoid raw, because one of her dogs came down with hepatitis and almost died after she had switched her dogs over to raw. Her vet blamed the raw diet.
I asked on this board about the possibility of a dog getting hepatitis from raw and the discussion that followed pretty much established that though possible, the probability is so small as being negligeable.
When I started feeding raw, I did an experiment. I wanted to see just how "soft" the chicken bones were. I took a chicken thigh bone (big, strong bone) and wanted to see how hard it was to crunch it, and to see how sharp the edges would be if crunched during eating.
I held it up at eye level and peered at the bone (who would have thought I would be reduced to eating bones?) . . . gathered up my courage and resolution . . . closed my eyes, took a BIG breath, opened my mouth and quick, before I could "chicken" out (groan!), chomped down HARD!
I was in for a BIG surprise! I bit down waaayyy to hard! The bone was soft and shattered, did not splinter. It was like biting into a cracker, that was about all the force I would have needed to bite the bone in two! I was completely convinced that feeding raw bones to my dogs was completely safe!
I haven't tried to chomp a turkey bone, but they seem to be harder - my dogs will often throw up turkey bone shards, and I am more likely to find turkey bone parts in their poops than chicken bones - so I feed turkey sparingly, except for turkey necks.
