so, I asked how many times a day my dog should eat and they were yelling at me saying that my pug is anything but a wolf and that he is probably malnourished from being fed prey model. Any thoughts? Please say your experience with prey model and the pros and cons.
I know I'll get the thumbs downed but you asked why so why not hear a real answer instead of answers the pro raw feeders assume.
I feel that it is nearly impossible for anyone to balance a raw diet. The prey model guide line is 80-10-10. Some may follow that but most don't, they just try to get near it and many times are way off . Feeding too much bone is one of the most common problems. Not feeding enough variety is another. Some play around with adding in a bunch of fruit and vegetables, even grains. All this off sets the delicate balance of vitamins and minerals and the dog is the one who becomes malnourished over time. The symptoms go unnoticed at first but it catches up. Dogs eating O Roy can have shiney coats and white teeth, but low quality it catches up, so will the raw diets.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Perfect example is this question:
Just buy chicken parts and whole chicken, some organs, throw it in a bag? Cheap and easy? THAT'S why some people want to feed raw, really, for cheap and easy?
An all chicken diet including the organs is still deficient in Iron, Zinc, Magnesium, and Copper.
But shhhh don't tell that to the pro raw feeders, or they might actually need to make their diet less cheap and easy.
BARE NIKKID TRUTH-Thank you for writing that. You're not the ones I'm talking about. There are too many feeding raw deficiently though! My concern is for those dogs poor health.
The same reason you were against Prey Model (not to be mean; I'm happy to see that you've come around).
They hear claims that it isn't nutritionally balanced without fruits & veggies. Pet food brands need the carbs, as a filler and binder, so they claim that they balance the food nutritionally, for marketing purposes, even though our carnivores do not need them at all. Dogs are not obligate carnivores, so they can snack on a berry or two, but they usually do best on a carnivorous diet. There are also the uninformed people against raw in general, thinking the dog will go crazy or be susceptible to salmonella, etc. Finally, there's the group that tried it, but had a bad time with it (loose stools, etc.). I really believe that most dogs will do wonderfully on it if given proper time to transition and the proper amounts . People should keep in mind that raw and cooked digest at different rates, so they should just ditch the kibble, and just cook everything except the bones, and add in a stool firmer if necessary. Then gradually undercook until serving raw.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com I feed quality, grain-free, high protein kibble with cans or toppers sometimes, since I don't have the time for preparing raw, and the only commercial raw diets close to PMR (Ziwipeak, Wysong, etc.) Are ridiculously expensive. Actually, even commercial BARF is very pricey, and not worth a second glance. However, a friend of mine feeds Prey Model. Her dog is very active with a silky, shiny coat, and no bad breath.
Prey Model for my dogs also and I wouldn't feed them anything else.
Done enough reading to feel confident that what I am feeding my dogs does provide all the necessary nutrients they need.
I look at it this way. What can they possibly put in a bag of kibble that you cannot feed yourself naturally.
And to be quite honest, there is a lot in a bag of kibble that I really don't want my dog eating.
Whatever did dogs do before bags of kibble.
And I am not saying that people shouldn't feed it, but they shouldn't say that you can't feed prey model either.
Ignorance
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com lack of doing their own research .. the rely on what dog food companies tell them.
while your pug is not a wolf .. his digestive tract is still the same.
Only YOU can tell if your dog is thriving on the diet or not. If your dog was malnourished, you'd know it. Are his energy levels improoved on the raw diet? Is his coat healthy and shiny? Is his ears and skin clean , and free of odor? Is his teeth white? Does his breath smell good? Does he have nice firm stools?
ADDED
Raw feeders use more than just chicken .. dogs get beef, turkey, pork, deer, fish, etc
and dogs are NOT omnivores. There is NOTHING about their dentation, saliva or digestive tract that even suggests they are omnivores.
Ignorance. simply put. I don't believe in a strict prey model diet for dogs (I personally think some vegetables can be healthy), but it is 150 percent better than Pedigree or the Science Diet their vet is peddling and there are plenty of examples of dogs truly thriving on raw. It is YOUR dog, it is no one's else business to tell you what to feed him unless he is malnourished.
Partly opinion, partly not being well read on the topic.
