studies on raw feeding https://thesciencedog.com/2019/05/15/the-raw-deal/

https://truthaboutpetfood.com/how-lo...kibble-recall/

TO SUMMERIZE . THE RAW DEAL

Health Benefits? Long term effects of feeding raw foods to dogs has not been studied. Advantages to Raw Feeding is based on personal stories and anecdotes. The few Raw feeding trials that have been done shows dogs fed a nutritionally balanced diet were healthy, but did not demonstrate enhanced health benefits over dogs fed other foods. This does not mean that there are no benefits; it simply means that we do not know and that the numerous health claims for raw foods are not based on scientific evidence.

Improved Digestibility & Nutrient Avaiablity? Canned and dry food (kibbles) are highly processed and not-human grade, resulting in loss of protein quality and nutrients. Raw diets are, therefore, higher in digestibility than processed foods. However, both digestibility and nutrient availability are dependent upon the quality of the starting ingredients, as demonstrated by a recent study of raw versus processed chicken.(https://thesciencedog.com/2019/05/15/the-raw-deal/). There is also evidence, from several researchers, that raw feeding alters intestinal microbe populations. What is not known however, is the impact, if any, of these changes upon digestive capacity or health.

Safety? The studies reported in this essay provide evidence that commercial raw dog foods are more likely to be contaminated with bacterial pathogens and with specific strains of these pathogens that are resistant to antibiotics. These results show that dogs and people may be at risk of infection and that these foods are a potential vector for the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria to other animals and people.

Like Linda mentioned , "The science tells you that these are the facts. It is your decision regarding how to deal with them. ".

I have personally decided to ignore all studies that bash raw feeding. Kibble is a multi billion dollar industry and I believe it is virtually impossible to find an unbiased study. As far as the salmonella fear, there have been many recalls for kibble as well. I do not believe a dog with a healthy immune system is going to get salmonella from eating raw dog food and I do not think a person who handles it is going to get it either, as long as they wash their hands afterwards just as you should do after handling raw meat for your own family. I have been raw feeding for 10 years, never had an issue and have personally seen great results in my dogs. Therefore, I am sticking with it. Others are entitled to feel differently. That is okay.

@mudpuppy ... My understanding.....These studies are not saying you should not feed a dog a Fresh Food Raw diet. "There was no conclusion on this topic because there are not any scientific studies to determine one way or the other if a Fresh Raw Food Diet was better or not. Currently, there is only personal or antidotal stories about its benefit." summarized

There are four Research Articles that are difficult to understand for the typical Lay Person ... like Me.

My understanding....

The Raw Deal Studies were done on Commercially Sold Frozen Raw Food products one would buy in a store such as Pet Co. Correction in wording: The Raw Deal report is not a Study. It is a report about Four Studies about Commercial Frozen Raw Food Products.

The fourth was a review of findings based on 30 Scientific studies.
Their Conclusions: The authors concluded that there remains little doubt, based upon the published evidence, that the prevalence of potentially serious pathogens is substantially higher in raw pet food than in heat-treated foods and that these levels may pose a significant health risk to both pets and humans.

These are not studies about Fresh Raw Human Food that someone buys in the grocery store or from a butcher to feed their dogs, which I believe is what you do.

I don't know if Commercially Sold Frozen Raw dog food is Human Grade? Probably Not. Perhaps someone knows this.

If I'm reading the studies wrong ... Please correct my interpretation.

please , let's get this right. These are not "RAW Deals Studies". They are independant studies talking about RAW Commercial Dog /cat foods . They are not anything more than numbers . Nancy I believe you are generalizing again and that is up to you. Just for group info, I feed Raw commercial dog food , but is freeze dried raw HPP

I'm always receiving food alerts from the Dog Advisor. Quite a few times it has involved raw food. Even when raw meat is fresh there is always the chance of contamination. Restaurant's always have that warning on their menu's for a reason. For me the benefits are not worth the chance of serious illness. I've seen that happen with chicken. I don't ever want my dogs or me to be that ill.

Oops! My Bad ... The Raw Deal document is about Four Studies regarding COMMERCIAL Raw Food Products. I edited and corrected this error above.

Dave ... I Respectively! suggest .... It would be helpful when you provide links in reply to conversations, that you briefly summarize and comment about the point you're making in your reference link to help clarify your point.

Mikki, I think I got lost on what the point of the article was. I just feel that when discussing salmonella or problems with raw food, it is good to remind people that salmonella and other bad things can be found in kibble as well. Otherwise, people may get a false sense of security about kibble. Here is an article summarizing recalls over the past ten years. Let’s also remember that the hugest pet food recall in history in 2007 was not for raw!

https://truthaboutpetfood.com/10-yea...-food-recalls/

When I started feeding raw, I fed commercial raw for the first year. However, I decided I wanted to have more control over the quality and content of what I fed. Therefore, I decided to make my own. I never trusted the meats used in commercial food and especially feared that they would use 4D meat. I use human grade meat that we either hunt, raise or buy from local farmers. I do buy a few items from My Pet Carnivore like raw green tripe and some ground whole prey for variety and convenience. They are a great company and do not use 4D meats and meat comes from small farms. Ground meat has a high bacterial load because more surface area is exposed to the air. However, My Pet Carnivore grinds it frozen and flash freezes it. Never had a problem.