Hello, I'm new to these forums, but I've been following the site for quite a while. I recently (over the past month) have been switching to a raw diet. I have a 2 yr old lab mix who's had allergies off and on, and I don't want to keep putting her on Benadryl and Vetalog (a steroid), as I'm a vet tech and know how damaging steroids can be long-term.
So, I've been doing a semi-cooked diet at home for the past couple weeks (a varying mixture of chicken, eggs, sardines, sweet potatoes, green beans, and carrots), along with salmon oil and vit e. I just received my box of Honest Kitchen Preference and alfalfa and kelp powders in the mail from Leerburg today, and plan to start those in the next few days. I was concerned as to whether my choices of veggies were good or not, and came across THK Preference, and decided to try that so I could focus on protein sources instead.. I have been giving Morgan1-1.5 lbs of food daily (her ideal weight is around 50 lbs.) have had no problems so far.
My question is this: I'm a farm girl, and my family, over the next few weeks, will be butchering a crapload of pigs and cattle (probably 15 pigs and 4 cows)... So, I'm going to have a great source of meat for a while. My concern is with the pork. I see that many of you feed pork on a regular basis with little to no problems. Working for a vet for 5 years, I've heard stories about Trichinosis problems, and I also know first-hand that large amounts of pork can cause pancreatitis. I've read that freezing will take care of the parasite, but I'm still concerned about the pancreatitis... Anyone have issues with this? I would be giving her organ meats, and lean cuts of pork only (with some bones). I just want to make sure I'm not going to overdo it on the pork and cause problems...
P.S. I can't wait to see the look on my vet's face when he finds out one of his techs is feeding a raw diet... He's slightly old-school with diets, and regularly pushes Science Diet and Iams... (Never anything raw or homemade) Oddly enough, when I placed my girl on SD R/D to lose weight, her allergies got way worse (after being on Blue Wilderness Salmon)... (I'm definitely not a fan of SD... In the 5 yrs I've been a tech, I've seen a huge increase in cancer, skin allergies, bladder stones, kidney problems, tumors, seizures, etc... And he pushes SD more and more...)
Thanks for any help!

My sincere apologies if I fail to address anything contained in your post. I have a hard time with non-paragraph format.

What is it exactly that your dog is allergic to?

You are right that freezing pork for 2-3 weeks will kill any parasites.

Your biggest concern with pork is that it can cause explosive diarrhea in dogs. Most dogs don't tolerate it well, and those that do generally need to be fed small amounts and work their way up to consuming an actual meal of pork.

You ask about vegetables: the ones you're feeding are fine. You don't say how much you're feeding (meat vs. veg) but I'd put a lot less focus on the vegetables in the diet, since they aren't really the issue.

Vegetables IMO shouldn't be more than 10% of the diet, if that. A raw diet is made of meat and bones. Salmon oil and kelp powder and all those other extras are for later, and should be introduced one at a time, after you've built a basic raw diet with well-tolerated, properly balanced meat and raw bones.

You're feeding raw chicken now? With bones? What parts?

The eggs--are they raw or cooked? With or without shells?

Regarding pork--it is my understanding that Trichinella has been virtually eliminated in domestic pork in this country. It's not something I worry about a bit. If it makes you feel better you can freeze the pork first.

As long as your dog tolerates pork, it's a fine food. (Same caveat for any new protein source: "as long as your dog tolerates ____.") Mine eat a lot of pork. With ANY new protein that you introduce to the diet, do it slowly. Add a tiny amount to a meal and see what happens. If everything's okay, add a little more and build from there.

Pork can be fatty. So just like we'd advise when starting with chicken parts, remove visible fat for the first few feedings, and gradually introduce it. Dogs need raw animal fat and can eat a lot of it once they get used to it.

Same with beef.

 Quote: jennifer kem

and I also know first-hand that large amounts of pork can cause pancreatitis.

This is more a fat issue than a pork issue.

Just wanted to highlight this. Tracy's advice will eliminate that explosive problem.:wink:

 Quote: tracy collins

Pork can be fatty. So just like we'd advise when starting with chicken parts, remove visible fat for the first few feedings, and gradually introduce it. Dogs need raw animal fat and can eat a lot of it once they get used to it.

Same with beef.

 Quote: jennifer kem

Working for a vet for 5 years, I've heard stories about Trichinosis problems, and I also know first-hand that large amounts of pork can cause pancreatitis.

"Heard stories" and "seen cases" are miles apart. This is one of my greatest life's lessons.

Aaron - Corn appears to be a big culprit in her allergies. I started thinking she was intoelrant of chicken, but having been giving her chicken in my home-made meals over the past couple week has proven that it doesn't bother her.

Tracy - She gets approx. 1 part veggie to 2 parts meat. The chicken I feed with bone - legs, necks, etc. I had to start off by cutting a portion of the meat off of the thigh bones, and partially cooking that to get her used to it, but she will eat raw now fine. She will not eat raw eggs with shell, but I found if I lightly scramble them (with shell mixed in), she eats them fine.

I understand that Trichinella is not really a problem anymore, but it was just a concern in the back of my mind. My lab has had small amounts of pork in the past. I was mainly curious as to whether anyone had problems with it long term.

Michael - I have seen cases of pancreatitis caused by eating pork, but this has only been in small and toy breeds, never a larger breed. Any many small dogs are predisposed to getting it anyway... :P

Thanks guys!

" I have seen cases of pancreatitis caused by eating pork"

Raw? Really? Acute pancreatitis from raw pork?

Or do you mean kind of "feast pancreatitis" from dumpster diving or someone feeding the dog cooked pork?

How and why do you think your dog's allergies are food and not environmental?

I think switching to raw is great. I also know that 10% or less of dogs' allergies are food. However, a great raw diet (started with one lower-fat RMB ingredient and not moving on until you see the poop) helps the dog to deal with all allergies as well as getting rid of grain-heavy foods that cause all kinds of problems (yes, including but not limited to allergies).


And I'd add that "allergies off and on" sounds seasonal.

And WELCOME!

Michael said: "This is more a fat issue than a pork issue."

Exactly. Not only that, but it's usually a cooked-fat issue.

 Quote: Jennifer Kem

Michael - I have seen cases of pancreatitis caused by eating pork,

Fat content being equal , pork is no more likely to cause pancreatitis than chicken.

More likely, the cases you attributed to pork were from excessive amounts of fat. The pork just had more fat. The protein source itself was not the problem.

 Quote: Tracy Collins

Dogs need raw animal fat and can eat a lot of it once they get used to it.

Same with beef.

What he said.

Fat is not evil, it just needs to be introduced gradually.

Anything in excess can potentially be a problem