My vet doesn't promote 'raw' but doesn't fight me on it, either.

We have discussed, at length, what & how I feed & what goes into my dogs' daily diet & over time & she feels that it is a good plan. And as stated, the proof is in the seeing healthy, bright-eyed, high energy, well muscled dogs. (On the very, very rare occasion that they need to see her.)

She has stated that her reason for not promoting 'raw' is that too many people think that tossing some raw ground hanburger to their dog daily is 'feeding raw'. It can't be farther from the truth. Unfortunately, she has seen the detrimental results of this type of 'raw diet' first hand.

 Quote: Anne Jones

... She has stated that her reason for not promoting 'raw' is that too many people think that tossing some raw ground hanburger to their dog daily is 'feeding raw' .... Unfortunately, she has seen the detrimental results of this type of 'raw diet' first hand.

Yes. We have seen it here, and I have seen it on another board. I have seen folks feeding growing puppies all-meat (no bone, so no calcium) diets.

The raw diet is pretty simple, but there are a couple of crucial rules (like the calcium:phosphorus ratio).

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: Please don't let anyone you know just feed raw meat, thinking it's better than kibble just because it's raw.

And Part 2 of that, of course, is that the all-natural (raw) feeding advice on the LB site is great advice. So is the raw-feeding advice on this board.

The training I've received pretty much said that Science Diet was the best of the best in 1960-70ish. The emergence of natural and holistic diets as mainstream has far outreached where Science Diet seems to have stayed. I was talking with one lady I guess last year that was attending a Hills seminar and they were focusing all on % and nothing on digestibility; corn is just as good as rice etc. If I wanted to be a vet and Hills said I'll give you a scholarship if you offer our food, I don't think I'd refuse on a matter of principal.

So I work at Petco, and I have even had an occasional customer convinced that they could get prescription diets at Petco because their vet said so. I have heard rumors about somewhere there being Petco stores that had in house clinics but not in AR that I'm aware of.

The Petco in my town has a vet clinic & grooming within the store. I don't remember what it is called. I almost never go into Petco.

I feel so lucky to have a vet that not only supports, but suggests and promotes raw feeding. SO, so lucky. At my first visit, he wanted to hear all about what I was feeding my dog.

Thanks to this site (and a certain Connie Sutherland) I got a "wow! that's great!" when I described my dog's diet.

I have found a growing and positive trend in my area around the idea of the raw diet. More and more vets here have become at least accepting of it, and many who are considered very traditional medically have surprised me by being very supportive.

Our local Pet Food Warehouse has freezers full of frozen raw foods from several wonderful sources, some of them local. It's a great place to be a raw feeder these days.
It's pretty cool.

Wow Kristel, how lucky are you!!! That is truly awesome that you have such a fantastic vet!
I wish I lived in Vermont for a lot of reasons, but having a vet that understands good canine nutrition, that would really be awesome. You and your dog are very lucky indeed!

In some ways we are so 'behind the times', but I DO feel lucky in regards to doggie health care. Holistic health care and fresh foods in general are very popular here.

If only we could do something about those long, bitter winters.....

I have just the opposite trouble with the heat and summers down here in Texas! It has been the worst summer of my life!
It has cooled off today finally. But for about 3 weeks we had temps around 104-108 and the heat indexs where around 113 -115!!
At least you can put more clothes on to keep warm! LOL!

I can not wait for our fall and winters here as they are perfect for me. My dogs are so much happier in that kind of weather too.

Connie: for all of us who are new to raw feeding for our dogs, could you elaborate on the calcium: phosphorus ratio? what are the other crucial rules you were speaking about? Thnks

 Quote: sharon empson

Connie: for all of us who are new to raw feeding for our dogs, could you elaborate on the calcium: phosphorus ratio? what are the other crucial rules you were speaking about? Thnks

The bone-to-meat (essentially the calcium-to-phosphorus) ratio of 1.2:1 to 1:1 happens to be the ratio provided by nature in RMBs. Clever nature!

It's feeding boneless meat that is such a catastrophe. (Well, feeding recreational bones or even digestible bones without the meat that they "came with" would be, too, but that's not the mistake that people who feed random raw "diets" generally make.)

That RMB basis is the number one crucial rule.

Variety is the other, IMO. Even if the RMB part (the digestible bones) is based almost entirely on poultry, which many folks do use (myself included), variety can easily be introduced in the added muscle meat, in other foods (maybe yogurt, occasional eggs, canned mackerel/sardines/salmon, etc.), and even in high-quality marker rewards. (BTW, I've noticed that tiny meat-based marker rewards are usually cheaper than bigger flour-based crap "cookies." )

A small amount of organ meat is necessary.

For me, long-chain Omega 3s are extremely important, too.

All of the canine nutritional needs are met in the LB diet recommendations.