To day I told my vet that my pup is on raw! She wanted to make sure that I was feeding him min/vit along with the meat. When I told her what I was giving him she was fine with it. She just said "never feed him just meat, he needs the vit/min that he would get in a good kibble". I'm not sure I feel that there is such a thing as good kibble but she was ok with it.

i am tempted to go ask a vet exactly what deficiencies wolves, cougars, bobcats, etc have from eating just meat(bones and organs too).
What vitamins do they take?
What supplements?
How have they managed to survive for so long with out them?????

good kibble my butt.

technically muscle meat,organs and bones(well, whole prey in general) contain absolutely everything a dog needs.

In regards to boiled water, germs and all that fun stuff... I think people today are way too concerned with that stuff. The more you protect people from germs the less opportunity their immune system has to build up tollerences. It's no wonder people get sick so often, they've never been exposed to anything because everything gets wiped down with clorox wipes 20 times a day.

Dogs can eat spoiled meat, drink from muddy puddles of water in the woods and eat grass, sticks and bugs without a problem. My dogs water comes from the garden hose and they drink eachothers spit.

 Quote: christi collett

To day I told my vet that my pup is on raw! She wanted to make sure that I was feeding him min/vit along with the meat. When I told her what I was giving him she was fine with it. She just said "never feed him just meat, he needs the vit/min that he would get in a good kibble". I'm not sure I feel that there is such a thing as good kibble but she was ok with it.

I would modify that quote to this:

"never feed him just meat, he needs the bones that come with it."

 Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

My dogs water comes from the garden hose and they drink each others spit.

AHAHAHAHAH....that was a good one.

I just like using my own water and not changing it at every town I stop in.....

 Quote: mike j schoonbrood

In regards to boiled water, germs and all that fun stuff... I think people today are way too concerned with that stuff. The more you protect people from germs the less opportunity their immune system has to build up tollerences. It's no wonder people get sick so often, they've never been exposed to anything because everything gets wiped down with clorox wipes 20 times a day.

Ahhh, I couldn't agree more. My heart sinks a little every time I see one more new product on the market that makes it "effortless" to kill 99% of the germs on your apples and bananas, or your kids toys, or your kleenexs... these wipes and sprays prey on peoples fears and do nothing but weaken our natural defenses and STRENGTHEN the viruses and germs...

For the record, while I "clean up" after I pack Oscar's meals for the week (and yes, I'll usually do a final wipe down with Lysol after the big gore fest on the counter we make our breakfasts on...) I never use anything other than soap and water to wash my hands after each feeding, I wash his bowl out maybe once every few weeks, I wipe down his "placemat" with the same frequency (no disinfectant), and he eats on the floor in the kitchen, not in his crate. Call me gross, but Oscar keeps most of his food in the bowl (like a good boy) and licks up just about everything else. None of us have gotten even the least bit sick yet, so I'm pretty confident that our immune systems are healthy, and I'm glad I don't surround myself with chemicals. As an individual, I rarely get colds and sniffles, or any of the "bugs" that commonly go around, so maybe living in a less than sterile environment is actually doing me some good!

We'll see how I feel when someday I have a kid, but something tells me I'll be the only one at the playground NOT laying paper shields over the swing seats!

~Natalya

I agree Mike, I don't mind the germs, a little dirt or even the spit, it's jus those pesky chemicals they add to "help" us and the chemical polutants that leach into the water table that cause frogs to grow extra limbs and eyes that have me a tad bit worried.

 Quote: natalya zahn

My heart sinks a little every time I see one more new product on the market that makes it "effortless" to kill 99% of the germs on your apples and bananas, or your kids toys, or your kleenexs... these wipes and sprays prey on peoples fears and do nothing but weaken our natural defenses and STRENGTHEN the viruses and germs...

I am 100% with you and Mike on this.

As my wonderful MD says about those Clorox (and other) antibacterial products, "You might as well sprinkle antibiotics around your house."

There ARE wipes that are not antibiotics, and I do grab those when I see them. And I too use soap and water on my hands after handling raw poultry.

Killing 99% of germs leaves a free field for that other 1% -- unlimited and uncontested room, food, and ability to evolve (very quickly) into forms that are completely immune to those antibiotics.

Same thing as overprescribing antibiotic meds (like for viruses).

I agree Natalya, I too only use soap and water on my hands. Once and a while I will use an antibacterial cleaner on the counter or my "meat drawer" in the fridge when it starts lookin yucky.

I have never been to picky about my kids getting dirty. I remember more than once seeing my kids eating something with hands so dirty they left dark finger prints. But by that time, it was always partially ingested, so too late to worry. I used to tell myself, and others "God made dirt, dirt won't hurt" and if that was the worse thing they ate, they would be lucky.

When I was growing up I remember my grand mother would always leave the food out over night, and just reheat it before we ate it. Now that would be nearly child abuse! But ya know what, we never got sick. I still rarely get sick, even when my husband gets something.

Germaphobe I'm not.

 Quote: susan tuck

I agree Mike, I don't mind the germs, a little dirt or even the spit, it's jus those pesky chemicals they add to "help" us and the chemical polutants that leach into the water table that cause frogs to grow extra limbs and eyes that have me a tad bit worried.

It's not just frogs , unhealthy plastic and chemical components are permeating just about every living thing on the planet - even unborn children:
http://archive.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php

We're only just discovering the immense biological impact of our industries, and we still have little idea what it will all actually do to us over time... pretty scary!

Sorry to get off topic... back to dogs...

~Natalya