Sorry to keep this going off track but I just had to chime in, too. Same here with the soap and water and no antibiotics. As a matter of fact, I read where the actual brisk washing of the hands, even without soap, is what gets rid of most of the germs.

OK, back to dogs.

Those frogs are early warning signs or precursors, sort of like the canaries in the mineshafts......now back to your regularly scheduled topic.

it sure does.

I have been feeding raw for a while. I almost never even wash my hands, even after handling raw chicken. I just rinse, because for whatever reason, raw chicken makes my skin itch.

I never got sick until i started working as a preschool teacher. It wasn't the working with kids that started it-i have always worked with kids. We are required to wash hands like 10 times a day-and use hand sanitizer after anyone even sneezes.

I have been so sick this year-and our kids are always sick with something. Growing up-i never remember always having someone in my class sick-now several kids are out sick each week.


My dogs drink puddle water,eat deer poop, roll in decomposing rats, swim in questionable creek water, and eat raw meat-even wild game.

Zero Problems.

People are still trying to convince me that raw chicken specifically will make me and my dogs sick. I have to say that I will handle it, rinse off, and go eat my own food-and i really am not worried.
Maybe i am a little more careless that most other raw feeders, and i am not saying don't wash things-but personally, i don't, and i have been fine(till the hand sanitizing started......)

 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.

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.

Mike is absolutely right! My parents lived in Mexico on and off for 5 or 6 years. One of my mom's good friends down there (a Mexican elementary school teacher) said "Americans get sick so easily because they don't eat enough dirt"

which is her translation for what Mike said.

 Quote: cindy easton rhodes

Mike is absolutely right! My parents lived in Mexico on and off for 5 or 6 years. One of my mom's good friends down there (a Mexican elementary school teacher) said "Americans get sick so easily because they don't eat enough dirt"

which is her translation for what Mike said.

LOL! That is SO funny! and true. When I go visit family in Mexico, usually I get sick when I come back. The way a lot of food is processed in the US, is plain un-healthy. Pet or Human. Gotta have some fresh dirt now and then.

 Quote: sue lessner

my vet is good with raw diet,when we began there i asked alot about raw,he said if you are worried about bacteria freeze it for a few days,and he said it was important to give distilled or boil your water.the gal in the office is also a raw feeder

Did your veterinarian say why he thought it was important to give distilled or boiled water to your dog?

i didnt ask him ,but we are going next week for an ear check,i will ask then.i suppose it because of the chlorine and chemicals in water,i will ask him why,i know he lives in the country and i bet has well water,but he knows i am in town.will get back on that

On the rare occasions that I've taken Lear to the vet, I have mentioned that he's on raw. They don't like to hear it, so I don't like to say it and didn't bother once. But Amber has completely convinced me by her posts to mention it intentionally. I started seeing it as my responsibility as a raw feeder to spread the word to vets.

It doesn't matter what retort they hand us or what reaction they have. I'll say something like "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know 1 + 1 = 2 and you don't have to be a vet to know dogs + raw meats/bones = natural". And depending on the vet's attitude from the get go, I might even add "DUH!" at the end

I can remember being so paranoid as a new mother worrying about germs and bacteria - especially coming into contact with bottles and feeding spoons, dishes, etc. I faithfully followed every word in Dr. Spock's book (28 years later I'm not sure why?!), and one sentence stood out then and it has served me well since:

"Germs and bacteria can't grow on a dry surface."

Consequently, everything gets a lick and a promise in my house after feeding and/or packaging meats, and I'm still here to tell you about it!

And what is it about green water that attracts so many dogs? I think mine would pass up a Heineken to get to some...

 Quote: sandy moore

On the rare occasions that I've taken Lear to the vet, I have mentioned that he's on raw. They don't like to hear it, so I don't like to say it and didn't bother once. But Amber has completely convinced me by her posts to mention it intentionally. I started seeing it as my responsibility as a raw feeder to spread the word to vets.

It doesn't matter what retort they hand us or what reaction they have. I'll say something like "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know 1 + 1 = 2 and you don't have to be a vet to know dogs + raw meats/bones = natural". And depending on the vet's attitude from the get go, I might even add "DUH!" at the end

You go, Sandy! And just think...twenty years from now when all the dogs in the world are being fed a raw diet as a matter of course, you can sit back and realize you helped spread the "movement". Heh-heh. Okay...maybe I'm being a litte *too* optimistic now.

But seriously, I've been considering becoming a distributor of the raw patties. It's been my experience that people are more willing to try those first when they're still a little nervous (because they are AFFCO certified and have the bones ground up). I actually started with the patties myself, and now I'm raising rabbits for the dogs!

After they see the results from those, then their interest grows in the raw diet and their wallet usually demands that they learn how to do it themselves. And I'll be available with resources to help them.

And like I said, I think vets are more willing to hear about those for the same reasons (ground bones, assurance of a balanced nutrition, etc.).

I don't mind taking baby steps if it gets the job done. It's a start, anyway.