Raw meat and dogs?

Question

I have mixing about half a cup of red meat and chicken into my dogs hard food the dogs are a 18 year old toy fox terrier a 2 year old great dane and a 3 year old pitbull is this bad I have been doing it for a year and 2 months

They are becoming food aggressive around me and themselves

They are starting to focus on aggression and I think its the meat that making them do this

Answer 1

The only issue I can see with it is that raw meat and kibble digest at different rates. I feed raw and kibble but don't mix the two as I don't want the longer digestion period of kibble to hold the raw meat in the digestive tract (thus allowing it to grow bacteria).

Generally the thought is to allow 10-12 hours after a kibble meal before you feed any raw.

Edit: The raw meat will not cause nor stop aggression. You have 2 dogs who are just now reaching maturity. If you've already made up your mind not to feed raw ... why are you asking here?

Answer 2

I feed all my dogs raw meat, and none of them are aggressive because of it.

First, any older dog is going to have problems if itis smaller and around 2 bigger dogs. The younger bigger dogs will try to take food away (this is a dominance issue, not an aggression issue.) Many dogs have problems eating around other dogs. I suggest you separate the dogs during feeding time. This will solve your problems.

I would also feed the raw meat at a different time from the kibble. Kibble takes up to 14 hours to go through the digestive tract, but raw usually only takes 4. Feeding them together can cause all kinds of digestive issues. Increases the chance of having bacterial issues, etc.

Feeding raw is best for your dogs, but you might want to research more, if that is what you want to do.

I recommend these sites:

www.rawmeatybones.com
www.rawfed.com/myths
www.rawlearning.com
www.rawfeddogs.net


And there is a yahoo group who will help you get started rawfeeding a prey model diet:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/


Or, if you want to feed kibble, try this one:

http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp

The paragraphs below are from the Evo site:

If you like the idea of feeding raw pet food, but prefer a gently cooked food that provides benefits that match raw, frozen or home prepared high-meat pet diets, EVO® Pet Food is the answer.

EVO is the first grain-free ancestral diet that provides the benefits of modern nutrition in a safe, convenient and cost-effective natural food. Use EVO alone or as a supplement to your raw or home cooked pet food for a complete and balanced natural feeding.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Raw meat is OK and I doubt that it has anything to do with the aggression. Separate the dogs at feed time. the old dog could end up in serious trouble if a fight began, its not worth taking chances! Get some expert advice on dealing with food aggression.

Answer 4

The food aggression has nothing to do with the meat - it has to do with peer groups and pecking order. Your dogs need to be taught that you are alpha and you can take their food away from them whenever you want. If they are guarding their food then feed them separately or one at a time with boss dog first.

Raw meat alone is not adequate nutrition for your dogs. Your dogs need to eat bones and offal too. Part of the need for raw meaty bones is to prevent peridontal disease - ground meat and kibble won't do the job.

These links have some good information from a vet who has researched pet nutrition.

Answer 5

Raw meat is a dogs natural food. I take it you didn't go out and shoot it yourself. LOL Store bought meat has been drained of blood so don't go thinking your dogs will want the taste of it. I would watch for an attitude change while they eat. The Pit may be more protective of his food. As you said you've been feeding them like this for 14 months they would show signs of getting aggressive by now. I think it's fine.

Answer 6

Despite what some will tell you, raw meat is NOT bad for dogs - except pork which must be cooked because of the possibility of flukes. Dogs enzymes are very different from a persons and they cannot get e-coli from raw hamburger, they cannot get salmonella from raw chicken.

The aggression is not because of the meat itself. If your dogs are a problem at meal time, you might have to separate them or feed them in their crates.

My 3 get natural food, including raw meat - following the recipes in Dr. Pitcairn's book, and they're thriving on it.

Answer 7

Raw chicken? I surely hope not! I am not big on raw food for dogs, but..if you must feed them meat..cook it first..chicken and raw beef can attract so many nasty things. Causing infections of the bacterial kind..eww. But if you've been doing this for a year, why are you worried about it now? Feed them a better quality dog food maybe? Do you feel you need to compensate for missing ingredients in your dog food, or do ya just feel like it?



--If they are gettin aggressive I suggest you stop, or start feeding them seperately. No need to have your dogs kill each other over some meat....I know the wolf my husband owned got really aggressive over her food, and our great dane got tired of it and they attacked each other..needless to say..with the small dogs..the dane and pit bull would most likely win....It's not worth having the dogs hurt each other over....I would either stop or feed them seperately...

Answer 8

I have heard that feeding your dog raw food can take them back to their primary instincts, which is living to kill their prey. They can become aggressive and etc. Perhaps you can start slowly introducing cooked meat and vegetables. Recently, Oprah had an episode on dogs and holistic dog food and said raw meat was the best and in second came cooked meat, last was dry and wet dog food. Look into it more.
Dr. Marty Goldstein, author of The Nature of Animal Healing, is an expert on holistic pet medicine and the veterinarian caring for Oprah's dog Sophie, who is suffering from kidney failure. Based on Dr. Marty's advice, Oprah says she now feeds her dogs a mixed diet of chicken, beef, lamb, brown rice, potatoes and carrots.

Dr. Marty says most people feed their dogs diets that go against their animal nature. He says a dog that eats only dry food is like a person who eats nothing but carbs!

Dr. Marty says the best thing for a dog to eat is raw meat. Dr. Marty says his own dog, Danny, ate this diet and lived to be 19! "Danny lived on fresh cooked meat and brown rice and carrots, peas, lamb, potatoes. You know, real food. What did they eat in nature? They ate real food."

To get Dr. Marty's advice on what to feed your pet, visit www.drmarty.com.

Answer 9

I really wouldn't. Some people think its okay since that's how they would survive in the wild. But I'm looking at the bacteria that can build up on raw meat left out.

So, stick to the regular dog food. Give them cooked meat every now and again as a treat.

Answer 10

If they are healthy, then it's not a problem. Some people feed what is called a RAW/BARF diet.

There are sites that tell you about it.

Edit: Go to the sites. They talk about food aggression.