One of the most frequently asked questions between dog owners is, "What do you feed your dogs?" Well, after trying lots of the top "premium" dog foods out there, we've finally settled on a raw diet for the dogs in our home.
You're about to find out just a few of the reasons why we love feeding raw.
Dental Health: Feeding raw is one of the best things you can do for your dogs teeth.
Dogs floss and brush while they eat and all the ripping, tearing, and chewing associated with raw feeding really gets the job done! It's so much better than having to feed your dog, then having to remember to give them another product to help clean their teeth.
Helps with Allergies: Some dogs are naturally more prone to sensitive skin than others.
We found that feeding raw really reduces breakouts for our dogs that have sensitive skin.
Most dogs react to the "unnatural" stuff in processed dog food.
Since switching to raw, we've been very happy about the condition of our dog's coat and skin, They smell better: I had read that raw fed dogs have less "doggy odor" but didn't really believe it until after we had been feeding raw for about a month.
Our dogs really did smell much better.
Where before we had to give them a bath once a week to stem the strong "doggy" smell.
Our dogs can now go much longer without smelling like they need a bath.
And no it's not neglectful to bathe them less than once a week.
In fact one popular dog training site says that unless your dog is rolling around in mud or poo, once a month is enough.
That's about where we're at now, and even then, it's not like, "Ew, you stink.
You need a bath" like it was before.
We just get to the point that we feel it's time for a bath simply because of the time since their last bath, not really because they "need a bath.
" "Better" waste: Many dog foods claim to lessen the waste eliminated from a dog, but raw feeding has done this far better than any other dog food we've ever tried (and we've tried some pretty costly premium stuff).
Seriously, we have nearly 80+lb dogs with "piles" you can easily pick up with one hand (using a plastic bag of course).
Before where we used to have 4-5 landmine sized piles a day (at least).
Now all we have is 1 pile of a few non-squishy nuggets.
Then there's the smell.
The only thing better or as good as less waste is less smell accompanying that waste.
Seriously, having multiple dogs can get smelly very quickly.
So can having a litter.
You'll be amazed at a raw fed dog's waste.
I know, not the most pleasant conversational piece, but really, anyone who has dogs can appreciate waste with far less smell.
One of our friends said that was their decision maker to switch to raw.
They came by our house one day and there was "no smell.
" Another one of our friends was also surprised at the lack of smell when they came by our house for the first time.
They new we had more than one dog and were thinking that there would be quite a strong "dog" smell, but they were pleasantly surprised at how little dog smell there was on our property.
They Love It: Last, but not least, the dogs love it! How many times have you spent good money on dog food hoping it would be the one that makes your dog look great only to have your dog eat it for a few days, then lose interest? Every time I hear a dog owner talking about how picky their dog is with food, I think, "Try raw.
" Our dogs absolutely love it! It's true some dogs may have to get used to it when first switching over, but we didn't have that experience at all.
Believe it or not there are actually more reasons why we love feeding raw, but in order to really get a good idea of what it's like you really have to try it.
However, I highly suggest learning as much as possible about feeding raw before making the switch.