Raw feeding

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Raw food is the habit of feeding pet dogs, cats and other animals whose diets consist of raw meat, edible bones, and organs. The ingredients used to formulate a raw diet can vary. Some pet owners choose to make artificial raw food to feed their animals but commercial raw foods are also available.

The practice of feeding raw foods has caused some concern because of the risk of foodborne illness, zoonoses and nutritional imbalances. People who feed their dogs raw foods do so for many reasons, including but not limited to: culture, beliefs about health, nutrition and what is considered more natural for their pets. Feeding raw foods can be considered as allowing pets to keep in touch with their wild and carnivorous ancestors. The raw food movement has taken place along with the changing trends of human food for natural and organic products.

Video Raw feeding

Rationale

Feeding raw food for pets has been common since animal domestication, but has become more popular among pet owners in the United States in the 2000s, and can be attributed to an increase in the consumption of organic food in humans. Some owners who humanize their pets may feel more connections to their pets because they are more involved in the process of eating by preparing food. Many dog ​​owners choose to feed raw foods because they feel better fulfilling their dog's natural predator instincts. Feeding a diet that resembles what wolves do, the nearest ancestor of pet dogs, eating is a more "natural" method of eating. Supporters of the movement of raw food diets cite many health claims that are beneficial in feeding raw foods through commercial processed pet foods.

Maps Raw feeding

Health claim

Bone and dental health

Diet plays an important role in promoting good bone and good dental hygiene through maintaining the ratio of calcium to phosphorus. Up to 99% of calcium dogs and 85% of phosphorus are found in bones and teeth. The ideal ratio of calcium: the phosphorus in dogs is 1.4: 1. Maintaining optimal ratios allows for strict tight regulation of calcium metabolism, which is important for many normal physiological functions throughout the body.

Phosphorus is easily available in many food sources, however, phosphorus bound to phytate has a much lower bioavailability. Finding foods that provide adequate amounts of calcium to maintain a good ratio is challenging, as many foods that are high in calcium are also high in phosphorus. For this reason, creating a homemade raw diet with the right calcium: phosphorus may prove difficult, especially without the analytical techniques available to commercial food producers.

Incorporating bone in raw foods is generally done, as it is a good source of calcium and phosphorus. Eating raw bones can have some adverse effects on dog health if fed in whole form. All bone in the food increases the risk of tooth fracture, intestinal obstruction, gastroenteritis, and bowel perforation. Feeding the bone of the soil rather than the entire bone reduces the risk of this adverse effect.

Skin and coat health

Many raw diets focus on promoting healthy skin and mantle, especially through supplementation of essential fatty acids. Fatty acids play an important role in cell structure and function, while also increasing the palatability of the diet. Omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3) are essential for normal skin function and appearance. The skin's ability to produce long-chain fatty acids, such as linoleic acid (18: 2n-6) and linolenic acid (18: 2n-3) is limited. For this reason, these fatty acids are essential for skin health and many raw diets ensure they are properly equipped.

To improve skin and health coats, essential fatty acids are supplied beyond the requirements of the American Association of Feed Conservation Officers (AAFCO), which results in improved sheen feather and skin health. Omega-6 fatty acids, especially linoleic acid, play an important role in the function of the skin barrier. Omega-3 fatty acids also play an important role in skin health as they help reduce inflammation and may even protect against UV damage.

Fatty acids added to raw foods are often seen in various forms. Common sources of omega-6 fatty acids in raw foods often include flaxseed, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. All of these ingredients can be fed as whole seeds or as oil. The best source of omega-3 fatty acids is fish oil, which is usually found in most raw food formulations.

Availability of protein

When commercial pet food is made, ingredients in food are exposed to high temperatures, creating a risk of maillard reaction. Maillard reaction is problematic when this reaction occurs, reducing sugar binds to amino groups in amino acids, making amino acids unavailable to animals. Amino acids most affected by this reaction are lysine, which is the essential amino acid and first limiting amino acid for dogs and most other vertebrates. Lysine plays a major role in the body including in protein synthesis, as well as carnitine synthesis and mandatory oxidation. Thus, some forms of food processing can reduce the amount of essential nutrients available in dog food.

Due to the fact that the raw diet does not expose the meat to high temperatures, the likelihood of maillard reactions is greatly decreased. This means that the amino group of amino acids in the meat will be unbound and available naturally for the dog to use. However, the risk assumed by not cooking or processing meat is an increased chance of bacterial infection in pets or food handling owners.

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Type

There are differences of opinion in the raw feeding community. The problem includes whether the dog is an omnivore or a carnivore, does the dog need plant material in their diet and if so, in what quantity. The overall safety of bone use is also a frequent topic of discussion. Raw diet recipes can range from meat with a wide selection of vegetables and whole grains, while others are more minimalist, using only meat, bones, organ meats, and supplements as needed. An example of a minimalist approach to raw feeding is the Bone Meat diet recommended by Michelle T. Bernard. Critics of the raw diet include concerns with nutritional imbalances that may appear to feed all types of raw diets.

Raw meat-based diet

Raw meat-based diets (RMBDs) consist of raw materials derived from animal species fed to dogs in the home environment. Materials can include a variety of animal parts including muscles, organs and bones. RMBD can be commercially designed or self-prepared by the owner. Commercial RMBD is usually formulated to meet AAFCO nutritional requirements although some products are designed for supplementation and are not nutritionally balanced.

BARF

The BARF diet was originally defined as the Bones And Raw Foods but has since been turned into a Biologically Approved Raw Food. The original BARF diet was popularized by Dr. Ian Billinghurst, recommends eating 60% raw, chewy bones. The rest of the diet consists of a variety of foods including vegetables, grains and legumes.

Prey model diet

The "prey model" diet tries to create a diet that simulates the proportion of ingredients and nutrients seen in prey food. In the wild, predators get nutrients not only from meat and organs from the prey they eat. A wild animal will also get the nutrients from food previously consumed by their prey. This diet aims to simulate all the nutrients that wild animals will acquire.

The actual intact grave is used whenever possible, including whole rabbits, chicken, domestic poultry and turkey. Generally, the diet recommends 80% meat (including some 'fat' like heart organs), 10% bones and 10% organs (half are heart). Supporters of all models of prey diets believe that dogs and cats are natural carnivorous animals and have no nutritional needs other than what is found in meat, bones, and organs. Proponents of prey models also focus on feeding meat from a variety of foods. animals. Some also add a small amount of vegetables to simulate the consumption of the animal's prey.

Supplements are generally not used in prey model diets although some followers add fish oil to the diet to compensate for the reduced amount of omega-3 fatty acids in commercially-fed grains. This problem can be partially reduced by using grass. bone meat, which has more than doubled the omega-3 content as grain-fed meat.

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Get started

At home

At home preparing a raw food diet requires the use of healthy ingredients that can be easily accessed by the owner. The main criticism of a homemade raw diet is that they are often formulated on the basis of opinion rather than scientific research. Preparing raw foods can be time consuming and requires handling raw meat.

Examples of homemade diet theory include: BARF, Ultimate Diet and Diet Volhard. The ingredients included should mimic the diet that animals will eat in nature such as meat, bones, vegetables, and meat. Supplementation of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and probiotics is often incorporated to provide the complete animal. diet or offer various benefits to animals.

In most homemade dog diets, a variety of ingredients include that may include:

• Fresh raw meat (mostly lean meats with the exception of pork for some dogs, beef is the most commonly used)
• Vegetables such as: pumpkin, squash, green vegetables, carrots, parsley, etc...
• Offalines like heart
• Fruits like: apples, cranberries, blueberries, etc...
• Stock, soup, milk or water to add moisture
• Some cereal foods like: barley, flax, etc...
• Some supplements
• For dogs: bones that are not cooked in food or allow animals to play with raw bones as food

Pet owners are advised to remember that homemade diets can be difficult to balance well and can be associated with poor nutrition. Proper research and understanding of what nutrients are offered by homemade diets is very important. It is also important to recognize the nutritional needs of animals, which can alter certain factors such as life stages, breeding and overall health.

Commercial

After the 2007 Pet Food Recall, interest in homemade pet food (both cooked and raw) grew rapidly. As a result, some pet food manufacturers now offer frozen raw diet products to pet owners. The commercial raw animal food market is estimated to be worth $ 169 million a year, less than 1% of North America's total pet food sales ($ 18 billion). Growth is estimated at 23% per year

Many consumers prefer a raw commercial diet compared to homemade raw foods because of their ease. Most commercial diets are formulated to meet the requirements of AAFCO Dog or Cat Nutrition Profile. Diet is formulated in order to meet the value required for different stages of life whether it is grooming, growth, pregnancy or adult lactation. Some crude products are intended to be used as an additional food just because they are not fully nutritious or balanced. Raw commercial diets are usually packaged before and can be fresh, frozen or freeze dried. Commercial raw diets are easy to handle, including feeding instructions and allowing the owner to avoid touching raw meat. Most, but not all, commercial raw diets cover all the essential nutrients needed by animals.

Many commercially sold raw foods are processed by High Pressure Pasteurization (HPP). HPP sterilizes food from pathogenic bacteria and extends the shelf life of the product. During the HPP, food is placed in a space filled with water and strong pressure is applied. High pressure pasteurization is a USDA approved food processing technique. Although this method helps kill most of the bacteria, HPP can not destroy all pathogens.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released documents that provide guidance for the raw animal food industry on preparation, labeling, storage and transportation.

Supplements

When feeding raw foods, considering adding supplements to animal diets may be very beneficial. Supplements help provide high quality, complete and optimal food. Supplements can also be beneficial in improving animal health, especially when the animal has certain health problems. Some raw dog diets have been found to be low. in the following nutrients such as vitamin E, zinc and iodine, then why supplementation can be beneficial. There are various supplements that can be given to and animals and getting opinions from a vet or animal nutritionist can help.

Examples of vitamin supplements:

• Vitamin E is an antioxidant that is not present in raw meat. It is obtained from plants. Provision of Vitamin E supplements can be beneficial for dogs as it is theorized to reduce inflammation and help the aging of dogs with brain cognition.

Examples of fatty acid supplements:

• The help of fish oil supplements achieves the ratios required for omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory and therefore help improve mantle relief, reduce intestinal inflammation and more.

Examples of mineral supplements:

• Zinc is essential for maintenance and supplements may be required in some raw diets
• Kelp supplements are given to improve the iodine that animals get. Iodine is very important in the production of thyroid hormone.

Examples of probiotic supplements:

• FortiFlora is a commercially available supplement that helps in alleviating gastrointestinal problems in addition to supporting immune health.

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Nutritional balance

The nutritional balance of the raw diet can vary greatly depending on diet formulation. Some supporters of the raw diet prefer to use a variety of ingredients to provide a more balanced diet than a single food source. It is possible to meet all the nutritional requirements that feed raw foods, but it is important to know what ingredients are included in the diet and how they all contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of the dog.

The following table provides a list of potential ingredients that can help contribute to a balanced diet and ensure that the dog's nutritional requirements are met:

Disadvantages

According to a study of homemade raw diets, very few owners who follow the recipe, therefore, result in a risk of nutritional imbalance.

In the case of vitamins, the presence of avidin in raw eggs can bind biotin and make it unavailable for absorption that can cause deficiency. Raw fish has high levels of thiaminase activity that can destroy thiamine and cause deficiency. Liver, often used in raw foods, is rich in vitamin A. High amounts of liver can cause vitamin A toxicity, called hypervitaminosis A.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) provides standards that guide many commercial pet food companies. This level of supervision does not occur with homemade food and this can affect them for various deficiencies and imbalances. One study analyzed the nutritional content of three homemade diets (BARF, Ultimate and Volhard) and two commercial raw food diets (Steve's Real Food and Sojourner Farms) and compared them with the AAFCO standard, showing an imbalance of nutrients in homemade diets. Three of these foods have an inadequate calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, which can lead to hyperparathyroidism and fibrous osteodystrophy in puppies. In addition, homemade diets proved to have vitamin D deficiency, important for bone health by facilitating calcium absorption in the intestine, which contributes to bone storage, and vitamin E, which improves overall immune function by reducing oxidative stress. Oxidative stress occurs when the formation of free radicals, which is a natural process, excess body's ability to destroy them, resulting in cell damage and inflammation. Antioxidants increase the process of destruction by scavenging free radicals. Many macro-minerals are also deficient such as, Zinc, Potassium and Sodium in a homemade puppy diet. Another study analyzed 95 homogeneous BARF diets and found that 60% of these diets had an imbalance in one, or a combination of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, iodine, zinc, copper, and vitamin A.

Another problem with raw diets is the absence of carbohydrate sources, because of a common misconception that dogs can not digest starches. According to a paper published in Nature, the dog has gained the ability to digest starch and it can be used as an energy source available. Furthermore, the inclusion of food fiber sources is important for digestive health and the quality of dog feces. The fermented enough fibers will form a gel in water and have a lower transit time in the intestine, which will give the microbiota more time to ferment the fibers into short chain fatty acids, which are used by enterocytes as energy. The net result of this will be a healthy villi that will maximize absorption.

Some advocates of the raw diet recommend consulting with a veterinarian or animal nutritionist to verify that proper nutrition is ingested, others ignoring the importance of AAFCO standards, claiming that AAFCO certification does not indicate dietary quality. Websites such as cronometer.com can be used to balance food intake appropriately for recommended benefits.

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Food safety

While the great heat used in making pet food or cooking meat destroys potential bacteria, raw meat may contain unsafe bacteria for dogs and cats. The United States government reported that in 2006, 16.3% of all chickens were contaminated with Salmonella . A study of 25 commercial raw diets for dogs and cats detected salmonella at 20% and Escherichia coli in 64% of the diet. However, E. coli strains that can cause severe illness O157: H7 were not tested. Examples of severity E. coli H157: O7 infections can be seen in greyhounded dogs affected by eating raw meat as part of their diet. Known in the bulldog as "rotten Alabama", the disease causes severe vasculitis, skin necrosis, kidney failure and death. The contributing factor may be that bulldog racing is usually fed raw meat classified as "not for human consumption", which may contain higher than normal levels of bacteria.

Another study conducted to assess the risk of dog feed analyzed 240 samples from a diet of raw dog meat, commercial dried dog food or commercial canned foods. Salmonella enterica is found in almost 6% of the raw diet, while Escherichia coli is found in almost 50% of the raw diet. E.coli is also found in commercial dried and wet dog foods, but in smaller quantities. This study determined that bacterial contamination was more common in raw meat foods than dried or commercial canned foods.

Supporters of raw foods, such as Dr. Richard S Patton, reported that the stomach enzymes and short intestinal tract of dogs and cats allow them to deal with harmful bacteria. There have been reported cases where two cats eating raw foods develop salmonellosis and die as a result. Most dogs carrying salmonella are asymptomatic. A veterinarian from the National Animal Poison Control Center recommends that diarrhea in animals that have raw feed attributes. detoxing can be caused by pathogens such as Salmonella , Ã, E. coli , Ã, Clostridium and Campylobacter . Proliferation of bacteria in meat can be reduced by following proper food safety practices such as liquefying meat in the refrigerator or by cooking raw meat, both of which reduce the risk of pathogens.

Raw meat also contains harmful parasites. Like bacteria, these parasites are destroyed during hot cooking or producing pet food. Some raw diet recipes require frozen meat before serving, which greatly reduces (but does not always eliminate) the remaining parasites. According to the former EU directive, freezing fish at -20 Â ° C (-4 Â ° F) for 24 hours kills the parasite. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends freezing at -35 Â ° C (-31 Â ° F) for 15 hours, or at -20 Â ° C (-4 Â ° F) for 7 days. The most common parasites in fish are roundworms from the Anisakidae family and fish tapeworms. While freezing pigs at -15Ã, Â ° C (5Ã, Â ° F) for 20 days will kill the Trichinella spiralis, trichinosis is uncommon in countries with an established meat examination program, trichinosis cases in humans. in the United States largely derived from the consumption of wild or half-cooked raw games. Trichinella species in the wild are resistant to freezing. In dogs and cats, trichinellosis symptoms include mild gastrointestinal distress (vomiting and diarrhea) and in rare cases, muscle pain and muscle stiffness.

Accredited zoo surveys around the world show an increased risk of parasites and diseases in vagrant-fed animals compared to commercial foods. However, the researchers suggest that what may be caused by an increase in opportunistic prey and infected prey can be a source of contamination.

Zoonotic Risk

Possible risks of eating raw are human infections caused by direct or indirect exposure to pathogenic bacteria in raw meat and animal waste. A small study investigated salmonella levels in the dirt of 10 dogs that ate raw food. It was found that 80% of the raw diet tested positive for Salmonella and 30% of stool samples from dogs fed raw foods containing salmonella. None of the control dogs fed commercial feed containing Salmonella . The authors of the study concluded that dogs with raw food diets may be a source of environmental pollution, although they warned about the generalization of their results due to the small number of dogs being studied.

While raw dog food can contain Salmonella, commercial dog food is also not free from bacteria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a general warning about commercial dry dog ​​food contamination and treats by Salmonella.

As a result of potential animal and human health risks, some agencies state that the risks inherent in raw food outweigh the recognized benefits. Despite such concerns, no known events from humans are infected with salmonella by cats and dogs fed on a raw diet. There are some cases of people experiencing salmonella contractions from domestic pets, but it has not been determined whether the raw food is linked to salmonella infection. The FDA recommends cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces in contact with raw meat, as well as washing your hands thoroughly, to reduce the risk of contact with harmful bacteria.

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Vet position

Veterinary Association Associations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association, the British Veterinary Association and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association have warned about the animal and public health risks that can arise from feeding raw meat to pets and have stated that there is no scientific evidence to support that benefit claimed. eat raw.

Veterinary associations often organize debates and panels to advance understanding of health and nutrition when feeding dogs. In 2016, the Congress of the Small Veterinary Veterinary Association of England, discussing the health implications and nutritional balance of raw feeding. The main idea that shifts from this panel is that raw feeding has the potential to cause health and nutrition imbalances when the owner does not adhere to the guidelines so that the owner's education is very important.

Now there are a large number of animal surgeons who advocate foods that fit the species including eating dogs and raw cats. The Raw Feeding Veterinary Society (RFVS) was established in the UK in 2014 and hosts conferences and discussions on raw eating and related issues for Veterinary Surgeons and Nurses.

See also

• Dog smell
• Paleolithic diet
• Raw food

References

Source of the article : Wikipedia