Food of the Wild
Most, if not all dog owners know that dogs evolved from wolves. So naturally, some of us may be curious as to whether it is okay to give our dog’s inner wolves some raw meat, similar to what their ancestors would normally eat in the wild. After all, i’m pretty sure at least a few of our readers at least looked it up once and have watched youtube videos of other people feeding their dogs raw meat - myself included.
Clarifications First!
Okay, I would just like to clarify a few things first before we get started. When I say raw meat, it refers to all different kinds of meat. Yes, this blog will be putting poultry and seafood meat under the list of raw meats because I would like to put in as much information into one blog as possible instead of scattering it out. Plus, i’m not sure what else I could put in without overlapping content from previous blogs haha.
The Main Question…
Can dogs eat raw meat?
According to Dr. RuthAnn Lobos (DVM), she says that dogs can eat raw meat but feeding your dog a diet of purely raw meat may not provide the balanced and complete nutrition your pooch needs to thrive because our dogs are in fact omnivorous!
Back on track. Why exactly are dogs able to digest raw meats? This is due to our pups having a lower stomach acid pH. How low exactly? Dogs have a stomach acid pH lower than 2. Humans have a stomach acid pH of 2 which helps explain why dogs can consume raw meats but we “can’t”. Having a pH below 2 allows for the acid to more effectively kill parasites and harmful bacteria found in the flesh of meat!
Be Cautious…
Although our pups may have a more acidic stomach than ours which can kill quite a bit more harmful bacteria than our own stomach acid, caution still must be exercised. Feeding your pup can not only pose a risk for them, but also to yourself and those around you! This is because raw meat is likely to contain harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and more. These bacteria can be contracted by handling the raw meat, letting your dog lick you, cleaning up the dog’s feces, or touching any contaminated surfaces. In other words, feeding uncooked meat increases the risk that you and your pup will develop a foodborne illness or a type of bacterial infection.
It is also worth noting that many therapy dog associations prohibit dogs that are eating raw meat from being part of their program due to the risks that the dogs may bring.
Benefits of Cooked Meat
Cooked meat is a safer alternative for your dog as it eliminates potential contamination. Properly cooked meat can make the food more digestible for your pup and for those reasons, can be great for senior dogs with weaker digestive systems! Not only that, easily digested food allows for the organism to better absorb and utilize the nutrients more effectively for producing energy, building muscles, and supporting the immune system! Even if your pup needs a high protein diet, you can still preserve much of the protein by gently (lightly) cooking the food using low temperature cooking along with the added bonus of elimination of potential contamination.
An Alternative…
Although it may sound as if I am trying to steer you away from giving your pup raw food, that is not the purpose here. In fact, I do give my dog, Juju, raw meat and she absolutely loves it! She would often eat all the raw bits first and leave the kibble left in her dog tray. So why do I sound so against raw meat consumption for dogs? To be honest, raw meat is great for dogs depending on the form it takes.
For Juju, I give her raw meat in the form of freeze-dried dog food. What is it you might ask? Freeze-dried dog food is essentially raw meat that has had all of its moisture sucked out through freezing temperatures and has underwent a multi-step drying process. This results in the raw meat becoming a bone-dry, shelf-stable product that can last for years and that can also be plumped back up by adding water!
More About Freeze-Dried Foods (Part I)
So if freeze-dried meat is basically raw meat in a different form, why am I so for freeze-dried meat? That is a great question! Even though both fall under the category of raw meat, a noticable difference between the two that makes freeze-dried meat a great option for pet owners who want to give their pup more “natural” foods but at the same time, want to better avoid the possibility of food contamination is that freeze-dried meats undergo high-pressure processing (HPP). HPP is a pasteurization process used to decrease quantities of harmful bacteria, making freeze-dried meats a safe bet for those who want to give their dog some raw meat. And don’t worry, the majority of the nutrients in freeze-dried foods still remain!
More About Freeze-Dried Foods (Part II)
Just as how there are pros, there are cons. Freeze-dried food is great. Juju is normally a very picky eater and barely eats any kibble but after we gave her the freeze-dried food, she began eating a lot more and she has never been more energetic! However, there are a few things to keep in mind about freeze-dried food. Sure, dogs love it but freeze-dried food is not raw meat in its natural state. That means that it will be more difficult for your dog to digest it in that form than its original. On top of that, it is very expensive. On average, freeze-dried pet food is about $33 per pound. Not only that, freeze-drying food alone, without a prior heating/cooking step, will not 100% eliminate microbial pathogens. For those reasons, veterinarians recommend against raw and freeze-dried animal tissue-based products unless the manufacturer can confirm the product is pathogen-free.
I hope this blog did not come across as too biased but I believe that when it comes to taking risks that could harm not only your pup but also you and those around you, it is important to better to be safe than sorry. I try to not make the blogs biased so that our readers can make the best decision for their own pooch as every dog is unique. For example for my dog, the pros outweigh the cons and I have never seen her so energetic before in years. In other words, it is up for the readers of this blog to make a decision by weighing the pros and the cons of each side. I hope that this blog proves to be helpful!
Citations:
[1] “Freeze-Dried Dog Food: The Pros and Cons.” Great Pet Care, 29 Nov. 2021, https://www.greatpetcare.com/dog-nutrition/freeze-dried-dog-food-the-pros-and-cons/.
[2] Kayla, and shoopes26. “Can Your Dog Eat Raw Beef?” The Simple Food Project, 22 June 2021, https://simplefoodproject.com/can-dogs-eat-raw-beef/#:~:text=Absolutely%2C%20dogs%20have%20forgiving%20digestive,real%2C%20whole%2C%20fresh%20food.