Raw Meat Diet for Pets – What’s all the Fuss?

It’s not often that you come across such intense debate as over a pet diet.

In our own health environments we often weigh up the benefits of traditional medicine with natural remedies, and we generally all agree to disagree and move on. But not when it comes to debating raw meat diet for pets, the knives come out.

Some time ago we were bestowing the raw diet benefits on a friend who then innocently brought up the discussion with his cat’s vet. Well, the tirade that ensued left him visibly shaken. We chuckle about it now.

For years we fed our dogs a kibble diet. The ongoing science development we were told gave us complete meals and everything the dog needed. It made life easy; I still remember in the past having to supplement our puppy’s meals with milk – no more of that, and our dogs were happy and healthy. Why did we switch to a raw meat diet?

We were encouraged to test it out by the breeder of our new Jack Russell puppy over a year ago. The logic made sense, it is biologically appropriate and 100% natural. Sure over time dogs have evolved and been bred to digest alternative diets, but the fact remains going back to their roots can’t be a negative. And certainly, quality ingredients from a registered supplier is essential; here product registration is required from the Department of Agriculture, the same regulatory body we rely on for the fresh and raw food we purchase for our own diets. Taking a bit of care where you source the raw dog food to ensure quality is not onerous, likewise the routine at home to store the food becomes easy.

Anyway, the Jack Russell happily became settled with the raw meat diet and we decided to transition our 2 year old beagle from her top of the range kibble diet. At the time Abby the beagle was very active (and still is) with daily lead runs and weekend hikes, and was a bit iffey with the kibbles but overall OK. Well the transition with the change in diet was remarkable; her weight reduced to the recommended size and her coat just glistened. Her demeanour also became less edgy. I know one shouldn’t talk about your own children, furry or otherwise, like this but she is really sleek, in fantastic shape, absolutely beautiful and very happy, when Stevie the JR isn’t annoying her. I have to admit though, she does eat now with a lot more gusto and generally has a polite burp as she settles back when finished

I can sense the hackles rising and the pro-science camp ready to bombard me with all the “risks”, apparent negatives and why science is better than nature. I could also fire back with why we believe a raw meat diet for our dogs to be best. I’m not going to get into that. We just know it works for us and, having previously been on the other side of the fence, would not choose to go back there. Yes, there is a responsibility to take care in sourcing product with quality natural ingredients, making sure the cold chain is maintained to keep the product frozen and getting into a routine at home. There is no scientist to do that for you, but there are a number of reputable suppliers that can be found online who deliver to your doorstep premium product that has been stored and transported safely and correctly. If you happen to live in Cape Town you need not go further than RoxBox.co.za