How many times have you been tempted to throw a piece of raw meat down to your dog as you are preparing a meal? If you are like many dog owners, you’ve had this thought a time or two. Sometimes, you might do it and other times, you may think twice and stop yourself. To relieve your stress, we thought we would share the pros and cons of feeding raw meat to your dog.
The Pros and Cons of Raw Meat for Dogs
Pros of Raw Meat
- Health of Your Dog – One of the best things about a raw meat diet is the fact your dog’s health will be so much better. Your dog’s coat will by shinier. Plus, your dog will have stronger bones and muscles.
- Easy to Know What Your Dog is Eating – When you choose to feed your dog raw meat, you know exactly what your dog is eating. This is much different than pouring a bowl of dog food, where you may have no idea what all the ingredients truly are.
- Smaller Stools – Dogs that are fed a raw meat diet have smaller stools. This can be helpful, because it prevents a dog from straining when they go to the bathroom.
- Healthier Weight – Dogs who eat raw meat are not filling up on preservatives. This means your dog will not be overweight. Instead, they will weigh what they should.
Cons of Raw Meat
- Potential Gastrointestinal Inflammation and Infection – Unfortunately, raw meat can lead to gastrointestinal inflammation in some dogs. There is also a chance your dog could end up with an intestinal infection.
- Other Infections – The bacteria and parasites found in raw meat can cause other infections in your dog.
- Potential for Diarrhea and Bowel Obstructions – While smaller stool is noted in many dogs who follow a raw meat diet, there is a chance your dog could end up with diarrhea. This is often the case when there is bacteria in the meat. On the other hand, your dog might have a bowel obstruction if their stool is too hard to pass through the intestines.
- Potential Health Issues – Depending on what else you feed your dog in addition to raw meat, you may find your dog is not getting all the nutrients they need. A nutrient deficiency can lead to many potential health issues in the future.
As you can see, there are many pros and cons for a raw meat diet for dogs. We recommend checking with your vet to make sure this is the best diet for your dog. This will allow your vet, and you, to keep track of your dog’s health if you do start this diet. You can both look for changes, both positive and negative, and determine if you should continue to feed your dog raw meat.
We know you want what is best for your dog, so don’t leave raw meat off the table. Instead, keep doing your research and listen to your dog if you choose to feed them raw meat. They will let you know if something is wrong.
