Very good post, Tobi. I agree with what you have written, 100% (or 200% - but that's not possible logically - haha!)
Our dog, Forgy, joined us after three months in a dog refuge. We immediately noticed on his arrival that he had extremely irritated paws, which he would chew until they were red. He would whine sometimes out of frustration at the irritation in his paws. He also had very dark coloured hair where he used to lick and bite himself - which the vet said was caused by poor quality dry dog food (called "kibble" in the USA/Canada).
We experimented with different foods and eventually found out that he had an allergy to yeast. I then decided to cook him his own food myself, using human-grade beef (minced in a machine) mixed with a range of vegetables and a small amount of chopped fruit. He also has fish sometimes, too. The irritation stopped and he has never looked back.
I didn't even consider raw meat, as I was worried about worms and worm eggs (almost invisible to the naked eye). So the meat is always thoroughly cooked.
He was on a very good canned vegan dog food (with all the necessary vitamins, enzymes and minerals added), but sadly that did not work for him, as it had a yeast source of vitamin B12 and this caused his allergy to return. So the cooked beef and vegetables menu is now a standard feature for him. I "batch cook" it and then freeze it, just as Tobi did when she had dogs.
Some dog people do swear by raw meat, but I don't like the idea for three reasons:
The serious risk of parasites (worms and - even worse - fluke);
The risk of bacteria being in the raw meat, even prior to purchase,
The need for an omnivore diet, not a meat-only one.
"Just my two cents", as the Americans love to say.....
Our dog, Forgy, joined us after three months in a dog refuge. We immediately noticed on his arrival that he had extremely irritated paws, which he would chew until they were red. He would whine sometimes out of frustration at the irritation in his paws. He also had very dark coloured hair where he used to lick and bite himself - which the vet said was caused by poor quality dry dog food (called "kibble" in the USA/Canada).
We experimented with different foods and eventually found out that he had an allergy to yeast. I then decided to cook him his own food myself, using human-grade beef (minced in a machine) mixed with a range of vegetables and a small amount of chopped fruit. He also has fish sometimes, too. The irritation stopped and he has never looked back.
I didn't even consider raw meat, as I was worried about worms and worm eggs (almost invisible to the naked eye). So the meat is always thoroughly cooked.
He was on a very good canned vegan dog food (with all the necessary vitamins, enzymes and minerals added), but sadly that did not work for him, as it had a yeast source of vitamin B12 and this caused his allergy to return. So the cooked beef and vegetables menu is now a standard feature for him. I "batch cook" it and then freeze it, just as Tobi did when she had dogs.
Some dog people do swear by raw meat, but I don't like the idea for three reasons:
The serious risk of parasites (worms and - even worse - fluke);
The risk of bacteria being in the raw meat, even prior to purchase,
The need for an omnivore diet, not a meat-only one.
"Just my two cents", as the Americans love to say.....
