# Raw food or kibble??



## wendychen (Jan 13, 2020)

Hello! my golden is almost 3 years old now and i’ve been wanting to put him on a raw diet but i’m unsure. what are your opinions and what do your dogs eat? i have been doing a lot of research on raw food and kibble but there’s pros and cons of both. at the moment, he eats nutrience subzero which has small little raw bits in it. i find it hard to find a good dog kibble. i obviously want something healthy for my dog so has anyone tried raw and seen results?? also i’m in canada and “big country raw” is a pretty well known raw food company. has anyone tried it or know anything??

unrelated ish: my dog has ear and skin infections somewhat frequently and i’ve found that blue buffalo made it the worse it has ever been but with other brands it’s just been moderate. so i want something that could relieve him of that if that makes sense


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## BigMack.dog (Feb 12, 2021)

Watch the documentary Pet Fooled. I feed my 11 month golden a home cooked diet based on Nature’s Farmacy recommendations. They can supply you with instructions and supplements.


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## Goldie_lover (Jan 3, 2021)

I use Dr Harvey's base mix with home cooked meat. I rotate meats and oils and add toppers like eggs, oily fish, nutritional yeast, turmeric, goat milk kefir, raw goat milk, organ meat, tripe, mussels, cottage cheese and plain yogurt. I usually buy whole animals like whole turkey, ducks etc whenever possible and cook in the instant pot. I also give him weekly raw bones like poultry necks and backs. 

We went from monthly ear infections and/or hot spots to never. 1X a day poop which is small, well-formed and low-odor v. 4X a day huge poops on kibble. No dental plaque. He had minor plaque build-up at the 1 year check up and it was gone after 3 months of raw bones. Very low shedding to the point where we joke about having the world's first non-shedding Golden. Super silky coat with no tangles or mats and we brush him maybe 1-2 times a month. Fresh breath. 

The thing that really sold us was the clearing up of his weird skin rash where he had small black spots all over ear and head. We saw 4 vets including 2 specialist dermatologists who all brushed it off. 2 weeks after our food change, poof, skin was super clear.

Dr Harvey's has a raw food mix which my friend loves! It's just the base mix with greens, supplements, bone broth powder etc. You simply add the raw meat to it. I really don't want to start a controversy here, but after my personal experience, I will never go back to kibble. It will be a combo of home cooked and raw.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Talk this over with your vet.


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## Berna (Jun 14, 2016)

Raw all the way.
I started my, then 7 year old, on raw back in 2013. In March this year it will be exactly 8 years that he's on raw. 

I saw so many benefits, most of them are all over the internet, so I won't repeat myself. The best proof for me that it's working is that he is turning 15 in July and is a very healthy old pup (with some arthritis), but otherwise in great shape. 

I never looked back on kibble and all my future dogs will be raw fed since day 1 they come to my home. 

PS. I make my homemade raw, I don't care about premade raw. It's the same as kibble, you never know what you are feeding.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

There are many commercially made raw food diets. Here in the US, Primal, Stella and Chewys, and Bravo are popular brands. It's pricey to go this route but at least you know that there's a good chance the food is balanced and complete and handled safely. It's a good way to see if your dog does well on a raw diet, and to continue your education, before you decide if you want to try making a raw diet on your own.

You can also do a hybrid model by either doing raw for one meal and kibble for another, or by adding "real" food to a high quality kibble (e.g., meat, canned fish, steamed veggies, cottage cheese, eggs, etc.).


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