The B.A.R.F. Diet - Can Your Dog Stomach The Raw Dog Food Diet?
By Jeremy Kilar

A common concern pet owners have with feeding their dogs raw dog food is whether or not they will get parasites, and if bacteria is a concern. It\'s certainly a fair concern to have and I certainly don\'t want feed my dog food laden with bacteria or parasites, and I certainly don\'t want to tell other well intentioned people to do so if it truly is the case.

A study on 25 commercial raw diets for dogs and cats detected Salmonella in 20% and Escherichia coli in 64% of the diets. However, the E. coli strain that can cause severe illness H157:O7 was not tested for. Raw feeders, however, believe that the risk of bacterial infection can be greatly reduced with safe handling and trusted meat sources that offer fresh and organic meats. Statistically speaking, human quality, raw foods that are properly handled and stored are generally be considered to be safe. If this were true, millions of pets consuming raw foods on a daily basis across the globe would not be alive and barking today, but they are! However, it\'s fair to acknowledge that there is always potential for any type of food, whether it be cooked or raw, to to contain bacteria. Bacteria exist everywhere, including in processed dry or canned pet foods.

While taking proper precaution to reduce the risks off bacteria and parasites is indeed the right thing to do for a raw feeder, one should note that most dogs are infested with parasites at some point or other in their lives. It is a natural occurrence within the span of a dog\'s life. Many pet owners believe that if a dog is unobserved with parasites in his stool, then he must be in a disease condition. This is not necessarily the case. Some dogs are born with parasites and others acquire them later in life. After they recover, the dogs develop a certain amount of immunity. This helps to keep the worms in check throughout their lifetimes without having to rely upon chemical medicines to do so. Just remember, everything living on you, or in you, that takes its food from you fits the definition of a parasite. Whether it is the size a long worm or microscopic in size, if it feeds off of you then it is a parasite. That means whether you feed your dog commercial kibble or a raw diet, your dog probably has one sort of parasite or another. It seems to me the concern about parasites is more of a knee jerk fear reaction about mentally accepting the idea of feeding your dog raw dog food than with any thing that proper food handling techniques will prevent.

Furthermore, most of the commercially available raw food items are frozen and are intended to remain so until shortly before feeding and many raw diet recipes call for freezing of the final product, which almost entirely reduces the potential for parasites. According to European Union regulations, freezing fish at -20°C (-4°F) for 24 hours kills parasites. The FDA recommends freezing at -35°C (-31°F) for 15 hours, or at -20°C (-4°F) for 7 days.

So, while the concern of parasite and bacteria is indeed a valid one that people exploring on a raw dog food diet plan for their dogs should be educated about, I see no reason why one can\'t follow these few simple handling and preparation techniques to make the diet safe for her dog. The overall health benefits greatly outweigh the risk of bacterial or parasitic infection when I know that through these few simple precautions that I can serve my dog food that will increase his lifespan and overall health. One of the few studies on raw food diets on animal was conducted over a period of 10 years (1932 to 1942...well before the fad!) by Francis M. Pottenger, Jr.\'s study of 900 cats . His results showed that the cats fed a raw food diet were disease free and healthy. Those cats who were fed the same food cooked developed degenerative diseases. After a few generations, many cats lost their reproductive capabilities (!!!) while some were born blind and weak and had much shorter lifespans.

I think the choice is clear based on this study, at least in my mind it is. I want my dog with me, healthy and happy, for as many years as possible so I can truly call him OLD Faithful.

Click here for my raw dog food blog. I am exploring this diet with my dog since I have also become a raw food eater and have experienced benefits well beyond my expectations. I want the same for my best friend and hope you do too.

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