Why Did People Start Feeding Dogs Raw Meat in the First Place?
Throughout most of our shared history, dogs have essentially eaten our scraps.
This is still the case today to an extent. Compare the ingredients list on a bag of dog food to those on a frozen dinner — they are made of the same stuff, more or less.
Ancient people would toss literal scraps and unwanted portions of cooked meat and vegetable matter to the dogs lurking around the fire.
When commercial dog foods became widespread, most people embraced the convenience and often superior nutrition they provided. By the middle of the 20th century, commercial dog food became the mainstream diet for dogs.
But, in 2001, a veterinarian by the name of Ian Billinghurst published a book called “The Barf Diet.”
Before you get the wrong idea, the book is not referring to, you know, actual barf (although our dogs would probably love it – we’ve all seen our precious pup yak something up and re-eat it before we could clean it up).
BARF is an acronym that stands for:
Some contend that it stands for Bones and Raw Food, but the idea is generally the same.
The book purportedly embraces “evolutionary principles” and seeks to mimic the diet of wild canines and felines. Many people fell in love with this idea and started feeding their dog things like raw chicken wings and meat-covered bones for dinner (often along with fruits and vegetables).
Many dogs love the taste of raw meat and tend to tolerate it well. But, as explained previously, raw meat is often contaminated with a variety of pathogens that can sicken your dog.
You could even wind up at the emergency room if you aren’t careful.
Why doesn’t my dog get sick from eating raw meat?
Ever notice how your dog poops right after eating?
This is because dogs have short digestive tracts that quickly push the food and bacteria through their systems before any bacteria has time to colonize. Dogs also have highly acidic stomachs to prevent bacteria from colonizing.
All of the above are reasons why dogs can usually drink standing puddles of water or eat animal remains with few consequences. (Usually.)
Signs of a Health Problem if Your Dog Ate Raw Meat
If your dog eats raw meat off the counter, he or she may experience some symptoms of illness.
These include:
If your dog ate raw meat, you should spend the next 24 hours watching out for signs of illness and consider taking them to the vet if they do not improve.
Your vet may recommend a blood test to check for toxins in the blood and an X-ray to make sure there are no broken bones caused by vomiting or diarrhea.
If there are raw bones in the food that your dog ate, they are often harmless (but be sure to keep a close eye).
Cooked bones, on the other hand, can be dangerous since they shatter easily and can be swallowed by the dog.
These can then be stuck in their digestive tracts and cause damage.
This is What Happens When You Feed RAW Food to Dogs!!!
One of the most popular raw food diets for pets is called Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, or BARF for short. Created in the 1990s, BARF mimics the diet of a wild animal with meat, bones, vegetables and other raw foods. The diet claims to bring dogs back to their non-domesticated way of feeding and boasts benefits like growth, better health and longevity.
But is the diet for dogs? Can your furry friend maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating raw meat? Here’s what you need to know.
According to Soma Technology, animals, particularly wild ones, have a stronger stomach acid,helping them digest food and kill off parasites and bacteria found in raw meat. Before dogs were domesticated, their diet contained raw meat like most animals.