I used to feed my doggy poison. :D

[Beebs]

Alright then, thank you. If we have any problems, I may try to persuade my mom to convert to that, but as of now, my dog is absolutely fine. Thanks for the information; I will keep this in mind. :3

[Jazi]

She's not a dog, but I give my cat Saffron One Beyond with Evo when I can affored it and some bland pieces of whatever meat I'm eating that night. One Beyond isn't the BEST, but it's certainly not some of those other pretty terrible brands for cats (like Meow Mix @_@). Evo is from game meat; I personally think the venison and rabbit meat (formed into kibbles) is the one she likes the most so I order that. Evo makes both dry and wet, for cats and for dogs, and I always notice a significant drop in her weight (she's constantly struggling with being overweight on the One Beyond due to fillers, remains at a good healthy weight with same amount of Evo) as well as significantly less poo even though I'm feeding her the same amount. Instead of building fat, she's using the extra protein to pack on the muscles and make her coat shine.

Whenever the heat gets to be a little too much for her and she gets the runs, I buy her some wet Evo and mix it with rice, and that keeps her hydrated and her poops solid until the heat stroke passes. The higher meat content is really good for carnivores like cats and dogs, and even though Evo is expensive, it's definitely worth it when you can visibly see the difference between your previous "fine" and a very healthy-looking animal.

Another thing to look into for dogs is for anyone who hunts or knows hunters; if you can tag an extra deer and remain under your legal limit, do so and give the meat and bones to the dog. We had to do that for one of our GSDs that had developed pancreatitus and had too sensitive of a stomach for normal kibble, and while she was still unhealthy on the inside she had a bright shiny coat and bright inquisitive eyes, and she kept her weight on for quite a while. My parents don't hunt, but my mom's family does, and each of her siblings gave us extra deer meat for her and even shared the bones for her to lick the marrow out of.

[Beebs]

I met someone who fed their dogs only raw meat. o.e The dogs had an amazingly clean coat, and the owners said they "disposed their waste" in small amounts. I thought it was pretty neat at the time, but after reading this, you'd think it's not such a good idea for dogs. xP

[Darkest.Nation]

Just make sure that the dog doesn't actually eat the bone, guys. (; It causes internal bleeding and can be hard to pass through the body. That's how my teach lost her dog... he got into the garbage, ate turkey bones, and was put down/died.

[Bad Habit]

Just make sure that the dog doesn't actually eat the bone, guys. (; It causes internal bleeding and can be hard to pass through the body. That's how my teach lost her dog... he got into the garbage, ate turkey bones, and was put down/died.

Only cooked bones splinter. I know people who feed their dogs raw chicken, bone in, and the dogs are fine, because the bones pulverize while being chewed. And on large mammal bones, the pieces that come off are small and easily digested without causing any intestinal problems.

[Jazi]

Cooked bones splinter (and bird bones CAN because they're hollow, but don't always), which is why if you absolutely HAVE to cook it you have to watch the dogs whenever they're chewing at the bone. Splintered bones are like swallowing little needles, so I'm not surprised that happened :c

Depending on who you talk to, raw meat is either the worst thing or the best thing you can feed your animals. I have no interest in spreading salmonella to my own, so their meat is lightly cooked or frozen before they get it to get rid of the bacteria. Dogs and cats both also need some other materials in their food than pure meat, which is why people feed them bones and rice as well on occasion (and cats need a chemical called taurine or they'll become blind and die).

Less poop is a good sign, actually. The more your dog... deposits... in the back yard, the less your dog is actually getting out of it's food. Poo is quite simply materials that your body couldn't use. It's waste. The less poop that comes out of your dog, the more your dog is actually using the food, which is why they look so much healthier. :3

[Dakonic]

Agreed Ostwyn, I hope to start feeding raw some time but right now it's not viable with my budget. I do feed raw meaty beef knuckle bones about once a week. Cleans their teeth and has improved their coat and such. With raw bones you want to avoid weight bearing bones of large animals such as cows, which is why I feed knuckles. They're soft. The only issue with the raw weight bearing bones is that dogs can fracture their teeth. Some might do okay just eating the meat off, but dogs like my GSD mix do not know their limits and would try to break it.

So for now, Taste of The Wild, Salmon Oil, and Coconut oil. (Which god that stuff smells good.)

[tuna]

Woah...

[Bad Habit]

Woah...

? care to expand?

[Jackdaw Lord]

Dogs and cats both also need some other materials in their food than pure meat

This is absolutely untrue, and to be fair, it wounds me a bit to see false information so widely spread. At least when it comes to cats: domestic cats -- well, every member of the Felidae family -- are obligate carnivores, meaning that they only need to eat meat to survive and whilst Taurine is very important for a cat to thrive, this is an organic acid found... in ANIMAL TISSUE (so you see how it doesn't conflict with exclusive raw feeding). Which is why competent (resourceful) raw feeders know to add tissue and offal to their animals diets (raw skin, heart, liver, tripe, etc.)

I'm not as well versed on canine nutrition, so I can't shed much light on it.

As for the salmonella issue, I raw feed my two cats and have never had a problem with it. I also keep reptiles (as you do, correct?) and they are ( estimated of 92% snakes) passive carriers for the salmonella bacteria. In my opinion, you're more at risk from contracting the disease by handling a reptile than by feeding raw food to your pets.