Should I Feed My Dog Raw Food?

Many of our customers supplement feeding Pro Pac or Earthborn Holistic to their dogs with raw food. But is it such a good idea? The fact is that there are many health risks associated with raw food, not least of which is salmonella contamination. This can cause illness to the person handling the food, and spread to other family members as well.
Unfortunately, any hint of criticism of raw food brings out a huge reaction from a fanatical, almost cult-like segment of dog owners who have a long list of reasons why raw is 'natural' and how their dog thrives on a raw food diet.

While it's also true that there is an element of politics in any 'official' statement about dog food (or any other product in an industry with huge profits), it's interesting to see what the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine in the US has recently said about raw food. In a new report they describe raw feeding as "dangerous", stating that it could pose a serious health risk to pet owners and their families.You can read the full report here:http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm373757.htm
If you've "heard" that raw food is good for your dog and are wondering whether you should use it or not there are a couple of things to bear in mind:

1. Petfood is a highly confusing, emotional and political subject - and seemingly deliberately kept that way by interests that stand to benefit from selling inferior (even harmful) ingredients for profits instead of pet health. For every ten people you ask about pet food you will get at least twelve different answers, but you need to ask yourself: "Do they really know what they are talking about?". At the end of the day you can only do your own research, which comes down to looking at ingredients in pet food and understanding what they actually are.
2. A quality dried food is simply the best, most economical and most convenient food for your dog. If it has only high quality ingredients and has been made in such a way as to preserve the nutritional value, then your dog is going to get everything it needs (and nothing it doesn't need) except of course water. Of course there is a vast range of dried foods (and probably the majority of them are not "only high quality ingredients") so it's important to choose wisely - based solely on the ingredients, not the claims, packaging and marketing of the producer.

Pro Pac and Earthborn Holistic are two of the highest quality foods available, with no fillers, by-products, artificial ingredients or allergy-causing foods such as beef or wheat. They also have the highest safety record of any food company in the world - not a single recall due to contamination in their 25-year history. They are the only major pet food company to achieve this.

Based on the facts, you can't do better than feed these foods to your dog. To order in New Zealand (and for more information) visit the exclusive New Zealand supplier, Petfood Direct, online at www.petfooddirect.co.nz