Food Options
The digestive systems of dogs and cats are short, acidic, and handle bacteria well. This is why they are not susceptible to salmonella, parasites, or e-coli from tainted meat as humans are. Humans have very long digestive tracks which allow food to 'linger' for 24 hours or more, thus allowing more time for parasites to get into their bloodstreams. Some people add fulvic acids to their pet's raw food diet.
According to research, Fulvic neutralizes toxins and can eliminate food poisoning within minutes.. fulvic acid acts as a refiner and transporter of organic materials and cell nutrients. Fulvic acids enhance the permeability for digestive, circulatory, cell membranes. According to A. Szalay, fulvic acid has the ability to dramatically detoxify herbicides, pesticides, and other poisonsthat it interacts with – this includes many radioactive elements. This detoxification process may extend to animals and humans.
The food your animal eats should provide all of the nutritional components which are necessary for all organs and systems of a healthy body to perform in harmonious unison. A properly functioning body does an amazing job at preventing disease and healing itself, and to do this it requires the energies and nutrients of a well-balanced diet. In terms of finding the proper diet for our companions, this means learning to look beyond our own needs, opinions, and agendas to address the natural needs of the animals that we caretake.
In the wild, no one cooks for the coyote or wolf; no one brushes their teeth. Their foods are raw and unprocessed.
Processed foods and drugs have seriously depleted the natural vitality and immune systems of many pets. Whereas large amounts of red meat can cause cancer in humans, a lack of RAW red meat in an animal's diet can lead to serious health problems.Animals require the enzymes, amino acids and other nutrients in the raw meat in order to stay healthy. Many skin and coat problems are a direct result of a lack of raw animal fat in the diet - fat which humans often believe is bad for their pet. Animals need at least 30% raw fat, and their systems are not designed to handle cooked meat or cooked fat. Restaurant grease has become a major component of feed-grade animal fat over the last 15 years. Often held in 50-gallon drums for weeks or months in extreme temperatures, this grease is usually kelp outside with no regard for its safety or further use. The rancid grease is then picked up by fat blenders who mix the animal and vegetable fats together, stabilize them with powerful antioxidants to prevent further spoilage, and then sell the blended products to pet food companies. Rancid, heavily preserved fats are extremely difficult to digest and can lead to a host of animal health problems, including digestive upsets, diarrhea, gas, and bad breath. In the wild, a panther or jackal does not barbecue, grill or smoke its prey. It definitely does not walk to the local supermarket to buy dry food either. Yet most pet owners recoil at the thought of feeding raw meat to their dog or cat, concerned about bacteria or parasites. Dog and cat digestive systems have evolved over millions of years to consume a raw diet, and they can tolerate foods containing a wide range of naturally occurring bacteria. You've probably seen your dog enjoy eating something you consider disgusting and wondered why he doesn't get sick!
I have fed a commercial diet and raw diet to my dogs without any problem. My dogs THRIVE on raw food and SURVIVE on commercial food. Dogs are carnivores, before commercial food was introduced in the 1960's dogs ate more human grade food then than they do now and when they died it was prodominately because they were hit by a car - not cancer as we see so often today. I understand that canine nutrition is truly a matter of opinon and because l respect that not everyone can afford feeding a raw diet l researched the products and tested on my own dogs different brands of kibble and prefer feeding premium kibble like Solid Gold, Wellness, Innova, Candidae instead of Iams, Science Diet, Bil o Jack, Alpo, Pedigree etc .
At Least Do This Much
Avoid generic store brands. They use the poorest quality ingredients. Mix table scraps and greens with commercial food. Add raw eggs and raw organic meats several times a week. Cultured yogurt protects the stomach and digestive system from antibiotics found in most meat. Add a little to each meal. Avoid food with the fast-food smell of rancid fat and oil. Cheap, unsavory dry food has an unforgivable odor wafting from obviously oily bags. Always think variety.
http://rawfed.com/myths/vets.html
This site might assist you to understand how much nutritional training vets receive.