can dogs eat raw meat? There are many opinions about whether it is advisable to feed a dog with raw meat or not if it can be a problem for your health or even if it can affect your behavior.
From SoyUnPerro we will clarify the benefits of raw meat for dogs and what are the possible disadvantages so that it is you who values how to feed your dog.
Index
- 1 Dogs are animals carnivorous?
- 2 Is raw meat bad for a dog?
- 3 What kind of meat can a dog eat?
- 3.1 Recommended care
- 4 Dangers of feeding a dog with raw meat
- 5 Benefits of feeding a dog with fresh meat
- 6 Where to buy meat for my dog?
- 7 Can I cook the meat a little before giving it to my dog?
Dogs are animals, carnivores?
A dog’s digestive system is fully adapted to the intake of raw, unprocessed food. Your intestinal system has not developed to feed on vegetables, but meat.
On the other hand, the teeth of dogs are totally carnivorous, without molars and prepared to catch and tear meat with sharp carnivorous teeth.
So no doubt, the dog is a totally carnivorous animal, which over the years has gradually adapted to the prefabricated food known as feed / balanced / croquettes.
However, this adaptation does not mean that it has become omnivorous, much less.
Is raw meat bad for a dog?
Not at all. Your digestive system is designed to eat meat, from beginning to end. So feeding it with fresh products is synonymous with feeding it with quality products.
Raw meat is used in all existing Barf diet recipes, and if it is suppressed it is substituted for raw fish. It is a source of essential protein of the highest quality.
However, meat must be of quality, must be meat intended for human consumption. The meat we eat goes through many analyzes that force it to have high quality. Do not feed your dog meat in poor condition or unhealthy.
What kind of meat can a dog eat?
Dogs can eat virtually all types of uncooked meat, obviously including chicken meat, veal, foal, lamb, etc …
According to European laws, an animal cannot eat the meat of the same species, to avoid what happened to the well-known “crazy cows”. Therefore, a dog should not eat dog meat.
Recommended care
If our dog is accustomed to feeding with prefabricated food, known as croquettes, balanced or feed, we must be careful when introducing a food based on raw food.
You have to chop the meat and balance its proportion in fat, we can even chop it. If we use raw bones they must be fleshy and adapted to the size of the dog.
To avoid some types of parasites, some people freeze the meat for several days. A technique that is even recommended, remembering to defrost the meat completely before serving it to the dog (it must be at room temperature).
Dangers of feeding a dog with raw meat
In reality, they are not dangers derived from a diet based on raw meat, but the dangers present in every action of eating untreated products.
Parasites are the main danger when it comes to giving our dog raw meat to eat, and although most meats for human consumption are totally free of parasites, there is always the risk (freezing is a great option).
Choking is another danger that is necessary, if we give our dog too large pieces of meat, he may be anxious and try to eat them too quickly … it is highly recommended to chop or even chop the meat, depending on the size of our dog.
And no, our dog will not become more aggressive by eating raw meat. Nor will he try to attack us or devour us, they are only urban legends without any scientific basis.
Benefits of feeding a dog with fresh meat
Fresh meat contains essential proteins and amino acids of very high quality, which can never be equipped with those contained in prefabricated food. This is a great benefit to your health.
Dogs fed with fresh meat and natural products show many benefits compared to those fed with prefabricated food, even if it is of the highest quality.
The most notorious benefits are:
- Decrease your anxiety for food, learn to enjoy it
- Stop eating feces and food on walks (usually)
- It is more calm, balanced
- It improves the condition of your skin and hair
- Your stools are much smaller and smell less
- His health improves a lot, his defenses are stronger
Where to buy meat for my dog?
We insist on the need to feed our dog with fresh but quality meat, which is intended for human consumption. Therefore, we can buy meat in any market, hypermarket, butcher shop …
We can even ask the shopkeeper that we want meat for our dog and he will advise us with the most economical, or with seasonal meat. Remember, the idea is to buy and freeze to avoid parasites, so we must be predictive.
If for reasons as every day as lack of time for work or studies, lack of means to prepare fresh food for our dog or whatever reason … we can always buy packaged meat, in dehydrated format, especially for dogs.
Can I cook the meat a little before giving it to my dog?
How can, obviously you can although it is not the most recommended. If we decide to cook the meat beforehand, we must do it grilled or steamed (cooked). In no case should we use dressings, spices, salt, or the like?
Never, under any circumstances should we cook the bones. If the meat contains bones, we must separate them previously. Since cooked bones splinter very easily and do not digest well.
Cook or not the meat, we must always serve it at room temperature, neither hot nor cold.
