I have read many things on the Internet suggesting that I should feed my dog raw food. I know my dog’s wild cousins hunt their food, so they eat their food raw. Is it OK for me to feed my dog raw food? Is that better than feeding prepared dry or canned food?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stand united in their position (based on very robust data) that feeding raw food to dogs is potentially dangerous to both the dog and to you. The most recent study, conducted from 2011 through 2012, screened commercially available raw dog foods for bacteria that can cause illness. The raw dog food products were made from ground meat or sausage and frozen in tube-like packages. Nearly 25% of the raw food samples tested positive for harmful bacteria, includingSalmonella ssp. and Listeria monocytogenes. These bacteria can pose a health risk for the dogs who eat the raw food, as well as for the dog owners who handle the food while preparing it.

What kind of illness does Salmonella cause?

The CDC estimates that 1.2 million or more cases of food-borne salmonellosis occur in humans in the US annually. Approximately 400 people die each year from the disease. There is some uncertainty as to the total number of cases because milder cases may not be diagnosed.

Symptoms of salmonellosis in humans generally start 12 to 72 hours after exposure and include:

Fever

Diarrhea (often bloody)

Nausea

Vomiting

Stomach pain

Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and immunocompromised individuals (patients on chemotherapy, with HIV, etc.) are at greater risk for more severe symptoms. Dogs can actually carry Salmonella in their intestines without showing signs of illness, thus serving as a reservoir for ongoing exposure to the humans in the household. In dogs, the symptoms of salmonellosis include:

Vomiting

Diarrhea (often bloody)

Fever

Inappetance (not eating, or not eating enough)

Lethargy

What about illness from Listeria food contamination?

Listeriosis is a less well known food-borne illness than salmonellosis. Listeria monocytogenes is actually a leading cause of hospitalization and death from food contamination. While it is rarer than salmonellosis, over 90% of people with listeriosis end up in the hospital. In the US annually, the CDC estimates about 1,600 cases with about 260 deaths. In the European Union, the numbers are similar. One of the problems withListeria is that the bacterium is quite hardy, surviving in salty, acidic, and cold environments.

Listeriosis particularly targets newborns, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems. The L. monocytogenes bacterium can invade many tissues including the brain, the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord, the gastrointestinal tract, and the bloodstream. Symptoms depend on which tissues are affected. The time between exposure and illness is about 3 weeks, making it difficult to pinpoint the precise exposure event. Pregnant women may only experience non-specific flu-like symptoms, but their babies may be born prematurely or even stillborn. Newborns fare the worst with listeriosis as up to one-third will die despite aggressive treatment.

Dogs can carry L monocytogenes without showing any signs, making them a potentially dangerous reservoir.

Is there any way to protect myself and my family should I occasionally choose to offer raw food to my dog?

The best protection against salmonellosis and listeriosis is to avoid the bugs altogether by not feeding raw food to your dog. Be aware that by feeding raw dog food you can infect yourself and the other people in the household. That said, here are some ways in which you can protect yourself if you handle raw dog food:

Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water after handling raw dog food.

Clean and disinfect all surfaces and objects that come into contact with the raw food. For details about disinfection please see cdc.gov/flu/school/cleaning.htm.

Keep raw food frozen until you are ready to use it, and then thaw it in the refrigerator or microwave (not in the sink or on the counter).

Keep raw food separate from other food.

Cover and refrigerate what your dog does not eat, or discard the leftovers safely.

Do not kiss your dog on the face or allow him to lick your face, particularly right after he has eaten raw food.

Wash your hands after petting or being licked by your dog.

Feeding a raw diet to your dog is a questionably sound idea from a nutritional perspective as well due to the difficulty in balancing the ration among macro- and micro-nutrients. Adding to that the fact that nearly a quarter of the commercially available raw dog food diets that were tested by the US FDA were contaminated by Salmonella or Listeria (or both), it is reasonable to conclude that a commercially prepared, conventional, complete and life-stage balanced dog food is a better choice. We can help you to choose the nutrient profile that best fits your dog.

Who can resist those big brown eyes and cute doggie grin? Can a little reward from the table really hurt your dog? Well, that depends on what it is and what’s in it. A chip with guacamole can cause your dog some real problems. In fact, there’s a lot of “people food” your dog should never eat. And, it’s not just because of weight. Some foods are downright dangerous for them — and some of these common foods may surprise you. There are some plant foods that are toxic to pets, so you will want to be familiar with what foods to avoid and what foods are safe to give to your four-legged friends! If you are unsure, check with us to make sure that your planned treats are not going to be harmful to your pet. Also, keep in mind that while dogs are omnivorous and more open to trying different kinds of foods, cats, on the other hand, are carnivorous; They are not just picky about what they eat, they are constitutionally incapable of digesting some types of foods.

Here is a list below of healthy and hazardous treats that have been proven safe and some even toxic for your pets.

ALSO AVOID:

Milk–Because pets do not possess significant amounts of lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose in milk), milk and other milk-based products cause them diarrhea or other digestive upset.

Chocolate, Coffee, Caffeine– These products all contain substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cacao seeds, the fruit of the plant used to make coffee and in the nuts of an extract used in some sodas. When ingested by pets, methylxanthines can cause vomiting and diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death. Note that darker chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate. White chocolate has the lowest level of methylxanthines, while baking chocolate contains the highest.

Fat Trimmings & Bones- Table scraps often contain meat fat that a human didn’t eat as well as bones. Both are dangerous for dogs. Fat trimmed from meat, both cooked and uncooked, can cause pancreatitis. And, although it seems natural to give a dog a bone, he can choke on it. Bones can also splinter and cause an obstruction or lacerations of your dog’s digestive system. It’s best to just forget about the doggie bag.

Now you are armed with the knowledge to help feed your dog some amazing foods! Thinking of trying something homemade for your barking, four-legged family member?! Then be sure to check out this fun and informational video on how to make your dogs some homemade peanut butter dog treats! YUM!