Compare The Nutritional Value Of Dry Pet Foods Vs Raw Diets

As a pet owner you have to supply your pet with a nutritionally balanced diet. Trying to figure out which dietary meal plan is best for your pet can be hard with so many commercial options on the market as well as many raw food diet regimens. Things to take into account when choosing an appropriate diet for your canine include: metabolic needs, growth stage, and activity level. During this essay I am going to analyze dry commercial dog food diets versus raw homemade and commercial diets. Using observation and experimental data from accredited sources to compare the nutritional value of the foods to come to a conclusion if one is superior to the other.

Commercial food diets are convenient and can be easy on the dollar, but is your canine getting

Raw diets can be purchased commercially or made at home. Unfortunately there is currently no scientific studies that have been published showing the health benefits from raw meat diets, but so many pet owners are turning to raw foods for their pets. Overall raw diets help provide variety to our canines diet and gives you have more control over the ingredients being used. Potential nutrient risks include deficiencies, excess, calcium and phosphorus imbalances. It is important for you speak to your veterinarian before committing to this option. Another big risk factor when it comes to raw foods is bacteria and parasite contamination. According to Lisa Freeman DVM research, in 2006 a study in Canada on all commercial raw food diets showed 21% were contaminated with Salmonella and that the bacteria showed a resistance up to 75% of antibiotics tested. Another study was conducted in the U.S by the FDA during a two year span, October 2010 to July 2012. During the first year of the study the Center for Veterinary Medicine collected one-thousand samples of both dry and raw commercial diets. According to the results the raw pet food was more likely to be contaminated with harmful bacteria. Out of 120 samples of dry and semi-dry dog food none contained any contamination. Unfortunately 1 out of the 120 samples of dry cat food did in fact contain a positive reading for Salmonella. The second year of the study the CVM

Currently no published studies are available for the long-term effects and health benefits a raw diet supplies, but it doesn’t mean that some animals don’t benefit from these types of diets. If your canine is struggling with allergies or illness, then it may be beneficial to talk to your veterinarian about raw diet options. It is crucial to understand the proper preparation and safety precautions you must take when preparing such meals so it does not negatively affect your pet’s health. So which feed option is superior? Well, currently the answer is unknown do to the limited research put into the long-term health effects of both diets. However, it is clear that dry commercial diets can sustain good health for your pets and come with an extremely low risk of contamination compared to raw diets. It is also clear that big organizations such as the CDC, AAHA, AVMA, and many boarded veterinary nutritionists do not believe in feeding raw diets. It is highly recommended for the health of your pet to speak to a veterinarian who has an experience with animal nutrition before committing to raw food options. So what is a pet owner to do? As a pet owner you have to educate yourself on the types of feed options and determine which is best for your