Who Advocates This Diet?

Very few veterinarians recommend raw meat diets. I find it disturbing that the ones I have spoken to who do endorse the idea of feeding raw meat and bones did not have any medically sound reason for doing so, nor could they dispute the data I presented. They just retreat to the position that "dogs in the wild eat it", without acknowledging that wild dogs are malnourished and have shortened life spans from their diet.

One veterinarian who has seen an increase in illnesses due to feeding raw meat reported to me that he treated a 6 month-old puppy who had been on the raw meat diet from a book, "Give Your Dog a Bone". The owners had been diligent in strictly following the book's instructions for their dog's diet. This dog had a severe case of Eosiniphilic Panosteitis (Panos), which is not caused directly by diet, but can be greatly effected by it. The poor puppy was so lame he could barely support his own weight. This is not an isolated case - I have also received email from numerous dog owners whose dogs are having projectile bloody diarrhea and severe bacterial poisoning while on Dr. Billinghurst's raw meat diet. It is just an example of health problems I believe will become increasingly common as dogs on these diets suffer poor health. There are a number of disorders a dog could have where human food of almost any kind (raw meat and dairy, in particular) could seriously harm them, Pancreatits being one example.( See Testimonies for more information.)

An Unsupportable Theory

The raw meat 'theory' has been made popular by a few vets-turned authors such as Ian Billinghurst and Dr. Pitcairn. From there, many other holistic vets who put their trust into these authors have exuberantly promoted the concept. These authors have created a significant paranoia - to the point where people are afraid to cook their food or purchase any commercial food products. Interestingly, most people following this diet only apply the logic to their dog's diet and continue eating cooked foods themselves.

They are contradicting what the great majority of veterinarians and qualified animal nutritionists have determined to be true. I have not met anyone who could provide scientific data to support these claims.

The owners of B.A.R.F. (Bones and Raw Food) websites and Internet discussion lists are (to my knowledge) dog owners and breeders, not veterinarians. They provide questionable testimony and are not qualified to be prescribing diets for your dog, or advising on alternative medicine in any way. A qualified, respected veterinarian would not do this over the internet.

These "followers" of Billinghurst, Pitcairn, Schultz and other authors are so dependant on the books that they casually refer to it as their "bible." The barf lists on the Internet are very much "cult-like." You will be warned if you even mention my website, and banned if you agree with it. They will not tolerate ANY opinion other than their own and are extremely hostile toward anything that challenges their belief system. Barfers have retaliated to my website/article by attempting to discredit me with accusations of being affiliated to a commercial dog company. So for the record, I do not sell dog commercial dog food. I am not selling anything.

There are a few Internet discussion groups against the feeding of B.A.R.F - however, they have had to go "underground" because the members of B.A.R.F lists will join and make it impossible to have a discussion without arguments and attack. Barfers have even gone as far as to start discussion lists posing as "anti-barf" groups, only to lure in people who are looking for more information, and to attack those who speak out against B.A.R.F. It's absurd!

Sadly, many of the discussions on the barf message boards are about how ill the dogs are from raw meat/bones. People who are new to feeding B.A.R.F. are told that symptoms such as bloody diarrhea, choking on raw bones, and other health problems are perfectly normal, as their dogs are "purging" toxins. I receive numerous emails from people who have left these lists due to their dogs becoming very ill or actually dieing from the barf or other raw meat diets.

Profiteering Veiled as Advocacy

The makers of raw meat diets sold in pet stores that I have met are not vets, and do not have a science/microbiology background nor experience in the practice of veterinary medicine. They have been salesman, groomers, or simply dog owners. Their information seems to be wholly derived from those books written concerning the raw meat diets without examining the subject in a critical way. And, there are others that act as nutrition consultants... bearing in mind that "Nutrition Specialist" is a meaningless title with no certification required. I don't say this to insult anyone, but it is something that consumers should be aware of.

Unfortunately, the raw meat diet manufacturers and authors of books providing home-made diet recipes base their opinions on the concept of what they assume is the "wild dog diet". They seem to disregard the hard scientifically proven facts and statistics about the typical health of a wild dog due to it's diet, and injury and deaths to both wild and domestic dogs directly related to consumption of raw meat and bones.

Furthermore, many authors of raw meat diets or makers of such a diet present ludicrous unsupportable claims as fact, such as these:

(1) raw chicken and turkey bones will not splinter (in fact, they are the most common bone to kill a dog).

(2) pasteurized products contribute to arthritis.

(3) mixing proteins causes gas in carnivores (dogs are omnivores, as are humans) as well as an acid condition that may lead to disease.

(4) grapefruit seed extract and/or fruit sugars will kill any dangerous bacteria in raw meat.

(5) beta carotene and vitamin A prevent cancer. None of these claims has been demonstrated to be true, nor are they widely accepted as even possibly true.

I was appalled when approached by a few of the raw meat manufacturers/distributors with the enticement that "you can become a millionaire selling this stuff". This is not to say that each and every person advocating this fad has money as their prime motivation, but it certainly seems rule, not the exception. There is nothing inherently wrong with making a profit, but it is wrong to make a profit selling dangerous products and ideas at the expense of our animal friends to unsuspecting, well-meaning dog-lovers.