Human doctors, researchers and scientists studying diet will tell you that less processed food and more fresh food will help you stay healthy and live longer. Doctors tell us to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and less highly processed junk food to maintain good health.
At the same time, your veterinarian will warn you against feeding your dog anything but highly processed kibble. They will tell you fresh food could be dangerous. They will tell you that raw food can make your dog sick.
Although I am not a veterinarian, as a certified Animal Care Technician and a fresh food advocate who has been in this industry for well over a decade, I can't explain why veterinarians have this mind set when discussing dog food. Most of my like-minded peers in this industry speculate that it is something that is fostered when veterinarians are in university. With their minimal nutrition training, and tons of pressure from veterinarian brand kibble companies, they simply do not get exposure to the research and science that can guide us when it comes to feeding our companion animals.
So, as a dog owner that wants to be informed about how to feed their animals to promote health and long life, what do you do?
The only truly helpful advice I can give you is to research this topic yourself. I know it likely seems intimidating and difficult, but we cannot always trust the biased opinions around us. Science has a lot of reputable information for us, if we look.
Listen to those who recommend fresh and raw feeding that support their opinions with verifiable science. Professionals who can share with you published, peer-reviewed biomedical studies that support their ideas. Professionals that recommend reputable books on the biology and ecology of similar species. This science can be a guideline for us. The biology and zoology branch of the sciences have a lot of excellent information to guide us in feeding our dogs.
The point remains: our animal companions are the only species forced to consume highly processed food - and they are also the sickest and shortest living animals in our modern world. Our job, as this point, is to connect the dots. When we know better, we can do better.
Today is a great day to add some fresh, unprocessed food to your dog's food bowl.