Yet another RMB Question

[ClareMarsh]

So I recently read an excerpt from Victoria's Fat Dog Slim book about BARF diet. She mentioned that before you switch, you should consult a vet for any problems in your dog or your dog's breed that could cause trouble.

For dogs with immune problems or particularly bad teeth (most of which can be fixed by raw feeding but sometimes they are too bad) then yeah, I'd consult but I'd do with with a vet that not only accepted raw feeding but actually advocates it as I'd want someone who knew what they were talking about. In a healthy dog I can't see any need to pay a vet to tell me what I already know/can find out by reading the appropriate books

[yummybagel]

I was just wondering if I can give raw fish?
I wanted to give my dog some fish for dinner sometimes, but I'm a little icky about giving him raw fish. Maybe cooked fish is ok?

[Nettle]

Raw fish is full of parasites - therefore either give cooked fish or freeze the raw fish for a month to kill the little pests.

And never eat sushi/sashimi!

[yummybagel]

awww I love sashimi Not sure if I'm ready to give it up yet haha.

But no sahimi for Bagel

[katej215]

The thing to remember about veggies and your dog is that dogs have a very short digestive system that doesn't effectively break down the cellulose in veggies. So if you give raw veggies, they're pretty much going to come out the way they went in and with little absorption of nutrients. So for your dog to get any benefit from them, they have to be slightly cooked (steamed is best to retain lots of nutrients)

does this hold true for fruit also?

And never eat sushi/sashimi!

Nettle i dont doubt for a minute you are correct - but surely more people would get sick if there was any substantial health risk?

[Nettle]

Yes, true for fruit also.

surely more people would get sick if there was any substantial health risk?

They do - but many people and Drs don't recognise the symptoms or even believe in parasite infestation in humans Curiously (or maybe not) my vet is much more on board with that concept!

Anecdotal, but I have read reports about a particularly nasty variety of tapeworm that requires surgery to remove, and that such problems are rife in Japan because of the practice of eating raw fish. But I have no medical references, so maybe our Japanese readers would say differently.