# Possible dangers of raw meat



## Guest (Jan 2, 2009)

I have been aware of the growing interest of the BARF diet for dogs and have been slightly alarmed by it. My very first dog had an horrendous death, the vets originally could not work out what was wrong, but in the end it was diagnosed and linked to the feeding of raw meat.
I was very young at the time and extremely distraut, therefore I forgot the details and name of the diagnosis, and anyway, she was dead by then.
For years I have been trying to find out what it was, so now with the power of the net I have found it. Toxoplasma gondii. This is what I was told she had. Apparently with advances they now know it may be Neosporosis Caninum

This site is not the type of site that I would normally take information from but I know this condition exists through my own dreadful experiences
Important Information for you dogs health and wellbeing


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2009)

Im sorry for your loss but if raw is fed properly there is no danger.
The proportion of dogs harmed by raw is minimal compared to the dogs that do well on it.


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## carol (Nov 2, 2007)

vets dont like dogs having raw as they know most of the time they are better off on it and healther a friend of mine has been giving all his dogs raw for over 30 years they lived to a right old age some were over 20 when they passed away.

if you do it right theres less illness in dogs, only 2 of my dogs have ever had anything wrong and thats not through the food and they were young then, ive got dogs that apart from injections have never been inside a vet for any illness.


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## bordercollieboy (Dec 27, 2008)

That article made me laugh, poorly written with a distinct lack of understanding.


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## carol (Nov 2, 2007)

bordercollieboy said:


> That article made me laugh, poorly written with a distinct lack of understanding.


yeah was a good laugh the person dont know what they are on about lol lol lol


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2009)

bordercollieboy said:


> That article made me laugh, poorly written with a distinct lack of understanding.


Like I said I wouldn't normally take any notice of websites like this but unfortunatly I have had first hand experience. I know that this is very rare but it does exist no matter how much you would like to think not


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2009)

Now I have the scientific names I will hunt scientific websites


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2009)

i believe there must be some risks in raw feeding if there werent any at all everyone would be doing it an VETS advising it, i wont do it, we were advised by our vet not to, i told him about what id read on the net and the benifits of doing it and he said u can read what ya like on the internet wrote by anyone, he is trained in such thing n advised against it


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## Freyja (Jun 28, 2008)

I was told this disease is in raw beef and all beef and beef bones should be frozen and then thoroughly thawed before feeding and then its safe. The freezing kills the bug that causes it. My dogs don't have raw meat but thats what I have been told by some one that does


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## bordercollieboy (Dec 27, 2008)

rona said:


> Like I said I wouldn't normally take any notice of websites like this but unfortunatly I have had first hand experience. I know that this is very rare but it does exist no matter how much you would like to think not


I don't think it doesn't exist, anyone that feeds raw should be aware of it, however it's a small risk compared to the risks linked to commercial foods.



claire said:


> i believe there must be some risks in raw feeding if there werent any at all everyone would be doing it an VETS advising it, i wont do it, we were advised by our vet not to, i told him about what id read on the net and the benifits of doing it and he said u can read what ya like on the internet wrote by anyone, he is trained in such thing n advised against it


My vet does recommend raw feeding and I know there are many others. At a guess your vets practise is stocked to the rafters with Hill's, Royal Canin or Eukanuba and recommend the very same, it's not a coincidence, they get commission on sales.

Vets have very minimal nutritional training, provided by representatives from commercial food manufacturers. Unless they do the research and find out the facts about raw feeding in their own time, they do not have sufficient knowledge to give reliable diet advice.



Freyja said:


> I was told this disease is in raw beef and all beef and beef bones should be frozen and then thoroughly thawed before feeding and then its safe. The freezing kills the bug that causes it. My dogs don't have raw meat but thats what I have been told by some one that does


Freezing kills parasites but not bacteria.


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2009)

bordercollieboy said:


> My vet does recommend raw feeding and I know there are many others. At a guess your vets practise is stocked to the rafters with Hill's, Royal Canin or Eukanuba and recommend the very same, it's not a coincidence, they get commission on sales.
> 
> Vets have very minimal nutritional training, provided by representatives from commercial food manufacturers. Unless they do the research and find out the facts about raw feeding in their own time, they do not have sufficient knowledge to give reliable diet advice.


ok alan u would know what my vets are stocked tho would u????????


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2009)

I was told it was more likely to be in sheep meat and I think I read somewhere that either New Zealand or Australia (can't remember which) will not let anyone feed raw sheep meat to dogs


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2009)

CJO - Abstract - Attachment and invasion of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum to epithelial and fibroblast cell lines in vitro

MeSH Result

Have found these two, not that clear but best I can do tonight


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## bordercollieboy (Dec 27, 2008)

claire said:


> ok alan u would know what my vets are stocked tho would u????????






rona said:


> I was told it was more likely to be in sheep meat and I think I read somewhere that either New Zealand or Australia (can't remember which) will not let anyone feed raw sheep meat to dogs


Neosporosis is most commonly found in cattle but is also found in sheep.


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2009)

I understood that there were dangers with beef if not keep properly - but have neither the knowledge nor the evidence to comment - will read links as posted and make my own opinions.


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## Guest (Jan 3, 2009)

http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/Documents/457/RS modified QA Andrew 14 September V3.pdf

Another reason to be careful with raw sheep meat, apparently it is ok if it is frozen before feeding. Take note that ordinary wormers are not sufficient to treat this.
I am still investigating toxoplasmosis


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## Guest (Jan 3, 2009)

rona said:


> http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/Documents/457/RS modified QA Andrew 14 September V3.pdf
> 
> I am still investigating toxoplasmosis


Thought this was what pregnant women had to watch out for when handling cat poo .


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## Guest (Jan 4, 2009)

Yep it is but has other rarer dangers.
Found these
ScienceDirect - International Journal for Parasitology : Control of the risk of human toxoplasmosis transmitted by meat

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica | Full text | Tissue cyst forming coccidia; Toxoplasma gondiiand Neospora caninumas a cause of disease in farm animals

Bacteriological evaluation of commercial canine and feline raw diets

Newly recognized fatal protozoan disease of dogs. [J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1988] - PubMed Result

Heavy reading but you can just pick out the relevent bits

By the way, it seems that if the meat is frozen before feeding then most if not all of the risk is gone


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## bee112 (Apr 12, 2008)

With regards to raw beef being a problem and carrying parasites.. what about for humans,, because alot of people eat beef steaks rare so surely if beef was that bad this wouldnt be allowed to happen?

As to raw being dangerous for dogs.. I dont understand how it could be if done correctly as that is what is natural to them.. cant remember the last time I saw some Hill Science Plan food being available in the wild!


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## Freyja (Jun 28, 2008)

bee112 said:


> With regards to raw beef being a problem and carrying parasites.. what about for humans,, because alot of people eat beef steaks rare so surely if beef was that bad this wouldnt be allowed to happen?
> 
> As to raw being dangerous for dogs.. I dont understand how it could be if done correctly as that is what is natural to them.. cant remember the last time I saw some Hill Science Plan food being available in the wild!


The parasite is most commonly found in beef. Unless they are running in a big pack most wild dogs in this country would kill rabbits and other small mammals to eat although in country areas they may possibly kill a sheep.


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## Freya'n'Sassy (Aug 13, 2008)

As has been said, vets get money from commercial food companies for stocking/selling their food, so they are bound to recommend commercial food, we actually got one of our vets to admit that last year! Also if you go back 30 years or so dogs were fed household leftovers and bones from the butcher and in those days dogs were healthier and lived longer... Far less cases of canine cancer back then than there is now... Since the use of commercial food.

I have always fed my dogs on household leftovers and meaty bones. But 13 years ago I bought a pup who was on a certain well known complete food, so I thought I would keep her on it as it was supposed to be good... And the company had lots of Crufts winners . I carried on with adding leftovers to her food, and she seemed healthy enough.... But then she got cancer. The only dog I have had that has been fed mainly commercial food, and the only dog I have had that has died of cancer. So I will carry on with feeding my woofs with raw meat, bones and our leftovers.


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