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Black Streak
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I feed my dogs raw as much as I can. The more pigs they catch, the better they eat lol. I really like the bennifits of feeding them the raw. The rib cage really really helps keep their teeth clean and plaque free, thier gums healthy, their breath smelling good etc. Bones give them lots of calcium, they love the meat, it's something very useful I can do with some of the pigs they catch, it offsets the expensive kibble, wounds heal faster do to all the nutrients in their food, they look and feel extremely well, their poop turns to white ash and fairly quickly disappears when it's good and dried out. The oil from the fats they eat is really good for their skin and coat. With all the good nutrition feeding carcuses, their immune system should be very well! As said earlier the better the health of a dog, the better it's immune system. That is effected by diet in a big way.
Con's to feeding raw are, you better have enough to go around lol
it takes time and effort. It's fairly easy for me as I keep my dogs in huge pens that they can run and play in and keep multiple dogs in each pen. So I can just throw them deer carcuses in there or entire skinned hogs and let them feed on it till its gone. Parasite are most abundant in the guts but a lot of the good bacteria used to break down the meat and bone are in the guts too. I'll leave guts in, in the cooler months but remove them in the hotter months. Feeding guts, the dogs need to be on a very good worming regimen. I skin the pigs and often lay out strips to dry for a month. The hide sometimes contains lice and ticks so best to remove it if so. Hide left on will not be consumed very well when it's green and will eventually start to rot, so again, I will remove it. I'll give them the raw hide later on after its dried for about a month. They really like it back then. They love chewing on it. Offsets raw hide bones from the store. When i feed a torso with the guts left in, i will freeze the torso for at least 3 days. This will kill many a parasite. Afterwards i take it out and cut it up with an axe if it's a pig torso with everything attached but the hide. I will devide such a big portion of food up and give it to all the dogs instead of just throwing it all to one set of dogs in a pen. Just a deer torso I will give to one set of dogs because I've gotten all the meat off I can for myself. I'll give the others the trimmings and leg bones for them to pick around on. I'll quarter up pigs and rotate which pens get the ribs, and which get quarters. All this is work, from taking the pigs back home, to skinning them, to freezing some of it, to cleaning big bones out of the pens later on. Lots of work but it's only work if you don't like doing it for your dogs.
Their are pro's and con's and if your careful and smart about things, you can circumvent most con's and reap all the rewards. Freezing the meat helps negotiate many of the con's but again it's more work and more hassel but best to do so. When I'm away at work my wife feeds them kibble. Kibble and raw meat smell awful in poo but once the kibble is flushed out it doesn't smell much at all.
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