We feed a raw diet to our dogs.  It's not a religion.  We're not fanatics.  We don't care what you feed to your dog.  But for those who have asked, or accidentally clicked the link, continue reading.

It makes sense to us that fresh is better.  No one would argue that, for humans, Total Cereal is superior to a fresh, varied diet.  No one requires parents to get a degree in nutrition (though not a bad idea) in order to feed children.  Dogs lived and bred prior to the advent of commercial dog food.

Human nutritionists and pediatricians are not telling parents that they are going to kill their kids by feeding fresh (though many kids think so!).  Sure, someone has a Tommy that choked on an asparagus spear, but we heard she got off with 5 years probation.

So, we try to feed a fresh, varied diet to our dogs that is healthy for a canid.  Typically, the menu at Mosso includes chicken necks or turkey necks, fresh eggs, poultry gizzards, ground leafy vegetables.

We've thrown kibble at our dogs, and they didn't die.  We prefer the grain-free kibbles that are now available when we are trying to "kill them with modern food".  We even, gasp, grind up raw foods, for the dogs who are dentally-challenged and the Crested that insists on swallowing whole necks, then suffering cramping for 10 hours afterward.

Are there consequences to this anarchy? Sure.  Blood values are slightly different for raw-fed dogs than for kibble-fed dogs.  Take BUN, for example.

Veterinarians have given us the "you're killing your dog" or the "you will kill your dog" spiel when we had to "confess" (folks who feed raw are predominantly Catholic...) to feeding raw.  Others refrained from any comment; who knows what they thought?  Others don't care, or take a wait-and-see approach. And there are, of course, vets who themselves advocate feeding raw (or "fresh" if you prefer), some who breed and raise dogs on fresh food themselves.

Do we have to scale teeth? You betcha.  Our dogs chew on shank bones, gnaw on necks, and they still get tartar.  Oh well.

Can you tell at a glance our dogs are fed raw? No!  We don't make them wear signs any longer as they kept getting tangled in coats.  We've seen kibble-fed dogs with shinier coats.  Big deal.

Is feeding raw more expensive?  It can be.  Generally, the better the ingredients the more expensive the diet.  So, organic ingredients cost more.  Goat costs more than chicken (unless a certain wether gets a little  too full of himself...).

Prepared raw is more expensive than making our own.  Feeding portions depend entirely upon the individual dog's weight, activity and health.  Currently, feeding raw is costing us a third of what feeding kibble would cost us (that is, the kibble that we would feed, which by the way, is Evo), but that's because we prepare it ourselves, buying the ingredients from wholesale sources.

Does it take longer to feed raw?  Nope.  Takes us the same time as it does to feed kibble. But it's slightly messier, no doubt. We keep ears wrapped on the Afghans, but they don't wear anything else at mealtime.

Does feeding raw save on vet bills?  A good fence probably affects vet bills more than raw (vs premium kibble).   Knowing how to suture, clean and dress a wound, give shots, etc. probably has more affect than what we feed on our vet bills.  We haven't encountered vets who give discounts to those who feed raw, but we can dream.  We've been feeding raw to our dogs for approximately 10 years, and haven't managed to kill anyone with it yet, though that's no guarantee that you can't manage it in the first week.

Vaccinations are another subject that we're not religious about.  We follow the law and give rabies vaccines as required, which beats having a dog euthanized in a bite case (whether it's a dog or a rabid raccoon doing the biting).  We prefer that other pet owners prevent the spread of rabies as well.

We separate vaccines, giving one at a time (let's you know which one caused the reaction if you get a reaction). We try to be judicious in the use of vaccines, while appreciating a reliable and inexpensive way to avoid parvo and distemper and the like.

We've utilized homeopathy, acupuncture, massage, Western herbs, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, with TCM and acupuncture being the most successful for us to date.   The fluency of the practitioner is the major factor, in any modality.

Probably THE most important aspect of feeding and vetting dogs is education, and taking responsibility for your decisions (rather than leaving it solely up to your vet and then blaming him/her later).