Why do vets discourage raw food

By Isabella Storyclaire

last updated September 17, 2024

Contributions sourced from

Why Vets Dont Recommend Raw Diets

Raw diets are currently increasing in popularity. There are many books available which describe how to prepare them, and pre-made commercial options are readily available for purchase. Even so, many veterinarians are not on board with the hype. Both the World Small Animal Veterinary Association and British Veterinary Association discourage raw feeding. So why not?

Here are some of the reasons many veterinarians will not recommend raw diets:

Raw food prep can introduce bacteria into the home

The surface of any raw meat can carry bacteria. Even commercially prepared pet foods have been shown to carry pathogens. They can also easily be spread around the home if we arent careful when preparing our pets raw food. Dishes used to serve raw foods have to be properly cleaned and disinfected after each use. Young children and immunocompromised individuals are at risk of falling ill even when very low numbers of infectious bacteria are present.

Bacteria found on the surface of raw meats can infect pets and people

Infections caused by bacteria found on raw meat can cause diarrhoea, hospitalisation, and death in both people and pets. Although it appears that cats and dogs are sometimes able to carry pathogenic bacteria without showing clinical signs, they are still able to pass them on to the people they live with. It has been documented that pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant bacteria are shed in the droppings of dogs and cats.

There are reported cases of raw diets causing illness in pets and people

One example was thoroughly documented and published in a scientific journal. In 2018, a raw cat food was linked with tuberculosis in the gut; a very rare form of the disease. One hundred and thirty cats throughout the UK were diagnosed with an infection. It was very likely that the cats picked up the infection from their commercial food as they lived indoors and were consuming the same batch of raw food. There were no other potential sources of infection identified. In the end, a total of five people in contact with the infected cats also contracted tuberculosis, with one requiring medical treatment.

Lack of evidence demonstrating the benefits of raw diets

Research investigating the true benefits of feeding dogs a raw diet is still in its infancy. Dog owners who feed raw diets often report a link between raw-feeding with improved health. This includes beliefs that a raw diet will make a dogs coat shiny, enhance muscle condition and improve teeth cleanliness. However, more scientifically rigorous methods would be required to draw definitive conclusions. Until then, it appears that the risks of feeding a raw diet are greater than the potential benefits they would provide.

Nutrient inadequacies in home-prepared raw diets

Many people have taken it upon themselves to formulate raw meals for their pets. Unfortunately, this can lead to many nutrient deficiencies and imbalances. Even the majority of published recipes have ambiguous instructions which make them inconsistent or are not formulated with a proper nutrient balance in the first place. When looking for recipes to cook at home, the best source is from a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. They will have the expertise to formulate a diet and can tailor the nutrient profile to closely match your dogs specific needs.

Conclusion

Every veterinary surgeon will adhere to the first rule of care: first do no harm. Many vets believe that recommending feeding a raw diet goes against this principle, especially because of the lack of research demonstrating the benefits.

At the end of the day, your vets recommendations will be made to safeguard the wellbeing of your pet while being mindful of any public health implications.

References

Dgi, J., Imre, K., Herman, V., Bucur, I., Radulov, I., Petrec, O. C., & Cristina, R. T. (2021). Antimicrobial Drug-Resistant Salmonella in Urban Cats: Is There an Actual Risk to Public Health?. Antibiotics, 10(11), 1404.
Empert-Gallegos, A., Hill, S., & Yam, P. S. (2020). Insights into dog owner perspectives on risks, benefits, and nutritional value of raw diets compared to commercial cooked diets. PeerJ, 8, e10383.
Morelli G, Bastianello S, Catellani P, Ricci R. (2019) Raw meat-based diets for dogs: survey of owners motivations, attitudes and practices. BMC veterinary research. 2019 Dec;15(1):1-0.
OHalloran C, TrnqvistJohnsen C, Woods G, Mitchell J, Reed N, Burr P, GascoyneBinzi D, Wegg M, Beardall S, Hope J, GunnMoore D. (2021) Feline tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis infection of domestic UK cats associated with feeding a commercial raw food diet. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. 2021 Jul;68(4):2308-20.
Runesvrd, E., Wikstrm, C., Fernstrm, L. L., & Hansson, I. (2020). Presence of pathogenic bacteria in faeces from dogs fed raw meatbased diets or dry kibble. Veterinary Record, 187(9), e71-e71.
Wilson SA, Villaverde C, Fascetti AJ, Larsen JA. (2019) Evaluation of the nutritional adequacy of recipes for home-prepared maintenance diets for cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2019 May 15;254(10):1172-9.

Why Vets Support Raw Dog Food Diets [2022]

One of the barriers to feeding your dog a healthy raw diet is finding a vet who supports raw dog food diets.

Its so much easier to feed your dog a natural raw diet when you can talk openly about it with your vet and get their feedback, support and recommendations.

Unfortunately, some vets are not comfortable recommending a raw diet. Instead, they recommend dry dog food. Often, its a brand they carry in their actual office like Science Diet or Royal Canin.

This post is focused on vets who DO support raw dog food and what you can do if your dogs current vet does not support raw.

This post is sponsored by Darwins Natural Pet Products, a company that delivers natural, frozen raw food for dogs and cats.

Learn more about Darwins special trial offer here. They offer 10 pounds of raw food for up to 75% off!

IN THIS POST:

Vets support raw dog food diets

Dr. Darla Rewers is a holistic veterinarian in Seattle who often recommends a raw diet to her clients at Ancient Arts Holistic Veterinary Services.

Theres no single right diet for all pets, but she said feeding raw meat and bones can benefit most dogs and cats.

Raw food, when fed appropriately, is less inflammatory than heat-treated food, she said. The long term benefits of feeding fresh foods, whether raw or cooked, often mean less allergies, digestive distress, anxiety and fewer trips to the vet.

Dr. Jennifer Ramelmeier is a veterinarian with Holistic Vet Services who also supports raw diets. One of the reasons she recommends a raw meat diet for her clients is because its easier for dogs and cats to digest.

Raw meat is what their wild predecessors ate and thus what their digestive system is meant to process, she said.

Why are some vets against raw feeding?

If you feed your dog a raw diet, then youve probably experienced how difficult it can be to find a vet who supports your decision. Hopefully this is changing as more vets and pet owners are familiar with the benefits of feeding their dogs raw.

In my experience, the following are 5 reasons some vets do not support raw diets:

1. Most vets do not have a background in nutrition.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about raw diets as well as a lack of education towards nutrition, Rewers said. Most veterinarians have one nutrition class during their years of education.

She explained how big corporations help to supply pet food to vet students while telling the students that a pets nutrition is covered with their line of products.

The class load is ridiculously challenging already. Few students have the time or energy to further their training in nutrition.

See That Mutts post: Why do vets recommend Science Diet?

While Rewers was in vet school at the University of Florida, she said she learned about nutrition through the holistic vet club. They would bring in speakers to discuss raw and home-cooked feeding options.

Holistically minded vets tend to foster more learning in the nutrition department, she said. Nutrition is the foundation for all the building blocks of cells in the body.

Rewers has now been practicing medicine from a holistic perspective for 17 years. She attends the American Holistic Veterinary Conference where there are multiple lectures and classes on nutrition.

2. Some vets fear that dogs will get sick from raw dog food.

In general, our culture is afraid of bacteria to the point of sanitizing everything to death, said Rewers. We need to live in harmony with the good microbes.

She explained how raw fed dogs have better biodiversity of gut microflora than kibble-fed dogs.

We are learning that a diverse gut flora is essential for adaptive immune systems, she said. Eating real food that is still alive in the sense of not completely devoid of all microbes actually is good for the body.

Theres always a chance a dog could get sick from raw food, but Rewers said this is often because the dogs gut is not in prime condition due to years of eating overly processed foods.

Care is needed with any change of diet, but especially from kibble to raw food, she said. A transition like this should be overseen by a holistic vet with an interest in nutrition.

Vets hear stories about the occasional dogs that get sick from raw food because those are the dogs that end up at the vet. The dogs that do not get sick from raw food are not heading to the vet with upset stomachs.

Dogs can get sick from raw meat, but the chances of this are very low.

In 15 years of recommending raw diets, Ramelmeier said she has never had one of her patients become ill from raw food.

I have, however, seen my patients get ill or die from contaminated pelleted diets, she said, referring to dry dog food.

Its more likely for the dogs owner to get sick from handling raw meat because we cant handle the bacteria as well as dogs can.

Of course, most of us dont get sick because we use common sense and wash our hands after touching raw meat or eggs. We also wash countertops, bowls, etc.

3. Some vets worry dogs will choke on a raw bone.

Vets only see and hear about the dogs that run into problems with raw bones. They generally dont hear about the thousands of dogs that eat raw bones with no issues.

Its up to the owner to feed the dog bones that are safe and to supervise the dog to make sure he is chewing the bone. You dont want your dog to break off and swallow jagged pieces.

Raw poultry bones are generally safe for dogs because they are soft, pliable and easy to digest. Cooked bones are generally not good for dogs because when bones are cooked they become hard and can splinter or break into sharp pieces.

See That Mutts post: Which bones are safe for dogs?

Its rare for a dog to choke on a raw bone, just as its rare for a dog to choke on a toy, bully stick or rawhide. Yet, it can happen.

See our post: Are rawhides bad for dogs?

What happens a little more frequently are things like fractured teeth from chomping on a raw beef bone or a blockage from swallowing a large chunk of bone. For this reason, I only recommend raw poultry bones for most dogs. These are soft and pliable and easy to digest.

*Tip: If youe worried about feeding your dog raw bones, a ground raw diet from Darwins is a good way to go. The raw bones are ground in with the meat. Learn more here.

4. Only a small percentage of dog owners feed raw food.

Veterinarians work with a huge variety of pet owners. The majority of these pet owners are not necessarily interested in feeding a raw diet. I couldnt find a statistic on what percentage of dog owners feed raw, but Im guessing its less than 5%.

Since most dog owners dont feed a raw diet (yet!), vets dont feel the need to bring it up as an option. Hopefully this is changing, but right now a lot of vets likely feel its not worth it to invest the time into learning about raw feeding. Theyre busy enough already as it is!

Likewise, most dog owners do not want to research how to prepare a homemade raw dog food diet. They also dont want to take the extra time to make the raw meals. So I get where vets are coming from.

I dont go around trying to convince people to feed their dogs raw either. Most people simply are not interested, and thats OK.

5. Some vets think raw dog food diets are only a trend.

One of my old dog Aces vets referred to raw diets as a trend.

However, as more people begin feeding raw dog food, vets will not be able to shrug raw diets off as a fad any longer.

As people become more informed, they are going to be even more interested in feeding their dogs and cats raw food. More people are switching to a healthier lifestyle and buying more organic food for themselves, their families and their pets. This trend is not going away anytime soon.

Which brings me to

How to discuss raw feeding with your dogs vet

Hopefully many of you have found wonderful veterinarians who support raw and encourage raw dog food diets. Let me know your experience in the comments section (good or bad).

See my post: Interview with a vet and raw feeder

In general, raw dog food diets are becoming more popular. There are probably 100 different raw dog food companies these days from frozen raw food such as Darwins to freeze dried raw options.

This makes it much easier for dog owners to safely feed a balanced raw diet without much effort, however, its still important to have a vet on board.

Here are my two suggestions for discussing a raw diet with your vet.

1. Dont give the vet an opportunity to say no.

Simply, avoid yes or no questions such as, Do you recommend raw diets? Or, What do you think of raw diets?

These types of questions make it too easy for the vet to dismiss raw and recommend Science Diet.

Instead, the discussion needs to start with something like, I am feeding my dog a homemade raw diet, and I really like how its going. Do you have any suggestions?

Or, Im feeding my dog Darwins raw food, and its going really well. Do you have other clients who feed this brand?

Talk about raw dog food the right way

Vets are more open to the idea of raw food once they realize youve already done your research and are feeding raw already or are seriously thinking about doing so.

Vets care about their clients, and they are generally willing to talk about raw food if theyre approached the right way.

Ive worked with about 12 different vets over the years between my two dogs and two cats, and Ive learned to approach the topic by telling them I am feeding my dog a raw diet. I dont ask them if I should feed raw.

A common response is that the vet will think I need a specific reason to feed my dog raw such as a food allergy. Instead, my current dog Remy has no known allergies at all. I just want to feed him the best diet of real, fresh ingredients.

2. Schedule an appointment to specifically talk about diet.

Diet is usually a three-second conversation during the average wellness exam, right?

What are you feeding him?

Darwins.

OK. (Then moves on to the next question.) Is he on any flea prevention?

Schedule a 15-min appointment or phone call

You can make a point to bring the attention back to your dogs diet, but Ive found it works best to set up a 15-minute phone consultation or an actual appointment to specifically talk about raw food.

This forces the vet to be prepared to discuss raw and to be more open to the idea. It also shows how important it is to you and that you care about the vets feedback.

When I originally started feeding my dog Ace a raw diet 8 years ago, I set up a phone call with his vet to talk about the idea. She is a vet who recommends and sells Science Diet, but she was open to talking about raw food. She even gave me some valuable ideas.

For example, she thought I should start with raw chicken since that is what Aces dry food was made from at the time. She also thought I should try the slow transition route of mixing the dry food with raw food and gradually weeding out the dry. I did this, and it worked well for us.

She went on to say that some of her clients were already feeding a homemade raw diet and had shown her some of the recipes for feedback.

Had I simply asked her, Do you think I should be feeding raw? she probably wouldve said no. But because I took the time to explain my thoughts and she took the time to listen, we were able to find common ground and work together for Aces sake.

3. Feed a pre-made balanced raw dog food brand.

I feed my dog Remy balanced raw meals from Darwins. I know hes getting all the minerals and nutrients he needs for a properly balanced raw diet. This is almost as easy as feeding him a dry dog food. I simply open the fridge and unwrap two patties for him at each meal and place them in a bowl. Done!

You can try Darwins for your dog and get a great deal through their trial offer. Its 10 pounds of food for just $14.95. No code required.

Its scary for some vets when they hear their clients are making their own raw or home cooked meals because these meals may not be properly balanced.

When youre first discussing a raw diet with your vet, I highly recommend you start out by discussing your favorite pre-made raw brand.

What to do if your vet does not support a raw diet

Option 1: Dont tell your vet you feed your dog raw.

Unfortunately, a lot of dog owners feed raw and decide not to tell their vet about it since its so much easier not to. Sometimes its not worth the trouble.

This is the approach Ive taken in the past, and it works OK. I totally get it.

However, its unfortunate because then the vet is seeing these healthy animals but thinks theyre eating dry food. It doesnt help our cause.

The vets are only hearing about the bad experiences of raw diets when other clients tell them their pets are sick from eating raw meat.

Option 2: Tell your vet and agree to disagree.

This is a better option in most cases. Simply tell your vet your dog eats a raw diet, and dont discuss it much more beyond that. As long as youre not having any issues, the vet will probably just dismiss your dogs nutrition.

Option 3: Find a new vet.

If your dogs vet doesnt support raw food or if theyre actively against raw feeding, perhaps its better to move on and find a different vet. I know some people dont have that option. If youre in a small town or rural area, there may only be one vet.

The best way to find a vet who supports raw may be to find local dog owners who feed raw and ask them which vet they use.

If your area has a natural pet food store, the workers there may also be able to recommend a good vet. Obedience clubs and breeders are other good resources.

How to find a holistic veterinarian

Recently I switched both my current pets from a traditional veterinarian to a holistic veterinarian (who also practices traditional medicine).

I had been feeding my dog a raw diet already without much discussion. However, when my cat was diagnosed with kidney disease, I decided I wanted to feed him a prescription raw diet from Darwins instead of the prescription canned food from Science Diet.

See my post: Best diet for cats with kidney disease

Rather than being open to this, my vet told me she would not support a raw diet and would not write me the prescription to Darwins kidney support food.

Actually, she directed me to call a nutritionist from Hills Science Diet. I did not call them because of course Science Diet is going to recommend its own food, which is dry and canned not raw.

Holistic vet near me

To find a holistic vet in your area, you can do a google search for holistic vet near me or holistic vet Bozeman (or wherever you live). There is also this search tool that might help you.

I was fortunate to find a Holistic vet in my town fairly easily who is a much better fit for us. The drive takes me 20 extra minutes both ways, but for the most part thats doable.

Our other vet was literally only a mile away and wouldve been much more convenient to stay with her office had she only been more open to raw diets.

Our new vet wrote us a prescription for the Darwins kidney support formula immediately and is open to feeding both my pets a raw diet. Its like night and day.

Talking to your vet about raw dog food

What it comes down to is vets should not be ignoring the benefits of raw diets anymore. As dog owners become more and more informed about the importance of real food in their dogs diets, more vets are going to be on board as well because thats what their clients want.

It may seem difficult at times, but we are heading in the right direction.

As Ramelmeier told me, Raw diets are the gold standard in food for our pets and we should do our best to get them off dry and canned food if we want them to live longer.

In the comments, let me know your experience talking with your dogs vet about raw diets. Hopefully it has been a positive experience!