RAW fed pets

This is quite a contravercial topic in the vegan world - how to feed your pets. My position is that my lifestyle choices have nothing to do with the nutritional requirements of my animals, and I think it would be selfish of me to comprimise their nutritional needs just to satisfy my own beliefs. Why have carnivorous pets if I didn't plan on feeding them meat?...

In addition, I think this situation runs far deeper for me than that. The idea behind eating raw (for both humans and animals) is that you are eating "live" food loaded with active enzymes, vitamins and minerals. I eat this way to optimize my nutrition, and maximize my nutrient uptake at each meal....I do the same for my dogs...

I feed my dogs a RAW diet. Their diets consist of organic muscle meat, some organ meat, some raw fruits and veggies, an oil (flax oil, for example), and raw bones recreationally (several times a week). My meat sources are rotated several times a week, because each meat offers a different nutritional profile, and add mackarel or sardines a few times a week for extra bone and oil. There is a science to this type of feeding: certain ratios (meat: bone: phosphorus: fat), the amount of fruit and vegetables to feed, the amount of raw meat required (determined by the dog's weight and activity levels).

In my opinion, any dog owner open to feeding their dogs raw need to get educated before making the switch. First its important to appreciate the benefits of raw before commiting to embracing this dietary lifestyle for their dog/cat....it is the way nature intended them to eat....kind of sounds like the same reasoning we use to explain why we practice a raw vegan lifestyle! : )