Home made pet food

BCSnob wrote:

Deb and Ed M wrote:
BC Snob - how do they manage to eat this stuff and not get deathly sick????? Are their systems just better-designed to deal with the pathogens they surely ingest??

From what I can tell from the scientific literature, the answer is yes for healthy dogs. The answer is likely no for dogs that have compromised health.

The issue we're seeing in the press for raw pet foods (all pets foods) has to do with public (human) health concerns associated with the pathogens that are likely present in the raw meats (and pet foods being recalled). In other words, possible human sickness due to contact with contaminated pet foods.

Very good summary.

Because dogs are a little less likely to break with full blown salmonella than people, you get the false information spread that dogs CAN'T get it. Then you have all the other pathogens...

AVMA Position Statement wrote:
Animal-source proteins of concern include beef, pork, poultry, fish, and other meat from domesticated or wild animals as well as milk* and eggs. Several studies1–6 reported in peer-reviewed scientific journals have demonstrated that raw or undercooked animal-source protein may be contaminated with a variety of pathogenic organisms, including Salmonella spp, Campylobacter spp, Clostridium spp, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus. Cats and dogs may develop foodborne illness after being fed animal-source protein contaminated with these organisms if adequate steps are not taken to eliminate pathogens; secondary transmission of these pathogens to humans (eg, pet owners) has also been reported.1,4 Cats and dogs can develop subclinical infections with these organisms but still pose a risk to livestock, other nonhuman animals, and humans, especially children, older persons, and immunocompromised individuals.

Doug, DVM