The Science Behind Raw
Seeking some hard facts to support claims about the benefits of raw? Well brainier folks than us have done the research for you.
Clinical trials by the DogRisk group at the University of Helsinki indicate multiple benefits of a raw food diet for dogs, including protection from canine hip dysplasia and improved immune response and a decreased risk of developing allergies or tumours.
CLICK HERE FOR PAWFECT KNOWLEDGE and the full results of these trials.
But to save you the bedtime reading, we’ve pulled out the results of a few fascinating studies for you:
- Canine Hip Dysplasia: A study to investigate the benefits of feeding dogs a bone and raw food diet (BARF) showed a significant protective effect against Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD) and indicated that even if only a part of a puppy’s diet is supplemented with raw food, there will be a protective effect against onset of CHD.
- A study into atopy/allergies in pets indicated that feeding a bone and raw food (BARF) at a young age can decrease the risk of developing an atopy/allergy type of disease whereas typical commercial dry products can actually increase the risk for these diseases.
- Raw food and nutraceutical oils seem to decrease the odds of neoplasia (new uncontrolled growth of cells, abnormal growth or tumours) when provided at a young age, while processed foods seem to increase the odds. Neoplasia may in fact be intrinsically linked with early gut health, and the development of an animal’s immune system as it is forming its microbiota.
- An independent exploratory study, sharing dog owners experiences after changing their dogs' over to a raw food (BARF) diet showed that a majority of pet owners reported favourable changes to their pets health and behaviour.
- Notably: 74% of pet owners who had reported their animals had skin related diseases, 88% of pet owners who had described their animal as having gastro intestinal issues, 79% of owners who reported their dogs had eye related problems, voluntarily described a total recovery of their animals after switching to a BARF diet.
- The following general improvements were also reported by pet owners feeding their animal a BARF diet: Better hair coat, Less faeces, less odor, and/or better functioning Gastro intestinal tract, and more active dogs.
Before making the pounce-of-faith into an all new raw diet for your pup, check out our handy tips on transitioning to Raw Dog Food, or for information on the amount of food your pup would need to eat can be found here.