Marinepits wrote:LaylaWoobie wrote:Did I care about my dog when she was fed kibble? Of course I did. Do I care about her more now just because she's not raw? No, not necessarily, but I certainly do feel that I care more about her nutritional and dietary needs. That's not saying that I loved her less as a dog, but I will admit that I wasn't doing all I could when she was on kibble. I just didn't know better. Now I do. I do feel that I'm taking better care of her now and feel as though she's getting better care and proper nutrition. You can tell JUST BY LOOKING AT HER. That's not even going into how she acts, how she performs at training and her general well being. That's simply by looking at her build, her coat and eyes/mouth.
And the bolded part above is the problem I have with the whole raw vs kibble debate. You may be talking about yourself in that statement, Kendell, but it does seem to be the general prevailing attitude from some of the raw feeders directed towards kibble feeders.
Anyone can tell by looking at my dogs that they are in fantastic shape, even with their various medical issues -- energy is through the roof, their coats are beautiful (even Mac's with all his allergies), and they aren't overweight no matter what Michelle says ( ). AND THEY ARE FED KIBBLE.
Don't try and tell me that "I'm not doing all I can for [them]" because if I was then I'd be feeding raw. Don't try and tell me that "I just don't know better" because if I did then I'd be feeding raw. I am a highly educated person and have done my research on all types of canine diets. There are MANY reasons I choose not to feed raw and among them are:
1. It's extremely cost prohibitive for FIVE dogs (and the occasional foster) in the area where I live -- Fairfield County, CT. Yes, I have looked in to local small groceries and it's still cost prohibitive.
2. Mac has EXTREME resource guarding issues and he's good while on kibble. He's not good when getting other types of food.
3. Everyone's health and allergies are stable on the high-quality kibble I feed and there's no reason to mess with that.
I could go on, but I won't. Kibble works fine for us in this house and I've yet to see definitive proof that raw would work any better for them.
And yes, I do know that I sound defensive and it's for good reason -- I'm tired of hearing some of the raw feeders on this board bashing on kibble, and it's not only in this thread. It's in any thread that this debate comes up. It's also the reason that I generally stay out of these debates.
Ditto for me, this is almost exactly how I feel.
I work extremely hard to keep my dog's quality of life in all aspects(mentally, medically, and even entertainment-wise) up, and find the "thats because s/he's eating kibble" or "its that crappy kibble" posts and comments quite offensive.