Today marks a landmark for Primal Pet Products.   We have our first Internet Sale!   Kinda.  Actually, a woman that saw our booth at the Grayslake Dogs Show called and said she found us on the internet but did not want to pay the shipping costs since she was close to Palatine, so she came over and bought one of our frozen products for her two German Shepherds.

If we can sell one, we can sell a million…..

From dogfoodadvisor.com:

The Best Raw Dog Foods

A raw dog food diet is designed to mimic a dog’s natural ancestral menu. The whole concept of raw feeding is based upon a dog’s instinctive carnivorous bias — a built-in desire to capture (or find) and eat another animal.

As unsavory as it may seem, it is completely natural for a wolf toconsume the entire animal.  Meat, bones, organs and all.  As direct descendants of wolves, dogs are simply not genetically optimized to consume the 50% carbohydrate content of today’s commercial kibbles.

So, how do these diets compare?

The Ancestral Diet
Compared to Dry Kibble

No one can argue the dry baked pellets we call dog food aren’tconvenient. Yet the nutrient profile of a dry kibble is nowhere near the nutrient content of a dog’s ancestral diet.

Notice the higher carbohydrate content of the kibble compared to the dog’s natural ancestral diet. Or how about the dramaticallylower protein and fat levels?

The Benefits of a Raw Diet

Feeding a raw dog food diet has many notable benefits…

• Firmer stools
• Improved digestion
• Healthier skin and coat
• Reduced allergy symptoms
• Better weight management

There have been many reports of improved health when chronically ill pets were switched from a commercial product to a raw dog food.

The Downside
of a Raw Dog Food Diet

A raw dog food diet can’t touch the convenience of a kibble. Just measure and pour. It just doesn’t get any easier.

Yet besides the lack of convenience, there’s another critical issue.Bacterial contamination.

Salmonella and E. coli germs can always be a potential problem with raw meats. Yet the risk of food-borne disease is actually quite low.

That is, low risk for dogs. But not for humans.

That’s because a dog’s digestive system is shorter and more acidic.

Which makes canine infections like these fairly rare.

The real risk of food-borne disease is actually greater for a dog’s human caretakers — not the dog.

Yet with proper care and handling, this risk can be dramatically reduced.

How to Use Our List

Below you’ll find a list of the Advisor’s suggested raw dog foods. Of course, this list should not be considered a complete catalog of all the raw dog foods on the market.

For there are others. Many others.

We only provide this small group as a starting point.

As a matter of fact, if you know of a specific dog food you believe we should have included on this list, please feel free to share your recommendations in the Comments section below.

Or if you’re looking for some suggestions yourself, be sure to look through our readers’ Comments to find more good ideas.

Suggested Raw Dog Foods

• Answers Detailed Dog Food (Raw Frozen)
• Aunt Jeni’s Home Made (Raw Frozen)
• BARF Dog Food (Raw Frozen)
• Darwin’s Natural Selections (Raw Frozen)
• Darwin’s ZooLogics (Raw Frozen)
• Dr. Harvey’s Oracle Dog Food (Freeze-Dried)
• Fresh Is Best Dog Food (Freeze-Dried)
• Genesis RAW Dog Food (Raw Frozen)
• K-9 Kraving Dog Food (Raw Frozen)
• K9 Natural Freeze Dried Raw (Freeze-Dried)
• Lotus Dog Food (Raw Frozen)
• Nature’s Logic (Raw Frozen)
• Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Frozen Diets (Raw Frozen)
• Northwest Naturals (Raw Frozen)
• Northwest Naturals Freeze Dried Raw (Freeze-Dried)
• Nutrisca Raw Freeze Dried (Freeze-Dried)
• OC Raw Dog Food (Raw Frozen)
• Orijen Freeze Dried (Freeze-Dried)
• Primal Freeze-Dried Formula (Freeze-Dried)
• Primal Pronto Raw Frozen Formulas (Raw Frozen)
• Primal Raw Frozen Formulas (Raw Frozen)
• Primal Raw Frozen Grinds (Raw Frozen)
• Primal Raw Frozen Mixes (Raw Frozen)
• Raw Bistro Dog Food (Raw Frozen)
• Smack Raw Dehydrated Dog Food (Dehydrated)
• SmallBatch Dog Food (Raw Frozen)
• Stella and Chewy’s Freeze Dried (Freeze-Dried)
• Stella and Chewy’s Raw Frozen (Raw Frozen)
• Stewart Raw Naturals (Freeze-Dried)
• Stewart Raw Naturals (Raw Frozen)
• TruDog Dog Food (Freeze-Dried)
• Tucker’s Raw Frozen (Raw Frozen)
• Vital Essentials Dog Food (Freeze-Dried)
• Vital Essentials Dog Food (Raw Frozen)

Carol and I just finished up our Vendor Booth at the Wheaton Dog Show last weekend.  We sold some product and met lots of new people and it was a great success!  We are looking forward to the Lake County Show coming up this weekend.

The news is out!   We have just signed up for Vendor Booths at two of Chicagoland’s premier Dog Shows taking place in June!   On the weekend of June 11th and 12th we will be at:

The Wheaton Kennel Club Dog Show
DuPage County Fairgrounds
2015 West Manchester Rd
Wheaton, IL 60190

and for the weekend of June 18th and 19th we will be at:

More to come about these events as we get closer!

Because raw pet food is more likely than other types of pet food to contain Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, the single best thing you can do to prevent infection is to not feed your pet a raw diet. However, the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine is aware that some people prefer to feed their pets this type of diet.

If you choose to feed raw pet food to your pet, be aware that you can infect yourself with Salmonella or L. monocytogenes by spreading the bacteria from the contaminated food to your mouth. For instance, you may accidentally ingest the bacteria if you touch your mouth while preparing the raw food or after handling a contaminated utensil. If you get Salmonella or L. monocytogenes on your hands or clothing, you can also spread the bacteria to other people, objects, and surfaces.

Here are some tips to prevent infection with Salmonella and L. monocytogenes:

• Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water (for at least 20 seconds) after handling raw pet food, and after touching surfaces or objects that have come in contact with the raw food. Potential contaminated surfaces include countertops and the inside of refrigerators and microwaves. Potential contaminated objects include kitchen utensils, feeding bowls, and cutting boards.
• Thoroughly clean and disinfect all surfaces and objects that come in contact with raw pet food. First wash with hot soapy water and then follow with a disinfectant. A solution of 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 quart (4 cups) water is an effective disinfectant. For a larger supply of the disinfectant solution, add ¼ cup bleach to 1 gallon (16 cups) water. You can also run items through the dishwasher after each use to clean and disinfect them.

• Freeze raw meat and poultry products until you are ready to use them, and thaw them in your refrigerator or microwave, not on your counter top or in your sink.
• Carefully handle raw and frozen meat and poultry products. Don’t rinse raw meat, poultry, fish, and seafood. Bacteria in the raw juices can splash and spread to other food and surfaces.
• Keep raw food separate from other food.
• Immediately cover and refrigerate what your pet doesn’t eat, or throw the leftovers out safely.
• If you’re using raw ingredients to make your own cooked pet food, be sure to cook all food to a proper internal temperature as measured by a food thermometer. Thorough cooking kills Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, and other harmful foodborn bacteria.
• Don’t kiss your pet around its mouth, and don’t let your pet lick your face. This is especially important after your pet has just finished eating raw food.
• Thoroughly wash your hands after touching or being licked by your pet. If your pet gives you a “kiss,” be sure to also wash your face.

No matter what type of pet food you feed your pet, you should always follow these safe handling instructions.

The above content is courtesy of www.fda.gov.  All right reserved.