You are now offending me!
I think I have listened very reasonably to the points of views of others and am trying tp express my view point why I think I should not feed it. There was a general consensus at the beginning of this thread that we would try to keep the debate friendly and as far as I am aware i have tried to do that. You and I have already debated this on another thread and you became quite personal and offensive with me on it. I wanted the chance to hear what other people had to say, so that I could expand my knowledge and come to an understanding of what other people think.
In the threads I have read already people tend to become very defensive when criticisms are made. People who feed a BARF diet have expressed the reasons why they do it, most emphatically at times. Indeed it is their right to do so. I did not invite opinions only from those in favour or against. I have had replies questioning my opinions and I am trying to give a reasonable explanation for them.
I am not and have not been personal to you and i do not see the need for you to be so with me. I understand that many of you have good reason to be happy with the diet - I am expressing my concerns about the risk to my dog and my children. Perhaps if i did not have them my views would be different. It may surprise you to know that I care deeply about the welfare of both. I am not sorry that my views offend you - I thought that was what forums like these were for. Cross contamination is a genuine concern and I personally people are foolish to ignore it.
As regards the trial - there were certain prerequisites to the trial - they had to be 1 year old, they had to have been antibiotic free for 2 months, in good general condition (ie no other illnesses), and to have been fed an the required diet exclusively for 2months. I don't know that keeping the dogs in isolation was essential to the trial. The 100% salmonella free result for the commercial food was not something they were expecting. The tests were carried out by a lab specialising in the culturing of foodborne pathogens. The study concludes that some dogs fed this diet shed salmonella in their stools and it should be a factor in deciding whether to feed this diet.
I am not saying that it is the reason why people should not feed the diet - it is the reason I choose not to feed it and I made that decision before I saw this study. My knowledge of cross contamination as a nurse gave me the reason to consider it.
I genuinely am interested in hearing the other side of the coin and in many ways I wish the cross contamination risk wasn't a big deal for me as I might feel otherwise. I simply wanted to know what it is that makes people feed it and why they think it is beneficial. I am not being personal and I am not trying to tell anyone what to do. I am merely expressing an opinion. This should not offend anyone - I am not offended by your decision to feed it and welcome the fact that the whole debate has led me tothink about the content of my dog's diet, even if I will not be feeding raw. I have asked about several things during this thread with a view to doing this. Could I not also say that there are some who appear to have their minds as set against my arguments as they seem to think I am about theirs.
Rhona - noone is casting any doubt over anyone's ability as a mother and I never even suggested that. I feel that there is a risk to my children - I am allowed to feel that. I too am disappointed with the turn this thread has taken!
