Other articles by Shawn Messonnier:

Adjust diet for pet with cancer Try a natural therapy for seizure treatment Treating dog allergies Vegetarian pets? Readers weigh in Canned wet food should help dog with history of bladder stones My puppy's terrible odor Cats don't need carbohydrates, but all-meat diet would be bad Pet allergies? Here's advice Supplements that aid joints do help pets Food allergy may be culprit

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Eating Disorders Program Coordinator

● Dear Dr. Shawn: I breed and show Labrador retrievers and have been feeding them a biologically appropriate raw-food diet, using a well-known raw-food brand for six years. I supplement with flaxseed oil or fish oil. I also follow the Schultz-Dodd vaccine protocol and titer all my dogs, choosing only to booster if necessary. I vaccinate for rabies every three years.

I'm really trying to keep my dogs' immune systems running at an optimal level.

The argument I continue to face, however, is that the dogs are being subjected to bacteria from the raw food. I even had one vet say I was going to kill them if I kept up the raw diet. I've not had a problem in six years but continue to have to defend my choice. What are your thoughts?

Answer: It sounds like you're doing a great job and are on your way to developing a super holistic health plan for your dogs. By feeding fresh food and limiting vaccines, I expect your Labs will be healthy and live a very long life.

It is true that any food — raw, cooked or processed — can become contaminated with bacteria, although I worry most about raw food.

In people and in pets, most cases of food poisoning occur because of improper storage and handling. So make sure you freeze the organic meat and only thaw out enough for a few meals. Don't leave the food in the pet bowls for more than 30 minutes. Wash all utensils and the vegetables and fruit you feed.