In Adult Dogs, Does Feeding a Raw Food Diet Increase the Risk of Urinary Calculi Formation Compared to Feeding a Complete Dry Kibble Diet?

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Appraisal, application and reflection

The option to feed a raw diet to dogs has grown in popularity and is now readily available commercially.  Historically, there has been concern regarding excessive protein intake and the potential increase of calculi promoting substances such as calcium and uric acid (Robertson et al., 1979).  This concern has been steadily increasing (Lulich et al., 1999) which has led to the association of a high protein diet with the increased risk of renal damage (Singer, 2003). Interest in the health benefits of a protein fed diet is increasing, however studies measure the relationship between protein and growth rather than welfare and health. Studies are also based on results from comparatively brief studies of less than 6 months.  Furthermore, the majority of research conducted focusing on raw feeding, assesses the transmission rate of zoonotic disease and the risk this poses to human health (Joffe and Schlesinger, 2002; Strohmeyer et al., 2006; Finley, et al., 2006; Lefebvre et al., 2008).

It was noted at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) 2016 Congress, that standardised information and advice is limited and not easily available to veterinarians, which reduces their ability to advise clients correctly. This lack of evidence-based peer reviewed research was addressed by Goh (2016), who found that advice concerning a raw feed diet often stems from anecdotal evidence only.

There is currently very little published evidence which studies the effects of raw feeding on urine composition and therefore on urinary calculus formation or urinary tract health. Additionally, there is still little evidence-based scientific research and a lack of feeding trials which supports the hypothesis that raw diets are a healthier or more nutritionally balanced than other diets (Michel, 2006; van Veggel & Armstrong, 2017).

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