I had a close emergency with Jaspar due to raw bones hardly being digested at all and remaining in long shards, and I also know people who have had dogs very ill with salmonella and campylobacter and tests on commercial raw in the US showed plenty of levels of these (salmonella on most, and this is shed on in all poops, so anyone feeding raw needs to be extremely stringent in cleaning up after their dog) so it is now beyond what I feel comfortable with to feed raw all the time, though I did so at one point. It's a matter of what people's comfort level is with various degrees of risk but once I saw the size of the bone pieces that Jaspar threw up, and given how badly in distress he was before he did his and before I could get him to the emergency vet -- no more for me. There's absolutely no proof that a raw diet is 'better' than anything else for dogs, any more than that humans would be healthier if they ate nothing but raw food. But it is a valid feeding choice if people research what they are feeding and feel the benefits to their dogs outweigh the risks. There are obviously risks with commercially prepared foods as we all saw in the past 12 months so that all needs to be weighed up.
Having had a pyrenees that lived years beyond the average life expectancy (to 13, and the life expectancy is about 8-10 max) and who never was ill despite fed daily on supermarket foods, I think dogs can adjust to pretty much anything and many other factors go into longevity and health than a premium diet (it seems peculiarly of our time to be obsessed with what goes into the mouths of dogs, even though they are natural scavengers happy to eat quite disgusting rotting things!). I like foods that are good quality non supermarket brands in the medium price range -- I don't buy the most expensive. And I like feeding homecooked and occasionally some raw meat for variety. I don't plan it all out formally and rotate around kibble brands with each bag. I think there are pluses and minuses with each type of feeding -- raw, cooked and commercial.
I just think people shouldn't get over worked up about their dog's diet (especially if not looking after their own!), read around on the types of diet that might interest you, and make a choice you are comfortable with. But don't fall for arguments that one diet is superior to another type of feeding. One type of diet might suit a particular case -- eg raw for a dog with allergy problems -- but no one should ever be put in the situation of feeling they are inadequate (or superior!) for cooking or not cooking, buying or not buying...
Sometimes I think our poor dogs are the recipients of a guilt transfer -- our refusal to eat correctly ourselves -- so we take it out on the dog and force the dog to eat only this or only that while we grab another handful of crisps or processed meats. :lol: More seriously, there's something a bit off kilter with the world when people obsess about feeding organic this and fresh that to their *dogs* and the majority of the world's population does not get enough to eat daily of anything. icon_nwunsure