[moondog]

My info is also anecdotal, allbeit its foundation is based in science.....and it includes many, many more dogs than just Luna, with a variety of conditions affecting their digestive systems, not just PLE and lymphangectasia....the commonality being "intestinal disease".

Cats are true carnivores and gain very little, if any, benefit from carbohydrates, unlike dogs. I don't think there is a fair comparison between cats and dogs with studies on IBD. The diets I have in Dr. Strombeck's book for cats are meat, meat, and more meat (and fish and eggs), a touch of oil, bonemeal, and vitamins/minerals. The same is not true for the diets for dogs.

Luna could not tolerate any type of raw food, a recurring theme in my experience of other dogs as well, with the exception of one dog who ate raw....but even he has had to switch back to a cooked diet on occasion when the flare ups were serious enough. Which brings me to the point I'd like to make....my sense is that dogs with milder forms of intestinal disease are more likely to be able to do well on a raw diet, and the dogs with more severe forms (whatever the cause) will do better with a cooked diet because cooking begins the process of breaking down the foods - and that is a benefit for a dog with a compromised ability to digest food and absorb nutrients.