Why should I consider feeding my dog raw?
It’s a very good question, and one that hopefully has landed you on this page!
It’s no hidden fact that for humans, we should be eating a clean diet filled with unprocessed foods and a good balance of vitamins and minerals. So why should that rule be any different for our 4-legged friends? Kibble, by nature of what it is, cannot hold the same level of nutritional value than what raw can.
A brilliant website All About Dog Food have made our point beautifully by independently assessing all the dog foods available to the consumer, and if we compare Natural Instinct (our raw of preference) to one of the best-selling kibble brands, Wainwright the difference is quite stark. Natural Instinct comes back with a very high 95% whereas Wainwright’s is coming in with a measly 67%; and actually for a kibble that’s quite high (the likes of Purina or Pedigree coming in at 46% and 20% respectively).
It's also worth noting that in the extrusion process of making kibble, the good bacteria are killed along with the bad. This is a detrimental loss to dogs as it is essential for them to have the good bacteria to maintain a healthy microbiome.
I’m not sure my dog would take to it, he can be a fussy eater
This is probably one of the most popular questions we have had, and there can be a lot of different reasons for the question. Maybe your bitch has gone through her first season and has started turning her nose up at food, maybe your dog has had a sensitive stomach in the past, or maybe he may just be refusing to eat.
With every single customer to date, whatever the problem, we have been able to get them eating again.
Dogs are geared up to eat meat, it’s quite literally in their DNA. You only have to look in your little dachshunds’ mouth and you will see sharp canines made to tear meat apart, incisors at the front for scraping bones, and molars and premolars at the back used to shred and grind meat down. Then if we delve a little deeper into their stomachs and digestive systems, dogs PH levels are much higher in acidity than ours in order to break down raw meat and even down to the microscopic gut flora which is designed to digest bacteria, they are capable of handling raw much greater than what we can.
So what are the pros in summary
For ease of bullet points, these are the main (but not all!) pros of raw feeding:
- Your dog is a carnivore – he needs to eat meat
- Feeding a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food "BARF" diet to your dog (or cat for that matter) will help ensure that they are getting all the vital vitamins, minerals and nutrients to keep them fit and healthy
- The diet aids more supple joints, better digestion, a sleeker coat, MUCH smaller and less smelly poos
- In a lot of cases owners notice their dog has more energy and is a lot more excited around mealtimes
- Raw bones and natural treats are wonderful toothbrushes, they work wonders at scraping off plaque
Let’s talk about the cons
Much like anything in life we have pros and inevitably cons. For full transparency here’s a list for you:
You are handling raw meat so this should probably go without saying. I would recommend having a separate spoon/fork that you use to serve up the food so it doesn’t come in contact with the human utensils, and you will need to disinfect the side after every meal
- It is very easy to get wrong
Dogs need a balance diet - you can’t just go to the butchers, buy a kilo of chicken mince and call it a day. Dogs need vitamins and minerals that you only get from vegetables, fish oils and so on. Natural Instinct takes all the work for you as the product already has the appropriate bits added in (see the ingredients list here). But by all means add additional toppers in (we sometimes do on treat days!). Raw eggs, fruits/vegetables make great additions – just make sure you do your research first.
- You will need to work out how much your dog needs to eat
As a rough guide, you should be feeding your dog between 2-5% of their body weight per day. For example, our super active 8kg terrier eats 350g a day which is a little over 4% of his weight. Whereas our 36kg GSD X who is a champion napper eats 950g a day which is a little over 2.5% of his weight. You just need to make sure you are monitoring your dogs’ weight and adjust accordingly.
You will need to clear out a drawer for your furry friend’s dinner! The chubs can be thawed out the day before, but you will need some freezer room to keep stock.
Raw is more expensive than kibble. We have done our research and believe Natural Instinct to be one of the highest quality raw diets that wont break the bank. But hopefully the above goes as testament that you get what you pay for and fresh is best!!
I hope that this information helps you in some way, and gives a little more clarity on what raw feeding is all about. If you have any questions, please send us an enquiry or give us a call, we are always happy to chat!
