What’s The Best Raw Food For Dogs

Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red Recipe Grain

Another meaty option in raw-infused dry food is this Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red Recipe Grain-Free Dry Food. This formula features deboned beef as the first ingredient with supplemental protein from lamb, salmon, pork, and rabbit. It contains a nutritious blend of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for concentrated energy as well as skin and coat support. This formula is naturally grain-free, made with digestible carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and peas. It also contains beneficial supplements like vitamins and chelated minerals to ensure complete and balanced nutrition. Overall, it provides 38% protein and 17% fat with 3.5% fiber at 374 kcal/cup.

• Pros: Real beef as first ingredient, high-protein kibble infused with freeze-dried raw bites, high in protein, rich in omega fatty acids, chelated minerals, probiotics, highly digestible
• Cons: Some dogs may be sensitive to beef, not a single-protein recipe, contains some plant protein

What Is The Difference Between An Allergic Reaction And An Intolerance

An allergy is a hypersensitivity effect by the dogs immune system. This reacts strongly against a certain material. A genuine food allergy rarely occurs in dogs. Mostly it is an intolerance. This is not triggered by the immune system.

Possible symptoms of allergies and intolerances

Possible symptoms of a food allergy or food intolerance include itching, vomiting, abdominal pain, flatulence, diarrhoea, loss in fur, redness and frequent scratching.

Symptoms may well not show up soon after feeding the food. Sometimes they only appear a few hours or days later.

Nevertheless, the symptoms do not necessarily have to indicate an allergy or intolerance. They can also be caused by another disease. In the event that your dog has these symptoms, you should have the cause cleared up by a vet. The vet can also determine an allergic reaction or an intolerance, for example , through an allergy test. Additionally, it is possible to handle an exclusion diet. However, this involves a lot of effort.

Stella & Chewys Maries Magical Dinner Dust For Dogs

• Easy to feed to your dog
• Relieves allergies
• Healthy for dogs

This Maries Magical Dinner Dust from Stella and Chews is the relishing meal topper for dogs. To make the dry food or kibble tastier and appetizing, just sprinkle a little, and its done. It provides increased raw nutrition and enhanced taste. Getting acquainted with the product, we figured out that it is made from premium ingredients derived from trusted sources. Made from cage-free chicken, it gave us immense satisfaction with its quality and sources. This best raw meat for dogs makes them happy as pets love to have such flavors and would carve for the same. With a weight of 0.44 pounds, it would also serve well to improve your pets immune system.

This efficient dog food contains 95% meat, organs, bones, and all the fruits and vegetables your dog would love to have. Since it is grain-free and gluten-free, safe to provide to your pet. Also, it does not contain any binders and thus, no worries of any side effects on your pet. Not only does it enhance the flavor and taste of your pets food, but also helps to improve appetite and digestion. It helps to get relief from allergies and healthy teeth and gums. Keeping your buddy playing and active aids in providing increased stamina.

You May Like: Softening Dry Dog Food

A Beginner’s Guide To Raw Diet For Dogs

Its a long-held belief that you are what you eat, so why wouldnt the same principle apply to our furry friends?

While there is a range of diets you can follow to ensure your dog receives all the valuable nutrition it needs, the potential benefits of a raw diet are making it an increasingly popular option for dog lovers across the globe.

If youve made the switch or are considering moving your pooch to a raw menu, heres everything you need to know to help you develop the delicious raw dog food diet.

What To Look For In Kibble

Read the label. Look for a food that has a protein as the first ingredient, not a grain. The best kibbles have a single source of protein, such as lamb or chicken. Grain-free diets exist, but carbohydrates are required for energy, and the choice of grain is important since some dogs have sensitivities to wheat, corn, or soybeans.

You May Like: How To Soften Dog Food For Puppy

What Foods Are Toxic To Dogs

Moreover, always remember that dogs don’t have the digestive capabilities of a human. Some human foods can be toxic or poisonous to our pets.

Most importantly, as the owner, you have the responsibility to look over certain ingredients and recipes for your dog’s diet.

Here are some dangerous foods for dogs:

• Grapes and Raisins
• Avocado
• Alcohol

However, if you use a wild-caught game in your dogs raw food, freeze it for three weeks or longer before using it. This kills any parasites. If you catch raw trout or salmon, freeze it for at least 24 hours, also to kill parasites.

Disinfect The Natural Way

Bowls should be cleaned after every meal, counters and utensils should be sanitized, and any surface or container that touches the food should be disinfected. Disinfecting makes us think of chemicals, but there are natural, pet-safe solutions to eliminate bacteria.

Vinegar is nature’s secret disinfectant. Use vinegar to clean surfaces, floors, bowls, and anything else used in raw feeding. Don’t use full-strength vinegar, as that would be overpowering. Instead, use a vinegar and water dilution. 10-15% vinegar to water is suitable for cleaning, and the smell will dissipate quickly.

Don’t Miss: What Is The Best Dog Food For A Pomeranian

The 10 Best Raw Dog Foods

The best dog raw food diet for beginners is usually a commercial raw food product. Look for a reputable brand that sells raw food in several forms so you can choose the one that is most convenient or affordable for you. Remember to keep your dogs dietary needs and preferences in mind as well.

If you need a little help getting started, youve come to the right place! Here are our top picks for the best raw dog food:

How To Start Feeding Your Dog Raw Food

Before putting your dog on a raw food diet, be sure to talk to your vet. Regardless of which approach you choose, the foundational principles are largely the same: dogsâ meals should be organic, unprocessed, whole food-based and raw whenever possible.

According to most raw feeders, dogs should eat muscle meat , as well as a healthy array of organ meat , whole fish, and raw meaty bones . Your dog will get calcium and phosphorus from the raw meaty bones, important vitamins and minerals from the organs, and protein from the muscle meat. Cooked bones are dangerous and should never be fed to your dog, since cooking leaves the bones brittle and prone to splintering.

Recommended Reading: Can You Use Food Stamps For Dog Food

Northwest Naturals Raw Dog Food

This offering from Northwest Naturals attempts to bridge the gap between kibble and treats, as its made into large cubes that can be given as rewards or poured into a bowl at dinnertime.

Unfortunately, it ends up being the worst of both worlds in many ways. It crumbles in your hands, making it very difficult to break up the cubes to use as treats for training, yet rehydrating it to serve as a meal takes quite a while .

The bags are extremely small and equally expensive, so dont think about feeding this to your Great Dane unless you have buildings named after you on a college campus somewhere.

That same tendency to crumble makes it a good food for senior dogs or those with dental issues, however, as it will be soft on their teeth. You can also sprinkle it onto other kibble for a raw boost, but for the reasons outlined above, wed hold off on feeding your pooch Northwest Naturals exclusively.

• Not suitable for large breeds

Homemade Raw Dog Food Recipes: A Complete And Balanced Raw Diet For Your Dog

So you want to feed your dog a raw diet, but maybe you arent sold on all the different raw brands that seem to be crawling out of the woodwork. Or maybe you just cant find a ready-made natural raw dog food that is right for your dogs individual needs. Homemade natural raw dog food recipes might be exactly what you are looking for, and can be just as complete and balanced as store-bought food.

We all want what’s best for our pets, but when it comes to dog food, there is no one-size-fits-all option. Even worse, its hard to know exactly what your dog’s needs are and whether or not your current food is supplying what they need to thrive. From the barf diet for dogs to natural raw dog food – there are many different options to try on your pup. But much like any other diet, there are some cons of feeding your dog raw food.

In this article, well walk you through the basics of homemade raw dog food recipes, help you understand what your dogs needs are, and how to make sure their diet is complete and balanced with things dogs love like meaty bones. Once you learn how to make raw dog food, you will find yourself saving time and money with a healthy dog raw food diet plan. Let’s explore the raw food diet for puppies and how to raw feed your dog.

Recommended Reading: How To Soften Dry Dog Food

Rule 3 Protect Your Puppys Teeth From Hard Bones

Raw feeding offers both benefits and risks to your dogs teeth.

The major benefit is clean teetha result of the abrasive cleaning actions of processing bone.

The main risk is tooth damage. This can include serious fractures of the teeth requiring expensive dental treatment and involving pain for your dog.

Fortunately, this risk can be largely avoided, by the following:

Avoid Weight-bearing Bones of Large Animals

Avoid feeding your puppy weight-bearing bones of any large animal, such as cows, sheep, etc.

Weight-bearing bones are the bones the animal stands on. They include the long bones in the legs that carry all of its body weight. It is, however, OK to feed leg bones of small animals to most dogs. So, make sure to feed bones that are proportional to your dogs size.

Think about the size of animal a small to medium-sized dog might be able to catch and consume on his own. If your dog is medium to large-sized, this may be a rabbit, for example. That should be the largest size of animal to feed whole to your dog.

Very tiny dogs may need even smaller bones. Chicken wing tips for example, rather than the whole arm of the bird.

That does not mean you cant feed beef bones to most dogsyou can. But choose bones that do not support the animals body weight, like ribs for example.

Fat And Fiber Content

Fat and fiber are often neglected when making dog food, but theyre almost as important as the amount of protein inside.

Fat is one nutrient that exists in the Goldilocks zone that is to say, you dont want too much or too little it has to be just right. Typically, this is somewhere between 5 and 15%, depending on the protein source.

Fiber, on the other hand, should be in the 5 to 10% range. Any more than 10% and its likely to cause issues like diarrhea, but any less than 5% could cause constipation or lead to weight gain.

You May Like: Is Natural Balance Dog Food Made In China

Most Affordable Raw Dog Food

Feeding your pet raw food is bound to be more expensive than kibble, but weve compiled a list of optionsorganized by price, starting with the most affordable and concluding with the most expensive so you can keep an eye on your budget while making the best decision for your dog.

For the raw-curious but deeply budget-minded shopper, keep in mind that you can stretch some of these options as meal toppers or mix-ins to your dogs regular diet.

Instinct specializes in raw food and it has several variations of base proteins available, including beef, cage-free chicken, and grass-fed lamb. These recipes contain 85% meat and organs, which are frozen and cold-pressured to preserve freshness and nutrients. Instinct uses a USDA-recognized pathogen-reduction process called High Pressure Processing to ensure safe raw food.

Available in five protein choices, including rabbit and venison, these raw frozen patties are made with whole-food ingredients including single-source animal proteins and grain-free carbohydrates.

Natures Logic Raw Frozen Patties

Natures Logic frozen chicken patties are a great raw food option, including all whole food ingredients, 90% of which are poultry.

How To Switch From Kibble To A Raw Food Diet

When switching between different types of kibble, its widely known that you should slowly mix the new food with the older food and gradually increase the amount of the new food. This helps to avoid any digestion problems like vomiting or diarrhea. However, when switching to a raw food diet, it needs to be done cold turkey. Reason being, cooked food and raw food is digested quite differently. By feeding both, it will force your dogs body to digest two completely different types of foods in two completely different ways. So when switching to raw food for dogs, you want to make the switch a quick one.

Be aware that there is a break-in period. Some dogs will adapt to the raw diet immediately while others will take several weeks to adjust. Typically, the longer the dog has been on kibble the longer the adjustment period will be. During this adjustment period, you can expect some diarrhea, constipation, and sometimes occasional vomiting. While a bit unpleasant, this is nothing of serious concern and the symptoms will eventually subside. Once the symptoms do subside, you and your dog can enjoy benefits to a raw diet for the rest of your dogs life. When making the switch its important that you feed your dog a relatively bland diet at first. Feed raw meaty bones and some bland vegetables such as chicken wings and squash or pureed carrots, for example. Dont start feeding richer raw foods, such as organ meats or eggs until your dog has begun to adjust to eating raw foods.

Don’t Miss: Can Chickens Eat Avocado

What Is An Exemption Diet

In an exclusion diet, the owner feeds the four-legged friend only one special source of protein and carbohydrates. These sources must be ingredients that the four-legged good friend hasnt eaten before. Dog owners should change the dog food bit by little. After the food change, the dog is fed the new food for a number of weeks.

When the dogs condition enhances and the symptoms no longer occur, a provocation test is performed. Here, the dog owner has to feed his four-legged friend one substance at a time, which may be the trigger for the allergic reactions. Over time, a list is made of substances that the dog can endure or that cause allergic reactions in him. An eradication diet is something that pet owners can do themselves. On the other hand, it is advisable to talk to a professional or talk to the vet in advance.

Consistent action is crucial during an different diet. The dog really should not be given chews, treats or leftovers during this time period.

Bella & Duke Raw Dog Food Complete Premium

Best raw dog food for those new to raw feeding

Specifications

This brand has been recommended to us by several dog owners. You can buy it direct from places like Amazon, but you can also set up a subscription service to have the food delivered directly to your door.

If youre new to raw feeding, a company like Bella & Duke are the ideal choice as the website contains lots of information for those who like to do their research, plus the dog owners we spoke to said that they received fantastic customer service and support whenever they had a question to ask.

Although Bella & Duke offers a wide variety of different options, including food for puppies and senior dogs, and those with special requirements, weve picked the Complete option as a fantastic all-rounder, which should suit most dogs.

In order to avoid problems with intolerances and sensitivities, the proteins, vegetables and berries are changed regularly, and its recommended that you choose different options for your dog to give them a good dose of variety.

One of the key things that our dog owners liked about Bella & Duke was the firms commitment to sustainability.

All of the meat is sourced from BRC Accredited human-grade factories in the UK, while fruit and vegetables are also sourced locally. The company has been working on making its packaging more environmentally friendly, too.

Recommended Reading: Is Dog Food Covered By Food Stamps

Grains In Homemade Raw Dog Food

Furthermore, raw dog food proponents do not believe that most grains and foods like peas and potatoes should be welcomed in your dogs diet.

While dogs can digest them, they dont bring anything nutritional to your dogs diet that would warrant their inclusion.

Most training raw treats for dogs do include a small number of grains and thats fine, but you really dont need to include them in your dogs raw food meals.

How Much Raw Food Should Puppies Get

Pound for pound, puppies need more calories and nutrition than adult dogs. Puppies should eat 2% to 3% of their expected adult weight or about 5% to 10% of their current weight.

Remember, puppies need to eat more calcium and less fat than adult dogs too. Try to feed puppies 15% bone and less than 20% fat to make sure they get enough nutrients and minerals.

Puppies need to eat more to support their growth. As a general guide, feed:

Puppies 2 to 3 months: 8% to 10% of body weight dailyPuppies 4 to 5 months: 6% to 8% of body weight dailyPuppies 6 to 8 months: 4% to 6% of body weight dailyPuppies 9 to 12 months: 3% to 4% of body weight daily

Don’t Miss: Softening Puppy Food