Raw canine Food for beginners – diy Raw Feeding basics
This is a comprehensive guide on raw canine food for beginners and how to get started with diy raw feeding.
Feeding your canine a raw diet implies just as it sounds, to feed your canine a diet of raw meat and raw bones.
Feel totally free to post any questions you have about raw feeding in the comments.
You’re also welcome to share any experiences you have. The info is valuable for the group!
We’re also promoting an amazing trial offer from our sponsor, Darwin’s natural Pet Products.
You can get 10 pounds of raw canine food from Darwin’s for just $14.95! No code required. Click here.
Now, I’ve divided this short article into sections for simpler reading. just click on the topic you’re looking for:
Raw canine food topics in this article:
– The basics of raw feeding – benefits of a pre-made raw brand – Making your own raw canine food
The basics of raw feeding – raw canine food for beginners
What is a raw diet for dogs?
A raw diet for dogs is simply that – raw. Raw meat, raw organs and raw bones along with raw fruits and raw vegetables if you so choose.
A raw canine food diet usually includes:
80% raw meat (ground beef, chicken breast, etc.)
10% raw bone (from “raw meaty bones” like raw chicken quarters)
10% organ meat such as chicken liver or lungs, etc.
Many raw feeders also include small amounts of blended raw fruits and veggies, and some add supplements.
Feeding your canine a dry canine food diet (kibble) is not “bad.” You are not “killing” your canine if you feed kibble. Instead, use common sense. Real, fresh food is healthier for all of us. The less processed food we eat, the better. This is true for both dogs and people.
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Why ought to you feed your canine a raw diet?
Not only are there much more nutrients in real, fresh food, but dogs have the digestive system developed to deal with raw meat and bones. They’re certainly meat eaters!
For example, dogs have strong jaws developed for crunching up chunks of meat and bone. They have sharp teeth for slicing into the meat, and their digestive systems are shorter than ours which allows them to deal with the extra bacteria without issues. here is a good short article about canine digestive systems.
Dogs can do fine on a cooked, dry canine food or canned diet, but those of us who choose to feed our dogs raw believe it is the healthiest and many natural way for them to eat.
More information:
Why I feed my dogs raw (from That Mutt’s writer, Barbara)
Why can’t you just cook the meat for your dog?
You can, but why would you?
Raw meat and raw vegetables are healthier for many dogs than cooked food because cooking destroys the enzymes needed for exceptional digestion and nutrient absorption. These enzymes survive the freezing/defrosting process just fine.
Remember, dogs ate raw meat for thousands of years before “dog food” was invented.
How much raw food ought to I feed my dog?
The general guideline of thumb is to feed roughly 2 to 3% of your dog’s optimal body weight per day.
However, this is only an ESTIMATE. Some dogs require much more calories, especially puppies or highly active dogs.
My own canine is on the extreme side of needing calories due to our training for ultramarathons.
We usually run about 25 miles per week. He is a 2.5-year-old male Weimaraner who is naturally lean at 63 pounds. He requires 4% of his body weight in food per day (2.5 pounds) to maintain his weight. On our longer running days I give him 5% (3 pounds).
Your dog’s weight in ounces.
Since many of us will be weighing our dog’s food in ounces, in some cases it helps to know how numerous ounces your canine needs per day vs. pounds. My canine needs 40 ounces per day.
Just take your dog’s weight in pounds and multiply it by 16 to get their weight in ounces. then take 3% of that to get an estimated amount of how numerous ounces your canine needs per day. (Example: 63 x 16 = 1008 ounces. Multiply that by .03 to get the daily amount, which is 30 ounces.)
More info:How much raw food to feed my dog
What is the cost of feeding raw canine food?
Feeding your canine a raw diet is certainly an investment. I would say for a 65 pound dogs the average cost for pre-made raw is $250 to $300 per month.
When you feed homemade raw, you can cut the cost dramatically. I still spend about $150 per month when I make homemade raw (63 pound dog), but you can really put in the effort to purchase in bulk and get terrific deals to bring your cost down. Some people spend the same amount on raw as they would on dry; you just have to get creative.
Of course, the investment of feeding raw will hopefully imply fewer vet bills, an enhanced quality of life, fewer health issues in general and a longer length of life. No guarantees but improving your dog’s diet is one thing you have full control over.
Further reading:
Raw canine food on a budget
Affordable raw canine food
How much does it cost to feed raw canine food?
Start with a pre-made raw canine food brand
When you first feed your canine a raw diet, I highly recommend you start with a pre-made raw brand such as Darwin’s. Frozen raw food is the easiest way to go, and I recommend you purchase at least two week’s worth and go from there.
I recommend beginners start with a pre-made raw canine food brand because of:
Convenience. Feeding a raw diet seems very complicated to beginners and the largest barrier is people worry it’s too difficult. many canine owners just go back to feeding dry food for this reason. You are paying for convenience, and that is worth it!
No worries about balance. The food is balanced, period. No worries about harming your canine or doing something wrong. No need to add supplements.
Bones are ground. eventually you may want to feed your canine raw meaty bones because there are benefits to this. However, bones are scary to beginners. Feeding the bones ground in the food is the easiest way to get started.
Feed your canine the pre-made brand for six weeks to help yourself get used to feeding raw. You’ll see how your canine responds, you’ll learn how much to feed, etc.
Yes, this is an investment. depending on the size of your dog, it might cost $200 to $300 to feed raw canine food for one month. (Yay if you have a smaller dog!).
Benefits of Darwin’s raw canine food
My favorite pre-made raw canine food brand is Darwin’s natural Pet Products. I reached out to them about partnering together because I want to recommend their brand to my readers regularly. Darwin’s is a sponsor of That Mutt.
Right now, Darwin’s has an amazing trial offer going on. You can get 10 pounds of food for just $14.95! No code required. Click here.
Reasons Darwin’s is my favorite brand:
Darwin’s delivers to your door every two weeks (or you can make a customized delivery plan)
The company has an organic line and a much more economical line
Darwin’s is conveniently portioned in 8-ounce pouches that are easy to open
They have a trial offer for new customers
Making your own raw canine food
Once you’ve been feeding your canine a pre-made brand for a month or two, you ought to be feeling comfortable with the concept of raw feeding. You’ll no longer be concerned about your canine getting sick from the raw meat, for example. And, you’ll have a pretty good idea of how much food your canine needs to eat per day.
The healthiest way for many of us to feed a raw diet is to continue with a pre-made brand. This way, you know the food is balanced.
However, the cost is an issue for numerous canine owners, so the next best thing is to feed a combination of pre-made raw and homemade raw.
What to include in a homemade raw canine food diet
Rather than making balanced “recipes” best away, I would focus on introducing your canine to one type of protein such as raw chicken. You could feed some boneless meat such as chicken thighs as well as some chicken with bone such as chicken quarters.
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Once your canine seems to be doing ok with raw chicken, you could slowly add in some organ meat and another protein such as pork or beef. one of the most common mistakes is people add too numerous new foods too rapidly because they’re trying to “balance” the meals and add variety. Don’t worry about “balance” best away.
Common foods to include in a dog’s homemade raw diet: Ground beef, chicken thighs, chicken quarters, chicken wings (small dogs), chicken necks (small dogs), turkey thighs, turkey necks, raw pork, raw eggs, beef or chicken liver, chicken or turkey gizzards.
Eventually, you’ll want to follow the general “rule” of 80% muscle meat, 10% bone and 10% organ meat. This does not have to be on a daily basis but averaged out over the week.
More info:Homemade raw canine food recipes
Where to purchase organ meat
Organ meat is the most challenging piece to feeding a balanced raw diet because it’s harder to find, depending on where you live. I can always find chicken liver at my grocery store but liver ought to only be half of your dog’s organ meat.
Definitely check around at the various grocery stores in your region, including Costco and Wal-Mart. You can also look into “ethnic” grocery stores to see if they carry organ meat such as kidneys.
More info:Where to purchase organ meat
Are raw bones safe for dogs?
Raw bones are an essential piece of a dog’s balanced raw diet (roughly 10% of the dog’s diet).
I personally only feed raw chicken and raw turkey bones because they are softer and smaller than raw beef and pork bones making them easy for dogs to digest. I only feed raw beef bones if they are ground in with the meat (from Darwin’s).
Raw bones I suggest you start with include raw chicken thighs, chicken quarters or turkey necks. These are all considered “raw meaty bones” simply because they are raw bones with the meat still on them.
For smaller dogs, you can try chicken wings or necks but these could be a (slight) choking risk fo larger dogs.
Don’t worry if your canine swallows large chunks of meat and bone. They have highly acidic stomachs developed for dealing with the raw meat and bones.
My 63-pound canine crunches up a chicken thigh for about 4 seconds and then swallows it. No big deal!
To slow your canine down, you can feed the food slightly frozen if you’d like. That’s what I do for my food hound.
More info on feeding raw bones:Which raw bones are safe for dogs?
Affordable raw meaty bones
Why is dry canine food kibble bad for a dog?
I do not have to be a vet or a nutritionist to realize that many commercial canine foods are not ideal for Remy. Please read the ingredients of your dog’s food and let me know what you find out.
It is not bad to feed your canine a dry diet. just read the ingredients and choose the best quality food within your budget.
The first two ingredients in a dog’s food ought to be premium proteins, according to Michelle Smith, owner of natural Pet center in Fargo, which sells natural canine food and other pet products.
These ought to be particular proteins like duck or chicken. other ingredients ought to be premium fruits and vegetables. Grain is not necessary, and all corn and by-products ought to be avoided.
When an animal goes to a slaughterhouse, only about half of that animal is used in human foods, according to born totally free USA, a national animal advocacy organization.
These “other parts” (heads, feet, blood, unborn babies, etc.) are considered by-products and are used in pet foods.
“Meat meal,” “poultry meal” and “by-product meal” are also common ingredients in pet foods, according to born Free. The term “meal” implies the ingredients have been rendered.
Rendered ingredients
Rendering plants take all the random, leftover body parts and boil them down to a broth. Although the high temperatures kill bacteria and parasites, the natural enzymes and proteins found in raw ingredients are also destroyed.
Many pet foods also include brewers rice as the first or second ingredient, which is an economical rice by-product that contains no nutritional value, according to the association of American Feed control Officials.
The AAFCO sets unenforced standards for the quality of livestock feed and pet food.
If you do decide to feed your canine rice (most dogs don’t need grain in their diets), make sure it’s whole grain brown rice.
Commercial dry canine food in some cases includes chemical preservatives, sweeteners and dyes. None of these ingredients offer any nutritional value to a dog.
They are used to improve the taste and appearance of the food. potentially cancer causing chemicals such as BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin are permitted in pet foods as preservatives.
If you choose to feed your canine a dry food, I recommend wellness CORE because I count on the company and the ingredients. I in some cases have a bag on hand for Remy in case I run out of his raw food.
Do you have a question on raw feeding?
Let me know in the comments!
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Additional Resources:
The best Raw canine Food Brands
See all of our raw feeding articles HERE.
Lindsay Stordahl is the founder of That Mutt. She writes about canine training, canine exercise and feeding a healthy raw diet.