Raw Diets for Dogs

First of all, keep it simple. If you want to get complicated, surf the Web!

There are many commercial diets out there now. Since most are not tested for nutritional "completeness," we recommend using many different brands and varieties for your pets. It is very economical to exclusively feed these diets to small dogs.

For larger breeds of dogs, these diets can be fed as one meal a day, or even just a few times a week. Brands are available that are made from uncommon meat sources, such as rabbit, venison, buffalo, emu, kangaroo, and others. Most companies use beef, turkey, and chicken and many use organic and/or grass-fed meat sources. These diets tend to contain ground bones, organ meats, and other ingredients like yogurt, beets, vegetables, and many other food items, varying from brand to brand, in addition to the principle meat source(s).

Wysong's Archetype is a dehydrated raw food that has been tested and exceeds AAFCO's standards for pet foods. This is an excellent diet. It is very affordable for cats and small dogs, and for use as treats for adult dogs. The first five ingredients are: beef and chicken, beef and chicken liver, and ground bone. This diet also contains barley grass and wheat grass powders, fish oil, and probiotics, in addition to many other nutritious ingredients. Archetype is also free of harmful bacteria.

If you are going to prepare raw food on your own, simply make sure you feed from four principle "food groups":

  Meat

  Bones

  Organ meats

  Fruits and vegetables


It is easiest to feed chicken as the meat and bone source if you are preparing the meat fresh. Chicken backs and thighs are cheapest. As discussed in the "Concerns" section, you can chop up the chicken before feeding it to your dog. After purchasing the chicken, wrap each piece individually and freeze it. Defrost it overnight, and then chop it up in the morning. Defrosting the chicken for approximately 9 hours allows it to become slightly soft, but not rubbery, and therefore easiest to chop.

Varying the meat sources from time to time is a healthy, natural way to provide a variety of nutrients to your dog. The easiest way to do this is to purchase commercial raw diets and feed these from time to time. These generally cost about 2-3 times as much as your home-prepared chicken, but they contain the chopped up meats, bones, organs, vegetables, and other ingredients- in other words, you're paying for someone else to do all the work!

 

Once a week, a meal of organ meats can be fed. Organ meats include chicken livers, beef hearts, kidneys, and chicken hearts and gizzards (usually packaged together). You can, of course, feed a small amount of organ meats daily; but, we are trying to keep this simple! Feeding chicken livers alone can cause the runs in some dogs, so consider offering a variety of organ meats at one time. Buy a few types of organs, and package a mix in freezer baggies.

 

10-20% of the diet can come from fruits and vegetables. These can be anything your dog will eat. Some dogs will eat raw carrots; others will only eat broccoli if it is steamed. Grating vegetables or putting them in a blender works for some dogs, but this is getting away from the simple concept. Frozen vegetables work. Avoid canned vegetables and fruits. Fruits should be very ripe- in the wild, the dog is most likely to eat the rotting apple that has fallen from the tree. Variety is also important for some fruits and vegetables. This is because certain fruits, like grapefruit, and certain vegetables, like spinach, can cause bladder stones in dogs that are predisposed to this problem. It is not harmful to feed these foods in small quantities from time to time. Avoid onions, leeks, grapes, raisins, and macadamia nuts which have all been associated with toxicities in dogs and cats.

 

Some dogs will decide to eat from only certain food groups above. If this is the case, contact us so that we can determine what supplements your dog will need to make up for the deficiencies in diet. (Top)