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Raw Feeding – How to Feed Your Dog a Raw Diet
Raw Feeding can at first seem daunting, but it needn’t be!
You simply have 2 Options;
Option 1: Feed your pet a complete and balanced raw meal from Pets Corners reputable supplier Natures Menu.
Option 2: You make the raw meals up for yourself at home using a variety of Meaty chunks, Minces, Raw Meaty Bones, and for some dogs Ground down Fruit and Vegetables and a non Starchy Grain such as oats or brown rice or even the seed Quinona.
Option 1 - Complete Raw Meals
We at Pets Corner choose to stock and use the reputable supplier Natures Menu.
Natures Menu varieties are tested for safety, and are balanced across the range which means you can safely vary the type of meat your pet receives from day to day or week to week. They offer 9 different choices at the moment including a Puppy meal, a Senior meal, a meal designed for active dogs and 4 grain free varieties, with more planned soon.
Natures Menu believes feeding a variety of meats and ingredients is key with raw feeding. Dogs and cats can at times become intolerant to a meat type if it is fed solely for long periods of time. This is how the term ‘hypo-allergenic’ became popular for lamb based foods. At the time the lamb based foods were created chicken was the main ingredients in most foods and many dogs had become intolerant to it.
By varying the meat content your will ensure that your dog has the chance to gain different ranges of nutrients and his digestive system learns to cope with a variety of protein sources in a healthy way. Some dogs may well have intolerances to certain meat types, for these dogs the new Natures Menu single protein complete meals launched in late 2013 will be ideal.
With this way of feeding you should ideally still feed pets some raw meaty bones such as chicken wings or turkey necks at least every other day as these are an integral part of a raw feeding diet and nature’s toothbrush.
Option 2 - Homemade
This way of feeding is commonly based on weight as a guide to know how much to feed. Using a rule of around 2% of your dog’s body weight as the amount in weight that their daily food needs to be. As with all feeding you will have to take a note of your dog’s lifestyle and adapt the guidelines to fit your pet as an individual.
Many raw feeders do not include foods like rice or oats, with their dog’s meal. Many do not even include vegetables or fruits. Neither including or not including those ingredients of the meal has ever been proven or shown to be better for the animal, it is really up to the owner and the preference of the dog.
Either way it is the starches pets often find harder to digest and can often react to, so any white or refined grain is to be avoided. So definitely no pasta, tempting as it maybe!
What about the Crunch?!
The crunch of the matter – does your dog need something to crunch in his meal?
Perhaps because we humans eat this way, it has become very common for dog owners to believe that a dog needs something to ‘crunch’ in his meals and that by doing so his teeth will then be healthier, and even that he will have more fun when eating his dinner than a bowl of soft meat could provide.
In nature a dog does spend longer with his food and does clean his teeth with the components his meal. However he does this with meaty bones! And not starchy grain based biscuit or kibble.
Raw bones still contain moisture, both water and lipid (fat) moisture as that hasn’t been cooked out of them. They are softer, more pliable even somewhat bendy and definitely digestible, in the dogs far stronger acid stomach. It is the ripping and chewing action of the bones that acts as nature’s toothbrush.
Adding a starchy based dry biscuit or kibble will not provide the ripping and chewing action that a dog needs to clean his teeth. Does crunching on crisps or custard creams clean your teeth?