WHAT IS RAW FEEDING?

Raw feeding is basically what it sounds like- feeding your dog or cat uncooked foods.

 There are many approaches to raw feeding. Many people use common ratio recipes (such as PMR or BARF).  A quick Google search will bring up information about these approaches. This group focuses on using nutritonal standards for analyzing homemade diets. Some people feed ratio diets and analyze them with National Research Council’s Nutrient Requirements of Cats and Dogs.

If you are interested in the benefits of feeding a fresh food diet, we recommend Plear’s artical here.

 
WON'T BACTERIA IN RAW FOOD HURT MY DOG?

While many will say this is impossible, that is certainly not the case. Especially in unhealthy dogs, there is a risk of bacteria borne illness. For healthy dogs, this is very uncommon and many dogs can enjoy raw food with the benefits.

ARE RAW MEATY BONES (RMB) DANGEROUS?

Never feed cooked bones. Raw meaty bones are safe. Generally, we want to feed bones that are appropriate for a dogs size. Avoiding weight bearing bones is a good idea as well.

WHAT TYPES OF FOODS DO RAW FEEDERS USE?

Raw feeders feed many types of meats. It is important to reearch the meat you are feeding to avoid feeding something contaminated. Some foods need freezing first. Others should be avoided altogether. If you are using the NRC nutritional standards, then you will know that you can choose ingredients based on availability. It is generally hard to balance without some organ meat.

Common ingredients:

Livers

Hearts

Kidneys

Chicken

Beef

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST AND HOW MUCH TIME WILL IT TAKE?

Commerical raw foods are generally the most expensive. Always check for the complete and balanced label and do not rely on 80/10/10 grinds for nutritional adequacy. It will save you the most time.

Proper DIY raw can be cheaper depending on sources. Joining Co-Ops, creating posts on Facebook Classifieds pages asking for help are ways to reduce costs. DIY raw takes the most time- especially at first when understanding the nutritonal requirements.

Figuring out your dog or cat’s nutritional requirements will help you better understand the potential costs.

CAN I MIX RAW AND KIBBLE?

Absolutely. There is no evidence that kibble and raw cannot be digested together. Furthermore, adding fresh food to kibble is a great way to improve dietary intake without breaking the bank or taking too much time. Try not to replace more that 15% of the calories unless the food being added is balanced as well.