What is a raw food diet for dogs?
I have heard people talk about a raw food diet for dogs, what exactly is that? What are the benefits and will it make him gain weight. He is pretty small for his size and he eats a healthy dog food and he still hasn’t seemed to gain much weight. Any advice will help.
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Filed under: Raw Food Diet
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I feed prey model raw. I feed chickens, game hens, beef, pork, lamb and venison when I can get it. I don’t use any veggies, dogs can’t really use them unless they are "partially digested" already.
I shoot for an 80:10:10 ratio. 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. Of that 10% organ half is liver. This isn’t met every time, but with a raw diet you’re going for balance over time, just like in nature and just like with our diets.
It can make your dog overweight, but any food can do that. You just need to feed the correct amounts. For a rawfed dog you start out with 2-3% of their IDEAL adult weight, and then adjust as needed.
Benefits of a correclty done raw diet include:
Healthier dogs
Better skin and coat condition
Good dental health
Smaller less frequent poops (because the dog is using most of what it eats)
Extremely lessened doggie odor
Those are some general benefits.
For my dog Bindi the benefits have been great. For the first 2 years of her life Bindi was a walking skeleton with fur. Several vet checks by a few different vets found nothing wrong. We tried every high quality commercial food I could get my hands on. She just refused to eat, she only ate enough to keep her from dropping over dead.
Then at yet another vet visit I also mentioned her teeth. They were as brown and her coat. The vet said she would need yearly dentals for the rest of her life. Bindi is only 2 years old.
Now on raw she has put on much needed weight, her teeth are as white this page, and he previously dry brittle coat, is gorgeous.
If you are interested in this type of diet do your research. Done correclty the benefits far outweigh the risks. Remember dogs can and do choke and die on kibble every year, nothing is without risk.
Some good books on the topic are Raw Meaty Bones, and Works Wonders by Tom Lonsdale. There are others out there too.
Some raw diet links:
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html
http://www.rawfed.com/dental.html
http://rawfeddogs.net/
http://www.rawlearning.com/
Raw feeding is just that; feeding a dog raw meats and some veggies as opposed to kibble. There are tons of books about raw feeding and websited to introduce you to it. It’s very customizable to your dog’s needs and your time. If your dog is skinny and cannot gain weight, you should probably check with a vet to make sure he doesn’t have worms or thyroid issues or any other health problems which could be responsible, before resorting to a drastic diet change.
Raw Food: Dogs, in my opinion, should eat, as far as possible, a raw diet: raw meat, liquidised raw fruit and veg, and raw bones. It’s simple to feed, and, as your own common sense will tell you, it’s what dogs are designed to eat. Here’s how a raw diet works
Dogs should be fed on a variety of raw meat and bones. Just sticking to one meat source will deprive the dog of nutrients. Do not feed pork. If your dog has a skin or bowel problem, do not initially feed beef; wait until you’re sure that it won’t cause hypersensitivity (4 weeks), and then introduce gradually. Raw chicken wings can also be fed as a meat source two or three times a week and are ideal for small dogs and puppies over 5 weeks. Never give cooked bones: they are prone to splinter and can cause internal problems for your pet. Raw bones are easily chewed and digested, and provide much-needed calcium. It is very unlikely, but not impossible, that bones will become stuck in the digestive tract; if you do not give bones to clean teeth, however, poor teeth and general anaesthetic for dental work is very likely. Giving raw vegetable stalks (eg broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) or whole raw carrots and other fibrous vegetables helps to keep teeth clean.
Daily quantities of raw meat: for every 10kg of body weight, a dog should eat 2-400g of meat/meaty bones. This is only a guideline to start: if your dog is gaining weight, reduce the quantity; if it is losing weight, increase it. Chicken wings should be counted as meat, but meaty bones should be fed, in addition to meat, at least twice weekly for teeth cleaning and to supply calcium. Minces with ground bone content (e.g. AMP minces – see later) are an excellent source of calcium. You can feed once or twice daily.
For every handful of meat, feed two handfuls of liquidised raw fruit and veg* – a bit like ‘meat-and-two-veg’ that we’re all used to hearing. Freshly ground-up nuts (any nuts), ground-up seeds (pumpkin, sunflower etc.), herbs (any) should be added to the ‘veg’ portion. Cooked beans can replace meat occasionally.
Feed fresh viscera once a week instead of meaty bones (heart, kidney, lung or liver). Remember, wild animals as a food source come with viscera (organ meat) as well as muscle meat and bones; it’ s a necessary part of a balanced diet, however distasteful it may appear. Vary the organ meat weekly.
Treats can include baked liver cubes, small amounts of freeze-dried meats, fruit and veg portions or dried fruit (not raisins).
Do not feed cereals or rice (mixer biscuits or treats). Do not feed raisins. Buckwheat and Quinoa are good fillers as they are not cereals.
* Take any vegetables, especially green-leaved ones, fruit and salad items and place in the liquidiser. You can use just one or two ingredients at any one liquidising, but make sure you have variety from week to week. Blend to a rough broth. If necessary, add some water. Pour the liquidised mix onto the meat until you have a meat-to-veg ratio of 1:2 by volume. If your dog is ill or old, you should take a few days to slowly and gradually switch to the new regimen .
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