The Raw TruthThe American Kennel Club (AKC), American Veterinary Medical Association and other groups discourage pet owners from feeding dogs raw or unprocessed meat, eggs and milk. Raw meat and dairy can carry pathogens, like E. coli, listeria and salmonella, which can make pets and people sick or even cause death.
Raw dog food diet: What it is
- Muscle meat, often still on the bone.
- Bones, either whole or ground.
- Organ meats such as livers and kidneys.
- Raw eggs.
- Vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and celery.
- Apples or other fruit.
- Some dairy, such as yogurt.
Do not feed raw eggs to dogs. Eggs are good for dogs as they provide an excellent source of fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and protein. Essentially the entire egg, including the eggshell, can be nutritious for dogs.
How Much Raw Food to Feed a Dog? Feed approximately 2-3% of your dog's weight daily and split this between two meals. For example, a 50 lb dog would need ½ to ¾ of a lb raw dog food per meal. Very active or working dogs may need more and less active "couch-potato" dogs may need less.
5 Tips to Feed Your Dog Raw on a Kibble Budget
- Feed One Raw Meal a Day, Instead of Two.
- Use Raw as a Tasty, High-Value Treat.
- Make Raw an Occasional Meal.
- Buy in Bulk.
- Spend Your Money on Great Food, Not Veterinary Bills.
Dogs are able to digest raw meat, but that does not mean they should eat it. All raw meat has the risk of containing bacteria like salmonella and listeria. Because of the risk of bacteria in uncooked meat, the FDA, CDC and others all have taken the position against feeding dogs raw meat.
Considering how many dog foods contain chicken as an ingredient, it's a safe bet that you can feed your dog chicken. Most sources recommend against raw chicken, due to the risk of salmonella or bacterial infections, although the movement toward raw food, including raw chicken and raw chicken bones, is growing.
The Best Dry Dog FoodsDecember 2020
- Wellness Complete Health Dry Dog Food.
- Instinct Original Grain-Free Dry.
- Nature's Logic Dry Dog Food.
- Blue Buffalo Life Protection Dry.
- Canidae Grain-Free Pure Dry Dog Food.
- Orijen Dry Dog Food.
- Diamond Naturals Dry Kibble.
- Nulo Freestyle Dry Dog Food.
Feeding Guidelines
| Raw Recipes | Gently Cooked Recipes |
|---|
| 75 lb dog - 1 1/2 Pouch per Day (24oz) | 75 lb dog - 24oz (3 cups*) |
| 50 lb dog - 1 Pouch per Day (16oz) | 50 lb dog - 16oz (2 cups*) |
| 25 lb dog - 1/2 Pouch per Day (8oz) | 25 lb dog - 8oz (1 cup*) |
| 12 lb dog - 1/4 Pouch per Day (4oz) | 12 lb dog - 4oz (1/2 cup*) |
The 5 Top-Rated Freeze Dried Dog Foods
| Editor's Picks | Brand | Rating |
|---|
| Best Overall Freeze-Dried Dog Food | Northwest Naturals Freeze Dried Raw Dog Food Nuggets | 4.5 |
| Best Freeze-Dried Mixer | Stella & Chewy's Freeze-Dried Raw Stella's Super Beef Meal Mixers | 4.5 |
| Best Budget Buy | K9 Natural Grain-Free Freeze Dried Dog Food | 4.4 |
Feeding Instructions
| Dog's Current | Maintain | Lose Weight |
|---|
| 45 | 1 lb 2 oz | 10.5 oz |
| 50 | 1.25 lbs | 12 oz |
| 60 | 1.50 lbs | 14.5 oz |
| 70 | 1.75 lbs | 1 lb |
Dog owners should be aware that feeding your pup a raw food diet may be more time consuming than giving them cooked, commercially-made dog food. Meticulous care is required in the handling, preparation, and sanitation of raw food. Also, a raw food diet is typically more expensive than a processed kibble diet.
Factor Pricing Method – ShortcutUsing the same variables of the raw food cost and the percentage of food cost, we can just divide the food cost percent (as a percent) into the raw food cost: $3.00 raw food cost / 0.40 (40% food cost percent written as a decimal) = $7.50 selling price of the item.
TRUTH: Most of the bacteria found in raw meat diets can survive freezing (and freeze-drying). MYTH 5: “As long as bones are raw, they're safe.” TRUTH:Bones, whether raw or cooked, can fracture dogs' and cats' teeth.
Raw diets, especially raw meat diets, are not recommended because of the risk for salmonellosis and other infections that can affect pets and their owners.
As Dr. Reimschuessel explained, the study “identified a potential health risk for the pets eating the raw food, and for the owners handling the product.” Owners who feed their pet a raw diet may have a higher risk of getting infected with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.
DON'T – Mix kibble with raw at the same feeding unless doing a temporary, slow transition. Raw only takes 4-6 hours to digest while kibble takes 8-10 hours. If fed together, the kibble may slow down the digestive process, potentially causing the raw to be held in the digestive system for twice as long as it should be.
Some terrific ”people food” that your dog will love (and his body will find healthy as well) include:
- Lean chicken or turkey, skinless and boneless.
- Beef, ground or cubed.
- Liver, raw or cooked (no more than once a week to avoid a vitamin A toxicity build- up)
- Most fish, including tuna and salmon.
Raw meat is likely to contain harmful bacteria like Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli and more. Cooking meat to a safe temperature kills off those harmful bacteria. By feeding uncooked meat, there's a higher risk your dog will develop a foodborne illness or other type of bacterial infection.
Most dogs' poop does go smaller on a raw fed diet. This is because unlike a kibble diet, where the dog's system doesn't process most ingredients, a raw diet is just right for your fur baby.
The Best Dog Foods, According to Veterinarians
- Purina Pro Plan SAVOR Shredded Blend With Probiotics Adult Dry Dog Food.
- Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Ultamino Dry Dog Food 8.8 lbs bag.
- HILL'S PRESCRIPTION DIET Metabolic Chicken Flavor Dry Dog Food.
Freeze-drying leaves the food nearly unchanged compared with raw frozen diets, and kills a percentage of bacteria (4).
When you are ready to serve the freeze dried raw food, you simply run it under warm water to rehydrate it. In essence, frozen and freeze-dried raw food offer similar benefits. They both protect the nutritional value of your pet's raw food while increasing shelf life.
Freeze-Dried: Retains majority of vitamins and minerals found in fresh, raw pet food. No added vitamins or minerals needed to meet complete and balanced diet standards for dogs and cats of all life stages. Dehydrated: Many vitamins lost in processing, with only 40-50% of nutrients remaining in the food.
Most of these freeze-dried dog food products are meant to be rehydrated with water before serving, though the products that come in small cubes can be fed as treats without rehydrating. In general, though, adding water will bulk up the food, making it more filling for your dog, as well as easier to digest.
Leaving grains out of your dog's diet, however, might be a far greater health risk than keeping them in. According to a warning from the Food and Drug Administration released last week, grain-free food might be giving dogs a life-threatening heart problem called dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM.
Freeze drying is a slow process that preserves nutrients, enzymes, and protein structures while making the food shelf stable, so it does not require refrigeration. Freeze-dried food is nutritionally equal to raw food, except for the lack of moisture.
He is Dr. Marty Goldstein, a pioneer of integrative veterinary medicine who has been combining conventional practices with alternative treatments—like vitamins, supplements and health-oriented dietary modifications—for over four decades, at South Salem, NY's Smith Ridge Veterinary Center.
