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What is a Raw Food Diet?
This means feeding a dog raw meats, bones and organs, not processed
commercial dog foods . Initially most people are shocked at the concept of
actually feeding our dogs REAL food. But it is in fact the most natural diet
for our doggy (and kitty) companions.
The benefits of natural raw foods are noticeable almost immediately.
Healthier, cleaner teeth & gums, a healthy shiny coat, less shedding,
improved energy levels, increased mobility in older arthritic dogs, stronger
immune system, less doggy odor & improved breath, smaller stools, slower
more steady growth rates in puppies, etc.
There are a number variations of the raw food
diet, some include grains or veggies, others totally exclude
them, others include dairy products, others again exclude them. The diet is as
individual as the people feeding their dogs. Best is to read as much as you
can and determine your own path.
The Basics of the Raw Food Diet
RAW MEATY BONES Your dog's diet should be comprised of 40-60% raw meaty
bones. The dog must be able to eat the bone as well as the meat. Chicken or
turkey necks, backs, wings, frames or carcasses, or chicken leg quarters are
the usual and most common RMB fed to dogs. Whole rabbit, duck, pheasant and
quail are great substitutes when available. Some pork bones (such as neck and
breast bones) also are consumable by the dog. Whole fish can be used in place
of RMB occasionally (up to once a week). A large knuckle bone would not be
considered a RMB since only a small amount of the bone is actually eaten. The
RMB can be given either whole or ground. Whole would be ideal as it provides
lots of exercise for the jaw and neck muscles and helps keep the teeth clean.
But if your dog is elderly, missing many teeth, has difficulty chewing, or if
you are worried about feeding whole bones them by all means grind them up!
Ground bones are much better than no bones at all!
Muscle Meats
Muscle meats (this includes heart, gizzard and tongue as well) can also
play a part in your dogs diet. Now and then you can feed a pure muscle meat
meal (no bones) but don't do this all the time as boneless meat is high in
phosphorous but low in calcium. Muscle meats are great for grinding or mincing
and mixing with veggies, supplements, etc. Keep pure muscle meats to 30% or
less of the overall diet. Chicken, turkey, lamb, goat, rabbit, pork, beef
& fish can be used. You can even feed emu, ostrich, duck, buffalo,
venison, moose, elk, etc if they are available feel free to give them a try
as well.
Vegetables & Fruits
Vegetables and fruit play a very small role in the overall health of our
pets. Because dogs have a very short intestinal tract they cannot efficiently
process vegetable fiber. In the wild, a dog would receive very little plan
matter in the diet, mostly in trace amounts through the process of eating the
intestines and stomach of their prey - they shake out most of the contents but
a small amount would end up being consumed. To effectively emulate this
process for our domestic dogs, it is necessary to break down the fiber of the
vegetable/fruit material . This can be easily done with a juicer (using the
remaining pulp), a food processor, a blender or a grinder.
If you choose to feed veggies, the best and most important vegetables to
use are dark leafy greens, such as: romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, chard,
beet greens, turnip greens, collards, parsley, cilantro, dandelion, etc. You
can feed other veggies too, but in smaller amounts than the leafy greens.
Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage (careful with these 3, they can cause gas, and
avoid in dogs with thyroid problems), carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, yellow
squash; beets all have high nutritional value. Also usable occasionally but
with less nutritional value is cucumber, celery, zucchini, lettuces other than
Romaine. Raw potatoes should not be fed, other vegetables from the Nightshade
family (tomatoes, peppers & eggplant) can be fed in small to moderate
amounts but are best avoided in an arthritic animal as they may aggravate the
condition. The only vegetable that would be considered absolutely off limits
is onions. A small amount of fresh ginger root and garlic is an excellent
addition to the veggie mix. Some people instead of feeding raw veggies will
instead feed canned plain pumpkin or baked yams as a source of fiber in their
pets diet.
Fruit if fed, is best used ripe to over ripe. In the wild, a dog would only
get very limited amounts of berries or similar fruits during a small portion
of the year. Fruit should be fed only in small amounts and fed separately from
other foods, at least a couple hours away from other meals...it is digested
much faster than meat and veggies are feeding everything together can cause
the fruit to ferment in the gut! That said, small amounts of fruit mixed into
the regular meals is well tolerated by most dogs.
Variety is the key to success. Alternate 3 - 4 vegetables. Buy in season
produce and be sure to use your vegetable trimmings from your own meals.
Recreational Bones
These are larger bones like beef knuckle or shank bones. Recreational bones
are for chewing and gnawing, rather than eating entirely. This action cleans
teeth and massages the gums. Recreational bones should ideally be offered a
few times a week, or daily with a teething puppy.
Organ Meat
Organ meats, such as liver and kidney, should be fed in small amounts
several times a week. (Plan for organ meat to be about 10% of the diet
overall) These can be either ground and added to the meals or given in chunks.
Organs are very rich so too much can cause loose stools. If you feed chicken
backs, take a close look at them, they often have nice pieces of kidney and
sometimes lung as well attached to the spine! Heart, although an organ, is
made of muscle tissue so should be used as muscle meat rather than organ meat.
Tripe (stomach) is another organ you may come across, and is another organ
(like heart) that is not fed like an organ meat as it is a muscular organ.
Avoid the bleached white tripe you may find in grocery stores, it is highly
processed and good, with little nutrition left in it. The "good" tripe is raw,
unprocessed 'green' tripe...this still has wonderful enzymes, beneficial
bacteria, and pre-digested vegetable matter. Tripe has a perfect
calcium/phosphorous ratio (comparable to RMB), so it can be fed in place of a
RMB meal several times a week if desired. Only two problems with tripe....for
one it stinks!!! (But the dogs love it!) The other is lack of availability in
many areas. You will never find green tripe in a butcher shop or grocery
store, since it is not something people eat....but many raw-food companies
sell it, and it can be mail-ordered! Check with other local raw feeders for
sources, or check with me and I will try to find you a source.
Eggs & Dairy
Eggs (ideally free-range) can be added to the diet. They are an excellent
source of protein and vitamins. They can be mixed with veggies or ground meat,
and some dogs will eat them plain. Contrary to the 'old wives tale', raw eggs
are very good for your dog as long as fed whole! Egg white does contain
avidin, which binds up biotin.....but the yolk contains a ton of biotin which
more than offsets the avidin. So the only way you would produce a biotin
deficiency from feeding eggs would be to feed egg white only for a long period
of time.
Dairy is not an essential part of the diet, but many dogs enjoy it so it
can be added occasionally for variety if you wish. Plain yogurt and cottage
cheese are the best (buy the higher-fat ones, not the low-fat), other cheeses
can be used as training teats, etc. Many dogs have problems digesting cows
milk, but will do fine on goats milk. The best "dairy" in my opinion is kefir
(most health food and some grocery stores have it), it is somewhat similar to
yogurt but has a much better profile of beneficial bacteria cultures and is
excellent for the digestive tract.
Supplements
Very few supplements are needed if you are feeding a varied diet. The one
supplement I consider essential is a high-EFA(essential fatty acid) oil such
as Salmon oil, Herring oil, Anchovy or Sardine oil or Arctic Vigor (seal oil).
You should be adding an EFA oil to your dogs diet at lest 3-4 days a week for
most pets. Kelp is a supplement used by many people for its trace minerals,
but this should be used in very small amounts, I recommend no more than 1/8
tsp for a GSP, and no more often than 2-3 times a week at the most.
Serving a Raw Diet
It is up to your whether you feed once or twice a day. I personally feed
dogs over the age of 5 months only one meal a day, as I find my dogs do better
on less frequent feedings. To contain mess, many people feed their dogs in the
crates, some will feed outside or even teach their dog to eat in the bathtub
or on a placemat in the kitchen.
Many raw feeders fast their dogs once a week, giving just water and
possibly a recreational bone. This allows the digestive tract a rest, and
helps clean out toxins and parasites from the system. Remember, a wild dog
will not necessarily eat every day. In fact, many raw-fed dogs will fast
themselves!
Traveling with Raw Food
Feeding raw food can make traveling a little more difficult, but it
certainly can be done! If you will be traveling where there will be
electricity, a portable electric cooler can be used as a mini-fridge and
will keep you meat fresh as long as needed. For camping where you have no
electricity, a cooler will suffice for several days (the Coleman Extreme brand
will keep meat frozen at least 5 days I hear, you could also consider using
dry ice in the cooler), beyond that you can go to non-raw but still healthy
alternatives, such as canned salmon, tuna or mackerel for protein with canned
pumpkin for veggies. Eggs will also keep quite well. There are also several
forms of dehydrated diets available, you just have to add water to it and
there is dinner! They can be quite expensive, but are great for traveling!
Wysong Archetype, Steve’s Real Food, Solid Gold Buckaroo Beef, and NRG (this
last one contains grain, so may not be suitable for all dogs) are some of the
most common brands of dehydrated diet.
Here is a really great recipe for you and your dog!
Granola Goodness
No bake dog and people treats
1 cup old fashion or quick cooking oats
½ cup almond or peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup granola
Stir all ingredients together in a med bowl
until combined.
Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes Remove from
the fridge and roll into 1 inch balls
Store in a airtight container between wax paper and keep
In fridge for up to one week.
ENJOY!
* Special Thanks to Liebmeister Kennels.
This means feeding a dog raw meats, bones and organs, not processed
commercial dog foods . Initially most people are shocked at the concept of
actually feeding our dogs REAL food. But it is in fact the most natural diet
for our doggy (and kitty) companions.
The benefits of natural raw foods are noticeable almost immediately.
Healthier, cleaner teeth & gums, a healthy shiny coat, less shedding,
improved energy levels, increased mobility in older arthritic dogs, stronger
immune system, less doggy odor & improved breath, smaller stools, slower
more steady growth rates in puppies, etc.
There are a number variations of the raw food
diet, some include grains or veggies, others totally exclude
them, others include dairy products, others again exclude them. The diet is as
individual as the people feeding their dogs. Best is to read as much as you
can and determine your own path.
The Basics of the Raw Food Diet
RAW MEATY BONES Your dog's diet should be comprised of 40-60% raw meaty
bones. The dog must be able to eat the bone as well as the meat. Chicken or
turkey necks, backs, wings, frames or carcasses, or chicken leg quarters are
the usual and most common RMB fed to dogs. Whole rabbit, duck, pheasant and
quail are great substitutes when available. Some pork bones (such as neck and
breast bones) also are consumable by the dog. Whole fish can be used in place
of RMB occasionally (up to once a week). A large knuckle bone would not be
considered a RMB since only a small amount of the bone is actually eaten. The
RMB can be given either whole or ground. Whole would be ideal as it provides
lots of exercise for the jaw and neck muscles and helps keep the teeth clean.
But if your dog is elderly, missing many teeth, has difficulty chewing, or if
you are worried about feeding whole bones them by all means grind them up!
Ground bones are much better than no bones at all!
Muscle Meats
Muscle meats (this includes heart, gizzard and tongue as well) can also
play a part in your dogs diet. Now and then you can feed a pure muscle meat
meal (no bones) but don't do this all the time as boneless meat is high in
phosphorous but low in calcium. Muscle meats are great for grinding or mincing
and mixing with veggies, supplements, etc. Keep pure muscle meats to 30% or
less of the overall diet. Chicken, turkey, lamb, goat, rabbit, pork, beef
& fish can be used. You can even feed emu, ostrich, duck, buffalo,
venison, moose, elk, etc if they are available feel free to give them a try
as well.
Vegetables & Fruits
Vegetables and fruit play a very small role in the overall health of our
pets. Because dogs have a very short intestinal tract they cannot efficiently
process vegetable fiber. In the wild, a dog would receive very little plan
matter in the diet, mostly in trace amounts through the process of eating the
intestines and stomach of their prey - they shake out most of the contents but
a small amount would end up being consumed. To effectively emulate this
process for our domestic dogs, it is necessary to break down the fiber of the
vegetable/fruit material . This can be easily done with a juicer (using the
remaining pulp), a food processor, a blender or a grinder.
If you choose to feed veggies, the best and most important vegetables to
use are dark leafy greens, such as: romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, chard,
beet greens, turnip greens, collards, parsley, cilantro, dandelion, etc. You
can feed other veggies too, but in smaller amounts than the leafy greens.
Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage (careful with these 3, they can cause gas, and
avoid in dogs with thyroid problems), carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, yellow
squash; beets all have high nutritional value. Also usable occasionally but
with less nutritional value is cucumber, celery, zucchini, lettuces other than
Romaine. Raw potatoes should not be fed, other vegetables from the Nightshade
family (tomatoes, peppers & eggplant) can be fed in small to moderate
amounts but are best avoided in an arthritic animal as they may aggravate the
condition. The only vegetable that would be considered absolutely off limits
is onions. A small amount of fresh ginger root and garlic is an excellent
addition to the veggie mix. Some people instead of feeding raw veggies will
instead feed canned plain pumpkin or baked yams as a source of fiber in their
pets diet.
Fruit if fed, is best used ripe to over ripe. In the wild, a dog would only
get very limited amounts of berries or similar fruits during a small portion
of the year. Fruit should be fed only in small amounts and fed separately from
other foods, at least a couple hours away from other meals...it is digested
much faster than meat and veggies are feeding everything together can cause
the fruit to ferment in the gut! That said, small amounts of fruit mixed into
the regular meals is well tolerated by most dogs.
Variety is the key to success. Alternate 3 - 4 vegetables. Buy in season
produce and be sure to use your vegetable trimmings from your own meals.
Recreational Bones
These are larger bones like beef knuckle or shank bones. Recreational bones
are for chewing and gnawing, rather than eating entirely. This action cleans
teeth and massages the gums. Recreational bones should ideally be offered a
few times a week, or daily with a teething puppy.
Organ Meat
Organ meats, such as liver and kidney, should be fed in small amounts
several times a week. (Plan for organ meat to be about 10% of the diet
overall) These can be either ground and added to the meals or given in chunks.
Organs are very rich so too much can cause loose stools. If you feed chicken
backs, take a close look at them, they often have nice pieces of kidney and
sometimes lung as well attached to the spine! Heart, although an organ, is
made of muscle tissue so should be used as muscle meat rather than organ meat.
Tripe (stomach) is another organ you may come across, and is another organ
(like heart) that is not fed like an organ meat as it is a muscular organ.
Avoid the bleached white tripe you may find in grocery stores, it is highly
processed and good, with little nutrition left in it. The "good" tripe is raw,
unprocessed 'green' tripe...this still has wonderful enzymes, beneficial
bacteria, and pre-digested vegetable matter. Tripe has a perfect
calcium/phosphorous ratio (comparable to RMB), so it can be fed in place of a
RMB meal several times a week if desired. Only two problems with tripe....for
one it stinks!!! (But the dogs love it!) The other is lack of availability in
many areas. You will never find green tripe in a butcher shop or grocery
store, since it is not something people eat....but many raw-food companies
sell it, and it can be mail-ordered! Check with other local raw feeders for
sources, or check with me and I will try to find you a source.
Eggs & Dairy
Eggs (ideally free-range) can be added to the diet. They are an excellent
source of protein and vitamins. They can be mixed with veggies or ground meat,
and some dogs will eat them plain. Contrary to the 'old wives tale', raw eggs
are very good for your dog as long as fed whole! Egg white does contain
avidin, which binds up biotin.....but the yolk contains a ton of biotin which
more than offsets the avidin. So the only way you would produce a biotin
deficiency from feeding eggs would be to feed egg white only for a long period
of time.
Dairy is not an essential part of the diet, but many dogs enjoy it so it
can be added occasionally for variety if you wish. Plain yogurt and cottage
cheese are the best (buy the higher-fat ones, not the low-fat), other cheeses
can be used as training teats, etc. Many dogs have problems digesting cows
milk, but will do fine on goats milk. The best "dairy" in my opinion is kefir
(most health food and some grocery stores have it), it is somewhat similar to
yogurt but has a much better profile of beneficial bacteria cultures and is
excellent for the digestive tract.
Supplements
Very few supplements are needed if you are feeding a varied diet. The one
supplement I consider essential is a high-EFA(essential fatty acid) oil such
as Salmon oil, Herring oil, Anchovy or Sardine oil or Arctic Vigor (seal oil).
You should be adding an EFA oil to your dogs diet at lest 3-4 days a week for
most pets. Kelp is a supplement used by many people for its trace minerals,
but this should be used in very small amounts, I recommend no more than 1/8
tsp for a GSP, and no more often than 2-3 times a week at the most.
Serving a Raw Diet
It is up to your whether you feed once or twice a day. I personally feed
dogs over the age of 5 months only one meal a day, as I find my dogs do better
on less frequent feedings. To contain mess, many people feed their dogs in the
crates, some will feed outside or even teach their dog to eat in the bathtub
or on a placemat in the kitchen.
Many raw feeders fast their dogs once a week, giving just water and
possibly a recreational bone. This allows the digestive tract a rest, and
helps clean out toxins and parasites from the system. Remember, a wild dog
will not necessarily eat every day. In fact, many raw-fed dogs will fast
themselves!
Traveling with Raw Food
Feeding raw food can make traveling a little more difficult, but it
certainly can be done! If you will be traveling where there will be
electricity, a portable electric cooler can be used as a mini-fridge and
will keep you meat fresh as long as needed. For camping where you have no
electricity, a cooler will suffice for several days (the Coleman Extreme brand
will keep meat frozen at least 5 days I hear, you could also consider using
dry ice in the cooler), beyond that you can go to non-raw but still healthy
alternatives, such as canned salmon, tuna or mackerel for protein with canned
pumpkin for veggies. Eggs will also keep quite well. There are also several
forms of dehydrated diets available, you just have to add water to it and
there is dinner! They can be quite expensive, but are great for traveling!
Wysong Archetype, Steve’s Real Food, Solid Gold Buckaroo Beef, and NRG (this
last one contains grain, so may not be suitable for all dogs) are some of the
most common brands of dehydrated diet.
Here is a really great recipe for you and your dog!
Granola Goodness
No bake dog and people treats
1 cup old fashion or quick cooking oats
½ cup almond or peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup granola
Stir all ingredients together in a med bowl
until combined.
Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes Remove from
the fridge and roll into 1 inch balls
Store in a airtight container between wax paper and keep
In fridge for up to one week.
ENJOY!
* Special Thanks to Liebmeister Kennels.
