Raw Food Options
There are several options for someone wishing to feed their dog a raw food diet. You can choose to make your dog’s meals yourself. In that case there are several schools of thought about how best to feed your dog. These approaches include the BARF diet, the Prey Model diet, and some more eclectic versions of feeding raw food.
You can also choose to feed your dog a raw food diet using commercially-prepared raw foods and raw food pre-mixes. This method has become more popular in the last several years as more companies are making raw foods, and selling them in frozen or freeze-dried form. Many retail pet stores carry raw foods now and you can find many brands online.
- BARF – BARF stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bones And Raw Food. This dietary approach was created by Dr. Ian Billinghurst over 20 years ago – long before feeding a raw diet was popular. He outlines his ideas in his book Give Your Dog A Bone and in later books. As his ideas have evolved today, this diet consists of feeding your dog approximately 60 to 80 percent raw meaty bones (RMB). These are bones that consist of about 50 percent meat. Most people feed chicken necks, backs or wings but you can also feed turkey and other meats. The diet also provides about 20 to 40 percent fruit and vegetables, offal (internal organs), meat, eggs, and dairy.
- Prey Model Diet – The Prey Model diet is currently very popular though it hasn’t been around (under this name) as long as the BARF diet. This approach to raw feeding tries to mimic what a dog would eat in the wild. It draws heavily on the dog’s wolf ancestry. Feeding whole “prey” is encouraged, such as whole chicken, whole turkey, and whole rabbit, for example. This diet typically includes about 80 percent meat, including the heart, 10 percent bone, and 10 percent organs (with 5 percent being liver). This approach to feeding raw doesn’t believe that dogs have a dietary need for things like fruits or dairy and shuns carbohydrates. However, some owners like to include small amounts of vegetable matter based on the idea that dogs/wolves would eat plant matter when they ate the stomach contents of their prey – especially herbivores like rabbits.
- Commercial Raw Food and Pre-mixes – There are numerous companies making raw pet food commercially. This is an expanding sector in the pet food industry. Some of the companies also make kibble and/or canned foods. Some were originally butchers and meat packers for human foods and made the transition to pet food. And some of the companies are new to the pet food industry, concentrating solely on making raw pet food. You can even buy kibble and raw food (freeze-dried or dehyrated) combos in some brands, if you like the idea of feeding your dog kibble with a raw food boost.As with any pet food, when buying commercially-prepared raw pet food, you should look for the AAFCO statement saying that the food is nutritionally complete and balanced for a particular lifestage or for all ages. Even if you don’t put a lot of stock in AAFCO testing, this lets you know that the food has met minimum requirements for nutritional adequacy.The downside of commercial raw pet food is the cost. It is generally quite expensive, even taking into consideration that you will feed much less of the food in freeze-dried or dehydrated form. But it is a very convenient way for many people to feed a raw food diet if they don’t have time to shop and prepare a raw diet for their dog themselves. As already mentioned above, raw pet foods have become increasingly popular and they can usually be found at most large pet stores. They are also easy to order online for delivery.Pre-mixes refer to a mix you can buy from a raw pet food company that is a base for your dog’s meal. You have to add fresh foods to the mix such as meat, eggs, and dairy to make the meal nutritionally complete. These mixes do make it easier to prepare a raw food diet for your dog and they help you make your dog’s meals nutritionally complete as long as the pre-mix meets AAFCO approval. Be sure you read and understand the AAFCO statement since it may specify that the pre-mix is approved for certain lifestages or situations.Many people who feed their dog a raw food diet also add a vitamin and mineral mix to their dog’s food to make sure he is getting all of the nutrients he needs. There are a number of these mixes you can find online along with other supplement blends. Fresh vs. Freeze-Dried
When it comes to raw food, the major drawback is the fact that it must be used within a few days of opening the package. For many dog owners, this can be very inconvenient because it means you must buy your dog’s food more often. As an alternative to fresh dog food, however, there is another option: freeze-dried raw food. Freeze-dried raw food is simply raw food that has had the moisture removed through a rapid freezing and drying process. The process of freeze-drying is safe and natural, eliminating the need for artificial preservatives to extend the shelf-life of the product. If you want your dog to benefit from the nutrition provided by raw food but don’t want to deal with the hassle of buying the food fresh, consider freeze-dried raw food.
Variety
As with feeding a home-cooked diet, one of the best things you can do for your dog when feeding a raw diet is to feed a variety of foods. Every meal you feed your dog may not be nutritionally balanced but if you feed your dog a variety of foods over the course of several days, it’s much more likely that he will be getting all of the different vitamins and minerals he needs in his diet. Feed him different kinds of meat and different organs, for example. If you are using the BARF diet, feed him different kinds of fruit and vegetables and different kinds of dairy. Humans don’t eat a complete and balanced diet at every meal but we usually manage to eat a healthy selection of foods over the course of several days. Follow the same approach with your dog so he will get everything he needs in his diet.
Best Freeze-Dried Dog Foods
- Spot & Tango (what we personally recommend – non-GMO, human grade food)
- Merrick Backcountry Freeze-Dried Raw Puppy Recipe
- Orijen Original Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
- Instinct Frozen Raw Patties
- Acana Free-Run Poultry Recipe
- Vital Essentials Dog Food
- Ziwi Peak Beef Grain-Free Air-Dried
- K9 Natural Freeze-Dried Raw
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Source: https://dogfood.guru
