Raw meat provides essential protein that fuels dogs’ bodily processes and contains many immune-enhancing nutrients, but beware: raw meat often contains bones that could choke your pup! As such, digestive aids should also be utilized when transitioning your pet onto this type of diet.
Raw diets offer many advantages for pets, such as improved coat and skin health, less shedding and smaller stool size. Furthermore, these diets are easier to digest and may help relieve allergy symptoms.
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It’s a natural diet
Wild dogs and wolves have relied on raw foods, including meats, bones, organs, fruits, and vegetables, to support their digestive systems over many millennia. Raw food also offers more nutrition than processed kibble, which typically is high in carbohydrates while lacking in proteins.
Raw foods provide easily digestible protein and fat sources from muscle meats as well as natural enzymes, vitamins, minerals and micro-nutrients like taurine. Furthermore, raw muscle meats provide naturally occurring glucosamine and chondroitin to aid joint health.
Remembering the spread of bacteria through cooking equipment and surfaces used for raw food preparation, it is imperative that all trays, bowls and cutting boards used after each meal preparation are washed with hot water and mild dishwashing liquid after use. This simple step protects all members of the household from infection. High pressure processing (HPP) offers an effective means of inactivating harmful pathogens without altering or damaging food itself.
It’s cheaper
Raw meats tend to be cheaper and easier for pet owners to source than their kibble counterparts, while homemade raw diets may even save more by cutting the cost of equipment like food processors and blenders.
Raw-meat eaters usually buy items discarded by grocery stores, such as chicken feet, poultry carcasses, pig heads and organs – these tend to contain high protein concentrations for consumption in raw diets that also include various vegetables and fruits as part of a well-rounded raw diet.
However, feeding only raw-meat will not provide your dog with all of the vitamins and minerals he requires for good health. Supplementing his diet with other food sources, like quinoa for instance, will ensure he receives adequate nutrition without developing nutritional-related illnesses that would necessitate costly vet visits; those funds can then be spent on toys or treats for your pup!
It’s healthier
Dogs were designed to eat raw meat, and a well-rounded raw diet will provide them with all of the protein they require to fuel important processes like oxygen transport, metabolism and growth. Raw diets also contain healthy levels of fat for energy provision and digestion is easier for most dogs than processed kibble.
Proper hygiene should always be observed when feeding raw diets to your pet, particularly if there are children present who could become ill from food poisoning. You should always wash all utensils, bowls and feeding areas after each meal as well as the freezers used to prepare meals; washing hands thoroughly after handling raw food should also be practiced. Puppies, pregnant or nursing dogs or animals with pancreatitis or any health issue that would compromise a high protein/low fiber diet should never receive such diets!
It’s more natural
Even though eating raw meat might appear less processed than other forms of food, it doesn’t guarantee better health for pets. A typical raw pet diet could contain ingredients sanitized using high-pressure processing (HPP). HPP is also widely used on human products like juice, baby food, seafood, fruits and dairy products.
Raw food supporters argue that it is more natural for dogs to eat a diet composed of uncooked animal meat, organs and bones – since dogs are descendants of wild wolves that feed off animal prey – than processed pet foods filled with ingredients they don’t require and may lead to allergic reactions in dogs.
Experts advise pet owners whose animals have pancreatitis or other health conditions to begin by offering cooked diets prior to transitioning them onto raw. It’s also wise to provide various protein sources on an rotating basis in order to minimize allergies from specific proteins.
