Selecting an ideal raw diet for your Pitbull is essential to their continued health and happiness. A balanced raw diet should consist of meat-rich meals, veggies and an appropriate blend of supplements.
If you are new to feeding raw, it is recommended that you start with small quantities of low-bone content meat such as chicken leg quarters or necks as an introduction.
Contents
1. Variety is Key
An optimal raw diet should consist of proteins, fats and micronutrients to provide your Pitbull with an all-inclusive, nutritional diet.
Diverse protein sources will ensure your dog receives all of the essential vitamins and minerals they require in an easily digestible format – this is particularly beneficial for pitbulls who may struggle to process meat as food sources.
As much as it’s tempting, try not to feed your pet too many starchy foods such as potatoes and grains; these may lead to insulin production which disrupts the balance of microbes in their stomach.
2. Meaty Bones
Raw meaty bones (RMBs) provide your pup with essential proteins, calcium and other essential nutrients – however they should not be the mainstay of his raw diet, as they can cause choking or broken teeth.
RMBs may contain bacteria. To stay on the safe side, choose only suppliers with stringent handling practices and zero tolerance policies for pathogens.
While recreational bones such as smoked beef femurs, marrow bones, and other recreational pieces of bone may be suitable for some dogs, RMBs are the only kind that provide your pup with a safe natural chew solution. Regularly chewing on an RMB helps remove plaque build-up, reduce bad breath symptoms, strengthen teeth and jaw structures as well as provide relief for discomfort associated with dental diseases and aid dental hygiene.
3. Vegetables
Vegetables provide vital vitamins and minerals, helping your dog flourish on a raw diet. Vegetables include dark green veggies, red/orange veggies, starchy vegetables and legumes (beans/peas).
Integrating vegetables into your pet’s raw diet is an easy way to improve their overall health. They’re packed full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals – and provide important dietary benefits!
Vegetables can be pureed, lightly steamed or fermented to help ensure that their digestive tract can absorb all of their essential vitamins and minerals effectively.
4. Liver
Liver is an essential raw diet component, offering essential fat-soluble vitamins. Furthermore, liver helps metabolize nutrients while clearing away toxins from your system.
Liver is an extremely nutritious food source and should make up no more than 10 percent of your pet’s daily meal plan.
Liver provides calcium and phosphorus, essential components of strong bones. Furthermore, liver is packed with Vitamin A which will improve both their coat quality and immune system health.
Pitbulls can benefit from eating various raw organ meats, including chicken, turkey and lamb gizzards as well as green tripe (not the bleached kind).
5. Other Organs
Organs are structures within the body that perform specific functions, such as breathing. Lungs provide oxygen to blood and remove carbon dioxide, liver produces energy, while eye contains muscle cells to open and close eyes along with clear cells which make up lens and cornea – as well as special cells which detect light.
If you are considering switching your pitbull over to a raw diet, be mindful that no single organ should account for more than 5-10% of its food intake. In particular, liver contains lots of Vitamin A which can cause diarrhea in dogs; instead focus on mixing up their nutrients between meats, veggies and fish for maximum happiness, health and strength in your pet.
