It wasn't until about 100 years ago that dry kibble and canned food became the norm for dogs and cats. Before that Dogs were often given raw meats, bones and the unwanted organs from poultry and cattle. With cats often catching mice and birds for their meals. 

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The dry dog food industry took off thanks to WWII. When the US entered WWII, metal and meat were both rationed. This launched cereal-based dry food. And, like plain crackers, flavor coatings were sprinkled and sprayed on the dry food so dogs and cats gobbled them up.The Pet Food Institute, a pet food industry lobbyist launched ad campaigns in 1964 in an effort to convince consumers that the only good food to feed was commercially prepared food. 

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This of course is far from the truth. The dry kibble is filled with unnecessary additives and fillers, which is much harder for our pups to digest and takes much more time. A big filler is grains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dogs are not able to process whole grains, nor are they meant too. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dogs are descendants of wolves, and as their looks have changed, the way they process their food has not. Their bodies are designed to process raw meat and it is much easier for them to process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the physical benefits of a raw dog food diet can be:
 

• Cleaner teeth and fresh breath 

• Better weight control 

• Improved digestion 

• Shinier, healthier skin and coat 

• Reduction of allergy symptoms 

• Harder, smaller, less smelly stools 

• Increased mobility in older animals 

• More energy and stamina 

• Strengthened immune system 

• Improved liver, pancreatic and bowel health 

• Savings due to less trips to the vet 

• Longer lifespan! Holistic vets say dogs can live to be 17-25 years old when vaccines are avoided and they are raised on a raw meat diet.

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Some may ask, What about the bacteria on raw meat? Dogs digestive systems are designed to handle this bacteria, and it is an unnecessary worry. 

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Another question I get often is, What about parasites that could be in the meat? Although parasites are rare, I often freeze my meat for storage, which can kill parasites if there are any. I also give an all natural parasite tincture that kills all parasites at all life stages once or twice a year to ensure my dogs remain parasite free. I do not give a heart worm preventative as the ingredients in those can be ugly.

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The most common question is, What about the bones?

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So long as they are raw, they will not splinter. Your dog will crunch them up and love every moment. And an added benefit is this helps clean their teeth which keeps their organs healthy.

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If you have a puppy that is too young to crunch the bones, they can be blent up with a high powered blender. 

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So how do I give a raw diet?

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It can be intimidating but is actually rather simple. I give my dogs a ratio of 10-25% bones(calcium) to 75-90% meat(phosphorus) and 30-10% of that should be organs(hearts, gizzards, liver, ect).  If giving liver, I do not go above 10%.  This balance needs to be obtained overall, but if one meal is not perfectly balanced that is perfectly fine, as long as it balances out in the end. I will give a variety of meats, from poultry, to beef, to salmon and trout. Venison as it is available. It is also great to try to give fish once a week.

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Some add vegetables to their dogs raw diet. This is not harmful, but it is unnecessary. In the wild dogs may munch on certain plants if they have a stomach issue or parasites, but they do not seek out plants as a source of nutrition. The only thing they need is meat.

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Feed approximately 2-3% of your dog's weight daily. Puppies need about 5%. You can split this between two meals or give just one, preferably in the morning. For example, a 50 lbs dog would need ½ to ¾ lbs raw dog food twice a day or 1-1.5 lbs once a day. Very active or working dogs may need a little more and less active dogs may need a little less.

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And that's it! We get our meat from Costco as they have great deals for bulk meat, or from our local butcher. 

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To help you figure out bone to meat ratio, here are some average bone percentages for different cuts of meat.

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Chicken

• Whole chicken (not including the head and feet): 25%

• Leg quarter: 30%

• Split breast: 20%

• Thigh: 15%

• Drumstick: 30%

• Wing: 45%

• Neck: 36%

• Back: 45%

• Feet: 60%

• Head: 75%

Turkey

• Whole turkey: 21%

• Thigh: 21%

• Drumstick: 20%

• Wing: 37%

• Neck: 42%

• Back: 41%

Duck

• Whole: 28%

• Neck: 50%

• Feet: 60%

Pork

• Feet: 30%

• Tails: 30%

• Ribs: 30%

• Country style ribs: 21%

Beef

• Ribs: 52%

• Oxtails: 45% to 65% (the percentage goes up as the tail gets thinner and less meaty)

Rabbit

• Whole rabbit (fur and all): 10%

• Whole (dressed): 28%

Lamb

• Rib: 27%

• Shoulder blade: 24%

• Whole shoulder (arm and blade): 21%

Game birds

• Quail: 10%

• Guinea hen: 17%

• Squab (pigeon): 23%

• Wild duck: 38%

• Pheasant: 14%

• Cornish game hen: 39%