What Is The Raw Food Diet For Dogs?

Apr 24, 2017

A raw food diet for dogs and cats is a natural and preferable grass fed meat diet. We recommend prey model feeding.

This picture was a batch of small chickens I got for my dogs that were too small for retail sales. I got them for $1.00 a lb. from a local organic farm. My dogs love these little hens! These came from me running a craigslist ad seeking pastured animals or wild hunt kill for dog meat. ( see ad below)

Feeding whole prey and meat chunks is the 'closest to nature' method of feeding dogs. Our Carnivore pets are meant to be raw foodists. Meant to eat raw meat in other words. Not vegetables - not grains. Carnivores actually not have the digestive system for those carbohydrates, even though many dog enthusiasts are promoting vegetables with raw feeding, we don't recommend that style.

Are Dogs Carnivores OR Omnivores?

Just because pet dogs have evolved into a highly domesticated species with an extremely adaptive digestive system that has over the years enabled them to cope with their situation and life as an omnivore, eating all kinds of cooked foods, vegetables, grains and kibble does not mean that they are not true carnivores.

In fact, they are for sure an obligate carnivore. Which means their system thrives on raw meat. They do not have the teeth, stomach ph or the digestive enzymes to digest carbohydrates.

It is highly probably that most pet animals in the world today will probably never get the privilege of been fed a biologically appropriate diet, or receive all the incredible benefits.

There are just too many issues around belief systems, whether it is due what your veterinarian told you, or even due to religious, economic, simply ethical reasons. It can also be related to sourcing those required meat proteins to make feeding our carnivores the appropriate diet even feasible. We still have the ethical issue of factory farmed animals and the impact on the planet. This is a very real issue that needs to be looked at for sure.

I only feed my dogs pasture raised, organically fed meat that I source locally. I want to be conscious about the whole planet and my dog’s health for sure.

With that being said, just knowing what a carnivore’s ideal diet should be is the proper foundation of any good nutrition program for our pets.

Many people still debate the question ' Are dogs carnivores or omnivores?' But the answer is clear by their digestive system: see more here: Why Cats and Dogs are Meant to be Carnivores

Raw food vs. kibble diet for pets

One of the main ways that naturopathic and holistic methods of pet care differ is that mainstream veterinarians don't recommend a raw diet for our carnivores. Most vets do not study much nutrition in vet school and what they do is sponsored by companies that sell vets pet food, such as Science Diet and Royal Canin.

Traditional vets are mostly against feeding anything but kibble and canned foods because of this. This is what they were taught in vet school - kibble feeding is the only way a dog or cat can get a totally balanced diet. But it is nonsense. What are dogs and cats the only animals in the nature kingdom that need to eat cooked denatured food? Think about it.

What many don’t realize is how and why the packaged dog food we feed our dogs got started.

How dry dog kibble became popular

What many don’t realize is how and why the packaged dog food we feed our dogs got started.

Well....the history of dry commercial kibble is all about profits. However, originally it was introduced because of the increased cost of food during the Great Depression. Kibble was heavily sponsored after the end of WWII when it gained popularity for its convenience, ease of supply and low cost when little else was so easy to come by for pet food.

Jennifer Lee explains in her informative book, “The Inner Carnivore”:

“During WWII meat and tin were both in short supply. This drove consumers back to dry foods for their dogs. In 1950 Ralston Purina was the first company to use an extruder to make dry dog food. Extrusion was a manufacturing process that Ralston was already using to produce Chex cereal. The production of enormous bags of dog food was in full production by the late 1950’s. By 1964 the national trade association of dog and cat food manufacturing launched a campaign to get people to stop feeding their pets anything except for packaged food. Feeding pets “people food” became branded as harmful. Companies began labeling their foods as complete nutrition, with no additional foods or supplements needed. A culture of dependence was then formed and adopted by the pet industries and veterinarians and is still in existence until this day.”

In this modern era the species-appropriate raw approach to nutrition has gotten a foothold into the dog nutrition industry and is here to stay. There are many companies now manufacturing raw dog food, both frozen and dehydrated. These are trying to be balanced and better than most kibbles.

What I have come to understand after studying more about the natural approach and the philosophy of animal naturopathy is that top quality grain-free dry dog kibbles and even the freeze-dried raw diets are not quite what is appropriate to feed our carnivores.

The most natural method of feeding is the ‘raw prey model’, which is what the most recommended feeding model by holistic vets and animal naturopaths is today. This means feeding raw meaty bones, and animal parts whole not ground up. This is so the animal gains the benefit for the jaws and teeth and inner carnivore vitality.

Traditional vets are mostly against feeding anything but kibble and canned foods. This is because they were taught in vet school that this is the only way a dog or cat can get a totally balanced diet. However, most vets are not up with modern times regarding the most species appropriate diet for pets. Which just doesn't make sense why processed food is better than what nature provides.

Why are at least 90% of pet owners still feeding their carnivore companions a dry dog or cat food that is at least 60% carbohydrate, with no moisture content and low quality protein from questionable sources?

Some of the protein and carbohydrates from many commercial kibble diets are also plant based- soy, legumes, corn or potato. These foods are not natural to carnivores.

Expecting our pets to thrive on this kibble diet and be nourished does not make sense at all and is really a travesty against our pet population.

From everything I have studied and learned over the years, I know now that a lifetime of commercial, dry pet food is one of the main reasons dogs and cats are so diseased today. ( that and over vaccination being a culprit as well) Pets fed the typical mainstream vet promoted kibble often experience severe nutritional deficiencies and are getting their daily doses of toxins and chemicals, which lead to all the ill health suffered by modern pets -like diabetes, Addison’s, all types of cancers, as well as liver disease.

This unnatural and processed nature of kibble pet food makes it problematic for your dog or cat to properly digest .Even if your kibble is high quality and is grain free with natural preservatives- it still contains a high carbohydrate content of potatoes or legumes, so there is the probability that mold spores will contaminate the kibble during packing and bagging, especially if it is exposed to a humid environment. This can also occur after purchasing if your kibble is stored in a moist area or an open container.

( Please give your pets probiotics and enzymes if you are feeding kibble. Also add Colloidal Silver to their water bowl to help with addressing whatever bacteria is in the kibble or if you are concerned about bacteria from the raw meat, keep a bottle of colloidal silver handy to spray countertops, give your pets etc. )

What is the Raw Food Diet For Dogs?

The raw diet is simple - it is 80% muscle meat- 10% bone- 5% misc organ- 5% liver from all the below animal sources. It is not a complicated way of feeding.

Get a freezer. Run an ad on craigslist for pasture raised meat.

Here is my ongoing ad:

Wanted-Pastured Raised or Wild Hunt Meat for Dogs

I'm looking for organically raised, hormone free, pastured raised meat for feeding raw fed dogs. Either sheep, goat, ducks, chicken or beef. Wild game as well. Freezer burn hunted game from last year.

Will take off cuts, some offal- but do not need anymore liver. Meat scrapes etc. freezer burn meat of good quality. Will pay $1.00-$2.50 a lb thanks!!

What is the raw food diet for dogs

Also it is important to note that a carnivores food needs to provide protein from a wide variety of sources so as to obtain the full spectrum of all the different amino acids for your pets, which are best provided from raw meat sources, including raw meaty bones. Protein is the most important nutrient that is needed in every cell in your carnivore’s body. These full spectrum amino acids have to be provded daily and they must come from animal protein of the highest quality possible to build healthy cells, organs, muscles, enzymes and hormones for our cats & dogs. Carnivores have these short digestive tracts that are fast working and very simple. They are not designed to make their own amino acids so must obtain them directly from food. They are also not designed to process carbohydrates, starchy vegetables, legumes or grains.

These amino acids are found in the following raw species appropriate proteins: