Here's some important raw feeding tips and No No's when feeding your dogs.
1. COOKING FOOD
Applying heat to any food distorts its structure and nutritional value. We recommend feeding raw uncooked meat and bones as the primary food source. Dogs and cats are designed to eat a raw diet of meat, meaty bones, organs and offal. A raw natural diet for dogs involves presenting the food as close to it’s natural form as possible. No one cooks for wolves or other carnivorous predators so why would dogs need otherwise?
Feeding cooked bones is an ABSOLUTE no go. Raw food for dogs is biologically appropriate and directly reflects in their health and condition
2. MEAT IS NOT ENOUGH
Dogs need a mixture of protein, bones, organs, green tripe and other herbs and vegetation to meet all dietary needs. Cats are obligate carnivores but receive extra via stomach contents of prey.
Liver, tripe, chicken feet and muscle meats provide specific nutritional needs for your dog. Feeding meat alone is NOT ENOUGH for your dog, a complete raw diet needs more. Wild predators such as wolves and wild cat species will consume the organs, fur, the blood, stomach contents, lining and all the "yucky" bits that contain nutrient dense properties. Feeding only meat will create nutrient deficiencies and is not natural for both cats and dogs.
"When consuming balanced fat diets, dogs learn faster and remember more, are better behaved, have stronger hearts, better skin and coats, and experience decreased chances of cancer and allergies. Many studies over decades have documented the benefits of balanced fat diets4,5,6"
The data suggests that high-fat beef-based diets may be a contributing factor to behavioral problems
Prolonged exposure to a high-fat diet is correlated with changes in the brain chemistry of mammals – and in particular, brain systems that regulate motivation and willingness to work for food7. Consumption of a high-fat diet as a fetus and in early growth stages appears to have long-lasting effects on learning and memory during adulthood.8"
Source: https://ivcjournal.com/high-fat-beef-based-raw-diets-canine-behavioral-issues/
Example, Feeding only chicken frames & raw chicken mince.
This diet will lack linoleic acid, Omega 3, fibre, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, iodine, magnesium, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B12 and choline. Further more factory farmed chickens are deficient in every way ue to lack of sun.
Meat only diet causes imbalance in excess for example high levels of protein and phosphorus. A diet that contains excessive protein and phosphorus can result in serious health conditions like organ and kidney disease.
The type and quality of meat you feed are important too. Lower quality, fatty meats (such as 70% lean beef) can be low in certain amino acids (such as tryptophan) and research shows that a diet that is deficient in the amino acid tryptophan can result in behavioural issues, including aggression.
3. NONE OR TOO MUCH BONE
Bones are vital for a dog’s physical and mental health and are a MUST for any raw diet for dogs. Overfeeding bone on the other hand can cause issues such as constipation and compacted gut. Beware of pet mince that has bone minced up as you cannot gauge how much bone content you are feeding. Besides this, the act of tearing, chewing and crunching bones is vital for mouth hygiene, jaw strength, mental stimulation, stress relief and teething. Powdered bone offers NONE of this stimulation and crushed or powdered bone is mostly included as a filler to pad out pet food mince and increase profit margins.
4. FEEDING THE SAME FOOD DAILY
Feeding only one source of food may cause a nutritional imbalance or deficiency. Ensure you rotate food sources regularly.
5. OVERFEEDING
Dogs are equipped with powerful-hinged jaws along with canines and triangular carnassial teeth for the ripping and tearing of flesh and crushing bone. Their teeth are not designed for grinding plant material nor do they have a four-chamber stomach for the slow digestion and fermentation of complex carbohydrates (starches from plants and grains), as do cows and sheep. Canines have large stomachs, short digestive tracts and very small cecum, indicative of consuming large amounts of high protein food in a short time period and for fast digestion and rapid absorption of nutrients. In the wild, these canines could typically go many days between their meals.
The type and quality of meat you feed are important too. Lower quality, fatty meats (such as 70% lean beef) can be low in certain amino acids (such as tryptophan) and research shows that a diet that is deficient in the amino acid tryptophan can result in behavioural issues, including aggression.
7. NOT FEEDING HERBS/VEGETABLES
Vegetables and herbs are an essential part of a dog's diet, they should form at least 10%-20% of their diet. Cat's needs are much less than dogs but vegetables are still a natural part of a cat's diet.
Vegetables provide many benefits including
- They are a source of pre biotics, roughage (or fibre), which is beneficial for the digestive tract.
- Vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals and omega-3 fatty acids that can be missing from a meat only diet, as well as enzymes and antioxidants. Each of these nutrients help to promote good health and avoid premature ageing.
Green leafy vegetables should be fed as the majority and vetables like pumpkin and sweet potato forming 10% of the diet for dogs.
For optimum nutrient absorption, vegetables should be broken down and green tripe contains agents that can break down vegetable matter. Dogs and cats digestive enzymes works differnt to ours which is why they need help to absorb the nutrients from vegetables. Feeding green tripe helps by breaking down the tough fibrous walls of vegetables so that they can extract the nutrients from the vegetables to receive the health benefits.
8. LEAVING OUT ORGANS
Organ meats are nutrient powerhouses for cats and dogs! Not only do they contain rich sources of vitamins, minerals and fats (vitamin A, zinc, manganese, selenium, iron, taurine, all of the B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K, essential fatty acids (omega 3 and 6), these nutrients are easily absorbed by cats and dogs when eaten this way.
Dogs and cats don't need very much - only about 10% of their diet should consist of organ meats.
Feeding organ meats raw is best for nutrient absorption and be mindful where you buy them from. I always recommend to my clients to only feed organic organ meats, especially if feeding the most commonly available organ meats, liver and kidney. This is because the liver and kidney are two of the body's main elimination organs. An animal raised in a factory farm or intensive system is going to be exposed to a much greater level of toxins than an animal raised in free range or organic systems. You don't want to be feeding your pet a neat little package of toxins, do you?
9. THINKING SUPPLEMENTS ARE UNNECESSARY
Our soils are not as nutrient rich as they used to be. One of the impacts of this is that the foods we and our animals eat aren't as nutrient rich either. This is one reason why supplements are necessary - to boost the nutrient value of their diets.
Supplements may be necessary where the diet is deficient in certain nutrients.Supplements derived from food are far superior to synthetic supplements so choose food-based supplements where you can.
10. LEAVING OUT MICRONUTRIENTS
Micronutrients are nutrients that are required by the body in small amounts however they play a major role in the daily metabolic activities of the body. These include vitamins and minerals and they cannot be produced by our bodies to they must be consumed from external food products.
Micronutrients impact on your dog or cats health is critical, and deficiency in any of them can cause severe and even life-threatening conditions.
Feeding a healthy, raw balanced diet with micronutrients is vital as they are essential part of a cat's or dog's metabolic functions. The best sources for micronutrients are from fresh, whole foods and natural supplements.
Micronutrients are nutrients that are required by the body in lesser amounts for its growth and development. They play a major role in the metabolic activities of the body. These include vitamins and minerals. Since our body cannot produce vitamins and minerals, they are taken externally from different food products.
11. CARBOHYDRATES, A LOAD OF RUBBISH. LITERALLY.
Carbohydrates are found in significant quantities in most pet foods. Dogs and cats don't need carbohydrates for nutrition and are not able to process them well. Feeding high carbohydrate diet leads to a variety of health issues such malnourishment, pancreatitis, leaky gut, obesity, skin conditions, cancer and diabetes.
Pet food manufacturers label their food with protein levels eg 22% for dogs, 30% for cats, fat 8% for dogs, 9% for cats. The balance of their food is made up of carbohydrates, many commercial pet foods contain up to 50% of carbohydrates.
One of the most popular feeding ratios for raw diet canine macronutrition is the 80-10-10 ratio. This ratio is generally prey model diet and is made up of 80%, 10% organ meats and 10% bones.
The other common canine raw diet is the BARF diet which has a ratio of 70% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ meats and 10% plant foods (vegetables, herbs nuts, seeds, grains, fruit).
The macronutrient ratios we recommend for dogs are closer to the BARF model than the PREY model. This is 70-80% meat, organs and bones and 20-30% plant foods. Fruits can be fed sparingly and we dont feel are a regular necessity.
For cats we recommend 90 to 95% meat, organ meats and bones and 5 to 10% plant foods.
Feeding a diet that incorporate these macronutrient ratios is closer to the ancestral diet of dogs and cat, in mimicking our pets natural dietary needs we are able to optimise their health and wellbeing.
