Many detractors of raw food diets claim that it doesn’t contain a complete and balanced meal for their pets. However, the truth is that your dog’s nutritional needs can’t have an exact balance. There’s no precise number of proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins that’s fit for them. What raw food diets aim to deliver is an organic and wholesome natural diet that your pets can enjoy.
How to prepare a healthy raw food dog diet
Raw food diets aren’t as simple as giving your pet a pound of ground beef for dinner. Lean meat is the foundation of your dog’s raw food diet. However, it would be best if you also balanced it out with other ingredients that complete it, such as bones and fat. These different components give your pet a well-rounded combination of protein, calcium and essential minerals.
If you’re planning to shift to a raw dog food diet, here are four things you should know:
1. Organs are a healthy source of vitamins
Including organs to your raw meat diet provides your pets with an organic source of multivitamins. It would be best to mix something close to 10% or 30% of your prepared meals with organs such as kidneys, brains and spleens. Keep in mind that livers contain a high amount of vitamin A, giving your dog an upset stomach. You should be cautious about putting too much liver in their meals.
2. Be careful with putting too much fat
Unlike with humans, fat is healthy to consume for dogs since it helps improve their immune systems and promotes better skin health. However, its high-calorie content is also a drawback, just like in humans.
Remember that you’re feeding your dog a raw meat diet, emphasizing the word meat. Sometimes, owners who are careless with preparing their dogs’ meals can include too much fat. Because of this, their pets ingest an abundant amount of calories but little to no protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals. Similar to organs, fats should only make up over 10% of their meals.
3. Ensure that your meals have calcium
Dogs, especially growing puppies, need a healthy dose of calcium and phosphorus in their meals. Mixing in bones can provide these minerals in your raw-meat meals since lean meat is lacking when it comes to these two. Your options for bones range from chicken, lamb, turkey and beef. You can fill their meals with as much 30% of meaty bones to give them an abundant source of calcium.
4. Experiment with different meal combinations
Contrary to popular belief, committing to raw meat diets doesn’t mean that you can’t include fruits and vegetables into the mix. Although lean meat, bones and organs provide a well-rounded meal, fruits and vegetables are also a welcome addition to your dog’s diet.
Some fruits and vegetables have detoxifying properties that can help your pet filter radicals in their body. Diversifying your meals with different food groups is an excellent way to give your dog something to look forward to during feeding times.
Conclusion
Preparing your dog’s raw meat meals is similar to setting up a gourmet meal. It gives them their much-needed food groups without the danger of damaging their circulatory systems from processed foods. However, you should be wary about introducing a new diet right away. Make sure that you give them enough time to shift from their usual meals to their new routine. Lastly, remember only to purchase meat products from reliable sources so that your dogs remain strong and healthy.
If you’re not sure where to buy raw dog food in Telford, UK, Roxys Raw Food have a wide variety of products to get your dog started on their raw meat diet! Browse through our selection to find the perfect blend for your pet’s meals!