Tips on Transitioning to Raw Dog Food

Scanning forums recently we noticed a lot of people searching and asking about "switching to raw diet for dogs" and saw there was surprisingly little content out there to help this fantastic move for your pup! 

So with a glass Inspiration and a side of knowledge, here is our best advise on how to transition to a Raw Diet for your pup.

Tip 1: Don’t Be Scared:

So you’ve read all the articles and decided feeding raw is the way to go. You've seen that a raw food diet is the best choice for your pet (well done, good choice) but now you’re understandably nervous about how to introduce a new diet to your pet and a lot of raw meat & treats to your freezer, and we’re sure you have lots of questions. Lets see if we can help reassure you and address some of the possible issues involved switching to raw dog food.

Tip 2: Pets who need extra attention:

There is a lot of literature online and we encourage you to educate yourself, and to talk to your vet, particularly if your pet has a chronic disease or any dietary issues. However if you have a pet with significant health problems or dietary requirements please contact us so we can provide extra support.

Tip 3: Offer a balanced Raw Dog Food diet:

A single protein source isn’t recommended, unless you are specifically trying to isolate a problem food group, or treating an allergy. A dogs diet must be varied, as different meats have different nutrient profiles. The raw diet should contain meat, bone, fat and muscle meat in the proportions found in a lean animal.

This can be a bit hard to determine, as our commercially bred meat animals are much fattier than prey animals would be and this is one of the main criticisms of raw diets by vets; all too often people are feeding one type of meat part as the major (or only) diet component.

We would recommend feeding a complete and balanced ground raw diet, rotating between several different protein sources, supplemented with vegetables and essential oils. Luckily for you Rawgeous Pet Food has already done the hard work for you and created a complete pet food, perfectly balanced to replicate the food your pet would eat in the wild.

Tip 4: Supplements?

A healthy diet shouldn't need supplements. People can, and often do, create serious problems, particularly in growing puppies by over-supplementing or under supplementing calcium in home prepared diets. Adult dogs are less affected by calcium: phosphorus imbalances, but over time adults can develop problems as well, so do pay attention to this aspect of the diet.

With a Rawgeous Pet Food Diet you shouldn’t need to supplement. Our meals should provide a complete meal for a pet without any significant health issues.

If you have a puppy please contact our Dog Whisperer for advice on feeding, how much to feed, and for tips on training your pup to enjoy a natural raw pet food diet.

Tip 5: You can take it Slowly:

You’ve embraced the Raw Revolution and it is understandable that you want to get your animal switched to the best possible diet as quickly as possible. However, animals that have been eating dried food (kibble) or tinned, processed food for years may have adjusted to digesting those foods.

You may have no problems, but to avoid any upset stomachs, you may want to switch slowly, introducing the raw food in small meals separate from the processed diet and over a couple of weeks gradually increase the size of the raw meal whilst decreasing the size of the other meals, eventually replacing the processed food meals, one at a time, with raw food meals, then eliminating the extra meal.

For tips of feeding quanitities; check out out our short blog!

Tip 6: You Can Cook our Food

If you're weighing up raw dog food vs cooked, or, if your dog really struggles initially, you may find that some dogs will digest their food better during transition if their food is infact lightly cooked. Rawgeous Pet Food can be quickly wok fried to ease digestion whilst retaining all its essential nutrients, or boiled to cook it thoroughly.

Cooking our complete meals will reduce the nutritional benefits, but it won’t do any harm to eat cooked meat and if it helps you transition along with your pet please do what makes you feel comfortable.

However, we encourage you to be brave and give your pup the opportunity to eat raw meat.

Why switch to raw dog food? Well, A raw pet food diet is the best choice for your pet. Over time, most animals will increase their digestive enzyme production, and be able to digest raw.

Rarely, old or convalescent animals develop an aversion to raw, or lose weight eating raw. In such cases, the addition of enzymes, or gentle cooking, will often help sort out the problem. If you have an elderly or sick pet that needs extra love, please contact our Dog Whisperer for advice and guidance.

Tip 7: A Last Word on Puppies

Puppies can be weaned to a ground raw diet suitable for adult dogs. We recommend you seek support from our Dog Whisperer; an experienced naturally rearing breeder.