The real question is:
Have you ever seen a dog in the wild cook its food?
So why do other pet food companies cook their food?! We’ve never seen any dog in the wild sit down and cook up their bones or veggies.
Or for that matter, have you ever seen a dog go out and pick rice and other cereals, make pasta and then sit down a cook up a huge feed Of course you haven’t!
So why do other pet food companies cook their food?! We’ve never seen any dog in the wild sit down and cook up their bones or veggies.
Or for that matter, have you ever seen a dog go out and pick rice and other cereals, make pasta and then sit down a cook up a huge feed Of course you haven’t!
We know dogs are not designed to digest rice, wheat, cereals, corn etc. Grains are difficult for a dog to break down. They can cause problems with the mouth and digestive system as the dog needs to work hard to digest such food. However, you will find that most processed dog foods contain large amounts of grains as these are cheap fillers to add weight to the product.
What about Fruits and Veggies? Are the necessary? One of the greatest controversies in the raw feeding world is the topic of fruits and veggies.
Prey Model Raw (PMR) is guided with the ratio 80/10/10, This means 80% muscle meat including muscular organs, 105 edible bones and 10% secreting organs (offal) and add ons such as fish and eggs.
Dogs (like wolfs) are ‘scavangers’ just like dogs and they eat fruit and berries when prey is scarce and they need to fill their bellies with something. In other words, veggies and fruits are ‘starvation food’ and do not really provide any real nourishment, (BUT they do not cause any real harm either!).
What Benefits?
·Stool improvement
Raw fed dogs will eliminate less often and stools are much much smaller in size and have a reduced odour and are firmer to the touch. Why? There is less ‘wastage’ of what your dog is eating as a result of feeding food that is species appropriate and enable the body to make full use of the nutrients present.
·Skin and Coat improvement
Raw fed dogs don’t smell, to start with! Also, feeding raw gives dogs a very soft, smooth to touch and super shiny coat improving the dermal layer beneath soon followed with a reduction of irritated and dry skin.
·Reduction of Allergy Symptoms
For hose dogs who have intolerances or allergies, feeding PMR fiet rebalances the immune system. You would notice less scratching behaviour and less passing gas because raw doesn’t cause your dog to feel bloated with stuff he is unable to digest nor he has additives that are causing skin irritation
·Mental and Physical Activity
Eating raw releases endorphins, which means very rarely he will refuse food as he is non directly receiving a mental stimulation!
·Dental Benefits
There is an evident reduction in plaque build-up without the need of dental chewers or tooth brushing. This is the result of the repeated and daily teeth cleaning that your companion received from the crushing of bone and the stripping of meat.
·Energy and Vitality Improvements
Dogs on raw are much more Energetic and playful then dogs on kibbles as what they are eating is not so ‘heavy’ on their digestive system.
How? Weaning your puppy + adulthood
Weaning puppies onto raw is the best way to give a good start in life and so we do it!
Our puppies are raw fed since they are around 3 weeks old, slowly adding new proteins week by week. Between week 6 and week 9 we start introducing chicken wings and drumsticks with crushed bones so by the time they are 10 weeks old they are good to go for the rest of their life.
We have used both of these methods and both were very valid. We would suggest you to calculate both the percentage and go in between, then adjust based on your dog’s ideal body condition.
Once fully grown feed your Pomsky 2-3% of his Ideal body weight.
What to feed?
We normally advice new owners who have never fed raw before to choose a brand who makes “Complete” food, which means the percentage of muscular meat, offal and bones are already premixed. DIY can be interesting, but it is, sometimes, difficult. If you want to learn how to DIY, please visit www.rawfeedingadviceandsupport.com or let us know and we can help you =)
Main UK meat supplier:
DAF (Durham Animal Feeds)
Paleo Ridge Raw
Natures menu
Natural Instict
Bella&Duke
The farmers Dog
Naturaw K9-Catering Primal Raw Ltd Kiezebrink UK Ltd Utterly rawsome Landywoods Laverstoke Raw Pet food Natural Dogs Direct Betsy’s Go-Raw Nutriment Raw feeding Lancs The Raw Factory Henley Raw dog food Nurture Them Naturally Bulmer Pet food Raw 2 go The Wandering Dog Raw Pet supplies Pro Dog Raw
What if I don’t want to feed Raw?
Raw may not be for everyone though and we do understand that. What we can advise you is to TRY! If you really do not feel like this is the way for you this is a list of the dog food we can advice. Most of these on the list are called 80/20 because contains at least 80% meat. The rest 20% is made with fruits and vegetables with no grain.
If you decide not to go for any of these, please at least choose a GRAIN FREE kibble.
80/20 Dog Food (Kibble):
ZiwiPeak
Eden
AATU
Orijen
Millies Wolfheart – hunter mix
Simpsons 80/20
Akela
Oodles – Game on
Patron
Treats
Always choose products made with natural ingredient like: Himalayan Yak, Sprats, Pig snouts, Pig ears, Hoof, rabbit ear with fur or without, Fish Skin cubes, Chicken Feet (also available raw), Trachea, Wild Boar Stripes, Cod skin sticks, Deer Leg, Cow Ear, Rabbit Skin fur and so on. There are loads of raw treats available too.
Please, introduce treats slowly to your puppy and wait until he is at least 12-16 weeks old.
Please, DO NOT EVER GIVE RAW-HIDE (like the ones below) to your dog.
Rawhide bones and other edible chews can pose a choking and blockage risk.
