Raw Dog Food Wilmington

Types of Raw Dog Food Diets

Feeding Raw Dog food has become an important topic. And many people are exploring feeding their dogs raw food. But it can be confusing and many people use the term in a variety of ways. To say you “feed raw” doesn’t always mean your dog is getting a healthy nutritious meal. Just because it’s raw meat — doesn’t mean it’s healthy. There are key nutrient profiles (vitamins, minerals, fats, amino acids, enzymes, essential fatty acids, etc) that must be met to keep your dog healthy through all life stages. Explore the benefits of Raw Dog Food as you’re considering what to feed your dog.

The 80/10/5/5 Raw Dog Food Diet

These feeders are purists and believe in a 100% carnivorous diet. 80/10/5/5 feeders provide 80% protein/fat 10% Bone 5% Liver and 5% other Offal. There are no other food offerings in these diets — no veg, no fruit, no carbohydrates, etc. Proteins can be from any part of an animal. The key to a diet like this is a good source of proteins, variety in the source of your meat products, and plenty of time & freezer space.

Prey Model Raw Dog Food Diet

Fur, Feathers, Pancreas, Brains, Intestines, and all of the whole prey animal. For many, these are often Whole Chickens, Whole Turkeys, Rabbits, Ducks, Doves, Squirrels, etc.

BARF Raw Dog Food Diet

The BARF diet - biologically appropriate Raw Feeding. This model of feeding believes that your dog can and should have some veg, fruit and even seeds and nuts in the diet.

70% Muscle Meat /10% bone /7% Vegetables /5% Liver /5% Offal /2% Seed and Nuts /1% Fruit

If you are going to feed a prey model diet or 80/10/5/5 I encourage you to do your research extensively before beginning. Like all diets — they are not one-size-fits-all. No diet is one size fits all, especially if your dog has current health concerns.

Butcher Blends Raw Dog Food

Many local butchers have jumped on the raw dog food feeding train as a way to service their customers & use their left-over product. We love the butcher — you can get many great ingredients for your dog — bones, organs, meat varieties, etc. Most butcher blends that I have seen follow the 80/10/5/5 ratios. But the challenge that I have come across for many of my clients is blended proteins — including lots of chicken that is a problem for inflammation, allergies, aggression, etc. We believe it’s better to rotate your proteins not feed them all in the same bowl day after day to support the digestive system effectively. Variety helps avoid creating a food sensitivity with repeated use of the same foods over and over. Variety allows for customization for life stages, healing requirements, etc .

Many butcher blend feeders don’t realize they need to be sure their dog is getting an Omega 3 Supplement or other vitamins and minerals that might be missing with constant use of the same meat blend week after week.

Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food

The ingredients of the recipe are all freeze-dried using temps below freezing and vacuum pressure to extract moisture from the ingredients. This process does preserve nutritional value, flavors, and extends shelf life beyond fresh foods. Commercially prepared, these foods are important to understand and trust the manufacturer, quality control & handling, the nutritional profile, testing requirements, distribution, and recall issues.

Dehydrated Raw Dog Food

Ingredients of a dehydrated dog food have all the moisture removed from the food by a process of very low temperature and circulating air. Before serving these foods to our dogs, they are generally rehydrated with water before serving.

One concern I have about freeze-dried and dehydrated raw dog foods that include dehydrated or freeze-dried meat is the inability to rotate your proteins frequently. We often find blends of proteins in these diets which can be problematic for dogs with food sensitivities, following the 5-Element Theory, and many of the benefits we discuss regarding rotation & variance.

Many of these foods still have a significant ratio of carbohydrates as it’s a much cheaper ingredient. Read your label.

Refrigerated Fresh or Rolled Dog Food

These foods are sold in refrigerated sections of your local retailers. They will have shorter shelf lives and often chunkier ingredients to be visually appealing to your eyes. Your dog doesn’t care. These foods are generally not raw. They are pasteurized in the same way milk would be. Nutritionally, they can still contain lower quality ingredients than you may expect, include more carbs than desired, and frankly are really just visually appealing canned food in fancy packaging. Often, these foods contain something called carrageenan to make it stick together. Carrageenan is not a healthy ingredient (google it).

Be sure to review why I chose Volhard Dog Food as my preference.

Raw Dog Food Consultations Wilmington

Let me help you take the overwhelm and confusion out of all the information on the internet and the opinions of some random person in a FB group. Get to know me and I’ll help you focus on YOUR dog’s unique needs and well-being. Resources are available in Wilmington and I am happy to meet with you and your dog! In-home consultations are available.

Where to Buy Raw Dog Food

It doesn’t have to be hard to find quality ingredients. Many can be obtained from the grocery store, local butcher, or group co-ops for meat. Or there are food delivery companies that deliver frozen meats right to your dog with many protein choices or complete butcher grinds.

If you don’t want to do the shopping chopping and measuring and see a very high quality convenient way of feeding — choose a dehydrated base mix like Volhard Dog Nutrition and add your choice of fresh meat at each feeding.

Volhard will deliver the best dog food directly to your door within a couple of days! We can also explore BJ Raw or Hare Today other vendors for delivery.

I use both options for my personal dogs and with my clients. Visit my link tree for BJs Raw, Hare Today or Volhard.
https://linktr.ee/welloiledk9

My blog is filled with information on good dog nutrition — go check it out or schedule a call with me!