Why Feed Raw Food And Meat To Your Dog?
Dogs are biologically related to wolves and only differ by 0.2% in their DNA. Although wolves and domestic dogs look different, their internals and biological pathways are essentially the same.
A wolf's natural diet consisted of eating other animals. They eat the organs of their kill including the stomach and its contents, as well as eating the meat, bone, skin, and hide of the animals they catch.
It begs the question, why would it now be the case in this modern world that our domestic dogs should eat a diet consisting of highly processed, carbohydrate-loaded food containing synthetic vitamins, minerals, fillers, and preservatives?
The answer is, they shouldn’t.
We've suddenly flicked the switch on a dog's preference for raw meat and replaced it with dog food kibble.
Dogs are carnivores and biologically designed to eat meat, organs, bones, and small amounts of vegetables. They thrive on these foods – not just survive on the modern alternative of processed foods.
So Why Raw Food And Not Cooked?
During the cooking process, the heating process breaks down the cells of the food which removes essential vitamins and minerals from the meat and vegetables.
After the cooking process removes these essential vitamins and minerals, they then need to be reintroduced into the food, however, this rarely occurs and results in our pets being insufficiently fed the nutrients they require. This can often lead to a cooked food diet being inadequate for our dogs as its lacks the essential vitamins and minerals that they require.
Logically and biologically speaking, dogs would never cook food in the wild on their own and were not created to rely on cooked food and thus, do not need to eat cooked meats and vegetables now.
Why Is Feeding Raw So Important?
You only have to look back at the last 80+ years to figure out why so many dogs these days suffer from terrible debilitating diseases. It is likely due to the food they are now consuming.
We apply the mantra "you are what you eat" to human health and our diets, but sadly, do not extend this to our pets who are not consuming the correct foods they require.
In short, a raw dog food diet ensures that all vitamins and minerals remain within the food and no extras are required to be added.
9 Reasons Your Dog Should Be On A Raw Food Diet
For too long we have seen sick dogs, unhealthy dogs, obese dogs, dogs with skin allergies, dental issues, poor coats, hair loss etc. The list goes on and on which is all often contributed to their poor diet!
Here are some of the reasons why your dog should be on a raw diet:
1. Dogs Are Biologically Designed For Raw Food
Dogs have survived and thrived for thousands of years both in the wild and domestically before humans invented man-made dry biscuits (kibble). During these times dogs ate other prey – animals, eating meat, bone, offal, tissue, and organs.
2. Raw Food Promotes Healthy Digestion
On a raw diet, your dog's stomach acidity reaches its optimal PH level so they can process what they were designed to eat – raw meat! Along with offal, bone, and small quantities of vegetables. With an optimal PH balance in their gut, they are less likely to get sick!
3. Produces A Healthy Coat
On a raw food diet, their coat flourishes as it is meant to, and skin irritations often disappear due to the food containing no preservatives.
4. Raw Food Helps To Hydrate
Their thirst is quenched! Raw food contains moisture which aid in hydration.
When eating kibble due to the high amounts of starch and carbohydrate your pooch has a constant need to drink. This is why many owners report on a raw diet, their dog is not drinking as much water but still eating.
5. Keeps Your Dog Lean And Fit
Your dog is meant to have a nice curve after their ribs but too often, dogs are overfed and malnourished. Combined with a high carbohydrate diet with low protein, the dog has no chance of getting to a healthy weight.
6. Encourages Proper Elimination
Since a dog's digestive system is designed to eat and digest raw food, you will notice a raw food diet supports proper elimination. When dogs eat carbohydrate-heavy diets based around kibble, this can often lead to dehydration, causing constipation, bloating, and other digestive issues. It's rare for dogs on a raw food diet to experience issues eliminating.
7. Boost Their Immune System
When a dog is fed a complete and balanced raw food diet, they are getting all the nutrients they need in order to thrive. This will, in turn, support a strong and robust immune system so your dog will less likely to get sick or develop long-term chronic illnesses attributed to a poor diet or lifestyle.
8. Helps With Allergy Control
Believe it or not, but dogs can develop food allergies just like humans. Many commercial dog foods contain a whole range of additional ingredients your dog would previously have never been exposed to including preservatives, additives, food colourings, synthetic vitamins, and chemicals. These can often result in quite severe food allergies.
A raw food diet is free from these ingredients and you won't be left guessing as to what is causing issues, or trying to decipher nutritional labels. Sometimes simple really is best!
9. Raw Food Is Perfectly Safe
There are a lot of misconceptions about raw feeding not being safe for your dog. We debunk them here. When raw food is properly prepared and stored, it's perfectly safe to feed your dog and more optimal for their health.
In the case of dog bones, it's always safer to feed your dog raw bones. We've written a whole article about feeding dogs and bones if you're interested in learning more.
Raw Dog Food For Beginners
We've made it easier to transition your dog to a raw diet with our feeding guide here regardless of what diet you have been feeding them.
There is nothing more satisfying than to see your pets thriving from a healthy diet. It shines through to their coat, their behaviour, and their overall well-being. If you do not already feed Raw it is worth the switch, we can guarantee you will notice the difference.
If you're looking to spread the raw food love with other friends or family, then why not treat them to a gift card so their pets can experience the difference too.
