Raw Dog Food – What Dog-Parents should know

Written by: Joseph Dizon Lazatin, vet student at Pampanga State Agricultural University

As a dog owner, the most challenging and important decision we make is what to feed our dogs. To maintain their good health and a quality life, we should provide them with a wholesome diet. So it is incumbent on us to have prudence about their nutritional needs and how best to fulfill them.

Raw diets are the oldest feeding in our dogs: after all, during ancient time dogs are fed with raw materials before the invention of scientifically modified dog food. As more pet owners become aware of the good benefits of raw feeding, more pet owners are shifting their dogs to raw diets, as well, for a variety of reasons. Raw feeding has advantages and disadvantages also. Feeding raw foods is giving our dogs with naturally made diet. The diet is not well formulated but by all means is natural because, at some point, nature is indisputable. In other words, you cannot compete with mother nature. And besides raw food, vegan diet for dogs is also on the rise.

Benefits of Raw Feeding your dog

There are lots of benefits in raw feedings, such as:

Cleaner teeth and fresh breath – Scientifically formulated dog food has lots of grain as based, which lead to plaque and tartar formation in our dogs. In due time it causes halitosis and dental problems.
Better digestion – Dog food contains preservatives to help it lengthen its shelter life. Chemicals lengthen the time for digestion and lessen the chance of absorption of nutrients.
Healthier skin – Raw feeding has natural oils and minerals which are good for the skin, causing it to shine even brighter and stronger.
Lessen food allergen – ingredients typically found in other dog food such as beef, wheat, eggs, etc. are a common cause of food allergies.
Graded stool – A smaller amount of stool, due to well absorb nutrients is observable in Raw feeding. And it can lead to less smelly and harder one.
Greater stamina and more energy – Raw foods have high absorbable nutrients making it easier to digest and give a higher amount of energy. Thus the nutritious the food, the higher the energy it gives, resulting to stronger stamina.
Increase immunity – the best benefit of raw feeding, good nutrition leads to good immunity thus it prevents dogs from catching stressor causing sickness.

Raw food for dogs vs. scientifically formulated vs. vegan

The good

Scientifically formulated dog food is also a good option for our dogs. Though there are lots of negative feeds about feeding dogs with commercially available dog food, still it is patronized by dog owners due to the advantages it has. For instance, it’s not time-consuming giving and feeding it to dogs. Also, commercially available dog food are well formulated and age, breed and need to be adjusted, unlike raw feeding which is a wild chef game type.

Another thing, there are lots of variety of dog food nowadays in the market, making it as a choice for a pet owner to go for “natural” quality commercially available dog food. Lastly, scientifically formulated dog food today has advanced like fortified with probiotics, growth enhancer and even therapeutic factors for dogs.

The bad

Although commercially available dog food has advantages, there are bad things also about it. Like, it contains a high amount of carbohydrate that can lead to Obesity of dogs especially the non-working and toy-type. In line with high carbohydrates it contains, it can lead to periodontal diseases and gingivitis. In due time, the stock-up dog food inside the mouth will get mineralized leading to tartar and plaque development.

Dog food contains extensions, additives, and preservatives that can cause irritable bowel or gastrointestinal upset. Non-hydrolyzed protein in dog food can cause a food allergy, that’s why it’s a must to let a dog undergo food trial before permanently feeding a dog with certain dog food brand. Worst come to worst, geriatric diseases in old dogs that consumed commercial dog food all through their life are usually diabetic and have arthritis.

Be sure to check out our post on Vegan Diet for Dogs as well!

Choose the right product

There are lots of options these days when it comes to quality commercial dog food, not to mention the wide array of forms it comes in – kibble, canned, semi-moist and dehydrated. Plus, home prepared raw diet meals are becoming highly popular, with many people either supplementing commercially available dog foods or replacing them entirely with meals they cook.

When choosing a dog food, always keep these two things in mind before deciding which is best for your dog. First, every dog is individual so that one might have an allergen with this food, its requirements, and state. Second, high-quality dog food (organic-preferred), fresh ingredients trump all other factors.

How about your dog? Any important info you’d like to add?