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RAW FEEDING FAQs
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What is a raw diet?Raw feeding is the most natural way to feed your dog. When a dog eats in the wild, they would eat full prey which breaks down to the following percentages 80/10/10: 80% Muscle meat 10% Bone 10% Secreting organ Our range of complete raw meals replicate the natural 80/10/10 prey diet but made easy and simple in minces ready for your dog to eat! No unnecessary additives, just 100% natural and all your dog needs for a long healthy life! We also stock a wide variety of meaty chunks, bones and organs for DIY raw feeders.
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How do I start my dog on a raw diet?First thing is to completely stop feeding kibble. Do not mix kibble and raw as this will cause digestive upset. To begin your puppy/dogs raw journey, we advise starting days 1-5 off on our pure green tripe, available in our Raw Feeds section, this will allow your dog's stomach PH to adjust. Refer to our Raw Feeding Calculator to calculate how much your puppy/dog needs to consume daily. From day 6 you can begin feeding raw meat & tripe completes, starting with a mild protein such as our 100% chicken & tripe complete. Continue feeding the chicken & tripe complete for 5 days. At day 12, gradually introduce another protein along with the chicken & tripe complete, such as beef, lamb or pork. From now on you do not have to feed tripe with every meal, but it has great nutritional benefits and can be fed in a complete mix with proteins daily. As each day goes by, gradually feed less chicken and more of the other proteins. Once you've introduced all the main proteins, you can now begin feeding fish. Remember to introduce slowly, this will prevent stomach upset. Fish can be fed up to 3 times a week. While many dogs can cope without a transition period, we recommend the method above as it's the gentlest and most effective method of transition.
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Can puppies be fed a raw diet?Yes! A young pups digestive system is designed to cope with a raw diet. It is safe to wean puppies from approximately 3-4 weeks of age onto a raw diet. It is reccomended that puppies have a lower bone content than adults as it's gentler on their digestive systems.
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What should I feed my dog?When feeding your dog raw, it is vital they get all the nutrients & vitamins they need. By feeding your dog complete meals your dog gets exactly what they need for a complete healthy diet. 80% muscle meat, 10% raw meaty bones & 10% secreting organ. If you are confident with raw feeding, try our DIY chunks & bones to create your own complete meals.
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When and how much should I feed?Typically adult dogs should be fed 2-3% of their ideal body weight. Adult dogs, over 18 months should have 1-2 meals per day. See our Raw Feeding Calculator.
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At what age can I start? Is it too late to transition?You can switch your dog at any age, it's never too early or too late! Many wean their puppies straight to raw. There are many success stories of older dogs transitiong to raw, it will prolong your dog's life and reduce the risks that come with kibble feeding, see our Why Raw Feed page for more information.
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What about bacteria? Do I need to worry?Not at all. Dogs bodies are very well equipped to deal with bacteria. Even their saliva has antibacterial properties! (Fun fact, their Saliva contains a special enzyme called Lysozyme, this helps to destroy harmful bacterias). Dogs also have a short digestive tract which is designed to push through food & bacteria quickly which results in not giving the bacteria enough time to colonize. It is important to wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw dog food and sanitise any preperation areas regularly.
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Will raw feeding cause worms?No. In fact it's a common misconception that by feeding your dog raw they are more at risk of catching worms than kibble/tinned food fed dogs. One of the most important ways to avoid your dog contracting worms is by ensuring all wild game & fish are kept frozen for a minimum of three weeks. Please note: When feeding raw keep in mind the stomach is an extremely acidic environment, making it a naturally hostile environment for intestinal worms. You can detect many types of worms by examining a stool sample.
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Can I mix kibble/tinned food and raw?This is not reccomended. When you feed a mixture of kibble/tinned foods with raw, the stomach acid will not be able to reach the acidic levels required to kill bacteria. Simply feed our raw meals for a complete raw diet for you dog.
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Do I need to add any supplements?Some owners choose to add supplements to their dog's meals, this is a personal choice based on the individual dog's needs, but rest assured a complete 80/10/10 diet is perfect for your dog as it is. We sell a fantastic all-natural range of supplements if your dog needs a boost. Whether it be joint care, digestive support or stress management.
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Why do your complete raw meals contain bone? Is this safe?Raw bones are natures tooth brush! Bones contain calcium and trace minerals. They naturally descale & scrape your dogs teeth as they are chewed and mixed with meat is perfect as is acts as floss. By feeding your dog a natural complete raw diet, they should have pearly white teeth & scentless breath. The bone in our complete meals is ground into the meal making it easy to consume for any size dog. We also sell larger chunks of bone in our DIY section.
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Should I rotate the proteins?Its important we give our dogs variety and rotation in their diets. This will prevent boredom and food intolerances. It will also provide a balanced diet and a range of varied nutrients. As a guide we recommend a rotation of 4 proteins, mainly being made up of red meats. You can include our complete single proteins or our complete mixed proteins. Your rotation could be on a weekly or monthly basis, its entirely up to you.
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Should I add any raw eggs to my dogs raw diet?Just like us humans have superfoods, dogs do too! raw eggs are the super food of the raw feeding world! The nutrition and health benefits of feeding your dog raw eggs are endless. when feeding a raw egg, remember to feed both yolk and egg white. Fun Fact: Raw eggs even help with hairballs! yes, dogs can get them too!
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Can I raw feed if my dog is overweight?Yes, see our handy Raw Feeding Calculator to calculate your dogs ideal intake. Our complete raw meals contain lean muscle meat and no unbeneficial additives like sugary grain or fruits & vegetables. Naturally when fed a raw diet your dog will lose weight as fat will be replaced with lean muscle. However, if your dog is drastically overweight, its recommened to feed 2% of their ideal body weight. This will help excess weight drop off.
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Can I refreeze raw meat once it has been thawed/defrosted?Yes, it is safe to do this once. Refreezing will not do any harm to your dog. Raw feeders, defrost, prep & refreeze all the time, this is quite normal and will not have any effect on yourself or your dog. Please note: None of our Raw Meals are suitable for human consumption.
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How long will thawed meat stay fresh in the fridge?Once defrosted, the meal will be safe for your dog to eat for 3-4 days. It must be stored in the fridge.
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I've just started raw feeding and my dog has diarrhea? How can I help them?It's worth knowing that it's quite common in any diet change for your dog to experience soft stools or diarrhea. Your dog will go through a detox period, the best thing to do is hang in there and this will quickly sort itself out. If this is still a non stop issue after a couple of days, its recommended to give them Slippery Elm.
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Since we switched to raw my dog doesn't drink as much? Is this normal?This is completely normal. Remember kibble is dehydrated, where as raw is made up of over 70% natural moisture, meaning dogs are getting a good portion of their water intake from their food. Always make sure your dog has fresh drinking water available.
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My dog has allergies, will raw feeding help?"The first thing you should do is switch to raw! Cut out all fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates, grains, etc, if you continue to feed these it will make things worse. As raw is a completely natural diet with no nasties, your dog should thrive and their allergy improve.
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What is tripe? Should I feed it to my dog?Tripe is the stomach of cattle or any other grazing animal including pigs, sheep, lamb & goats. As you can imagine, the stomach of a grazing animal is mainly grass and other greenery. Tripe has endless health benefits for your dog! Tripe contains various natural protein, probiotics, enzymes and a variety of vitamins & minerals. Its particularly good for dogs which need to gain healthy weight or are recovering from illness. Tripe can even help weight loss as all the nutrients it contains are digested and absorbed by the body, nothing is wasted. Eaten in correct quantities, it can also help maintain a natural weight. Tripe does have a naturally strong smell, although off putting to us, is particularly attractive & tasty to our dogs. We believe tripe is a raw superfood! We advise feeding once a week as part of one of their meals or on its own as a main meal.
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Does raw feeding cause aggression?Raw feeding does not cause aggression. Raw food is often viewed by your dog as much higher value than tinned or kibble, so you may notice they become slightly tense or may even growl when they are approached whilst eating. This is perfectly normal. (No one wants to share their favourote foods!)
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Will raw feeding make my dog blood thirsty?No. Behaviorally, feeding raw will not lead to dogs hunting, killing or becoming 'blood thirsty'. They are no more likely to change behaviorally than a dog fed kibble or cooked food. We completely remove the hunt to consume motor pattern as the steps of stalk-chase-grab-kill-consume are removed. Your dog will will simply consume as the product is a mince and not live animal. Therefore it is no way more of a risk feeding raw than it is kibble.
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