Nutrition
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9 min
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Heard about the raw food diet for dogs? Though you may be used to feeding your pooch wet food, meaty treats or crunchy dog kibble - hopefully packed with all the nutrients they need for a well-rounded diet - raw dog food is definitely gaining in popularity. Raw food enthusiasts insist that domestic dogs are wild animals at heart, therefore should be chowing down on meaty bones and raw cuts of meat over cooked chicken and dog biscuits. Weighing up the benefits of these contrasting diets can be a minefield, as you’ll only want to do what’s best for your pooch.
To save you the stress, we’ve explored the differences between raw food for dogs and commercial wet and dry dog food, so that you as a dog owner can make whatever decision you deem best for your pooch's mealtimes.
The raw food diet is an alternative to commercial food or cooked food for dogs, based on the premise that dogs used to hunt and live in the wild, therefore it appeals to their ‘true nature’. It’s sometimes rather appetisingly called the BARF diet, which stands for both ‘Bones and Raw Food’ or ‘Biologically Appropriate Raw Food’.
There are a number of ways to feed your dog a raw food diet - you can prepare the various foods yourself, or some specialist dog food brands offer raw food in more accessible formats (such as freeze-dried) to allow for easier access plus safer storage and consumption.
Raw dog food is based on what dogs may have eaten in the wild, before they were domesticated. Usually it consists of raw muscle meat, organs, bones, raw eggs, dog-safe fruit and vegetables, and yoghurt. It can be home prepared or bought from a store freeze-dried or dehydrated, to save dog owners the trouble of sourcing and adequately preparing all of these raw foods themselves.
Dog owners who swear by raw dog food claim it provides a number of powerful health benefits to their pooches. These include -
There are limited studies on this, none of which have been wholly proven. A study in 2018 did reveal a lot of bacterial diversity in the gut microbiome of dogs who ate raw food (1), though there was also a boost in the harmful bacteria E.coli. There are plenty of raw dog food fans with very happy and healthy dogs, but not everyone is an advocate for the raw dog food diet, as just like it does with humans, eating food in its raw state can come with considerable risks.
Many veterinary experts have discouraged dog owners from feeding raw food to their dogs (2), as it could be considered riskier when it comes to contamination and safety.
So if you were considering a raw food diet for your dog - how does it hold up against high-quality commercial wet dog food? Here are some of the pros and cons of wet and dry dog food when compared against each other.
Pros & Cons of Raw Food for Dogs:
Pros of raw food for dogs
Cons of raw food for dogs
Pros & Cons of Wet Dog Food:
Pros of wet food for dogs
Cons of wet food for dogs
Now here are the pros and cons of dry dog food against raw food for dogs…
Pros & Cons of Dry Dog Food
Pros of dry dog food
Cons of dry dog food
To make it easier for you to make a decision for you and your dog, let's roundup with a quick summary of what we’ve found.
Your choice for your dog’s diet is a very personal one, and should be based on you and your dog’s habits and lifestyle. Whatever you choose, rest assured that Pooch & Mutt’s complete range of wet dog food and dry food for dogs contains a well-balanced variety of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to keep them as healthy as can be - it’s grain free, and it tastes great, too.
References
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Comments (5)
I am afraid my cockapoo did not adjust very well to raw food. Would eat sometimes then sniff and walk away. He got a bad tummy with diarrhoea and dehydrated. He has been allergy tested and found to have a chicken intolerance. It is hard to find raw or dog food that is poultry free!! We went over to a high quality tailor made kibble made with no poultry derivatives. One happy pooch with healthy coat skin poops and weight.
I feed raw plus wet food twice a day and a small amount of dried Pooch and Mutt in treat balls in the evening to keep her interested, I also feed BARF supplement with raw food. My dog does not have smelly breath, her teeth are white, coat is exceptional and she is very healthy only ever having 1 stomach upset which was due to picking up Gardia from the river. I feed some Pooch and Mutt as and appetiser with the raw meat plus it means if we are away and haven’t got a freezer I can swop onto Pooch and Mutt entirely without her noticing too much and her digestive system not being effected so it works for me
I found this very interesting and helpful. Thank you. My two Tibetan Spaniels have very sensitive tummies and trying to find the right food is difficult. One also has problem teeth.
Thank you so much to everyone who has commented! if you ever need any advice please get in touch with the team at [email protected] :)
Hi interesting article, I’m a raw feeder with 2 frenchies 1 is 9 the other is 8 we are lucky enough too have a shop near us that specialises in raw and it’s mixed into 500 g tubs with veg and the goud stuff they need have only ever been too the vets with them for the normal inoculations they have occasional raw chicken wings or legs the bone acts like a squeegee on their teeth which are cleaming , been on raw since 8 weeks old never go too the vets speaks for it’s self .but I understand those that choose dry more convenient.
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