The Benefits Of Feeding Raw Dog Food
This week's Blog is written by Dean Barrow, an avid raw feeding fan, who provides his views on the benefits of feeding your dog a raw food diet.
It’s often forgotten, but dogs have been eating a raw diet long before the existence of kibble. Dogs in the wild will often catch or scavenge their food and will eat almost anything, bones, fat, muscle, flesh and organs.
Dogs are designed to eat raw dog food
We all know that dogs evolved from wolves, but their gastrointestinal systems are still the same as they ever were, uniquely designed to break down prey, bones and all. Combined with powerful stomach acids, they can effectively eat a vast array of foods which would easily kill us.
Kibble was created for our convenience, not for your dogs health
Let’s face it, kibble is easy. It lasts for ages, creates minimal mess, and takes seconds to pour a meal, so you can see why it’s everyone's first choice when it comes to dog food. But what many people don’t know is that kibble contains a high percentage of fillers such as grains, cereals and soya which your dog isn’t designed to eat.
By cooking the kibble during the manufacturing process, many proteins and amino acids are broken down leaving a bland product with little nutritional value.
Types of raw food diet
There are two main types of raw feeding, BARF and Prey.
BARF - Bones And Raw Food
Also known as Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods, the BARF diet is a mix of raw meats, bones, fruits and vegetables to mimic what your dog would eat in the wild.
The Prey model
Designed to imitate nature as much as possible, the Prey model takes BARF a step further by feeding whole prey whenever possible. This includes whole chickens, rabbits, turkeys and many other small mammals that dogs would hunt or scavenge with their pack.
The health benefits:-
Healthier skin and coat
With quality food comes a much healthier dog, and it won’t take you long to notice a brilliant glossy coat, with naturally healthy skin underneath.
It’s not uncommon to hear of allergies, rashes or itchy skin clearing up after switching to raw as kibble may contain many fillers, cereals and grains which some dogs can react to.
Leaner, muscular body mass
A raw diet will lead to increased muscle mass and reduced body fat making your dog look much leaner and healthier. This in turn leads to an increased metabolic rate, higher energy levels, and less strain on precious joints.
Boosted immune system
Raw feeding will normalise and strengthen a dog’s immune system. The perfect balance of raw meat and bone will provide all the essential proteins, fats, calcium and minerals that your dog needs.
Healthier teeth and breath
Chewing on raw bone leads to naturally cleaner teeth and gums due to the scrubbing, flossing and massaging action. A cleaner mouth also leads to cleaner breath and you’ll go longer between teeth cleaning sessions compared to dried food.
Improved stools
Tired of picking up sloppy dog mess? Well things are about to change. The improved health of the dog brings many benefits here, you can expect smaller, firmer, lower odured stools as your dog is able to absorb much more of the food compared to kibble.
These are just a handful of the many benefits of raw feeding, with that in mind, why are you still feeding kibble?
Take your vets advice with a pinch of salt
Raw feeding is a controversial topic in the vets office. Many vets are against the practice of raw feeding and will often advise against it, but you have to take their opinion with a pinch of salt.
Pet food companies provide financial support for trainee veterinarians, which gains them a certain bias. On top of that, vets earn a commision on any pet food sold at their surgery.
It is also worth bearing in mind that healthier pets mean less visits which leads to less revenue for your local vets surgery.
Get started with raw feeding
Raw feeding is rapidly gaining popularity amongst pet owners, creating happier, healthier dogs.
To get you started with raw feeding, I’ve created a free quick start guide to help you make the switch. Head over to Raw Dog Food to download it for free.
Dean's Blog is http://www.rawdogfood.co and the Twitter Account is https://twitter.com/rawdogfoodco
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