The Raw Low Down

Social media can sometimes make raw feeding look like its complicated, time consuming and difficult to get right, but that is simply not true. Feeding a raw diet can be as simple as taking a mince from your fridge - putting it into your dogs bowl and feeding it. You can buy premade formulas that are complete and balanced and offer all the nutrients required. It is important to remember though, not all raw is equal, the quality of the raw you buy is important, as is the ingredients - not all raw is complete or balanced and feeding a raw diet that doesn’t have key essential nutrients will lead to nutritional deficiencies. 

There is a wealth of knowledge online about raw feeding, which is great but it can also be a bit overwhelming. However, remember we have an instore Nutritionist who will help you get started.  

The raw industry in the UK is heavily regulated, quality manufacturers are DEFRA approved and their products are required to be blast frozen to kill parasites. Products are batch coded and tested to ensure traceability and ingredient labels have to be transparent and accurate. Again, this is why it’s important to choose a raw brand that you can trust, as raw feeding has a bit more to it than feeding a chicken carcass from the butchers. 

Raw feeding is not a new phenomenon, however the huge shift towards feeding kibble after the Second World War sometimes makes it seem like feeding raw is a new concept, but of course it’s not, it is the diet that the dog, by nature is designed to eat. 

The physiology of an animal by very design is a key indicator about what food its body is designed to consume – the dog, or cat for that matter has teeth that are designed to puncture and tear meat. They have a jaw that is strong for grasping and crunching. Their digestive tract is that of a carnivore - relatively short.  They will primarily use fat as an energy source and have little nutritional need for carbohydrates. Although there has been an evolution in the dogs digestive system that means they can digest carbohydrates, they are not classed as essential in a dogs diet – which simply means they are not needed. 

We talk about species appropriate diets, yet both dogs and cats are now predominantly fed diets that are not species appropriate, diets that are not what they are physiologically designed to eat. 

Raw and fresh feeding is a growing market with more and more people questioning what they are putting in their pets bowl, you only have to look at all the new ‘fresh’ and ‘cooked’ products that companies are launching and it’s obvious that there is a shift. In some ways its hardly surprising, as more and more attention has focused on our own diets, and the need for a move away from ultra processed foods, back to eating natures best. It natural that the same train of thought then carries through to what we feed our dogs.

If you’ve been told that a raw diet is not complete, its not balanced and it will not meet all the nutritional requirements of your dog – this is simply not true! As long as you do your research and choose quality brands that meet FEDIAF requirements as complete, there is absolutely no reason why your dog’s raw diet would be unbalanced. Come and speak to us, we will help you, raw isn’t complicated as long as you get the basic foundations correct.

There is plenty of great research that supports a raw, species appropriate diet – again our Nutritionist can point you in the direction of some great studies if you fancy reading them yourself.

There are many vets who are pro raw feeding, yes there are some who are not, and those who do not support a species appropriate diet will advocate that you do not feed raw,  but remember we have a qualified nutritionist here at Merumhor should you have any concerns or questions about raw.