Raw dog food, is it good quality meat?

[Lucisky]

My dog is fussy. She has been on one food for a while (after trying everything that is not crap and that she might like), but she has now gone off that too. I know I should really ignore her, and if she is hungry, she will eat, but I feel so mean doing that - I know I am pandering to her. She is small, has a small appetite, so is at least cheap to feed. One thing she loves is raw meat (beef mince, stewing steak, lamb offcuts) and, of course, fresh cooked meats of all types.
I was looking at the raw dog food freezer in the pet shop. Is there any advantage in feeding that meat, which to me looked low quality? For example, there was a pack of 'minced beef', which looked like the cheapest quality, which was more, cost wise, than the equivalent unfrozen 'human' pack in Aldi. Could I not simply always buy fresh meat designed for human consumption and either cook it myself or feed raw? I have tried it and she loves it. Does anyone else do this? Also, if you've got a fussy dog, I would be interested in what you do to tempt them to eat.

[BiteyShark]

I don't feed raw but do have a fussy dog. With mine I feed wet completes and keep changing flavours and brands to keep him interested.

You can search for raw completes (and all other types of dog food) on this website allaboutdogfood.co.uk. The benefit with complete foods is that you know your dog is getting all the nutrients they need rather than trying to manage that yourself.

[Bunnybigears]

If you feed raw on a diy basis you need to try and stick to specific ratios I believe it is 80% meat 10% offal 10% bone but dont quote me on it. Then there is something about no more than 5% of the offal can be from liver and heart is a muscle not offal etc etc. Unless you are fully committed to learning all the ins and outs I would buy prepared raw complete food.

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

Depends where you get the meat from. My dogs are fed on organic British reared ethical human grade food so yes their meat is a good quality.

There are some complete raw meals I would not fed to my dog and if you were looking in pets at home freezer for example I would agree that the meat is not good quality.

Complete meals - Nutriment and Natural Instinct, Lilys Kitchen are fine but I would not ever fed natures menu

It is dead easy to fed DIY but it takes a little bit of planning to start with - the balanced diet is over a period of time not all in one day just like with us.

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

Ironically the best thing to do with a fussy dog is to give smaller portions - hard to do when they will not eat

Give them a small percentage of their food at set times, helps them to regulate their hunger and appetite over a period of time you can increase the size of the meal. Better for them to eat little every meal than not eat for a day at a time

[gonzo77]

I buy from Landywoods. Good quality, but make sure you do your research into what your Dog needs. Look at The Dogs Dinner by Anne Ridyard online

[ggirl]

@Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten ...you've worried me now.I feed my dog Nature's menu frozen raw ..what's wrong with it?

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

ggirl although the mention about welfare they are not sourcing meat from higher welfare farms, so factory reared animals, caged rabbits etc etc so not for me.

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

Also lots of it contains rice - which dogs do not digest or need

[DeadCertain]

I just buy mine from the butcher. They make pet mince after they have butchered carcasses, sell boxes of chicken carcasses, hearts, liver kidneys etc and I get soft bones for free too.

Costs very little to feed compared to commercially produced food and my dogs (sadly now only have the one) have always done really well on it.

[ggirl]

Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten thanks for that, I'll look around for an alternative I think

[Lucisky]

Dead certain - I have a good and friendly local butcher, so that might be a sensible option.
Valahal, yes, perhaps I expect her to eat too much, so a good idea to feed her smaller amounts per meal. Thanks. She is healthy and active anyway, and is the correct weight for her size. I think perhaps I worry too much!

[Shitlandpony]

Variety and also have you tried putting the food hidden in boxes or puzzles to make it more interesting? There is a really good FB group on canine enrichment which has lots of ideas for making food more appealing.

[almondsareforevermore]

We fed our puppies on a good quality complete food because it’s hard to get right and is important when they’re growing fast.
Our older dogs (very small breed) are fed raw or cooked human-grade meat from the supermarket, with brown rice and vegetables. They also get raw bones, eggs and our left-overs. This costs less than frozen dog food and we know the meat is good.