Raw Feeding

[Autumn101]

I’m looking into starting raw feeding my dog, there’s so much info online so wondered if anyone else raw feeds and recommendations for good reliable resources? Do you buy the food ready prepared or make it yourself?

He’s a nearly 9 month old Springer, currently on Butternut box. He loves to eat, hasn’t turned down anything yet!

It's very trendy but think hard if you have small children or are immunocompromised in any way.
You are basically bringing bacteria into your kitchen.
Raw meat is often infected with bacteria such as salmonella and campylobacter, dealt with by cooking. By feeding this raw you run the risk of contamination from the food itself, plus the dog will act as an incubator/reservoir and be excreting the bacteria as well as licking you and itself.
All raw diets fresh, frozen, home made run this risk. There's even some thought that the cold pressed dry foods might also be at risk.
There are no peer reviewed scientific studies to say that feeding raw has any tangible benefits.
There are plenty of peer reviewed studies re the difficulty of feeding a balanced diet and the bacterial hazards.
I'll get stick for this as there are a lot of evangelical raw feeders but it's something you need to know if you are considering this.

All opinions are welcome so thanks for your thoughts - it’s why I hadn’t considered raw until he was a bit older.

No immunocompromised in the family and my DC are secondary age so that’s not a big worry

We use raw food and have done for five years. have a Tupperware container it fits in in the fridge. Have had absolutely no problems.

@Littlemissprosecco do you make the food yourself or buy it readymade?

Sorry, no there’s no way I’d have time to make my own, also I’m not knowledgeable enough to know how to make it balanced.
I use Honey’s.

We use Nutriment, never had any issues, dog loves it and seems to be healthy, big benefit is small non smelly poops!

I am quite strict on hand washing and cleaning the area with anti bac spray where the dogs food has been prepared, I also have teens and they often feed the dog.

We used Nutriment and Wolf Tucker when DDog was on raw.

Well I'm immunocompromised and feeding the dog raw hasn't killed me yet (rolls eyes)

He's a 10 year old cav and eats 'natures menu - original' ready prepared frozen nuggets that you defrost in the fridge or on the counter for an hour with some clingfilm over. They also do other frozen / raw products but this is the one we like for him. We buy from our local independent pet shop

www.naturesmenu.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwl92XBhC7ARIsAHLl9anYVoAYmfqQLVEJQlWYAw2HC3DlfFROFzQSZFNlQ6ZHZUgbgd4nb4EaAmD2EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks all, will take a look at those brands 👍

We’ve always fed our dog raw, and never had any problems, except once there was an issue with the packaging, so blood leaked into the fridge (same could happen with meat for humans, and was at the bottom, so easily cleaned up) Now we use a plastic box to defrost in.

Usually I buy Naturaw, because the packaging is compostable

Other benefits - clean teeth and no bad breath, or maybe we are just lucky

We started a few months ago for our 6 year old GR.
Our vet said he couldn’t officially recommend it but it’s what he did. We are lucky to have a great supplier locally who we visit every month or so to stock up and weigh DD.
Ddog loves it and has more energy now, he has lost weight too which is a major reason why we did it. Also, we eat pretty healthily and won’t eat cheap burgers or processed meat so it seemed wrong to feed it to DDog.
We have a separate freezer in the garage and keep one block of raw food in a Tupperware in the fridge at a time. We are careful to clean with Milton spray and there is nobody vulnerable in the house. I don’t think it’s fair to ask other people to do it though so if we are away and Ddog is staying with one of his Aunties we send him with Forthglade instead

Oh and the poops are tiny and hard too - bonus!!

Just think about your lifestyle a little. I know some struggle if they take their dog on holiday or have friends or family look after the dog from time to time.

As I said, we use Forthglade in these circumstances

At the moment we use Butternut which comes in frozen packs and have been away a couple of times with him and it’s been fine so I don’t think raw would be a problem in that regard.

Haven’t left him yet but my sister is looking after him later this year for 5 days, staying in our house and she doesn’t have any issue with it - she raw feeds her cats so is a supporter of it!

My cockatoo is 6 and has been rawfed from
being a puppy, no health issues at all!! I was using paleo ridge but fell out with them for various reasons and now use naturaw complete meals. So easy!! I also mix a few meals a week with a chicken wing to get my dog chewing . I have two shelves in the freezer for dog food. I usually partially defrost 5 boxes at a time, measure them out into small plastic tie bags and refreeze. I take out 3 days worth at a time and store in a special Tupperware box in fridge. Easy peasy!! Dog is happy, I like the variety of meat available at naturaw and dog is not eating any nasties. He is a bit spoiled and has dehydrated chicken and beef strips that I make at home and liver cake treats too!

Ooops, cockapoo!! Not a cockatoo 🤣

Also, recently my dog stayed with family and I just sent his frozen food with him along with the Tupperware box with clear instructions on how to defrost - no issues there. I made sure there was no tripe on these meals 😂

We feed raw and tend to get a mix of the completes from a local pet shop. Favourites are Natural Instinct, Naked Dog, Cotswold, Nutriment.

Our dog suffered with an upset stomach quite frequently despite trying various kibbles and since switching to raw we’ve had no issues (poo is much smaller, doesn’t smell half as bad and she only goes 1-2 times a day and it was at least 4 on kibble).

We have a big Tupperware box in the fridge to keep her food separate and all the surfaces are cleaned after handling any raw meat (including our own). She’s not a licky dog so we weren’t really worried about bacteria. You can’t completely escape the risk of bacteria even feeding kibble as food occasionally gets recalled. Just be sensible with hygiene, whatever you feed.

We were reluctant thinking it would be a hassle but wouldn’t go back to kibble now as our dog is so much better on it. We’ve even managed to feed raw when we go away as we have a small fridge in the car and the accommodation has always had a freezer when we’ve been for longer than 3-4 days.

I am on immunosuppressants and have been raw feeding for many years. No issues, just be sensible?

I like to have a variety of proteins flavours and textures (fine mince/chunks) so I order from stefspetpantry as you can order different brands in one place. This might be work well for you as you are just starting out you may like to try a few brands.
You want to start on 'completes' which have the right amount of bone, offal, meat etc.. too much bone will make dog constipated and too much offal will give the craps. A lot of completes have added bits like veg, sea kelp, spirulina etc..

You can't go too wrong with the following
Nutriment
Natural instinct
Benyfit
Naked dog
Nutriwolds

I’ve fed my cocker spaniel raw for years using the complete type. Currently using Nurture them Naturally as the packaging is all recyclable. He's nearly 12 now and looks great on it.

If he goes to my mum’s then I just weigh out the food into portions and put it in plastic containers. Same if we go camping.

Just do the same as you would when handing raw meat for yourself and you won’t go far wrong.

Thanks for all the recommendations - think we’ll give it a go and see how he gets on 👍

We feed our dog Bella and Duke. We buy it in bulk so she has her own freezer . We also have separate sink for washing her stuff up,.
It's kept in a Tupperware box in the bottom of the fridge , with none of our food. Works well. She loves it . I'm I have referral code if you want to give it try just DM me .

Another shout out for Bella and Duke and also ROR which is sold in Pet Corner stores. B&D is complete, comes frozen in a brick. We decant into tupperware box which has its own plastic bag and kept on the bottom fridge shelf with the meat we eat. We use a spoon specif to that and that is kept separately on the window sill. We have a specific dog washing up brush so frankly the risks of contamination are less than when I prep our meat. My son is type 1 diabetic, I have a dodgy immune system but honestly it is fine and easy. Smaller poos, less smell. The only thing is when travelling keeping it in a cool bag. Also with B&D you get a free video vet service which has been very useful at 9 pm when you think eeeek!

Since i switched my cockapoo onto raw (nutriment) his poos have been great...really small and no smell and hard. He also seems to like thr raw meat as well....doesnt turn his nose up like he did with butternut. As soon as he has ate it i wash his bowl and keep the remainder in a tupperware in the fridge