Health

Choosing the Best Raw Dog Food: Safety & Quality First

Gone are the days of sourcing muscle meat, organ meat, and raw meaty bones yourself, then weighing everything out and adding supplements to give your dog a balanced raw diet. Now, there are many commercially available raw dog foods. But how can you find the best raw dog food?

Let’s take a closer look at the raw diet for dogs and what to look for in the best raw dog food.

Why Choose a Raw Diet for Dogs?

Despite how different dogs and wolves may look on the outside, they’re still remarkably similar on the inside. Everything about a dog’s anatomy shows that they are carnivores just like their wolf ancestors and are built to thrive on a raw diet:

•Pointy teeth and a jaw that only moves up and down are designed for ripping and tearing flesh rather than grinding plant matter
•A lack of salivary amylase and a highly acidic stomach point to the fact that dogs are meant to eat meat rather than carbs
•Their very short digestive tract is perfectly suited for extracting nutrients from meat, organs, and bone rather than plants, which require a very long digestive system to process

Identifying the Best Raw Food Dogs Will Thrive On

How can you identify high-quality raw food? The best raw dog food:

•Is nutritionally complete and balanced, meaning you can feed only that food, and your dog will get all the nutrients they need. Some raw foods are intended for supplemental or intermittent feeding only and shouldn’t be fed alone.
•Includes raw muscle meat, organ meat, and bone in the proper ratios to mimic the prey that dogs eat in the wild.
•Does not include grains or filler ingredients that add unnecessary carbohydrates without a nutritional purpose.
•Uses a kill step such as high-pressure processing (HPP) to inactivate potential pathogens, making the food safe for your dog to eat and for you to handle.
•Contains no preservatives or artificial flavors or colors, which are not only unneeded but may also be harmful to your dog.
•Is cold-shipped to you for free, saving you trips to the store.
•Has been formulated by a PhD animal nutritionist with 40+ years of experience.

We Feed Raw meets all these requirements and then some.

Benefits of Feeding Your Dog the Best Raw Food

On a raw diet, your dog may experience many benefits, including:

•Reduction in allergies
•Softer, healthier skin and coat
•Smaller, firmer stools
•Cleaner teeth
•More mealtime excitement
•Better weight control
•Stronger immune system
•Improved digestion

Transitioning Your Dog to the Best Raw Food Diet

Many dogs experience digestive upset when switching foods too quickly, so you should gradually transition your dog to raw dog food over about 10 days by slowly increasing how much raw food you feed each day while decreasing how much of your dog’s old food you give them each day.

Addressing Myths and Facts About the Best Raw Food for Dogs

Unfortunately, there are still many myths about raw dog food, some of which are even believed by many veterinarians. Here are some of the most common myths about raw dog food and the truth behind the myth.

Myth 1: Raw Dog Food Will Make You, Your Family, or Your Dog Sick

Aside from the fact that people and dogs can be infected with pathogens like Salmonella after handling dry dog food, the highly acidic stomach of a dog is designed to destroy bacteria before it has a chance to make your dog sick.

Additionally, most people are already used to treating raw meat responsibly by washing their hands and utensils after handling it and avoiding cross-contamination.

If you still worry about raw meat making your pup or your family sick, We Feed Raw uses a cold-pressure process to inactivate potential pathogens without affecting beneficial bacteria.

Myth 2: A Raw Diet Makes Dogs Bloodthirsty

There is no evidence that raw-fed dogs have a higher prey drive or any higher risk of becoming “bloodthirsty” than kibble-fed dogs. In fact, since dogs on raw don’t have to work as hard to digest their food, they may actually have a better mood and attitude than dogs whose bodies have to work extra hard to process all the carbs in dry dog food.

Imagine, if you constantly had stomach problems and gas due to eating a diet that didn’t agree with your body, you would probably be pretty cranky, too!

Myth 3: You Can’t Mix Raw and Kibble

Despite myths to the contrary, your dog’s body doesn’t process cooked and raw foods at different rates. Your dog’s digestive tract only identifies proteins, fats, and carbs; it can’t differentiate between kibble and raw food. It’s totally safe to mix raw and kibble for a more budget-friendly diet.

Myth 4: Raw Dog Food Isn’t Balanced

While a veterinarian may be right to worry about somebody trying to balance their dog’s raw diet while making it themselves, We Feed Raw meets AAFCO nutrition standards and is complete and balanced for dogs of all life stages, including the growth of large-breed puppies.

Myth 5: Cooked Diets Are Better Than Raw Dog Food

Cooking dog food, even “gently,” removes some of the nutrients and makes it harder for dogs to digest. And the more you cook food, the unhealthier it becomes for dogs due to the formation of glycotoxins, also called Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs). Raw is better for dogs than cooked.

Period.

Making an Informed Decision on the Best Raw Dog Food

The best raw dog food may give your dog more quality years and more time with your dog that you can’t otherwise buy. We Feed Raw is the best dog food raw diet because it’s nutritionally complete and balanced, easy to feed, and free of any possible pathogens.

Take our quiz now to get your dog started on a perfectly personalized raw meal plan that’s cold-shipped to you for free.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is considered the best dog food raw diet for my dog?

The best dog food raw diet for your dog is one that is nutritionally balanced, easy to feed, free of fillers, and uses a kill step to make it safe. We Feed Raw meets all those requirements and more.