How a Raw Diet Can Add More Years to Your Dog's Life

Did you know switching your pup to a raw diet for dogs could add years to their life—and life to their years? We all want the most quality time possible with our dogs before they cross the rainbow bridge, and raw dog food can help us do that. Let’s look at the benefits of a raw dog food diet, how raw food for dogs can help them live longer, and other ways you can extend your pup’s lifespan.

Benefits of Raw Dog Food

Raw feeding has a huge variety of benefits, many of which may—directly or indirectly—lead to a longer, healthier life. Here are some of the best benefits of raw food for dogs.

Cleaner Teeth

While the excessive carbohydrates in dry dog food feed the bacteria that live along a dog’s gum line, creating plaque and contributing to periodontal disease, raw dog food contains enzymes that actually help fight plaque and tartar, leading to cleaner teeth and fresher breath.

Feeding your dog raw, meaty bones can provide extra benefits by stimulating the gums, scraping off plaque, and “flossing” between the teeth. However, even dogs fed a raw diet where the bone is finely ground (like in We Feed Raw’s patties) have significantly better dental health than dogs fed highly processed kibble or canned food due to the presence of the live enzymes and the lack of carbohydrates.

Improved Digestion and Smaller Stools

Despite some breeds looking drastically different from their wolf ancestors, all dogs are still biologically designed to get their nutrition from raw meat, organs, and bones—NOT the carbohydrates found in kibble. When you feed dogs what they were designed to eat, they have fewer digestive problems, and their bowel movements are smaller, firmer, and less frequent than when they have to get rid of a lot of waste that their bodies can’t process.

One study even proved that puppies and adolescent dogs fed raw meat-based diets were significantly less likely than dogs fed kibble to develop inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders later in life.

Reduced Allergies

Two of the most common food allergens dogs struggle with—wheat and soy—are common kibble ingredients that you won’t find in a raw diet. Other common food allergens and intolerances, like beef or chicken, are much easier to avoid with a raw diet than with dry food, where ingredients like “chicken fat” can hide far down an ingredient list on a food labeled with another protein, like lamb or duck.

For these reasons and others, a significant number of people who switch their dogs to raw notice an improvement in their pup’s allergy symptoms after making the switch.

Better Weight Control

Carb-heavy and filler-stuffed kibble spike dogs’ blood sugar levels, leading to insulin dumps, which, over time, leads to fat storage. Overweight dogs suffer from many of the same obesity-related health conditions as humans do, including diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. As a result, obese dogs tend to live shorter, sicker lives than pups of a healthy weight.

Protein-rich raw dog food, on the other hand, is easier for dogs to digest and helps them feel full longer than processed food, both of which can help dogs on a raw diet lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.

Softer, Healthier Skin and Coat

Raw meat is chock-full of bioavailable omega-3 fatty acids that dogs need to have healthy skin and a shiny coat. In fact, 9 out of 10 We Feed Raw customers say their pup’s skin and coat improved after switching to a raw diet.

Additionally, one study showed that feeding pregnant dogs and their resulting puppies a raw diet significantly reduced the likelihood of the puppies developing canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) as an adult.

Stronger Immune System

Raw dog food contains thousands more bioactive factors (such as live bacteria and enzymes) than processed food, which can help suppress damage to DNA and reduce inflammation. Further, when dogs eat the diet they were built to digest (raw food), they have better gut health—which accounts for 70% of the immune system.

Improved Bone and Joint Health

Ground edible bone is a natural source of marrow, collagen, glucosamine, chondroitin, phosphorus, and calcium—all of which are excellent for bone health and joint mobility.

More Mealtime Excitement

Most dogs love raw food. They instinctively understand that this is what they were meant to eat. Even dogs who initially turn up their nose at a new raw food after a lifetime of only perceiving kibble as food eventually fall in love with a raw diet.

Longer Life

That’s right; studies have shown that dogs who eat a raw diet live as much as 3 years longer than their kibble-fed counterparts. Many factors are thought to contribute to the longer lifespan, including the reduced incidence of obesity, a stronger immune system, and lower odds of developing diet-related health conditions such as diabetes or cancer.

How Can Raw Dog Food Help Dogs Live Longer?

Since raw dog food lacks the high-carb fillers found in dry dog food, dogs on a raw diet tend to reach and maintain a healthy weight better than kibble-fed dogs. Obesity can shorten a dog’s life anywhere from a few months to a few years, so switching your dog to appropriate portions of a nutritionally complete and balanced raw diet could help them lose weight and live longer.

Additionally, some studies are showing that once-daily feeding increases a dog’s physical health and cognitive function. Since a raw meal is meant to be eaten at once (rather than picked at all day), raw dog food is ideal for once-daily feeding, providing pet owners with another way to potentially extend their beloved pup’s life.

Other Ways to Extend Your Dog’s Life

Want to help your furry best friend live the longest, healthiest life possible? Try these other tips in addition to switching to We Feed Raw:

• •Keep your dog at a healthy weight

• •Brush your dog daily (even if they have short hair)

• •Have your pup spayed or neutered

• •Feed only once a day

• •Provide plenty of physical and mental stimulation

• •Maintain your dog’s dental health

• •Thoroughly examine your pooch once a week and immediately address any problems

Get Your Dog Started on We Feed Raw Today

Even if you can’t feed a fully raw diet, even adding some raw can add huge benefits to your dog and help extend their life and improve their quality of life. Start the quiz now to find out how much it would cost to start the transition to We Feed Raw.