RAW FOOD DONE RIGHT

Unfortunately, many well-meaning pet owners confuse feeding a balanced, species-appropriate diet with feeding pieces of raw grocery store meat to their dog or cat. Although this is a good source of protein and some minerals, it doesn't represent a balanced diet. A diet of muscle meat doesn't contain many of the vital nutrients our pets need, including vitamins A, D, E, and the B vitamins. It also lacks minerals like potassium, copper, zinc, iron, iodine, and choline. The diet will be deficient in Omega 3 fatty acids, enzymes, and antioxidants.

Over time, these deficiencies will wreak havoc on the pet's health. This is one of the reasons traditional veterinarians are against "raw feeding" - it needs to be done right. Not only do you need to feed muscle meat, but 10 to 15% of the diet should also be made of organs - not just one type of organ. Vegetables and fruits can add some really important nutrients, but many prey-model folks are against feeding any vegetable or fruit matter. A diet of 10% organs, 55-60% muscle meat, and 25% vegetable and fruit ingredients would be close to ideal (for cats, the mix should be closer to 90% meat and organs and 10% vegetable matter).

A vitamin and mineral mix (home made or store bought) should be added to balance the diet if you are not willing to balance the diet completely using food sources. The mix needs to contain sources of vitamin D, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, iodine, and folic acid (taurine for cats). 

Some people try to do a better job at raw feeding by buying a special "butcher's dog food blend" containing ground meat, bone, and organs. In my opinion, this is also dangerous. There are a lot of missing vitamins and minerals here. And unless the butcher can provide an analysis of the food, how do you have any idea how much fat, protein, and moisture are present? Because you are probably getting the waste pieces that are not fit for human consumption, there is a good chance you are feeding a very high fat product. For dogs prone to pancreatitis, this could be a nightmare. I checked many "butcher's" dog food sites and few of them provided a nutritional analysis on their products. Most products were incomplete diets.

For people that are old hands and well educated in raw feeding dogs, there's a good chance they are getting the diet more closely balanced. If they weren't, their dogs would show signs of trouble. For the new folks to raw feeding, don't just "wing it". Get good advice from people who have the knowledge to teach you how to balance the diet. Buy a good book on raw feeding, like Dr. Karen Becker's Real Food For Healthy Dogs and Cats. 

If you are just starting out with raw feeding, stick with a pre-made raw food with a guaranteed analysis so that you know you are feeding a balanced diet. That way, if you have a pet with special needs, you will know exactly how much fat and protein are in the diet. It won't be a guessing game. Most of my dogs currently eat Allprovide raw food because there is a guaranteed analysis on every batch and the ingredients are all human grade. Two dogs eat Stella N Chewy's frozen raw rabbit because they have protein allergies. Raw feeding is probably the healthiest way to feed our pets, but make sure you are feeding a balanced, high quality diet.