When it comes to Feeding your Furrballs a new diet, we know it can be a little over whelming. With so many different sources and information that sometimes clashes and contradicts. That is why we are here for you. We are pet parents just like you, we have been in your shoes, we want to make it as fun and smooth as possible for you and yto get started on a NATURAL RAW DIET.
We are sure you heard the expression you are what you eat ! In order to live a healthy life, our bodies needs proper nutrition in order to maintain bodily function in a healthy manner. Poor nutriton can lead to many health issues such as immunity weakening, depression and lack of energy. The same exact thing applies to our furrballs.
Raw diets are filled with ingredients that are biologically appropriate for your furrball.
A furrball that consumes a raw diet is generally healthier than one that doesn’t because a raw diet has the greatest bioavailability of nutrients. This means that your furrballs meal is much easier to digest compared to any other petfood, allowing all the nutrients to be absorbed! This means ! Your furrballs is getting all they need from their food to support their shinny coats, healthy gums, healthy tummies, healthy joints. You don’t need to spend thousands on supplements, which are made in labs and not in nature.
Feeding a raw diet is the best and most natural diet that provides the nutrition and health benefits your furrball needs for enhanced optimal health!
Kibble was the most popular pet food to feed our pets but that was before we knew how harmful they are. Like processed food, our pets can digest kibble but they won’t receive the nutrients a real raw meal provides.
Well lets take a look how kibble is produced. Dry pet foods go through the following process.
1- ingredients are mixed in dry and wet form to make a dough.
2- The dough is then put through a extrusion process, the dough is heated under pressure, then pushed through a die machine that cuts the kibbles.
3- The end product is then dried, cooled and finally spray coated.
FACT: Commercial pet food companies claim that they provide your pets with these nutrients, but that is a myth!
Kibble is processed in extreme temperatures that destroy the majority of any nutritional value it had. So how are they clamming our pets are receiving a NATURAL BALANCED DIET – AND WE HAVE SCIENTIFIC PROOF.
After all animals didn’t cook their food in nature!!
They ate it as it is!
Which is what a raw diet is! A raw diet or a primordial diet will mimic how our pets eat in the wild. Which includes meat, bone, organs, and some vegetation consumed in the wild.
Vegetation !!!
Let us break this down for you.
Vegetation is the the wild animal eating vegetation of the prey ,this can make up 6 % of carbohydrates of their diet in the wild.
In Contrast, Processed pet food contains at least 50% of carbohydrates.Not to mention, carbohydrates are metabolized by the digestive system to sugar which is known to feed diseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and more.
Cancer is one of the leading cause of death. 47% In dogs and a 32% in cats.
UTI
Kidney disease.
Pets that suffer from obesity, are at higher risk of having diabetes.
A raw diet is biologically appropriate and will give your furrball the essential nutrients needed to give them optimal health and longevity.
With this being said, there are many specific benefits leading to a healthy life. Think about if we ate all-natural whole foods…we would enhance our health. The same goes for our pets. A natural fresh raw diet can give your pet many health benefits, improve their current conditions, prevent future disease, and help them thrive.
Many pet owners who have not yet started their raw food journey are usually hesitant because of misinformation. But no worries, that’s what we are here for! To educate and help anyone interested grasp a better understanding of a raw food diet for your pets.
A popular reason many don’t feed raw is because of the concern about the bacteria in raw food. However, dogs have a shorter digestive tract and higher levels of acidity in their digestive system. Therefore, they can tolerate a higher level of bacteria than us humans.
When a pet is fed a species-appropriate diet, their immune system is optimally strong and their digestive system is functioning properly. The acidity level in their stomachs is also very high on a raw diet, which makes it an undesirable environment for bacteria to survive. Remember, raw meat is what nature intended dogs to eat.
Yes age matters!
Nutrition which adapts the nutrient profile of the food to the specific requirements of the animal. We optimize the nutritional plan, foods, and feeding methods for the individual physiologic stages of an animal’s life (growth, reproduction, adulthood, old age).
Most pet foods are formulated are based on puppies to meet all life stages because they have higher nutritional demands. This way is more convenient to offer the same formula regardless of age or activity level compared to adapting to the different nutritional needs of different life stages. However, if we really want our pets to thrive throughout their whole life, we believe we need to tailor the nutrition to the specific needs of each life stage of the animal.
Accordion Content
Starting a raw diet is the best switch you can make for your dog. To make the switch, slowly transitioning will be the best way to begin your furrballs journey to an easy raw diet.
Remember to note that if your pet has been eating processed foods, switching to raw will come as a slight shock to their digestive system. To help with this, we recommend sticking to one type of protein in your pets meals for at least the first week, and possibly longer if they have diarrhea after 7 days. Remember, this is new to them so they make take some time to acclimate to their new diet.
Once your pet has adjusted to the first source of protein, you can introduce the next — again giving them at least a week to adjust. When you’ve established a raw diet after a couple of months, you can mix things up with different meats each day.
We promised we would always be there! Got diarrhea? Itchy dry skin? Abnormal stool? Don’t panic! It’s not uncommon during the transition to experience some detox symptoms. Your pets body is going through a bit of a detox when switching from processed foods to fresh food.
All of these symptoms are completely normal when transitioning to a raw diet. While this may worry some pet owners, this is actually a positive thing. Many people call this getting “unsick”. Your pet will be purging toxins that have built up from a processed diet. These symptoms should resolve themselves once new cells replace the old unhealthy one!
There are many ways to calculate how much to feed your pet daily! Some people choose to base it on kCals, some choose to calculate based on Body Weight! To make it simple on you, we suggest feeding 2-3% of your pets body weight daily.
Remember, just like humans, every pet is different and has a unique metabolism. This also differs depending on age, size, breed, health, and activity level. With this in mind, it is important to monitor your pet and adjust the amount you are feeding them as needed. Below, we also have included feeding guidelines based on kCals and based on Body Weight.
There is certainly bacteria on raw meat, even human-grade meats come with a massive bacteria load. Humans don’t have a digestive tract that is designed for meat (we are anatomically frugivores) and so we have to cook it or we will very likely get sick. In carnivores, however, their digestive tract is set up to handle raw meats, even meat that contains pathogenic bacteria such as E coli or Salmonella. A raw fed pet will have highly acidic gastric secretions that are able to kill any pathogenic bacteria and a rapid gut transit time that prevents bacterial colonisation.
A pet who is still eating processed food, however, or has excess carbohydrates included in their diet, will likely not have a stomach acid that is strong enough to kill bacteria on the meat, and will have a sluggish transit time that is more likely going to allow time for harmful bacteria to colonise. This is why we recommend that when transitioning your pet to a raw diet, it has to be all or nothing. You can’t mix standard processed pet foods with raw foods as you may risk causing a bacterial gastroenteritis in your pet. Get your pet off the carbohydrate-laden food, and within a week their gastric acidity levels will have recovered and be able to handle bacteria that may be present on raw foods.
Not if normal kitchen hygiene practises are followed. Clean all utensils and surfaces with warm soapy water and always wash your hands after handling raw meat. Don’t leave uneaten bits of meat or bone lying around the house or yard, especially if there are children around. If there is an immunocompromised person in the household, please talk to us about safe food handling practices before feeding your pets a raw diet.
IIt can be. It is certainly messier than feeding a processed dry food out of a bag poured directly into a bowl. But if you are visiting our site we trust that you will put your pet’s health first. Ways of minimising the mess include feeding dogs outside on a grassed area or on a tarp that can be washed down, and feeding cats either in the bathtub or shower recess or on an old towel that can be washed in a confined area. Crates can also be utilised.
Cats are best fed twice daily.
Most adult dogs are happy on a once daily meal plan, but if it fits better with your lifestyle to feed twice daily then do so. Generally adult dogs are best transitioned to a once daily feed plan once their gut has adjusted to raw feeding, as digestion and detoxification are optimised when fed only once a day. Feed raw for 2-3 weeks to be sure the digestion has adjusted before transitioning to a once daily feeding plan.
It’s possible. A switch to raw food may alleviate allergic symptoms your pet may be having. Many pets are allergic to protein in grains. These allergies can be seen in symptoms of chronic yeast infections, skin rashes and stiff joints or arthritic conditions. Long term exposure to large amounts of grains, for these animals, can be a precursor to more serious and permanent illness over time. But it is never too late to switch to a raw natural diet. Pets of any age can be given a new diet and benefit from it very quickly.
No, this is completely expected. Totally Raw Natural Dog Food provides food in its natural state, the moisture necessary for digestion is contained in the raw food. Because kibble has had the water removed, dogs constantly have to drink water in an attempt to maintain proper hydration.
Yes, this is completely normal for a dog eating a biologically appropriate diet. The dog has less waste because the most of the food he is now ingesting is being digested and properly utilized by the body. The meaty bones account for it turning white. Another added bonus is the poop biodegrades at a much faster rate than when the dog is eating commercial food!
You will probably notice that you dog will no longer need to have their anal glands expressed. The bone component of the diet firms the feces, which in turn naturally squeezes the anal glands with every bowl movement – as natured intended. With a cooked, processed, grain based diet, the feces remain soft, allowing for the secretions to build up. This condition often results in an unnecessary, painful compaction and possible rupture of the glands.
We know that when food is cooked it loses much of its nutritional value. Vitamins are lost and many necessary enzymes (proteins) are destroyed. Enzymes are crucial to digestion, and without them the pancreas is forced to work harder and produce more digestive enzymes. This is not to say dogs should never be given cooked vegetables, but raw vegetables provide more nutrition – this is true for humans too!
We believe in using a wide assortment of seasonal vegetables. Preparations are constantly changing, to provide as much variety as possible. Our mixed meals always contain a green leafy vegetable component since leafy vegetables contain most of the vitamins your dog needs.