Need to Knows about Raw Food

Racing greyhounds and sled dogs have long eaten raw food diets. Extending those feeding practices to the family pet is a more recent idea, proposed in 1993 by Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst.

What is Raw Feeding?

Raw feeding is exactly what it sounds like – feeding your pet raw ingredients, rather than the traditional cooked food that is more commonly available. Raw diets usually contain a combination of raw meat and other uncooked ingredients such as fruits and vegetables.

Potential benefits of the raw dog food diet include:

Shinier Coats
Healthier Skin
Cleaner Teeth
Higher energy levels
Smaller and Less Smelly Stools

What about my dry food?

The ingredients in dry food are processed together and cooked. Required ingredients include: protein sources such as beef, poultry, fish, and eggs; grains; cereals; and vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. All dry dog foods need preservatives to prevent the fat from becoming rancid. Some brands are heavy on carbohydrates or have low-quality ingredients and added sugar.

Does that mean its bad?

Read the label. Look for a food that has a protein as the first ingredient, not a grain. The best dry food has a single source of protein, such as lamb or chicken. Grain-free diets exist, but carbohydrates are required for energy, and the choice of grain is important since some dogs have sensitivities to wheat, corn, or soybeans.

Frequently Asked Questions

A raw dog food diet typically consists of:

Muscle Meat, often still on the bone
Bones, either whole or ground
Organ meats such as livers and kidneys
Raw eggs
Vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and celery
Apples or other fruits
Some dairy, such as yogurt

The raw foods that we sell offer a wide variety of meats such as; Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Turkey, Salmon etc. All the ingredients from our complete raw products are listed proudly on the packaging and product page.

As a rough guideline, you should aim to feed your adult dog between 2 - 3 % of their body weight in raw food per day. Ideally, this should be split between two meals; breakfast and dinner.

If you have a puppy, this will be slightly different according to their age, but typically you can expect to feed between 5-10% of their weight per day, but it will need to be split between 3 to 4 meals per day ideally.

We can develop a pet menu for you with info about how much you should ideally feed your dog (or cat), just email us with info about your pet's weight, age and any known health issues.

We have developed a guideline chart which you can review here: https://naturaltreatsdirect.co.uk/pages/raw-feeding-guidelines

All our foods are frozen, and should be kept frozen until you are ready to use. For Best Before date, please see the label or side of the pack.

To defrost the product, we suggest leaving somewhere cool (not warm) overnight. If you forget to take food out to defrost, you may place a tub or chubb into a sink of warm water.If the food is still partially frozen at feeding time, add some warm water from a kettle and allow to sit for five minutes.

Use within 2-3 days of defrosting.

Healthy cats and dogs have natural defences to bacteria in raw food. We have all seen what they will put in their mouths or lick! The salivary glands in cats and dogs contain the enzymes lysozyme and peroxidase, lactoferrin, defensins, cystian and an antibody, lgA, which are all antibacterial.

In the stomach, the pH level drops to between 1 and 2. That’s equal to the pH of Hydrochloric acid. The strong stomach acid is not only there to digest raw meat and bone, it helps kill off unwanted bad bacteria. This is only part of the body's defences. This is not to say that dog and cats can not get sick from bacterias like salmonella - they are just better at defending the body from them.

All our food products are tested for salmonella and other bacteria to the full extent required by law, and we only ever use fresh meat and other ingredients fit for human consumption.

All our raw food suppliers are registered with the PFMA - Pet Food Manufacturers Association.