"How Do I Make Raw Food For My Dog?" : The Raw Foundation

This is probably the first thing you went to look for online, and fair warning - you're about to jump head first into the oblivion.  Hold on tight!  We'll do our best to make it as painless, quick, and simple as possible to help you on your journey to building a better bowl!  

There are many reasons you might ask, "how do I make raw food for my dog?"  

1. Cost - buying premade raw food is expensive - at least it is when compared to the cost and convenience of buying a bag of dry kibble.  You have more time than money and learning how to make it yourself means investing your time for a lower financial cost. 
2. Ingredients - you're concerned with the list of ingredients on your pet food bag or on the label of the premade raw you're buying now, and you'd like their food to be cleaner with less synthetic ingredients.
3. Health - your pet has experienced negative health issues and you're going out on a limb to try something that will hopefully work this time.  Vet bills are expensive, prescription food is expensive and prescription meds just don't feel like the right solution.  There has to be a way to better health and you're hoping it's through food.
4. DIY Is Your Jam - you want to increase your knowledge of pet food and nutrition because you love learning new things and the comfort that comes with knowing how to do something like prepare food - even if it is for your pets.
5. Deals - you're a couponing queen and love to snag a good deal!  When you know how to make food, you can stock up on specific items when they go on sale to save even more money.

There's a good chance your reason is in that list above, and maybe it's a combination of things that's brought you here.  Whatever it is, know that you're on the right track!  This will take time to learn, but just go at your own pace.  The sooner you make the switch to raw food, or even a gently cooked diet, the sooner your pets' lives will improve.  You'll see more vitality, clearer eyes, cleaner breath, older dogs become more agile, poops become smaller and less stinky, shedding decreases, and that "dog smell" will go away.

Before we get into HOW to make raw food, it's necessary to point out the various types of raw feeding you can choose from; Prey Model Raw Diet (PMR) and Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF).  PMR and BARF are the two most well known styles of raw feeding, so we will start with this for simplicity sake.  We don't want to overwhelm you.  You'll want to choose the one that resonates with you the most, then pend time learning about that diet first.  Don't try to overwhelm yourself with more than necessary.

BARF meals consists of muscle protein including muscular tissue and muscular organs (70%), secreting organs(10% - 5% liver and 5% a second secreting organ), raw meaty bones (10%), and a small amount of low glycemic vegetables (7%), nuts and seeds (2%) and fruit (1%).  These ratios can fluctuate slightly depending on the nutrients and ingredients you choose to add, and this is why it's important to provide variety instead of sticking to only one bowl build day after day.  

PMR meals consist of either Whole Prey - fur, feathers, internal organs, ie; the entire animal, or Franken Prey - a bowl made using the parts of various animals including fur, feathers, organs and bones.  These meals will consist of muscle protein from muscular tissue and muscular organs (75-80%), meaty bones (10%), liver (5%), second secreting organ (5%), and 0-0.5% fur/feathers. If the PMR diet doesn't include the fiber, bone, muscle and organs in these approximate ratios, the diet will be lacking in nutrients.  It's important to keep the bowl diverse, including a variety of ingredients to more accurately mimic what would be eaten in the wild - not the same thing day after day.

Whichever method you choose, you must remember to rotate proteins.  Providing variety ensures your pets will receive ALL of the nutrients they need in the most bioavailable form.  If you stick with only one bowl, the same thing, day after day, there will very likely be a loss of minerals or vitamins that will show up months down the road and will take time to work through, in addition to potentially causing or contributing to more serious health issues.

So again, rotate proteins.  Keep the bowls diverse.  A couple days of the same thing is fine, but don't get stuck in the rut of only the same thing day after day.

Now that you have some foundational information, let's get to answering that question, "How do I make raw food for my dog?"

Muscle protein consists of lean cuts, like roasts, steaks, ground meat, and also eggs, fish and connective tissue (tendons, skin, bully sticks, ears etc fit into this category.  This category is also where muscular organs fit in, like heart, tongue, stomach, uterus, tendons and other parts of the sort.  Of course, you shouldn't be feeding a bowl of pig ears and bully sticks to your dog for a meal, but knowing where these items fit into a balanced bowl will help you make healthy choices when looking for treats and chews - and it means you can even stretch the meal out into a few different treat sessions throughout the day if needed, from time to time, or simply adjust the evening's bowl build if the afternoon included some of these items as a snack.

Secreting organs are organs that secrete enzymes, filtering the contents of the body.  This includes liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas, testicles, ovaries, eyes, and brain.  Many of these can be difficult to source, but do your best to keep variety available to your dog.  

Meaty bones are simply that - bones with meat attached still.  This can include things like necks, feet, ribs, poultry frames, poultry heads, poultry wings and legs, and fish heads.  (Bonus - heads include the brain and eyes, which can check a couple boxes for you!) Again, try to keep things diverse so your pup can get the best nutritional benefit.  Think of what parts might be available if they were to go hunting for themselves.

Low glycemic vegetables are easy to source, but please buy organic.  Your options are diverse, but make sure to include a variety of leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, colorful veggies and try to keep starchy/carby veggies to a minimum.  Again, diversity is your friend here.  Keep rotating for the best variety of nutrients.  Some great options are broccoli, kale, spinach, cauliflower, bell peppers (including green ones!), green beans, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, and fresh herbs.  We love to use basil, parsley, cilantro and dill.  Other options that you can find often in your backyard include dandelion greens, purslane, catnip, peppermint, chickweed and nettle.  If your pup has seizures or is on medication, avoid rosemary and oregano.  Please be mindful to choose plants that haven't been treated with fertilizers or pesticides.  

Seeds and nuts are where your pup will get their vitamin E!  These include pumpkin, sunflower, chia, quinoa, hemp and more!  Soak seeds before grinding them up to ensure that nutrients are available for absorption.  Yes, these need to be ground to actually provide benefit.  Be sure never to include macadamia nuts or black walnuts, as these are toxic to your pets.  In addition, please make sure that seeds and nuts are fresh and haven't gone rancid.  Storing them in the freeze can help keep them fresh if you're being in larger quantities.  

Fruits are limited to a small percentage for a reason.  They're generally higher in sugar, and we want to keep that as low as possible.  Great options include blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, apple, pear, avocado, pomegranate, mango and banana.  There are many other pet safe fruits out there.  This is just for your immediate reference. 

Feather and fur options can be sourced generally online, though some specialty pet shops will carry these items.  We have feather on poultry heads - goose, duck, chicken, pheasant and guinea hen, in addition to fur-on rabbit hides and ears.  Occasionally we have hair-on pig trotters, too!

But how do I know how much to give my dog?  This is all a bit overwhelming...

Yes, we hear you.  Keep it simple by starting with whatever is easy to source in your area.  Make a note to shop for more obscure items online, or ask your local retailer if they can order certain items for you.  

When figuring out how much to feed your dogs, you'll need to know a few things; your dog's weight, activity level and age, and you'll need to do a little math.  Don't worry, it's not complicated.  For dogs who might be classified as "working" or "extra active" use 4% as. your reference.  This is also the percentage you'll use for dogs who are underweight.  For active dogs - those who play at the park once a day or take a couple regular walks but don't get to run for 3 hours, start with 3%.  This is also the percentage you'll use if you have a dog that is at a healthy weight. For those who aren't super active, maybe take a walk around the block or a potty walk daily and spend most of the time sleeping, including seniors, start with 2.5%.  This is also the percentage you'll use for dogs who are overweight.  These percentages will be used to help you determine how much food to feed your dog daily.  Once you have your chosen percentage, take your dog's weight and multiply it by that percent.  That number is how much you will feed your dog daily.   This is the whole portion for the day, so if you feed twice or three times daily you'll need to divide that number again.

For example, an active (3%) dog who weighs 70 pounds your math will look like this:

70 (pounds) x .03 (percent) = 2.1 pounds

70 x .03 = 2.1 

2.1 pounds is what you would feed your dog daily.  So if you feed your pup two times, each meal will equal 1.05 pounds.  You would construct your bowls according to the percentages of each category listed above in this article.  This can feel overwhelming at first, but you will quickly get the hang of it.  If you don't feel confident enough to do this on your own, we offer classes, custom recipe formulation (to ensure all nutrients are covered), consultations and more.  In addition, when you check out our Educational Opportunities, you'll see some basic BARF and PMR calculators that are there to make your life easier!  Please feel free to use these as much as you'd like!

Please feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!  Wishing you the best as you learn to build a better bowl for your baby!