Dog food Recipes: Raw or commercial feed?

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What do we mean by raw dog food?

The food that is given to Pitou is raw and, ideally, the least processed possible. This principle is based on the idea of ​​offering a diet adapted to the dog's natural digestive system.

The diet is made up of meat, bones and offal. In general, it is suggested to give between 2% and 3% of its weight for an adult dog and 6% and 10% for a puppy. And since every dog ​​is different, one of the principles of the vintage is to adapt the diet of your canine companion to his own needs.

One for all and each according to their needs!

There are several ways to feed your dog raw, the ready-made block , the homemade raw and the new one, the freeze-dried .

The block, a quick solution, but offering little control

The ready-made block is like having small meals prepared in advance delivered to your home!

The block is bought frozen, all ready in advance. The food has been calculated, weighed, and everything - bones, meat and offal - is usually crushed. All you have to do is give his ration to Pitou! This is an easy solution that, apart from maintaining a few rules of hygiene, requires little of your time according to dog food recipes.

The block however offers little customization of the dog's meal. While some vendors offer to make your own recipe, generally you should take the block as it comes. This solution therefore allows less control over what your dog eats and may require a little more research to find THE ready-made formula suitable for Pitou.

A more demanding solution, but more adapted

Homemade healthy dog food is a balanced meal every day based on our current needs.

Homemade is undoubtedly the natural food for dogs that requires the most investment in terms of time and energy, but offering the most freedom. The idea is to make your own "mix" based on your dog's personal needs.

There are many schools of thought on the proportions of meat, bones and offal. As in the rest, the goal of the raw and especially the homemade is to adapt the ration of your dog to his needs. In general, we recommend around 10% offal and between 10 and 15% bone, the rest in meat.

Homemade is the best dog food for allergies and could be best dog food for small dogs as well. It gives you full control over what your dog eats. In addition to being able to adapt your dog's general diet to his personal needs, you can also adjust portions on a daily basis.

For example, if you exercised a lot that day, you might want to add more meat and a little fat. Many companies exist again to provide you with "raw material". You can then supplement according to your needs at your grocer.

For example, a typical BARF ( Biologicall Appropriate Raw Food) bowl of an 9 lbs active dog: 225 g of pure meat, 180g of fleshy bones (80g of pure bone, 100g of added meat), 45g of miscellaneous offal, two tablespoons of mashed vegetables and fruits, two teaspoons of oil, one egg, a little yogurt and one eighth of a teaspoon of kelp. (Photo as an example of a homemade bowl only.)This is the best wet dog food.

Freeze-dried dog food:

Halfway between croquette and raw meat

A new appearance on the market is the freeze-dried or cold-dehydrated raw . This is a good dog food. This process would, according to the raw freeze-dried companies, keep all of the nutrients and goodness of meat fresh without the negatives like food handling. It usually comes in the form of a croquette or pancake.

Freeze-dried is currently the subject of much discussion on dog food forums. Whatever your position on the subject, it can be a very interesting solution for those who believe in the benefits of homegrown without necessarily wanting to go all-in or those who feed home and go camping or visiting for several days. Like ready-made blocks, freeze-dried does not allow the recipe to be adapted to the needs of the dog.

BARF, Whole Prey

Human consumption, fasting, supplement, understanding the lingo

The local vocabulary can be quite confusing for a beginner. What do we mean by BARF or by Whole Prey . Why do some people talk about fasting ?

What are the supplements ? Is it compulsory to supplement? Why do some people give " human consumption "? What are the advantages of rendering blocks and what are the risks?

This principle is that everything that Pitou or Minou needs is found in the prey reconstituted with meat, bones and offal. BARF starts from a similar principle, but recommends supplementing the dog's diet in order to ensure better health.

The BARF food model is therefore not strict carnivorous, but rather opportunistic. Mashed vegetables are an integral part of the diet, as are eggs and oils. There are many other supplements that you can give depending on your pet's needs.

Fasting is also inspired by the hunt by claiming that a dog's stomach is not designed to be constantly loaded with food and needs time to rest. To do this, a meal day is skipped at regular or irregular intervals in order to simulate a bad day of hunting. Fasting is not a common practice among all those who feed raw. Many find fasting unnecessary and fear that it actually adds stress to the body.

There are two origins for meat, meat certified for human consumption and so-called rendering meat.

The “human consumption” is a meat which, as its name suggests, respects the regulations in order to be suitable for human consumption. There are many rules for meat to be certified, including the fact that it is always stored at 4 ° C.

Rendered meat is a term simply for meat that is not officially certified. Some prefer to give “human consumption” in order to limit the proliferation of bacteria in raw meat and thus not run any risks. Others say that a dog is not a human and that it is not necessary to give it certified meat. This choice, as with everything raw, depends on your needs and those of your dog.

The question that often comes up!

How to feed your dog in a natural way without the kitchen becoming a bacteriological disaster zone?

No fear, good hygiene will ensure that any possibility of contamination is ruled out. Washing the bowls after each meal and the area where the dog eats are of course the ground rules. Preparation-wise, it's simple, treat knives, defrost tubs, bowls, utensils and cutting boards like you treat those same tools when handling meat in preparation for making your own dinner! No more complicated than that !

More and more people are mixing raw and grain free dog foods and have no problems. The community around the estate is reflecting on this subject.

There is a lot of discussion. Personally, I still prefer not to mix, but more and more people are doing it.

Dry feed, a good option?

The idea is to have a fresh and suitable diet for dogs. According to this principle, it is certain that a diet said to be biologically appropriate for the dog will be better than a food processed in a factory that has nothing to do with its origin.

There are currently few or no studies on the wine. Dog food research is currently mainly funded by companies and they have little money to do locally. Independent researchers are increasingly interested in the diet, but results are long in coming.

This explains why vets are still apprehensive given the lack of data. On the other hand, if raw food has not yet been the subject of major studies, the long-term observations of the masters seem very positive.

Articles on the dangers of kibble abound and are often alarmist. While it is good to question yourself once in a while and stay informed, you shouldn't go to extremes.

Do your own research and assess your needs. While it is certain that the ideal is to offer the least processed food possible, some remain apprehensive about giving raw meat. If the raw is not for you, there are currently on the market many very good quality croquettes and fresh dog food.

If on the contrary, vintage is something you are interested in and you are ready to give it a go, there are many resources online!

You can also try justfoodfordogs is the best on the market.