Raw Food Dog Diet Basics

Raw food dog diets are becoming more mainstream these days. A lot of veterinarians and pet owners are starting to see the benefits of putting their dog on this type of diet. From a healthier coat, to better smelling breath, to giving dogs more energy and resistance against diseases, the benefits go beyond how much you save in terms of dollars and cents.

For pet owners who are new to this diet, it can seem like a daunting task to switch dogs from the more conventional commercial diet to the raw food dog diet. A lot of the concerns revolve around 3 things - convenience, cost and food safety. In this articles, we’ll talk about these basic concerns and how to implement the raw food dog diet in the most convenient, cost effective and safest manner.

Convenience

When it comes to convenience, it’s no contest that a commercial diet is very convenient. You just buy a bag of dried food, or maybe a can of dog food, and feed it to your dog during meal times. But this does not mean that a raw food diet cannot be close in terms of convenience. Here are some tips to make your dog’s raw food preparation more convenient:

Create a meal plan. This will help you identify how much of each kind of food you need for the duration that you are buying for. This will save you a trip to the market in the middle of the week because you ran out of food.

Upon buying your dog’s food, prepare it before storing it. Especially for ingredients that you intend to combine together and puree, it is advisable that you prepare one big batch before storing them.

Pack food per serving. When you store your dog’s raw food, make sure you pack them by exact serving sizes. This will make it convenient for you because you just take the food out of the freezer, thaw it, and then serve it. No need to have to think about how much food you need to feed your dog.

Cost

Cost is another concern for a lot of pet owners. It may seem more expensive to put a dog on a raw food diet because the food that you’ll be feeding it are all human-grade food. However, there are ways to save on the food that you buy. At the same time, when you factor in the savings from fewer vet visits, from the vitamin supplements and grooming products that your dog will not need, and from fewer sick days, you may find that the raw food dog diet comes out more advantageous for you in the cost arena.

Here are some tips to help you save more when buying food for your dog:

Creating a meal plan also helps you save money. Aside from knowing exactly what to buy and how much to buy, you avoid buying food that goes to waste.

Buy from a local butcher instead of the supermarket. A local butcher will have a wider selection of meats and parts that you can choose from. And if you are a frequent customer, you may be able to score deals on parts that nobody else wants - for example offals and boney parts.

Buy in bulk whenever you can. This saves you money from making numerous trips to the market.

When buying fruits and vegetables, choose to buy those that are already ripe. They’re cheaper and sweeter. You’ll be pureeing them immediately and freezing them, so spoilage is not a problem.

Food Safety

Another important concern for pet owners is food safety. Making sure that the food you feed your dog will not make him sick will ensure that he gets the most out of this type of diet. Here are some tips to help you ensure food safety:

Always buy human grade food. Human grade food are inspected and are monitored to ensure that food is free from contaminants that can make us (and our pets) sick.

Learn how to distinguish fresh meats. When you know how to check for freshness, you avoid buying meats that are contaminated.

When buying raw meaty bones, choose big chunks of bones instead of smaller ones. This is to prevent your dog from choking on small pieces of bones.

Choose organic when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Choosing organic produce will ensure that your dog does not ingest food that are contaminated with chemicals and pesticides that may be harmful.

Always store food in the freezer. Never let meats thaw out for a long period of time. Storing them in the freezer will help ensure freshness and keep bacteria from growing on the food.