Raw Food Diets for Dogs

For a variety of reasons, including the recent pet food recalls in the last year, many pet owners are now seeking healthy alternatives to commercial dog food. One of the options is raw food diet for dogs.

The raw food diet for dogs essentially consists of what your dog would eat in the wild: raw meat, bones and vegetables. Cohorts of this natural diet for dogs report a wide variety of improvements in their pets such as better smelling breath, cleaner teeth, skin and coat improvements and less trips to the vet.

After some comprehensive research into dog diets, I decided to give this diet a try with my own dog. I personally considered it to be much more of a natural diet for dogs, with more potential health benefits than commercially produced pet food could offer. And I'm glad I did. My dog experienced many of the benefits mentioned above and she is a much happier and healthy dog today as a result.

If you're considering trying it with your pet, here are 5 feeding hints that are sure to help your dog benefit the most:

#1: It's a great idea to start off with just meat for the first few days. Then you can initiate adding some of the more bland vegetables, such as carrots, along with the raw bones.

#2: Handle raw food safely. Defrost it properly and keep it refrigerated. Wash your hands and any apparatus thoroughly. This will keep the bacteria down not only on your dog's food, but also will keep your family protected as well.

#3: Remember that all the food is RAW, not cooked at all. This is especially important for the bones. Raw bones are soft and pliable and are good for your pet's teeth and jaw muscles. Cooked bones are dry and can splinter easily. These splinters can cause choking, vomiting and internal injury to your dog.

#4: Use a mixer for the vegetables. There are several rewards to this. One is that you will find it much easier to get your dog to devour vegetables if they are mixed with the meat. Also, pureeing the vegetables will break down the cell walls that your dog cannot digest. This ensures that your pet will get all the important nutrients and enzymes.

#5: Know your vegetables. The kinds of vegetables you give your dog should be based both on their nutritional value and their potential unwanted side effects. For example, vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli should be avoided because they can augment the amount of your pet's gas.

A natural diet for dogs consisting of raw meat, bones and vegetables seemed to work for my dog, but it may not be for every dog. The best thing you can do for your pet is to become familiar with dog diets and then make your decision based on your best friend's current nutritional needs and individual tastes.

We all love our dogs and want them to live a long, cheerful and healthy life. Assess your pet's diet right now. A few variations can do wonders for your dog's health and happiness.