There are two main options for feeding four-legged natural raw foods. This is a RAW power system for dogs and the BARF system. Previously, we have already considered the similarities and differences of these two types of "raw" diets. And they even made a table where their main points showed.
Today, let's talk about feeding dogs precisely on the RAW system. Consider all the pros and cons of this type of nutrition.
What is a diet RAW
The RAW power system is intended not only for dogs, but also for cats. Translated from English, Raw sounds like: raw, rude, unprocessed,
This home animal feeding system is built on the fact that dogs are by nature predators and should follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. And this means that they should eat according to the so-called “production model”, like their ancestors wolves in the wild.
The RAW nutrition model involves fed exclusively only meat, categorically rejecting various additives and plant components. Adherents of this nutrition model are convinced that predators receive all the nutrient elements necessary for the body only from the victim caught to food.
There are two options for feeding a pets according to the RAW system:
- Feeding of carcasses entirely.
This is when the dog is offered a small production completely. This option, of course, is more suitable for those who live in a private house. Those who have the opportunity to catch prey, and there is a place to feed the pet as a whole.
- Feeding the dog in parts of the carcass.
This is a more common and affordable option. You do not drag a whole carcass of roe deer or moose into the apartment, which, resting with horns, does not go to the front door in any way. And you go to the market, and buy separately all the “components” – ribs, offal, muscular meat, legs and so on. Thus, you, as it were, reunite, collect the whole prey in parts.
Raw power supply diet
What is the extraction of? Muscular meat, internal organs (offal), bones, leather, veins, fat, skin. If you take in percentage, the raw RAW diet consists of:
- 80-85% muscular meat.
- 10-15% edible meat bones.
- 10% offal (3% of which liver).
But, it must be remembered that all these percentages are completely arbitrary. First of all, you should focus on the well-being of the pet himself.
Meat is the basis of any type of feeding the dog, and the RAW power model is doubly, because this diet is based exclusively on the use of one meat.
According to the theory of this option of feeding a four-legged, muscular meat should be at least 80-85% of the total diet. You can offer a barbobos everything that runs, swims and flies. It can be beef, lamb, venison and moose, goats and sheep, ducks, chickens and turkey.
Raw pork is also allowed to feed if you are 100% sure of its quality. However, it should not abuse it and offer the dog a fat pork either.
To make the food balanced, the most ideal option is the alternation of different types of meat. More details about the dangers and benefits of a particular variety of meat can be found in the article: what meat to feed the dog.
Edible meat bones
Yes, yes, you did not misheard. Adherents of the RAW power system for dogs insist on including bones in the diet. “The meat should be with bone, not a bone with meat” – this is their principle. But, the bones should be right. Let's look at which bones can be given to the dog and which are banned.
- What bones can be given to the dog.
Exclusively raw bones are allowed to feed. And it doesn’t matter whether your pet is the raw food diet, or you conduct heat treatment of food. Dairy (young) ribs, carcasses of homemade chickens, quail carcasses, bird neck, hips, breasts and backs, chicken wings and paws (without claws), chicken heads (without beak), beef tail (preferably the tip, where there is more cartilage component), Entire parts of lamb, beef or pork legs.
- Which bones are strictly prohibited.
- The very first, and most importantly – under any pretext cannot be given bones that have undergone thermal treatment: boiled, stewed or fried. After such processing, the bones become “fragile”. When defeating, they split into the smallest sharp fragments, which can damage the mouth and esophagus of the animal. Even if the bone has stolen to a soft state, and you are sure that there will be no fragments when gnawing, and such a bone cannot be given anyway. In the gastrointestinal tract, such bones break up and form a dust, which is glued under the influence of gastric mucus. It turns out a kind of dense “cork”, which, falling into the intestines leads to its blockage.
- The next taboo is chopped bones (whether they are boiled or raw).
- Be sure to monitor how your pet consumes "edible" bones. The dog should not swallow the bones whole, but be able to chew them. Perhaps, at first, you will have to control the process of eating food and teach haste and greedy people to chew meat and bone food correctly. Perhaps at first it will be necessary to “soften” the bones, beating them with a meat mallet.
- Check the quality of the chair. If it is white (light) in color and crumbles, then there was too much with the bones.
- Don't give your dog "bare" bones (no meat). There is no benefit from such bones. Moreover, their regular chewing can lead to problems with the teeth.
By-products
By-products are an integral part of a pet's diet. And it doesn’t matter if your pet is on a raw diet, or if he eats boiled meat, in both cases it is important to know: offal should be no more than 10% -15% of the animal’s total meat diet. Moreover, it is desirable that 3% of this number falls on the liver.
You can not underestimate the benefits of offal for the body of a quadruped. Despite the fact that their calorie content is much lower than that of muscle meat. There are many more useful microelements and vitamins in them.
For more information on how often and what offal should be offered to a pet, read the material: what offal can be given to a dog.
It is better to give preference to sea fish. Why? Yes, because the nutritional value of sea fish is superior to river fish. It has more protein, vitamins and minerals. In addition, marine fish are less bony and less susceptible to various parasites.
Fish can be given as a whole: with fins, head and tail.
Additives
When it comes to supplements, RAW dog food advocates see no need for them. They believe that the animal gets all the nutrients it needs from the prey.
However, if the dogfish refuses to eat fish, Prey Model dieters add fish oil to their pets' food, believing that commercial livestock meat does not have the proper ratio of omega 3 to omega-6 fatty acids.
What else excludes the RAW model: vegetables, fruits, eggs and dairy products are also unacceptable.
Pros and Cons of Feeding Your Dog RAW
Before choosing this food model for your pet, you should know all its pros and cons.
Benefits of RAW Feeding
One of the most important advantages of this food system, and indeed of any natural diet, is that you know what your dog is eating. You can be 100% sure of the quality and freshness of the products offered to your pet.
After eating raw natural food according to RAW:
- In a quadruped, plaque and tartar disappear;
- The quality of wool improves: it acquires shine and becomes thicker;
- Seasonal molting lasts much less;
- Thin animals gain weight, and in the presence of sufficient physical activity come into good physical shape;
- Appetite improves;
- The dog drinks less and defecates less;
- On walks, the pet does not have a desire to eat other people's feces or other "goodies".
Disadvantages of RAW Feeding
Among the shortcomings, if you can call them that, the following can be noted:
- The need for an additional freezer for storing meat for a beloved pet (of the three freezer compartments in our refrigerator, two are completely owned by our Jack, and in the third he has already launched his fluffy paws);
- You will have to spend more than one hour of time to cut and distribute meat in portions after a large purchase (verified by personal experience);
- Some products have, to put it mildly, a specific aroma.. Ch that they need to be butchered only in a gas mask (for example, an uncleaned scar);
- After each meal, you need to thoroughly clean the place where the dog ate.
Summing up, I would like to say. The RAW Dog Nutrition System is one of the natural diets in which the pet receives all the vitamins and minerals necessary for its health. We all (humans and animals) need fresh and unprocessed food every day.
Contents
