With a growing interest to eat healthier, it only seems right to extend that interest down to your family dog. To do this, we need to know how to incorporate a healthy raw diet that is of the highest quality possible. When you do, it can be a fun and exciting benefit that your dog will likely thank you for.
In line with this, many veterinarians, including Dr. Karen Becker, would agree that diet is directly associated with a lot of the diseases that are discovered in your pet.
Sure, feeding a raw diet will cost you more financially, but when the advantages outweigh the cost you will certainly want to make the change for the better no matter how much you will pay.
You also need to be certain that your dog will benefit completely from a raw diet. This means you need to know about any issues that may prevent them from eating raw food. If your dog is completely healthy, then having a raw diet will be perfect for them.
Raw diets have always been seen as a solution due to the positive results obtained. When your dog is fed a natural diet such as a raw diet, they obtain the necessary nourishment that their bodies were intended to have so that they remain healthy.
Finding the answers to all of your questions concerning raw food can be difficult; however there are times that you come across great information that is useful. Such is the case today where we will present you with some great tips to use in order to get your dog started on their raw diet.
1. Eliminate Low Nutritional Food
All low nutritional food such as processed foods and sugars can seem difficult to eliminate from your dog’s diet if they have grown accustomed to the food. Although it may seem difficult, it’s not impossible to add better ingredients to the diet you feed your dog.
You should start by implementing a diet that can be digested with very little effort but is also capable of providing a continuous amount of health. This is rarely seen in dog food that is processed because of the amount of unknown additives.
When you feed your dog raw food you are in control of the nutrition that they receive. This is done by eliminating the many negative substances and substituting them with an increased amount of fresh and real nutrients.
2. Be Cautious Of any Trends
There are many trends when it comes to the type of dog food, anywhere from vegan and grains and even the keto diet. These can sound great, but the reality is that they are diets that are more focused towards humans than they should be towards your dog.
As far as the health of your dog is concerned, it is necessary to keep in mind that the makeup of your dog’s body is not the same as yours. So just because a certain diet works great for you, it does not mean the same for your pets. Having different dietary requirements is what sets your dog apart thus their diet requirement needs to be more balanced with ingredients that are raw.
In order to be certain that your dog receives the proper nourishment is by providing dog food that is specifically designed for them. When you do, then you will know it is biologically correct.
When we mean biologically correct we are talking about the general species of dog and what they need to be eating. Basically, eating how their descendants used to.
When you begin feeding your dog this way, it goes against what the pet food industry wants you to believe. However, the truth remains when it comes down to the anatomy of a dog. This is what truly matters.
3. Support Their Carnivorous Side
Strictly speaking, dogs are grouped together with omnivores. This means they eat both plant matter and meat. However, anatomically and historically speaking, we are led to believe something else. With the way that dogs really are is what makes us believe that they are true carnivores.
There is a difference among carnivores too and that consists of being either a carnivore that can only consume meat, such as felines or carnivores that are scavengers and are able to survive on any nutrients that they find, such as a dog. Although a dog is able to survive on eating plants and with little protein, they will prosper more if their diet is full of protein.
4. Entice Their Hunger when feeding raw
Enticing your dog’s hunger through smell always gets them to eat. This is especially true when feeding them raw food by searing it a little bit.
When the meat gets seared, the consistency changes and becomes more desirable to eat. However, the aromas are also what makes their ears poke up. When they have both the juices and aromas they are more likely to eat as soon as you give it to them.
Over time, you can reduce the amount of searing so eventually your dog will be eating totally raw meat.
Depending on the piece of meat that you serve, you may have to cook it all the time. This is true if they never grow accustomed to the raw meat but love it when it gets cooked a little.
Make sure to take care if the raw food you serve is pre-made. Ensure that the bones are completely ground up or your dog may run into a problem with the bones splintering as they chew.
To be safe, you can cook the food a little bit more. When you do this should get your dog’s attention that it’s time for dinner.
5. Change up the Type of Protein
Every dog is different so you may need to find out what their favorite meat is by trying many. If you are lucky, your dog may wind up enjoying every type which would make it easier for you to feed them.
If your dog does love all types of protein you can still mix it up to provide them with a little variety. This variety can be as simple as a raw egg mixed into it.
If you are unsure of mixing meat, then it would be wise to get in touch with your local veterinarian beforehand so that you do not run the risk of cross contamination of any parasites.
Read more about diffrent types of meats here.
6. Stir in some Fish Oil into your dogs diet
Whether you use krill or fish oil, the same results will occur and that is a potent taste and smell which your dog may go crazy for it. Just keep in mind that with krill oil, it is very potent so a little will go a long way. There is also a high amount of antioxidants in krill oil. This makes it a big plus to your dog’s overall health.
On top of that, fish oil may be a lesser choice due to its possible contamination unlike with krill it is usually collected within the less exposed areas of the Antarctic.
7. Offer Goat Milk to your friend
Although feeding a dog a huge amount of dairy is not recommended, the raw form of goat milk is very digestible by adult dogs. Raw goat milk also provides the necessary nourishment that your dog requires. In reality, there is a high amount of protein and many other essential vitamin and minerals.
Although the flavor of goat’s milk is overpowering, there is still a good chance that the raw meal may taste better once some goat milk has been added.
8. Make Dinner Time Fun for all
Instead of being demanding or impatient with your dog, try turning the time into a game and making it fun.
You can even stuff a dog toy with some food and have them chew their way into it.
Dogs naturally love to play and when food is involved they naturally will go crazy over it.
This method is usually used with dogs that perform work or agility jobs. This keeps the dogs mentally prepared while they get dinner.
To make your dog work for it for a longer period of time put it in the freezer.
9. Try "tricking" your dog into eating healty
Another trick that may be successful is for you to try tricking them into eating it. You do this by making your dog believe that the food is yours when in actuality it is theirs.
Allow your dog to observe you taking an imaginary bite of it by getting it near your own mouth. Then provide the spoonful to your dog and see if they eat it.
Besides a spoon, you can also present it on a plate while sitting with it at the table. With your dog seeing you at the table they will automatically thin that you are eating delicious food. After they see you “eating”, your dog will surely gobble up every last morsel.
At the end of the day, what matters is that we feel good after we have a nice meal. This is also easily true for your dog. Keep in mind that there is a cost for everything and this includes the good or bad eating habits. This is good to know since we ultimately have the control of what we feed our dogs.
This is a good reason to make a change to raw food even though every dog might tolerate it differently. During the switch, you might notice your dog having no problem eating raw while others may simply stick their nose to it and walk away.
No one else understands your dog better than you do so the method you use should match the lifestyle and healthy habits of your dog. This also involves having their meal time aligned with their human counterpart’s meal time.