How do I transition my dog to a raw food diet?

When you decide to transition your dog to raw food, do it gradually. If your dog is used to eating kibble, it will take some time and patience to adjust to a more protein rich diet.On day one, give one fourth raw dog food and three fourths of their current diet. If your dog is adapting to it well, increase the raw food by another quarter every day so that you are feeding 100% raw food by day five. If your dog develops an upset stomach, make the transition even more gradual, try spanning it over ten days. In the event that your dog just doesn’t take to the raw food, please don’t continue. Every dog takes to foods differently. You know your pups best!

Do I need to be feeding my pet supplements?

If you are providing your pet with an already highly bio-available food (raw food for example) you don't necessarily need to give you pet extra supplements. If you don't feed your pets chicken or their food doesn't have kelp in it, you can give them Omega 6 Fatty Acids and a kelp supplement but consult with your vet prior to adding anything to your pets food. Also, do remember you are providing a much more nutritious product to begin with when feeding a raw food diet. They are probably getting more nutritional value now out of a varied raw diet without the supplements that they ever did on kibble.

My pet is drinking less water since switching to raw, is this normal?

How do I serve raw food to my pet?

You can serve your pets raw food frozen or thawed out. If you are feeding it to them frozen, ensure that they don't have sensitive teeth and that they take their time eating and chewing their food. If they develop any sensitivites in their teeth, feed them their meals thawed out. Thawing out the food is a good idea but don’t cook it because you defeat the purpose of a raw diet by cooking out the nutrients.

If my pet is constipated or has diarrhea, what should I do?

Pure pumpkin in the can (not pumpkin pie filling) helps both loose stools and constipation. If your pet is transitioning to a raw food diet, the diarrhea may be brought on because of the normal detox process (cleansing out the toxins and impurities) or because you may have added one too many things too quickly. We also recommend adding digestive enzymes when introducing a new meat to your pet. This may also help with any potential upset tummies while developing strong stomach muscles and digestive enzymes to process the new diet.

I am switching my pet to a raw food diet and they have started vomiting, what should I do?

We’ve found that animals who are new to raw feeding tend to vomit. Digesting raw food is normal, but if they’ve come off years of kibble food, their stomach acids (hydrochloric acid) and stomach muscles aren’t up to that of a “seasoned” raw food eater. As this develops what your pet is able to digest will increase.

There is no need to be concerned about this. Raw food is full of naturally occurring water and all the moisture needed to digest raw food is contained in raw food. Dog’s and cat’s digestive tracts are meant to extract moisture from the food it is digesting. By extracting moisture from food, it helps reduce the incidence of urinary tract disorders, bladder infections and will reduce the volume of fecal matter.