Over the past few hundred years, medical science has advanced further than anyone could have possibly predicted. That doesn’t just go for humans either - veterinary science has improved in leaps and bounds too! One of the key things we’ve learned is the importance of a healthy diet for your canine best friends. More people are learning this lesson, and turning to raw dog food diets to improve the health and wellbeing of their pups.
Read on to discover six of the main reasons why raw dog food is becoming more popular than ever, as well as the answers to a couple of frequently asked questions.
#1: Shinier Coat, Healthier Skin
The ingredients that make up a raw dog food diet are chock full of nutrients and vitamins that improve your dog’s hair and skin. The biggest one of these to note is the presence of omega-3 fatty acids. Chances are you’ve heard how good they are for humans, in fish oil and the like, but they’re great for your furry friend as well. Take the sardines in our Complete Proactive Health Mix, for example. They’ll give your pooch the omega-3s they need to keep their coat shiny and pattable, while also giving the added benefit of reducing inflammation (which can be responsible for all kinds of illnesses).
#2: More Muscle!
A raw dog food diet is composed mainly of meat, and meat is composed mainly of protein. You are what you eat, as they say, and the same is true for dogs. Getting them off that chalky dry food and onto a diet made up of raw chicken or beef will give them more of the building blocks they need to grow up strong and healthy. If you want your dog to get big and strong, whether it’s a working dog or you just want them to be the healthiest version of themselves, putting your dog on a raw dog food diet is a surefire way to improve their protein intake.
#3: Cleaner Teeth, Better Breath
Do you love cuddling your dog, but hate when they get up in your face? That pongy breath can add a real sour note to an otherwise sweet occasion. A raw dog food diet can help because a poor diet is often at the root of poor dental hygiene. High carbohydrate, over-processed food breeds all kinds of rank bacteria in your pooch’s guts, and this is what they slobber all over you that makes you want to puke. Feeding your dog raw bones with some meat on them acts like a natural toothbrush, digging around in all the nooks and crannies of their gob and scraping off all the plaque. Packages like our Digestion Support Mix help balance out their gut microbiome and ensure their breath doesn’t smell like something died in there!
#4: More Energy
If your dog seems to have lost the pep in their step, its underwhelming diet could be to blame. You know how you get a bit sluggish after eating a whole bag of potato chips, or you’d get bored if you had to eat oatmeal for every meal of the day? That’s basically how your dog feels when they have to subsist on the same dodgy dry food, day in and day out. A pup cannot survive on kibble alone! A raw dog food diet provides canine pals with all the variety and nutrients that they need to keep their bodily systems up and running, resulting in a healthier, happier, more energetic dog for you to play with whenever the mood strikes them - trust us, it’ll happen a lot!
What Does Complete Mean In Raw Dog Food?
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is the United States-based body that sets the nutritional guidelines for animal food. These are also used in Australia, per the Australian Standard for the Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food. ‘Complete’ is one of the terms AAFCO uses to determine the quality of pet foods, and a ‘complete’ raw dog food is one that contains every nutrient that AAFCO deems essential for the health of a dog. While other dog foods might be complete thanks to additives and supplementary nutrients, a complete raw dog food provides all the nutrients your dog needs from raw meat and veggies alone.
What is a Complete and Balanced Diet?
‘Balanced’ is another term that AAFCO employs. ‘Balanced’ raw dog food means that not only does it contain the complete range of nutrients a dog needs, it contains them in the right proportions as well. This means there’s not too much of one thing or another. When you feed your dog complete and balanced raw dog food, you can rest assured they aren’t getting too much magnesium or any other vitamin that might throw them out of whack if they get too large a dose of it.
