What Is Raw and Fresh Dog Food?
Story takeaways:
Feeding dogs kibble every day is the human equivalent of eating fast food every day
Raw, fresh food is the most biologically appropriate way to feed dogs with raw meat, bones, and organs
Raw feeding is not a trend but a species-appropriate approach to dog nutrition where dogs eat real food, not fast food
Imagine for a moment a world where all you eat is fast food. Every. Single. Day.
How do you feel?
Does eating in this way make you feel vibrant and healthy or sick and unwell?
Does a home-cooked meal sound really great right about now?
It's common sense that eating fast food every day is not healthy for humans. Most people try to minimize the amount of fast food they consume by meal prepping, grocery shopping and cooking for themselves. It takes a bit of time, effort and money... but in the end eating healthier is worth it for many.
So...
Why don't we look at our dog's nutritional needs in the same way as we do our own?
Why do we settle for feeding our dogs "fast food" (kibble) every day when we wouldn't want to eat in the same way?
THE MYTH OF HUMAN FOOD VERSUS DOG FOOD
For most of human history, dogs have eaten with humans, sharing food and resources together.
Even in ancient Roman times, dogs mostly ate human scraps of meat and bones:
"The food of dogs is more like that of man than that of sheep: they eat scraps of meat and bones, not grass and leaves.” - Roman Marcus Terentius Varro, 116–27 BCE (source)
It wasn't until the last hundred years or so when we started dividing up food between "people food" and "dog food" with the rise of the kibble industry. Kibble became popular during WWII when resources were sparse and pet parents had to find cheaper, more convenient ways to feed their pups.
Even after the war was over, the damage was already done. People started to expect "dog food" to be cheap, biscuit-like, and convenient.
The problem here is: all we have is food.
There is no such thing as "dog food". We're either feeding dogs real, fresh food (raw) or highly-processed fast food (kibble).
SO, WHAT IS RAW AND FRESH DOG FOOD?
By definition, raw fresh food for dogs is... well, raw meat.
Fresh, raw food is made from meat, bones and organs from animals like chicken, beef, duck, turkey and salmon.
As raw, fresh food closely mirrors what dogs would eat in the wild, many people see it as the most logical, biologically-appropriate way to feed dogs properly.
This evolutionary-based diet has started to gain momentum for two main reasons:
1. Genetics: dogs are 99.9% genetically similar to wolves. While they are phenotypically (on the outside) different than wolves, they are canines (Canis lupus familiaris) who biologically require raw meat and fat for sustenance.
2. Disease: with rising rates of canine diseases like cancer, obesity and diabetes, people started to ask: how healthy is kibble?
People found that typically, kibble contains large amounts of biologically-inappropriate carbs. Note: Dogs have no biological requirement for carbs since they are carnivores!
For dogs, more carbs equals having to work overtime to process food that is not intended to be in their body. More bodily stress equals increased risk for inflammation, a marker of disease. Due to this, people have looked for alternative ways to feed dogs better through raw.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RAW DOG FOOD AND DRY DOG FOOD
So, what does raw food contain that kibble does not? Why is raw specifically better than kibble?
Simply put: kibble is not real food. Kibble is:
Dry (contains no intracellular moisture)
Highly-processed and manufactured at high temperatures to keep the food shelf-stable (killing nutrients)
Made of rendered meat from dead, dying and diseased "leftover" animal parts
On top of that, most if not all kibble contains a large amount of carbs (even if the kibble is grain-free) which, again, dogs don't need carbs. On the other hand, fresh, raw food is real food that is biologically appropriate. See: the benefits of raw food.
Kibble is a dog's Taco Bell or McDonald's while raw fresh food is their homemade meal. If we want to feed our dogs fast food every day we can, but that doesn’t mean there won't be detrimental health consequences of feeding dogs conveniently instead of well.
Here’s a list of meats that are legally “suitable” to be used in dog food (source: The Truth About Pet Food)
Slaughterhouse waste (organs, heads, hooves, beaks, feet)
Bread and cereal rejects (cobs, stalks, mill sweepings)
Dying, diseased and disabled farm animals
Road kill (deer, skunks, and raccoons)
Contaminated grain middlings
Distiller fermentation waste
Spoiled supermarket food
Euthanized cats and dogs
Restaurant grease
Dead zoo animals
To summarize: Kibble, a highly-processed franken food, is made from questionable meat sources, contains synthetic vitamins and minerals, and is extruded and processed at extremely high temperatures killing good gut bacteria. Kibble is simply not an appropriate or good substitute for real, whole, appropriate food.
Our best furry friends deserve better than dry dog food.
BONES & CO. IS ON A FRESH DOG FOOD MISSION
Feeding raw is not a trend.
It is a species-appropriate way to approach dog nutrition by giving dogs what they biologically should eat instead of what humans want them to eat.
That’s how B&C differs from everyone else: we don’t think the food we give our dogs should be “convenient” or “easy,” we believe the food we give our dogs should be good. We're on a mission to educate people about the power of raw, fresh food so that they can make wise decisions about what they put in their dog's bowl. We're disrupting the status quo of kibble in order to actually change how we feed our dogs.
MAKE YOUR DOG A #RAWFED DOG
Feeling inspired to start feeding fresh, not fast? Join us as we continue to push the pet food industry to change for the better.
The first thing you can do…
…is learn all that you can about dog nutrition, raw dog food, and the benefits of whole foods over processed foods for your dog’s body. This way, you can make the best nutritional decisions for your dog.
Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Experiment in our LABoratory and get immediate access to raw resources, Ketogenic extras, and scientific articles.
Have specific questions about your dog’s health? While B&C cannot give medical advice, we recommend seeking advice from a Holistic Veterinarian for your best furry friend (BFF). B&C is here to be a resource for you while you learn more about raw food, Keto, and dog nutrition!