Adult Dog Raw Food Feeding Guide

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Switching to raw food

‘Going cold Turkey’. Raw feeding does not need to be gradually introduced, raw feeding can start straight away, simply feed your dog their existing food the night before and begin raw feeding the following morning. We do not recommend mixing kibble and raw.

Raw is fed at 2-3% of the ideal adult weight however this is just a guide as all dogs are different, some will need more and some will need less, monitoring weight and body shape is essential.

You can use the Adult Dog Raw Food calculator at the top of the page as a guide.

For puppies please see our puppy feeding guide.

Our 3 step raw transition consists of the following;

Step 1 – 3 days Green Tripe – neutralizes any acidity in their stomach and boosts their digestion, basically gets everything ready for the next step. It may cause some stomach upset but this is perfectly normal at this stage.

Step 2 – 3 days Meat & Bone – introduces their digestive system to the meat and bone content without the offal.

Step 3 – After the 6 days transition your Dog is ready to start on completes. This may be first time they have been fed the ‘offal’ element and may experience a little stomach upset until they adjust. For a 2 week period after the transition we advise to just feed Chicken and/or Turkey 80 10 10’s, these proteins are lean and easier to digest. After 2 weeks you can start introducing other proteins along with oily fish and raw eggs.

A dog’s diet should comprise of an 80/10/10 ratio; 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% offal. 5% of the offal should be liver the other 5% should be another secreting organ

Meat – Muscle, Green Tripe (not classed as offal), Gizzard, Lung, Heart (not classed as offal), Tongue & Trachea.

Offal – Liver, Kidney, Brain, Spleen, Testicle & Pancreas.

This is known as a BARF diet (biologically appropriate raw food).

You should be aiming to feed at least 5 to 6 different proteins a week.

You should include as much oily fish as you can, up to 1 days weight allowance, this will ensure they are getting good quantities of Omega-3 & Omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins such A, B2, B3, B12 and vitamin D. A good way of doing this is to feed sprats, sardines or other whole fish and chunks with each meal and does not necessarily need to be included in their daily allowance, you can browse our fish section here.

You can feed two raw eggs a week, leave uncooked and the shell can be fed as well.

Bones can be fed but allowance must be made for the additional bone, boneless can be fed prior or after if need be.

Feeding tripe alone is not a healthy diet and although good for them it should not total more than 20% of their weekly weight allowance. Tripe does not contain bone and fat content is high and is not classed as offal in a dogs diet as it is in a humans.

Too much Heart or Lung, which are classed as muscle meat (not offal) can be a problem so avoid complete brands that contain too much in a ratio to normal muscle meat, whilst it is good for them and should be included in their diet it should be limited to no more than 20% of their weekly weight allowance. 

Ensure you include treats/bones etc fed separately as part of their daily allowance.

Fruit & Vegetables

You can choose to add in vegetables or feed a complete with added fruit & vegetables, this is down to preference and not necessarily essential for your dog. Not all dogs/cats can tolerate fruit and vegetables but if you choose to do so feed leafy green vegetables avoiding those high in natural sugars, and lightly blitz to breakdown and make more digestible.

Alternatively, you can add in supplements if you wish too.

Two great everyday feeding supplements we recommend, each with their own merits are Sea & Greens and Aniforte BARF complete.

Variety is key

There are many schools of thought regarding raw feeding and what suits one dog may not suit another, like us they are all different and variety is key, feed a constant rotational diet to avoid possible intolerances building.

Drinking

Dogs do typically drink less when fed raw food as its a lot higher in moisture.

Stools

You may notice they poo less this is normal however if they are struggling to poo try feeding some offal/heart and look at the bone content of what you are feeding.

Hunger pukes

If you notice your dog is bringing up yellow bile this may be a sign of hunger, gradually increase the daily amount or feed a light snack before bed.

Senior Dogs

For senior dogs, we would recommend feeding approximately 1-3% of their ideal adult weight.

As always if you have concerns about your dogs health please consult with your vet before making any dietary changes.