I started writing about feeding my mutt Ace a raw diet in 2011.

Today, there is a lot more information available (good and bad) on feeding raw, and dog owners are a lot more likely to know someone who feeds raw.

To feed your dog a “raw diet” indicates to feed her a diet of raw meat, raw bones, raw organ meat and often raw veggies.

In this article I am featuring four members of That Mutt’s community who feed their dogs raw.

I thought it would be interesting to see what others are feeding, why they feed raw and the benefits they’ve seen in their dogs.

These dog owners are not vets or nutrition experts. This is just a fun way to see what others are doing and to help you decide if you must feed your own dog a raw diet.

This post is sponsored by Darwin’s natural Pet Products.

Should you feed your dog a raw diet?

Here are four examples of dog owners who are delighted feeding their family pets raw and the benefits they have noticed.

Rik Rehman and Baxter the pitbull

Bailey, Colorado

Baxter has been eating a raw diet considering that he was 8 weeks old, and his owner Rik Rehman says his dog has always been very healthy.

Besides steaming some veggies, he feeds Baxter a 100% raw diet made from scratch each month.

“Our vet says he’s one of the healthiest dog he’s ever seen,” Rik said.

Some of the benefits Rik has personally observed with Baxter include:

• No allergies• A terrific coat• Fresh breath• clear eyes• clean ears• A strong immune system• energy that “won’t quit!”• terrific musculature development

“I’m just feeding him what they have been eating for thousands of years,” he said.

Rik feeds Baxter a variety of meats, organs, vegetables, fruits, oils and all-natural supplements to achieve a complete diet.

He said he gets almost all of this at a local grocery store and it has taken him years to understand the nutritional values of the ingredients and the quantities of each to use.

“I am a substantial supporter of variation of ingredients,” he said. “After all, who wants to eat the same thing day after day and night after night?”

Rik also stressed how crucial it is to make sure your dog’s raw diet is appropriately balanced.

“I just don’t want people to think that they can just throw a few pieces of chicken, a porkchop or a steak in a food dish and call it good,” he said.

“Complete nutrition needs to be the paramount topic of discussion referring to feeding a raw diet.”

He believes it is crucial to put forth the effort to make certain our family pets have the best possible nutrition available because that indicates “giving them the best possibility for a long, healthy and delighted life.”

Joanne and Xena the German shepherd

Oregon

Joanne has been feeding her German shepherd Xena a raw diet for about a year.

Xena eats Darwin’s raw dog food because the pre-made food is balanced and convenient to serve. The brand has also been around a long time without lots of recalls.

The positive changes Joanne has observed in Xena include healthier skin and a healthier coat. Plus, she said Xena is a happier dog and relatively healthy with no allergies or gut issues.

“I want to keep it that way,” she said.

“I feel feeding kibble for the life of the dog is like us eating dry cereal every day. It has taken me a lot of years and three previous German shepherd dogs to get away from kibble, though the others were fed kibble and added raw food.”

Joanne said she worries about the recalls related to kibble and dogs getting sick and even dying from dry dog food.

“I want to keep this dog as healthy as long as possible, hopefully avoiding cancer,” she said.

“I believe now, that dogs are indicated to eat raw.”

She points out that dogs were eating raw food before kibble was even invented.

“Those dogs were mostly relatively healthy and lived longer than our dogs do now.”

If your dog would like to try Darwin’s raw food, the company has a trial going on where you can get 10 pounds of raw food delivered to your door for just $14.95 and complimentary shipping. learn more.

Jessica and major the German shepherd

Jessica Schwimmer started feeding her 4-year-old dog major a homemade raw diet two years ago. She made the switch to raw because no dry dog food would agree with Major’s digestive system.

The changes she’s observed in her dog include a “super, shiny coat,” less poop, no bad breath and remarkable teeth.

“I don’t have to shell out $300 for a dental cleaning at the vet,” she said.

Jessica believes a “prey model” raw diet of raw meat, organ meat and bones is the healthiest because you know what’s in your dog’s food.

“With kibble, it’s a guessing game what’s in those little brown pieces. and the ingredients list … half the stuff I can’t even pronounce!”

Major eats 90% diy raw and 10% premix “grinds.” He’s tried nine different proteins so far including chicken, beef, pork, turkey, camel, goat, lamb, rabbit and venison. He also gets salmon, pollock and sardines.

“Han’S hade aldrig en reaktion eller intolerans mot proteinerna, som han gjorde med Kibble, ”sa Jessica.

När jag frågade henne vad hon tror att andra måste veta om att mata en rå diet, sa hon att den vanliga rekommendationen av 80/10/10 (80% muskelkött, 10% orgelkött och 10% ben) inte är svartvitt. Vissa hundar, som major, kan kräva lite mer ben eftersom det hjälper till att hålla deras båge mycket mer solid.

“Och att höra dem crunch på ett ben är ett tillfredsställande ljud!” Hon sa.

Major har två frysare tillägnad honom och hans mat. En för hans förberedda måltider och en för förvaring.

“Jag får mycket av mitt kött från frysen” Cleanouts “, sa Jessica. “Många uppskattar att det kommer att använda, snarare än papperskorgen.”

Timothy Grisack och Diesel

Bracebridge, Ontario, Kanada

Timothy adopterade sin hunddiesel för cirka 5 månader sedan och började direkt mata honom en rå diet.

Det finns många olika råa hundmatvarumärken tillgängliga, allt från färsk, fryst rå till frysning torkad rå. Diesel äter ett förberett varumärke från butiken med kött, orgelkött, grönsaker och ben.

Timothys beslut att mata Diesel Raw kom efter svår forskning, pratade med två veterinärer och kontrollerade deras rekommenderade referenser.

“Det övertygande beviset som jag tyckte konsekvent var lägre veterinärräkningar och livslängd i min hunds liv,” sade han.

Efter att ha bytt diesel till Raw observerade Timothy att hans hund hade mycket mer energi under hundparkbesök.

Han ger diesel ett dagligt tillskott för att se till att hans hund får dagliga enzymer, vitaminer och fiber.

När jag frågade honom vilket råd han skulle ge till andra, och han sa att medan massor av erfarna hundägare skapar råa måltider från grunden, rekommenderar han inte detta utan att konsultera din veterinär först.

“Det bästa sättet att älska din hund är att göra det som behövs för att hålla dem friska,” sade han. “Maten du matar dem är prioriterat nummer 1.”

Tack till Rik, Joanne, Jessica och Timothy för att du delar hur du matar dina hundar!

Har du några frågor om att mata en rå diet?

Låt mig veta i kommentarerna!

För grunderna för råmatning, se mitt inlägg: DIY rå hundmat för nybörjare

Se alla våra råa utfodringsartiklar här.

– Lindsay