Raw Food Preparation Tips
Feeding your dog a raw diet really needn’t be a chore. Here are some useful tips to help make your food preparation much quicker and easier.
What foods should I use?
Dogs should be fed a variety of raw meat, bones and vegetables. Here is a short guide of the types of foods that you can feed. For a more comprehensive list of foods, start by reading ‘The Barf Diet: For Cats and Dogs’ by Ian Billinghurst or ‘Real Food for Dogs and Cats: A Practical Guide to Feeding Your Pet a Balanced, Natural Diet’ by Clare Middle.
Meat – a variety of the following:
1. Lamb (check for hypersensitivity in your dog). Rough, chewy, gristly meat is best. If minced, make sure it contains minute crushed bone particles.
2. Chicken mince, wings and carcasses are fantastic. Never feed cooked bones.
3. Tripe, heart, liver and kidneys are also great. Heart particularly good, as it’s tough.
Vegetables – use what’s in season!
Brocolli, cabbage, carrots, peppers, courgettes, lettuce, green beans, mange tout, sweetcorn, pumpkin & squash (stewed), cucumber, spinach, radish, sweet potatoes (baked).
Never onion.
Fruit – remember to remove large stones. Again, try to use what’s in season.
Avocado, berries, apples, plums, nectarines, peaches, strawberries, melon, pineapple, pears, oranges, kiwis.
Never grapes or raisins. We don’t know why, but some dogs die when given these.
Nuts, Herbs and Seeds (NHS!)
Walnuts, almonds, hazels; parsley, basil, coriander, sage, thyme, mint, rosemary; pumpkin seeds, sesame, sunflower.
Extras – consider adding a little of these ingredients:
Ginger, garlic (1/2 clove per 10kg bodyweight per day), oils (fish, olive, flax, sesame etc…)
Preparation – do this 2-3 times per week and store
1. Work out how much you need to use. 3-4 types of vegetables is a good start. Garlic and nuts are fantastic ingredients, too.
2. Wash / clean the vegetables and chop into chunks suitable for the food processor.
3. Place garlic, nuts and small items into the processor first, then whizz.
4. Add the larger chunks of vegetables AND WATER! You may have to do this in two to three batches.
5. When finished, tip the mixed vegetables into a sealable storage container, ready for mixing with meat.
Food processor or liquidiser?
Food processors can work better, as they finely ‘chop’ vegetables, rather than turning everything into a brown / green mush. Fussy dogs need liquid veg as they’re fussy! You can also fit more into a decent food processor.
Scales
Electronic scales are much better, as you can add “zero” to the weight of the container before you start. However, once you get into a routine and become more accustomed to the amounts that your pet eats, you’ll probably rid of the need for scales altogether.
Large plastic spatula
Spatulas are very handy for scraping out every last bit of nutrition from the bowl.
Storage
Prepare the veg 2-3 times per week and store it in a sealable Tupperware container in the fridge . You can spoon it out each time you need it, weighing if necessary. The sealable bowl will also help to prevent smells in your fridge – cabbage and leafy greens can start to smell ‘gassy’ after a couple of days in the fridge.
Book an appoinment
Dr. Nick Thompson
BSc (Vet Sci) Hons, BVM&S, VetMFHom, MRCVS.
Apthorp Centre
Weston Road
Bath
BA1 2XT
United Kingdom
Email: nickthompson@holisticvet.co.uk
Tel: 01225 487778
Fax: 07092 233930