Are you in Camp Raw? Do you want to feed Raw? Or do you have absolutely no idea what I’m on about. Wherever you fall into, this blog will give you hints, tips and a guide on where to start.
What is Raw?
I’m not going to go into the science and research surrounding Raw, this is purely my knowledge and information I’ve picked up on the way. Raw feeding is exactly that, feeding dogs on a Raw diet. No cooking of the meat and the dogs will eat offal and bone. If you’re new to this, this might sound disgusting, but bear with me.
There are many arguments for and against raw and my only advice is to do your research and feed raw food created for dogs. Although some people choose to go to Tesco and buy human raw chicken etc to give to their dogs, I can’t advise that.
The thought behind raw is that it is their natural diet, however the argument comes in because dogs have changed a lot since their wolf days and and became much more domesticated.
Our Journey
Our breeder fed her dogs raw and when Winston was born we were asked whether he would be fed raw or kibble (to assist with the weaning process) in all honesty this was the first time we’d heard about feeding dogs raw and I had no idea what she was talking about. So we said kibble.
I began researching raw, and as anything on the internet there were huge debates for and against. I used the website allaboutdogfood to find a decent kibble and we eventually went with Eden. High content of meat and scored well on the nutrition.
We found out pretty quickly that Winston liked to keep changing food. Not helpful when you’ve just bought a 15kg bag. To buy smaller bags suddenly became a lot more expensive. We switched brands after each bag but within a matter of weeks we would have the same issue.
Eventually after 3 years we finally made the decision to try raw.
Our Raw Beginnings
We did a straight switch onto raw. I was prepared for some strange poo’s and I knew the water intake would be dramatically reduced. I have to admit, there was no huge change in his bowel movements and yes his water intake decreased massively.
Safe to say, Winston absolutely loved raw. Each time he eats a bone, I’m fascinated by those teeth and jaw able to go through it. When I introduce new things, at first he’s a bit unsure whether he’s meant to eat it, play with it or roll with it, but it doesn’t take him long to get the hang of it.
Raw in real life
We use Rawgeous dog food and are now an ambassador for the company (WINSTON30 gets you 30% off your first box). You order online, as a subscription, it gives you an idea of how much per day your dog needs. It arrives frozen and you transfer it into your own freezer. The packaging is really small and actually you can fit more in than you think. I never use a normal bowl to feed Winston in anymore, we always use it for training or out of an enrichment toy or slow feeder.
The most difficult thing about raw to begin with is actually remembering to take it out of the freezer but this has now become habit and I don’t often forget anymore. The other biggest question we get is about travelling with Raw. If you’re staying somewhere with a freezer, then this make absolutely no difference. You can pack up the food in a box, using the wool packaging it arrives in and it will be absolutely fine. You can even have your subscription delivered to the place you’re staying at which makes it even easier (and more space in the car!) The difficulty is when you’re camping. For a couple of nights, you’ll be fine to use Raw and store in the fridge but for 1 or 2 weeks you’ll need a cold pressed raw or something different.
We are actually camping for 5 days shortly and then 2 weeks in Scotland so this will be a huge test for us on what we do and I’ll begin researching into cold pressed.
Questions about Raw?
Any questions about raw feeding or where to start? Drop us a DM on Instagram @winston.woof or head to our contact page!
Winston Woof 