How do you feed uncooked pet food?
As a passionate uncooked feeder, that’s a query I’m typically requested and comfortable to reply!
It’s an necessary one too as a result of there are a number of other ways of feeding canine uncooked pet food.
The wonder is that none of them are mistaken and all have their upsides and downsides.
So right now, I’ll cowl the completely different uncooked feeding fashions and share how I personally feed uncooked pet food.
Spoiler alert: I shortly transitioned from one mannequin to a different!
How Do You Feed Uncooked Canine Meals: BARF Weight loss program vs PMR
In uncooked feeding, you may both feed what’s referred to as a BARF weight loss program or PMR, and the primary distinction is the addition/absence of plant matter.
BARF Weight loss program
Let’s take a look at the BARF weight loss program first.
BARF stands for Biologically Applicable Uncooked Meals or Bones and Uncooked Meals.
It features a mixture of uncooked meat, bones, fruits, greens, nuts and seeds, in addition to optionally available grains.
This weight loss program entails grinding or mixing the components collectively into a combination or getting ready them as whole-food meals.
Shopping for Premade BARF
In the event you determine that you simply need to feed your canine a BARF weight loss program, the best means of feeding it’s to purchase it premade from a model that ships it to the doorstep.
For instance, from Darwin’s Pure Pet, a ThatMutt sponsor!
They’re positioned in Tukwila, WA on the West Coast and ship their grain-free uncooked pet food inside the continental US.
Enjoyable reality: I started my uncooked feeding journey with them in 2015.
Again then, I transitioned my Boxer mixes Missy & Buzz from kibble to uncooked pet food and likewise questioned, so how do you feed uncooked pet food?
Fortunately, a fellow uncooked feeder really helpful the model and they’re really superior.
The best way it really works is you place your order on-line, they ship it to your house in frozen 8 oz pouches, and all you must do is thaw and serve.
Tip: Get 10 kilos of meals for simply $14.95. That’s as much as 75% off. No code required.
For the reason that first order features a thaw tub, you don’t even have to make use of your individual tupperware to thaw the meat in.
That stated, Darwin’s has three completely different strains of BARF uncooked pet food:
- Pure Choices: That’s a free-range meat line that’s combined with natural greens.
- Biologics: That’s their standard meat & vegetable line.
- Intelligence: That’s a prescription line for canine recognized with most cancers, kidney, liver and joint ailments.
I’ve fed all three and my pups liked each single line.
Observe: The Intelligence line is accessible by prescription solely, so your vet should name it in. Again when Missy was recognized with most cancers, her homeopathic vet Dr. Charles Loops prescribed it for her.
@Colby: Insert image of Darwin’s most cancers prescription uncooked pet food (I’ve shared it earlier than with ThatMutt)
Right here’s what’s in it:
Whitefish (Pollock), Turkey Necks, Turkey Gizzards, Broccoli, Beef Liver, Turkey, Beef Kidney Fats, Entire Dried Eggs, Mushrooms (Maitake, Shitake), Blackberries, Blueberries, Parsley, Raspberries, Tomato Powder, Fish Oil (Supply of DHA), Cod Liver Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Turmeric, Spirulina, Oyster Shell Powder, Inexperienced Tea, Vitamin E, Zinc Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Black Pepper, Manganese Proteinate, Iodine (EDDI)
Now, whereas ordering premade uncooked pet food is probably the most handy and quickest possibility of feeding uncooked pet food, it’s additionally the costliest possibility.
Feeding Do-it-yourself BARF
The expense of feeding my 50 lb & 75 lb canine premade uncooked pet food from Darwin’s completely wasn’t sustainable for me personally.
That’s why I regarded into making my very own selfmade uncooked pet food.
There’s a studying curve as you analysis the completely different elements of balanced uncooked pet food:
- 70% Muscle meat
- 10% Secreting organs
- 10% Uncooked meaty bones
- 10% Plant matter (veggies, fruit, nuts & seeds)
My most memorable AHA second was once I discovered that organs like hearts and lungs aren’t fed as secreting organs however as muscle meat!
My very own selfmade uncooked pet food
All in all, it took me about 5 months to really feel snug making my very own uncooked meals.
The best way I discovered was by:
- Studying uncooked pet food books
- Becoming a member of uncooked pet food Fb teams
- Watching YouTube movies by professional uncooked vets
- Studying uncooked pet food articles in Canine Naturally Journal
Years later, I additionally took a category in uncooked pet food diet and received licensed as a uncooked pet food diet specialist, additionally by Canine Naturally Journal.
Prey Mannequin Uncooked (PMR) Feeding
Now that we’ve regarded on the BARF mannequin of uncooked feeding, let’s take a look at the PMR various.
Prey Mannequin Uncooked consists of entire cuts of meat, bones, and organs, however no greens, fruits, nuts and seeds.
That stated, right here’s what PMR consists of:
- 80% Muscle meat
- 10% Secreting organs
- 10% Uncooked meaty bones
Protecting that in thoughts, there are two approaches to feeding PMR:
- Feeding precise entire prey, which means entire animals. For instance, entire goats, rabbits, chickens, quails and ducklings.
- Following the Frankenprey method that makes an attempt to copy a complete animal by utilizing numerous components from completely different animals. For instance, a rabbit head, turkey neck, duck body, turkey hearts, rooster ft, and so on.
When it comes to sourcing entire animals, there are some on-line uncooked pet food retailers that promote entire animals like chicks, ducklings, quail, rabbits and fish.
For instance, Hare As we speak and Uncooked Feeding Miami.
To get your palms on bigger entire animals like deer, sheep and goats, you may make mates with wildlife processors and hunters, or purchase them immediately from an area farmer or butcher.
Some on-line uncooked pet food retailers additionally carry floor entire prey, which is simply as handy as ordering the premade BARF meals from Darwin’s.
For instance, My Pet Carnivore and Uncooked Feeding Miami.
You may as well purchase these and switch them into BARF meals by including your individual veggies, fruits, nuts & seeds. Or you may mix them with a uncooked pet food base-mix like:
How Do You Feed Uncooked Canine Meals For Puppies
In the event you’ve raised a pet, you already know that rising puppies want extra vitamins, i.e. extra meals, than grownup canine.
That’s true no matter whether or not you feed kibble, moist pet food, cooked pet food or uncooked pet food.
Equally to purchasing a bag of kibble, premade uncooked pet food like the sort from Darwin’s comes with feeding ideas on the packaging.
Additionally they supply free menu consultations by cellphone.
I had a kind of once I first began feeding uncooked and do advocate them!
Now, in case you make your pet’s personal uncooked pet food, you’ll be having to do some calculations to determine the quantity of uncooked pet food they should eat per day.
One possibility is to feed your pet 2-3% of their ADULT goal physique weight per day.
So for instance, if you already know that your feminine Labrador pet goes to weigh 60 lbs as an grownup, you are able to do the feeding math utilizing 2.5%:
Divide 2.5% by 100, then multiply it with 60. The result’s your pet’s day by day uncooked pet food allowance:
2.5% / 100 x 60 = 1.5 lb = 24 oz
This pup would wish round 24 oz of uncooked pet food per day.
Now, clearly you may solely guestimate your pet’s grownup weight, even in case you examine in together with your breeder and/or vet.
That’s why this isn’t my most popular means of doing uncooked feeding calculations for puppies.
For my part, a greater solution to calculate a pet’s day by day uncooked pet food allowance is by utilizing their present physique weight.
This suggests having to weigh your pet on a weekly foundation, and one of the simplest ways to do this at house is with a digital pet scale.
Intrigued?
Click on right here to be taught extra on find out how to feed uncooked pet food to puppies, together with the formulation.
How Do You Feed Uncooked Canine Meals For Grownup Canine
Once more, in case you’re feeding premade uncooked pet food from a model, you’ll discover feeding tips for grownup canine on the packaging or their web site.
However in case you make your individual BARF or PMR pet food, you’ll be doing the calculations with a particular formulation.
For reasonably lively grownup canine, you feed them 2.5% of their goal physique weight per day.
This implies you divide their goal physique weight by 100, and you then multiply the end result with 2.5% to get their day by day uncooked pet food allowance.
In the event that they’re extra of a sofa potato, they’ll want much less meals and also you’ll be doing the calculations with 1.5% – 2%.
Likewise, extra lively working canine or pregnant canine require rather more meals, so that you’ll be doing calculations with as much as 4% of their goal physique weight.
I do know this may be complicated, so right here’s an instance of the maths you’ll be doing for a reasonably lively grownup canine who weighs 40 lbs and isn’t obese (40 lbs is their goal physique weight):
40/100 = 0.4 x 2.5 = 1 lb = 16 oz
So this canine would wish to eat 16 oz of uncooked pet food per day.
Right here’s another math instance for an obese 55 lb canine who doesn’t train a lot and must lose 5 lbs.
Since their goal physique weight is 50 lbs, you divide 50 by 100, you then multiply the end result with 2%:
50/100 = 0.5 x 2 = 1 lb = 16 oz
This canine would additionally must eat 16 oz of uncooked pet food per day.
How Do You Feed Uncooked Canine Meals – My Method
I already shared a couple of bits and items of knowledge so far as how I feed uncooked pet food.
In a nutshell, I started my uncooked feeding journey with premade BARF pet food from Darwin’s.
As soon as I discovered find out how to make selfmade uncooked pet food, I supplemented Darwin’s uncooked meals with my very own uncooked pet food.
As of late, I feed my Feist combine Wally following the identical method.
He will get about 75% of my selfmade uncooked pet food, and 25% of premade uncooked meals following the BARF mannequin.
After my transfer abroad, I can clearly not purchase from Darwin’s however have to buy regionally right here in Germany.
Backside Line
That ought to reply the query of “how do you feed uncooked pet food”!
It’s all the time best to purchase premade uncooked pet food from a model like Darwin’s.
Particularly in case you’re new to uncooked feeding and need to be sure you’re feeding balanced uncooked pet food.
Nonetheless, this comfort comes at a premium, so a method of constructing it extra inexpensive is by supplementing their meals with your individual selfmade ones.
ThatMutt’s founder Lindsay follows the identical method and wrote an book on find out how to feed uncooked pet food, together with 10 recipe concepts for small, medium and huge canine!
In the event you don’t need to feed veggies, fruit, nuts & seeds, you’ll be feeding your canine the PMR means.
Keep in mind, this excludes plant matter and whereas many prey mannequin uncooked feeders feed entire animals, you can even observe the Frankenprey method.
Much like uncooked pet food model Darwin’s, there are manufacturers who promote floor PMR for comfort.
Now it’s your flip: Tell us how YOU feed uncooked pet food within the remark part beneath!
