Why feed a Raw diet?

Multiple renowned holistic veterinarians, including Ian Billinghurst, Judy Morgan, Marty Goldstein, Karen Becker are all in agreement that a raw diet is essential to the health and longevity of our pets.

After extensive research, I started feeding my personal dogs a strictly raw diet in 2021. Since that switch, the dogs stopped having issues with allergies, hot spots, yeasty toes and ears. There is very little 'dog smell' and they are almost never sick.

I have had dogs come to my house, placed on this diet and their yeasty, stinky symptoms clear up in a matter of months. I have seen sperm counts doubled (or more) and the fertility of my females has never been better. Cycles are more regular and even and puppies are vigorous as soon as they are born.

My observation after digging through pedigrees and other breeder's websites is the dogs which are living to be >12 and up to 16 years of age are often being fed a raw diet and are generally limited on how many vaccines and other pharmaceutical products they are given. So while I do believe that genetic diversity is necessary for the health of the breed, I think that an appropriate diet is necessary for the health of the dog laying at your feet.

For adult dogs, I feed an 80-10-10 blend which is 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ meat, 5% of which is liver. I prefer to rotate proteins as much as I am able to, depending on what my local Co-op is ordering. I then add Gussy's gut or my juicing scraps as a topper. Gussy's gut is a herbal blend formulated by Dr Ian Billinghurst. It has several deworming herbs in it and multiple veggies high in antioxidants. I feed by a weight percentage, generally 2-3% of their weight, always keeping the body condition of the dog in mind. If they start getting a bit lean or thick then I will adjust the amount that I am feeding accordingly.

I get most of the meat the dogs eat through the local raw Co-op. The Co-op typically orders bulk through Midwest Legacy Beef or Rahraw. I also order occasionally from Raw Delivery MN. There are Co-ops all over the United States.

I have been weaning puppies directly onto a raw diet since 2022. The proteins they have been fed are: Beaver, Chicken, Turkey, Pork, Beef, Herring, and Pollock rotated with some green tripe added for gut health.

With kibble, I always had issues with one or two puppies in the litter having loose stools. I have not seen this issue since I started weaning directly to raw. They do very well on it!

I recommend puppies receive around 15-17% bone content, per Dr Billinghurst's books about feeding puppies raw. Four Leaf Rover has a bone meal for dogs. For mixes that are premixed with 10% bone, I would add 1 tsp per 1 lb of raw 80-10-10 mix until at least 12 months.