Is raw dog food safe? Kitchen hygiene for raw feeders

Most of the worry about raw feeding comes down to the kitchen, not the bowl. If you’re comfortable handling raw chicken or mince for your own meals, you already know most of what it takes.

Why hygiene matters

Any raw meat can carry bacteria. That’s true of the chicken in your supermarket trolley as much as raw dog food. Cooking kills them in our food. Raw feeding skips the cooking, so the job moves to how the food is stored, thawed and cleaned up after. None of it is complicated, and it soon becomes routine.

Storing it

• Keep raw food in the freezer until you need it. Our orders arrive chilled, so get them into the freezer as soon as you can.
• Keep the oldest cartons at the front and use them first.
• In the fridge, keep thawing and thawed food in a covered container on the bottom shelf, below and away from food for people.

Thawing it

Thaw raw food in the fridge, a couple of days’ worth at a time. Don’t thaw it on the bench, where the outside warms up while the middle is still frozen, and don’t microwave it. Use thawed food within about three days. Our guide to thawing and storing raw dog food has the full routine.

Preparing a meal

• Use a board, knife or scoop that’s kept for the dog’s food, or wash yours in hot soapy water straight after.
• Portion the food away from anything you’re preparing for people.
• Wash your hands with soap and warm water when you’re done.

Bowls and leftovers

• Stainless steel bowls are the easiest to keep clean, because they don’t scratch and hold on to food the way some plastic bowls do.
• Wash the bowl after every meal, in hot soapy water or the dishwasher.
• Pick the bowl up once the meal is over. Don’t leave raw food out for your dog to come back to later.
• Feed somewhere easy to wipe down, especially with a messy eater or a dog that carries food off to eat it.

Children and other people in the house

Keep children away from the dog’s food while it’s being prepared, and make hand washing after touching the bowl or the food a house rule. If someone at home is pregnant, very young, elderly or more prone to infections because of illness or treatment, it’s worth talking to your doctor about raw feeding first, and being extra careful with the steps above.

Pick up after your dog promptly too, and wash your hands afterwards. That’s good practice whatever your dog eats.

Bones

Raw bones bring a different kind of care: never feed cooked bones, choose a bone your dog has to chew rather than swallow whole, and supervise while they eat it. Our guide to which raw bones dogs can eat covers it.

Common questions

Is raw chicken riskier than other meats?

Raw chicken is the one most associated with Salmonella and Campylobacter, for people as well as dogs, so it’s worth being particularly tidy with it. Our guide to raw chicken for dogs covers the routine.

How do I know if raw food has gone off?

Off food smells sour or rotten rather than meaty, or feels slimy. Our guide to telling if raw dog food has gone off goes through the signs.

Can I feed raw and still have my dog lick me?

Plenty of raw feeders do. Wash your hands after handling the food or the bowl, and if anyone in the house is more vulnerable to infection, keep licks away from faces.