Is raw food good for dogs? An honest look

10 May 20262 min read

Short answer

Plenty of owners feed raw and are very happy with it, and many dogs eat it keenly. Whether it suits your dog comes down to doing it carefully: the right mix of meat, bone and organ over time, good kitchen hygiene, and a budget and freezer that can handle it.

Fluffy dog eating from a metal bowl on the grass

We sell raw food, so we’re not neutral. What follows is the plain version: what owners like about raw feeding, and what it asks of you.

What owners like about it

The reasons raw feeders give tend to be practical ones.

You know what’s in the bowl. A single-protein mince is one ingredient. There’s no list of fillers to read through.
Dogs are keen on it. Raw meat smells like food to a dog, and many owners say mealtimes got noticeably more enthusiastic.
It’s easy to tailor. If your dog needs to stay off a protein, you simply leave it out, and you can rotate meats for variety.
It’s minimally processed. Raw food is meat, bone and organ, frozen and thawed, with no cooking or extruding in between.

What it asks of you

Cost

Raw usually costs more per day than budget or mid-range kibble, and about the same as premium kibble when you buy in bulk. Our raw versus kibble cost guide works it out for a 20 kg dog.

Freezer space

Buying in bulk is what keeps the cost down, and bulk needs room. A 10 kg carton of mince is about 30 × 20 × 15 cm. Many raw feeders end up with a chest freezer in the garage.

Hygiene

Raw meat can carry bacteria such as Salmonella, the same as the meat you cook for yourself. Thaw it in the fridge, wash bowls and hands after meals, and take extra care in homes with babies, older people or anyone unwell. Our guide to thawing and storing raw food has the routine.

A little planning

Raw feeding works best with a rough plan: a main protein, bones a few times a week, and some organ. Many owners aim for the 80/10/10 guide over a week, and a balancer mix is an easy way to add bone and organ to plain mince.

A middle path

Raw doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Some owners feed raw for one meal and kibble for the other, or use raw as a topper. If you do, work out the raw share with our calculator so the total amount stays about right.

If you’d like to try it

Start with one simple protein and go slowly over one to two weeks. Chicken Mince is a common first choice. Our guide to switching your dog to raw food has a day-by-day plan.

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