We all understand the basic concept of what raw means—a food that has not been through a heat-altering process. Raw foods are becoming extremely popular due to its ability to not only heal many ailments, but also create a nutritionally superior pet that thrives. The key component to raw food is the enzymes which assist in the digestive process and help with just about every metabolic process. Enzymes are denatured when exposed to heat over 117 degrees F so anything cooked above that temperature has little to no enzymes. There is also an abundance of micronutrients and phytochemicals that are key to the health of your pet.
Benefits of Raw include:

So what does it cost to feed an entirely raw diet to your pets*:
If an all raw diet is out of your budget consider supplementing their kibble with a 25% replacement of raw meat diets or even raw products such as goat milk or bone broth made for dogs and purchased from the freezer section. The benefits can be seen in even a small replacement. Dogs often won’t eat kibble some sort of amendment, so why not make it the best possible. Bone broth made for dogs without salt or onions and garlic offer trace minerals a processed dry diet does not, plus the often have vegetable juice added for phytochemicals. Frozen raw goat’s milk provides essential probiotics and enzymes for optimal nutrition absorption and makes a tasty topping for your pets.

Natural, whole raw foods contain numerous substances — including enzymes and phytochemicals — that modern science is discovering are important for proper nutrition in humans and laboratory animals. This holds true for dogs and cats as well. Enzymes are specialized protein substances that are involved in all the pet’s activities. Even thinking requires enzymes. Enzymes are deactivated or destroyed at temperatures above 118 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit; therefore, there are no enzymes in processed pet foods. This forces the pet’s digestive enzymes to do all the work, and perhaps puts a strain on the pet’s ability to manufacture necessary metabolic enzymes. Phytochemical are specialized nutrients found in plants. The pet’s body needs these nutrients to be able to thrive and just like enzymes, phytochemicals nutritional impact is depleted when exposed to heat. Therefore the only state that both phytochemicals and enzymes can work to the best of their ability is in the raw state.

Transitioning is important: If your pet has never tried raw pet food before the first thing to do is to get some samples or a small bag to try out. Give your pet a few nuggets. If the animal has a sensitive stomach, IBD, or otherwise has trouble with changes in their diets, you will want to transition nice and slowly. For a sensitive dog, it can be good to have them start with the very basics, frozen raw goat milk or bone broth added to kibble. A small start introduced to the stomach can go far in preparing the body to handle larger amounts of raw foods. If you have been feeding a grain-based food, your pet’s stomach may have a bit of a shock when they are first introduced to the nutritionally-dense raw food diet. You will want to take it slowly, so you can avoid any diarrhea or stomach upset.

If your dog dives right in, then transitioning is as simple as feeding 1/4 of the daily recommendation in raw and 3/4 of their current food. Slowly increase the amount of raw while reducing their previous food over the course of 1 to 2 weeks. Monitor their temperament and stools to ensure they are transitioning well. Seeing loose stools is common due to your pet’s body detoxing. If after one week you still have loose stools continue with the feeding amounts until you see improvement. Adding raw goat milk yogurt can help with digestion and palatability. Loose stools are no alarm to call the vet, but seeing blood is. It is very uncommon but can indicate serious stomach issues.

Raw food may not be the most convenient method of feeding our pets but it is the most rewarding. Not only will your pet’s look and act healthier you will also benefit from fewer visits to the vet, less shedding, better smelling breath and best of all... smaller, less smelly poop!