Raw Diet for Dogs: A Beginner's Guide
Published by DosageGuide · Reviewed
Everything you need to know before starting your dog on a raw diet. Covers benefits, risks, how to balance meals, and safe handling practices.
A raw diet is fed by weight, not by scoop: 2 to 3 per cent of body weight a day for an adult, so around 400 to 600 grams for a 20 kg dog, and 5 to 6 per cent of current weight for a growing puppy split across three or four meals. The two questions that matter before starting are balance and hygiene. Analyses of home-made raw recipes have repeatedly found them short of calcium, zinc, iodine or vitamin D, deficiencies that take months to show and are hard to reverse in a growing dog; and raw meat carries Salmonella and Campylobacter, which dogs shed in their stools whether or not they seem ill. A complete commercial raw diet from a company employing a qualified nutritionist, handled with the care you would give raw chicken, answers most of both.
Raw feeding has gained significant popularity among dog owners who want more control over what their pets eat. But it is also one of the most debated topics in veterinary nutrition. Before you start, you need to understand both the potential benefits and the very real risks involved.
What Is a Raw Diet?
A raw diet, sometimes called BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) or prey model raw, typically consists of:
- Raw muscle meat, often still on the bone
- Raw meaty bones (chicken necks, turkey necks, duck frames)
- Organ meats such as liver, kidney, and heart
- Raw eggs
- Vegetables and fruits (blended or lightly steamed for digestibility)
- Supplements to fill nutritional gaps
Potential Benefits
Proponents of raw feeding report several advantages, though it is important to note that large-scale clinical studies are limited.
- Improved coat and skin condition: Many owners notice shinier coats and less shedding within weeks
- Cleaner teeth: Chewing raw meaty bones can help reduce tartar buildup
- Smaller, firmer stools: Raw diets are typically more digestible, resulting in less waste
- Better control over ingredients: You know exactly what your dog is eating
Risks You Need to Know
Bacterial contamination
Raw meat can carry Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and other pathogens. These are a risk to your dog and, equally importantly, to the humans in your household. Children, elderly family members, and immunocompromised individuals are particularly vulnerable.
Nutritional imbalances
This is the biggest practical risk. Homemade raw diets are frequently deficient in calcium, zinc, vitamin D, and essential fatty acids when not properly formulated. An unbalanced diet over months can lead to serious health problems including bone deformities, organ damage, and immune dysfunction.
Bone-related injuries
Cooked bones splinter and are dangerous, but even raw bones carry some risk of tooth fractures, choking, and intestinal obstruction. Avoid weight-bearing bones from large animals (like beef femurs), which are too hard and commonly crack teeth.
Getting Started Safely
Consult a veterinary nutritionist
This is not optional. A board-certified veterinary nutritionist can formulate a recipe that meets all of your dog's nutritional requirements. Services like BalanceIT.com offer custom raw diet recipes with precise supplement recommendations.
The basic ratio
A commonly used starting framework is:
- 80% muscle meat (including heart)
- 10% raw edible bone
- 5% liver
- 5% other organ meat (kidney, spleen, brain)
This ratio alone does not guarantee a complete diet. You will almost certainly need supplements, including fish oil for omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and possibly zinc and manganese.
Safe Handling Practices
- Thaw meat in the refrigerator, never on the counter
- Clean all surfaces and bowls with hot soapy water after every meal
- Wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling raw food
- Store raw food separately from human food
- Do not let your dog lick your face after eating raw food
Commercial Raw Alternatives
If formulating your own raw diet feels overwhelming, commercial frozen raw and freeze-dried raw products are available from brands that follow AAFCO guidelines. These are pre-balanced and tested for pathogens, offering a middle ground between kibble and DIY raw.
A Realistic First Month
Start with a single protein from a complete commercial raw diet rather than a home recipe, and transition over seven to ten days. Expect smaller, firmer, paler stools; that reflects low fibre and high digestibility rather than proof of superiority. Loose stools in the first week are common, and blood, straining or vomiting are not. Feed from a dedicated bowl, washed hot after every meal, with the food thawed in the fridge and never left down for more than twenty minutes.
Set the household rules before the first delivery arrives: a separate board, hands washed, surfaces disinfected, and no raw feeding at all in a home with an infant, an elderly relative or anyone immunosuppressed, which is the recommendation of public health bodies rather than a preference. Then judge the diet over months on body condition, muscle, coat and weight recorded on the same scales, and book a yearly check with bloods, on a home-prepared diet it is the only way a slow mineral shortfall is caught before it does damage.
Frequently Asked Questions
The nutritional question and the hygiene question are separate. A raw diet can be complete if it is formulated to meet the AAFCO profile, and home-assembled versions frequently are not: surveys of homemade raw diets find calcium and vitamin imbalances in the majority. The hygiene risk is real and documented, with salmonella and listeria shed in the stool of healthy dogs fed raw.
It can, and this is the part owners underestimate. Pathogens survive on bowls, hands, worktops and in the dog's mouth and faeces. Households with infants, elderly or immunocompromised members are advised against raw feeding for that reason. If you feed raw, handle it as you would raw chicken for yourself: separate boards, hot soapy water, and no licking of faces.
They need something to chew, which is not the same thing. Raw bones clean teeth effectively but fracture molars and cause obstructions often enough that vets see both regularly; cooked bones splinter and should never be given. If dental health is the goal, a veterinary dental chew or a toothbrush carries none of that risk and works at least as well.
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Note: Feeding guidelines are estimates based on standard veterinary formulas. Every dog is different, consult your veterinarian for personalized advice.