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There’s a reason why dogs are referred to as man’s best friend. Without a doubt, you love your buddy and feeding it the best and highest quality diet is a priority. Raw dog food has gained popularity in recent years. Although slightly controversial as there are certain risks that come with raw dog food for beginners such as bacteria exposure and vitamin deficiencies, there are also a lot of benefits of raw dog food!
With so many dog food choices available in the market, it can be difficult to decide on the best dog food. Let’s see if raw dog food benefits outweigh its risks!
Photo by James Barker on Unsplash
Advantages of Raw Feeding for Your Dog
There are many benefits of raw feeding for your dog, which includes solving common health issues. Other advantages of raw dog food include:
Shinier coat
How your dog’s systems function will affect your dog’s skin and coat. Due to the lack of proper nutrients in your dog’s diet, your dog tends to have dry skin, shed excessively and itch. If you feed your dog a raw diet, a lot of the nutrients come from natural sources. A
Additionally, these nutrients are in a form that is easy for your dog’s system to recognize and use.
Hydration can also affect your dog’s skin and coat health. Dehydration will negatively impact your dog’s skin as the natural oil production that supports the life cycle and quality of dog’s skin cells is limited.
A raw dog diet is higher in moisture content than your average kibble. The moisture-rich diet will keep your dog better hydrated whilst flushing toxins and bacteria out of their system. Don’t worry, more moisture in their food will not deter your dog from its natural drinking habits.
Weight management
Overweight dogs and obesity in dogs is more common than you think. Although a raw food diet is not an immediate weight fix for your dog, it will certainly help as raw diets are more calorie dense. Thus, smaller portions of food can be served to your dog without skimping on the nutrition.
Raw dog food contains more meat and not as much carbohydrates. Lazy dogs do not use carbohydrates as efficiently as the energy from protein and fat. Therefore, a raw food diet, which is more balanced, is better to manage weight for your dog.
Not so smelly
Cleaning up dog poop, especially fresh from the butt, can be a rather overwhelming experience due to the smell. To put it bluntly, it’s gross.
Feeding your dog raw dog food can reduce the volume and odours of a dog’s stools. Also, the stools will be improved in consistency and frequency as their bowel movements improve due to you feeding raw. This is because the nutrients from the raw food are digested more efficiently and effectively.
Dog poop will also be firmer as excessive fibre and carbs, which usually come from a dry dog food diet, disappears. This makes cleaning up a much easier process and less of an assault on the nose!
More moisture
Did you know that dry dog food such as kibble can leave your dog dehydrated? The dehydration can decrease digestive function and it will slow down your dog’s waste removal process. This can eventually lead to urinary tract problems such as infections and crystals.
On the other hand, a raw dog food diet keeps the moisture content high and helps your dog’s kidneys flush toxins through the urinary tract. As raw dog food contains more moisture, it, therefore, encourages more frequent and healthy urination. This also reduces the strain on your dog’s kidneys and decreases the chances of your developing kidney disease in its senior years.
Dental health benefits
There are enzymes in raw meat that provide great dental benefits to your dog. Say bye-bye to dog breath, plaque and tartar build-up, gum inflammation and other dental health issues as these enzymes work to combat bacteria in the oral cavity.
However, this does not mean you neglect dental care for your dog. It just means that rapid bacteria build up in the mouth is avoided.
You can also feed raw bones as part of your buddy’s diet. Safely chewing on bones helps to remove bacteria from your dog’s hard to reach molars.
Strengthened immune system
It is so important to ensure that your dog's immune system is thriving. Your dog getting complete and balanced nutrition from raw dog food will improve your dog’s immune system as it contains natural immune boosting ingredients.
Natural immune boosting ingredients include food like meat. As part of its raw dog diet, the raw muscle meat is high quality and easily digestible protein. Raw meat proteins contain essential fats, vitamins and minerals. Using different raw meats also ensures that your dog receives a range of micronutrients that benefit its overall health.
Raw dog food is not processed or cooked so all the natural enzymes, vitamins, minerals and essential fats are not damaged or diminished by the cooking process. Your dog can absorb all the good nutrients!
Conclusion
Raw dog food comes with a wide range of benefits. You should seriously consider switching your dog over to a raw diet if you haven’t already done so. Of course, consult with your vet and read up on safety tips on raw feeding before doing so. We know that raw dog food for beginners can be intimidating so if you do not know where to start, you can always go with Petcubes’ range of raw dog food first!
