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Your Dog’s Diet – Raw vs Kibble?
The debate about the best diet for your dog is as old as the hills. Until recently, though, the discussion was mostly confined to a smallish circle: vets and pet nutritionists, trainers, breeders and people who work closely with dogs.
Now the conversation is filtering into the wider mainstream and it seems that far more pet owners, who just want to do the right thing, are asking, What’s best to feed my dog?
Instrumental in triggering this broader debate was a 2017 episode of the BBC programme, Trust Me, I’m a Vet, which caused a huge (and very public) controversy with its bias against a raw diet for dogs. Vets and pet nutritionists voiced their (often contrary) opinions in the ensuing furore, but where does that leave us?
So is raw dog food or kibble best?
The truth is, there’s probably no right or wrong way to feed your dog; there’s only personal choice. It’s unfair to tell owners whose kibble-fed dogs are healthy and happy that their dogs are somehow missing out. It’s likewise disingenuous to pretend that a raw food diet is a dangerous fad that doesn’t help many dogs to lead equally healthy, happy lives.
It’s useful to listen to opinions on both sides: my Gran, God rest her soul, would laugh at all these arguments. She lived with happy, healthy dogs through both World Wars, feeding them the same things she ate herself. They all lived to a ripe old age.
And a friend of mine recently posted on social media that one of her dogs would rather starve than eat anything raw. All her dogs do well on a kibble-based diet and regularly compete at a high level in both Agility and Fly-ball.
Then again, there’s my own experience. Despite there being no conclusive scientific proof that feeding a raw diet is a cure for all your dog’s ailments, I’ve been a firm advocate of natural feeding for the past twenty-odd years. The reason is, my dogs really enjoy their grub and they all seem happy and healthy! Why would I want to change?
That’s why I’m so pleased to become a stockist for the Benyfit Naturals range of complete raw dog food, which you can now buy from Agility World’s shop.
Now I’d be the first to admit that feeding your dog a well-balanced diet of raw foods takes a bit more thought and preparation than pouring a bowl of kibble. And if you’re new to raw feeding, you might still be discovering all the different food types that give your dog the balanced nutrition they need.
Benyfit Naturals can really help you get to grips with feeding your dog the right raw diet. It’s delivered right to your door in convenient frozen packages which you simply defrost and serve. Each packet contains the optimum balance of all the natural ingredients your dog needs, taking away the guesswork and saving you time.
What does a complete raw dog food contain?
The ideal raw food diet doesn’t just consist of meat. Vegetables, eggs, seeds and some plant matter also provide valuable nutrients.
Here’s a list of the ingredients in Benyfit Naturals raw food range. Visit their website to find out how each food group is beneficial for your dog.
- Raw muscle meat
- Bone
- Liver
- Heart
- Egg
- Flax seed oil
- Kelp
- Carrot
- Root vegetables
- Broccoli
- Celery seeds
- Alfalfa
- Nettles
- Rosemary
- Psyllium husk
- Clivers
- Wild yam
- Verm-X (for puppy food)
- Glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM (for senior dogs)
This isn’t necessarily an exhaustive list of all the raw foods your dog will benefit from and enjoy eating, but it’s a fine example of a diet that’s covering all the essential elements.
Can you combine raw dog food with kibble?
All I would say, from a very lay point of view, is if you decide to feed a raw diet to your dog please embrace it fully. The biggest mistake in my opinion is combining both raw food and a kibble diet (or indeed anything cooked!)
The main reason is that kibble and cooked foods change the pH balance of your dog’s stomach. This is important because a very acidic environment is needed in the stomach to properly digest bone and protect your dog from harmful bacteria. When you add anything other than raw food, that high acidic balance is lost and you can cause horrendous problems for your dog.
Still undecided?
So we come full circle…let me just say again that there really is no perfect way to feed your dog. Whichever method you opt for, let it be an informed choice; there’s an abundance of well written pet-related nutritional information available – loving your dogs as you do, you’ll soon know if they approve!
If you’d like to read more about raw-feeding your dog, here are a few resources you might find helpful:
The Raw Feeding Veterinary Society
Mixing raw dog food and kibble – an article in Dogs Naturally magazine explaining the risks and how to mitigate them.
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