In recent years, raw dog food has grown in popularity, with many pet owners willing to prepare it themselves. However, creating a nutritionally balanced raw diet from scratch can be challenging, and buying it pre-made may be a more suitable option. That said, there’s no harm in browsing some potential recipes to use. To discover five easy raw dog food recipes for beginners, continue reading.
Why Raw Dog Food?
If you’re wondering what makes raw dog food so special, allow us to explain some key benefits:
- Species-appropriate
- Easier digestion
- Reduced allergies
- Improved dental health
- Firmer stools
- Nutritionally balanced
More dog owners are making the switch to raw diets based on the many advantages they offer. Compared to raw food, popular diets containing dry kibble are often ultra-processed and tasteless, with most of their key nutrients lost during the cooking process. There’s no doubt that if you’re looking to truly enhance your dog’s health, a raw diet is the only way to go!
The Basics of a Raw Diet
Before you consider raw dog food recipes to follow, let’s take a look at some of the key basics of a raw diet for dogs to help you get started:
- Raw diets often consist of 80% meat, 10% offal, and 10% bone
- Raw meat should be of high-quality
- Feed a variety of protein sources
- Only feed raw bones (never cooked)
- Consider supplements, such as bone broth
- Calculate how much raw food to feed
- A gradual transition to a raw diet is recommended
What Raw Ingredients to Include
Raw dog food recipes should typically contain three core ingredients - muscle meat, raw bone, and offal (organs).
- Meat - Poultry, such as chicken, turkey, duck, and goose; other meats, such as beef, pork, venison, and rabbit; and fish, such as salmon, cod, and mackerel
- Offal - Raw organs, such as animal hearts, liver, and tripe
- Bone - Raw meaty bones
In addition to the main ingredients making up most raw dog food recipes, fruit and vegetables safe for dogs may be added.
Safe and Toxic Food for Dogs
Dog owners preparing homemade raw dog food must understand the common foods that are safe or toxic for canine consumption:
| Safe | Toxic |
|---|---|
| Unprocessed meat | Processed meat |
| Raw bones | Cooked bones |
| Apples (seedless) | Grapes |
| Watermelon (seedless) | Raisins |
| Strawberries | Onions |
| Blueberries | Garlic |
| Carrots | Avocado |
| Peas | Xylitol (a sweetener found in foods) |
| Potato | Chocolate |
How Much Raw Food Should You Feed Your Dog?
How much raw food you should feed your dog depends on their age and weight. Generally, the guideline is to feed your dog roughly 2-3% of their ideal body weight per day.
Example
If you have a 1-year-old dog weighing 10kg, their daily feeding recommendation would be 200g of raw food per day. However, it’s important to understand that this can vary depending on whether they may need to gain or lose weight.
Use our handy raw dog food calculator for precise portion guidance.
5 Raw Dog Food Recipes
For the purpose of this blog, we have based our raw dog food recipes on the above example for a 1-year-old dog weighing 10kg.
If you’d like to try out some easy raw dog food recipes for beginners, follow our top 5 recipes.
1 - Chicken Neck Mix
Ingredients (Per Day)
- 160g chicken thighs with or without skin (boneless muscle meat)
- 20g chicken necks or wings (raw edible bone)
- 20g chicken liver (offal)
Instructions
- Rinse chicken thighs, necks/wings, and liver under cold water
- Pat dry with paper towels
- Chop the chicken and liver up for safe chewing, and add the neck/wing
- Mix in a bowl and split into two or three meals
- Store in the fridge
2 - Turkey Neck Mix
Ingredients (Per Day)
- 160g whole turkey mince (boneless muscle meat)
- 20g turkey neck pieces (raw edible bone)
- 20g turkey or chicken heart (offal)
Instructions
- Rinse turkey neck pieces and heart under cold water
- Pat dry with paper towels
- Chop the mince and heart up for safe chewing, and add the neck pieces
- Mix in a bowl and split into two or three meals
- Store in the fridge
3 - Beef Liver Mix
Ingredients (Per Day)
- 160g whole beef mince (lean muscle meat)
- 20g beef rib or soft bone (raw edible bone)
- 20g beef liver (offal)
Instructions
- Rinse the liver under cold water
- Pat dry with paper towels
- Chop the mince and liver up for safe chewing, and add the bone
- Mix in a bowl and split into two or three meals
- Store in the fridge
4 - Pork & Chicken Mix
Ingredients (Per Day)
- 120g pork shoulder (boneless muscle meat)
- 40g chicken thighs (boneless muscle meat)
- 20g chicken necks or wings (raw edible bone)
- 20g pork liver or kidney (offal)
Instructions
- Rinse the pork, chicken thighs, and necks/wings under cold water
- Pat dry with paper towels
- Chop the pork, chicken, and offal into bite-sized pieces for safe chewing
- Mix in a bowl and split into two or three meals
- Store in the fridge
5 - Fish Feast (Boneless)
Ingredients (Per Day)
- 180g raw white fish fillet (boneless muscle meat)
- 20g fish liver (for example, cod)
- Add a small amount of salmon skin or oily fish, such as frozen sprats
Instructions
- Rinse the fish fillet under cold water
- Pat dry with paper towels
- Chop the fillets and liver up for safe chewing, and add sprats on top
- Mix in a bowl and split into two or three meals
- Store in the fridge
Handling Raw Dog Food
Handling raw dog food safely is essential to prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen:
- Wash your hands before and after handling raw meat
- Use separate utensils and cutting boards
- Clean your surfaces with anti-bacterial spray or soapy water
- Store raw food in the fridge or freezer
Although raw meat is 100% safe for dogs to touch and consume, it’s important to handle and store raw meat for dogs with the same care as raw meat for our own consumption.
Is it Cheaper to Make Your Own Raw Dog Food?
Knowing whether or not making your own raw dog food is cheaper can be quite difficult, as it all depends on the quality of the ingredients you buy. However, while it's generally considered cheaper to make your own raw dog food, it can actually end up being costly in the long run.
Let us explain…
Buying ingredients in bulk may seem cost-savvy, but you may end up creating incomplete and unbalanced meals that lack the essential nutrients and protein your dog needs. In turn, this can have detrimental effects on your dog's health, resulting in potential deficiencies, poor weight management, muscle loss, and, of course, costly vet bills.
Simply put, making your own raw dog food may be cheaper initially, but unless you're experienced in canine nutrition, it's risky to do so without proper knowledge or guidance - otherwise, you may be compromising your dog's wellbeing.
Is Homemade Dog Food Healthy?
Making your own raw dog food can be somewhat healthy for your dog, as you have full control of the ingredients used. Having such control makes it easy to avoid nasty fillers, additives, and preservatives that may be harmful to your dog, and allows you to adjust meals based on your dog's preferences or food allergies.
However, as mentioned, we encourage you to remain cautious of how easy it can be to provide balanced nutrition with the right ingredients. While you may think the ingredients you purchase for homemade raw dog food recipes are healthy, they may not be. For instance, raw meat should ideally be of a certain quality, which many poor-quality or less fresh supermarket meats fail to meet.
Risks to Consider Before Making Your Own Raw Dog Food
Making raw meat recipes for dogs isn’t always so straightforward. While it’s simple to create meals for ourselves, doing it for our dogs is a lot different.
Poor Ingredients
Meat, offal, fruit, vegetables, and bone are key ingredients for your dog's homemade meals. Dogs thrive on high-quality, natural ingredients to support their health, but unfortunately, supermarket meat and ingredients often fall short of the standards for the best raw diet.
Nutritional Needs
As mentioned, a nutritionally balanced diet for most dogs contains an 80:10:10 ratio. Although this can vary, the aim is to provide a balanced diet that meets your dog’s specific nutritional requirements. If you don’t have much knowledge or expertise on canine nutrition, meeting your dog's nutritional needs through homemade raw meals may be tricky.
Quantity
The quantity of raw dog food will vary between dogs depending on their age, size, and activity level. If you don’t feed the right portion size, your dog might not be getting the calories they need. This can result in a range of issues, which often require a trip to the vets.
Buying Raw Dog Food vs Making Your Own
Generally, buying pre-made raw dog food is safer and more convenient, as these products are made by experts to be nutritionally balanced. If you need a little bit of help deciding whether to make your own raw dog food recipes or buy premade, we’ve broken down some key differences.
Pre-Made
- Formulated by experts
- Improved safety & hygiene
- Options available to suit preferences & intolerances
- Ready to serve with no preparation needed
Homemade
- Relies on the owner's knowledge
- Less hygienic
- Ingredients must be chosen to suit preferences & intolerances
- Requires a lot of preparation
In summary, pre-made raw dog food offers safety through expert formulation, but experimenting with a few homemade recipes may help you discover your dog's preferences and decide on which long-term route to go down - buying pre-made, or making your own.
How We Can Help…
If buying pre-made raw dog food seems more suitable for you and your pooch, you'll be glad to know that we can help. At Mersey Raw, we provide healthy and nutritious raw dog food minces across the UK in 500g and 1kg tubs.
From complete meals to boneless alternatives, our minces are packed with everything your dog needs, with no preparation needed. To make your life even easier, you'll be pleased to know that we offer a convenient subscription service based on your dog's personal information.
Contact us today if you have any questions.