How to introduce your dog to raw food

There are so many benefits to feeding your dog a fresh, raw diet. There are ample health benefits for them; for example they may experience an improvement with their skin and coat, as well as improved immunity and digestion, but there are also a few for us pet parents too (improved stools being the most commented on).  If you’ve made the decision to introduce your dog to a fresh, raw diet but don’t know where to start, we have over 20 years of experience so let us help you with this guide.

Which raw dog food is the best to start with?

The ultimate recipe for success is our Big Dog Combo + Soothe and Support Probiotic.

Our Combo recipe is our most popular flavour, it’s highly palatable and has a broad range of nutrients. Our Combo recipe is also available in a small dogs variety which is a smaller patty size and is minced finer than our original Combo.

If your dog has food sensitivities or the Combo doesn’t seem like the best choice for your dog, you can check out this guide to our recipes here.

Our Soothe and Support Probiotic is the perfect supplement for a smooth transition to a new diet. Our Soothe and Support supplement contains a diverse range of probiotic strains as well as prebiotics, digestive enzymes and other natural ingredients to promote healthy digestion. This works beautifully with the raw, healthy ingredients in our Combo recipe which is also rich in prebiotics to feed our Soothe and Support probiotic strains to build a strong and diverse microbiome. It’s like these two were made for each other!

How quickly should I switch my dog’s diet?

If you're trying raw food with your pet for the first time...

We recommend a 2 week transition using the below table as a guide.

We always recommend a slow introduction to any new food over 2 weeks. This helps minimise stomach upsets which may occur if a change in diet is sudden. A slow introduction can also help with dogs that are nervous or fussy. If a dog is anxious with change, new environments, new people, then it makes sense that easing them into a lifestyle change slowly may benefit them.  

The same goes for a fussy dog; imagine going from eating processed fast foods all your life then being presented a meal with a fresh, uncooked meal.  It might take some time to adjust to such a radical change.

Aside from the mental and emotional challenges that can come with a diet overhaul, the physical impact on their digestive system will be positive in the long run but, at first, a drastic change may give them an upset tummy.  

‍

How do I add probiotics to my dog’s diet?

It’s easy as. You just sprinkle the suggested amount onto your dog’s food. You really can’t go wrong with probiotics and can’t overdose your dog.  

Daily dosage suggestion for Soothe and Support: 

If your dog has a sensitive tummy, we recommend starting them on the probiotic supplement a week before you introduce them to their new fresh, raw dog food.

Once your dog has transitioned successfully to our raw food, continue with the Soothe and Support probiotic until you’ve finished the bottle and then you can choose to either feed raw food only or switch to our original probiotic supplement, which has the same therapeutic strains as Soothe and Support, just without the extra supportive ingredients. If Soothe and Support works for you and your dog, you can also include this in their diet long-term. Tip: dogs with leaky gut will benefit from long-term use of this supplement.

Happy dog, happy life!  

Introducing a new food to your dog is simple, just keep an eye on them while they are eating their meals, don’t leave raw food out for too long (treat it like raw meat you buy for yourself from the butcher) and monitor their stools during the transitioning period. Nobody knows your dog better than you do, so if you think they want to slow down or speed up the transition period, then give it a go, you can adjust the speed to suit your dog’s needs (and desires.. most dogs are thrilled with their raw food diet and transition without an issue).

Enjoy this new healthy life together and always remember to feed them as family.

To find Big Dog stockists near you, visit our Where to Buy page.

If you’re new to raw feeding and would like to learn more, visit us here.