My life is dedicated to helping dogs while remaining compassionate to the wide variety of dog owners.
What I’ve learned about feeding my dog homemade raw food
I’ve been feeding my dog Ace homemade raw dog food for about a month, and I plan to continue.
I want to share some thoughts on the experience for anyone interested in switching her dog to raw.
I am not a vet or a nutritionist. This is just some advice from one dog lover to another.
My thoughts on homemade raw feeding
Just get started.
Dog owners are hesitant to switch to raw feeding because they worry they’ll do it wrong. I was the same way.
Research is a good thing. But don’t use “more research” as an excuse to wait months or years to make the switch. Just start a week or two from now. If raw food isn’t right for your dog, you can always switch back to feeding dry food.
Use commercial raw food to get started.
Commercial raw dog food is expensive ($3.50 per pound or more), but it’s a convenient way to become comfortable with raw feeding. The bones are typically ground so you don’t have to worry about your dog choking. The food should also meet the nutritional standards of the Association of American Feed Control Officials.
Try feeding commercial raw food for a week or two before you make your own raw dog food recipes.
Avoid feeding foods that make you nervous.
If you’re nervous about potential bacteria, then lightly cook the meat for now (but don’t feed your dog cooked bones). If you’re worried your dog will choke on raw bones, then don’t feed any bones for now.
Start by feeding what you’re comfortable with, and transition to a wider variety over time.
I’m a worrier myself. But, my dog has never gotten sick from raw meat, and he’s never choked on a raw bones.
Add new foods slowly.
I started Ace on raw chicken, and this week I added raw beef. He’s never had digestive issues with raw food, but I still wanted to give his system time to adjust before adding new protein sources. You know your dog best, but when in doubt wait a few weeks before adding new types of meat.
Shop as you go.
Raw feeders like to stock up on meat when it’s on sale. That’s great once you know what your dog likes. You can also save money on raw dog food that way.
I realized, though, that I don’t like to buy huge quantities of food. When I shop for myself, I buy about a week’s worth. When I’m out of food, I head back to the store. That’s how I’ve been shopping for my dog, too. When I’m at the store, I buy about a week’s worth for him. It’s less overwhelming.
Whole chickens are way too much work to portion.
Some raw feeders choose to buy whole chickens and either feed them whole or cut them. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not for me.
I will never buy and cut up a whole chicken again. I don’t have the proper boning knives, and I’d rather not spend the time. It’s easier to buy packages of chicken quarters. These are the perfect portions for my 70-pound dog.
Don’t freak out about an upset stomach.
Some dogs will get loose poop from switching to homemade raw dog food. This is normal, and it’s usually because of the higher protein or fat content compared to dry dog food. Usually, a little extra bone in the food will fix this problem. Canned pumpkin also works wonders (sugar free).
Some dogs will throw up a yellow stomach acid in anticipation of a meal. That’s just a sign that your dog’s stomach is preparing to digest the meat. No big deal.
Also, you might see your dog throw up his meat right after he eats or while he’s eating. This is most likely because he swallowed large chunks, and his digestive system recognizes they will be difficult to digest. So, the dog throws up, re-crunches the food a bit and re-swallows. Nice, right?
Of course, if you are worried about your dog, you should take him to the vet.
Don’t worry about “balance.”
I know my dog requires about 1.3 pounds of food per day to maintain his weight, but I don’t measure his food. Instead, I observe his behavior and weight. Does he seem hungry? Does he look thin? I adjust accordingly. Every meal does not have to be the same size.
As far as nutrition, my goal is variety and balance over time. Everyone has their own opinion on what a dog needs, and every dog is different.
Ace eats about 70 percent raw meat with bones (mostly chicken), 20 percent fruits and veggies and 10 percent organ meat. He also gets a glucosamine tablet every day, fish oil and either an egg, plain yogurt or cottage cheese. Sometimes he gets a calcium tablet or probiotics. With time, I plan to introduce a wider variety of protein sources.
Ace eats dry dog food at least twice a week. I want him to remain used to it for convenience and traveling. I also plan to feed commercial raw food once or twice per week.
Is this ideal? I’m doing my best. For more info, see my post on how to make raw dog food.
Approach your dog’s vet the correct way.
There is no “right” way to talk to your dog’s vet, of course. Every vet is different.
When I asked Ace’s vet about her thoughts on a raw food diet for dogs, she was quick to speak against it. Dogs can choke on bones or get sick from raw meat, she said.
But when I told her I am feeding my dog raw food, she was willing to work with me.
I recommend you approach your dog’s vet by saying, “I am feeding my dog a raw diet. Could I show you his feeding plan and get your ideas?” If the vet is unwilling to work with you, then find a different vet.
It’s challenging for vets to deal with a wide variety of dogs owners. They know most people won’t take the time to feed a proper raw diet. Still, I have to mock them for recommending corn-based foods like Science Diet.
No one should feel bad about the type of dog food they buy. My dog ate Purina One for years. But vets should at least tell people about healthier, meat-based dog food brands.
Does anyone really benefit from a diet of mostly corn? Maybe grasshoppers? 
What have you learned about feeding your dog raw food?
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
This/you are inspiring! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for reading!
Cutting up whole chickens didn’t work for me either. Way too much trouble. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve been wanting to feed my dogs a raw diet for a long time, but I’m always worried that something is going to go terribly, terribly awry. I feed a high-quality kibble right now, but still want to switch.
My problem is that I have a “gulper” – one of the dogs that gulps her food and bones because she’s afraid of them being taken away – she’s swallowed whole chunks of rawhide (that I’ve had to pull out of her throat because she couldn’t swallow them)and I worry about her swallowing a bone and it becoming lodged. She “came with” this habit as a rescue and is a heavy chewer.
Is there any way to get over this fear? If I fed her raw chicken (say, thighs or wings), do you think I’d have the same problem?
I’d stay away from bones for now if you were going to switch. My dog wolfs down chicken wings way too fast so I don’t feed them to him anymore because it’s just too stressful. If you wanted to keep feeding bones you could get the butcher you buy them from to ground everything down or, like we do, buy mince/offal or a boneless cut of meat and mix it with some potatoes or rice.
My vet reckons that whatever we cook for ourselves we should cook for the dog, so he suggested we cook a little extra of the things he can eat when we cook for ourselves. This does mean that sometimes our VERY lucky dog will have roast chicken (obv no bones!) and potatoes or his own meatballs etc which makes me think he’s pretty darn spoilt haha.
How big is your dog, Mel? Chicken quarters seem to be the right size for Lab-sized dogs because they are generally too big for the dog to swallow. They have to chomp it up a little first.
When I first started Ace (he’s about 70 pounds) on raw chicken with bones, I would hold the meat while he ate it. I started with chicken thighs, which are generally too small for Labs because of choking hazards but I didn’t realize this at the time. I only let him have the meat if he chomped it a bit. If he tried to pull it away or swallow it, I didn’t let him have it. This worked well for him, and it only took about three days for him to learn to “chew” the bones first. But I could see how it might make some “gulpers” want to swallow the food even quicker if they think you might take it away.
You could try feeding larger portions of meat, like whole or half chickens so the dog has to break it up.
Or, as Pipa has suggested, just go with ground meat that includes the bones. This is hard to find and expensive if you do find it. Most of the commercial raw foods contain ground bones. I’ve also had a few people tell me they just cut the chicken and raw bones up into smaller pieces (like 2 inch by 2 inch pieces) so the dog can swallow them without choking.
Really, what it comes down to is knowing your dog and what she can handle. And supervising, of course. Best of luck to you if you decide to try raw.
We also didn’t want to deal with dividing up a whole chicken. However, we did find a butcher who grinds up whole chickens (including bones and organs) and sells this by the box (about 20 lbs per box).
Oh, as for price, we find it much cheaper than a high quality kibble we used to feed.
I have four big dogs and just started last week on a raw food diet. Following recommendations, I’ve only been feeding chicken (bonein). Three of the dogs took to it immediately, but one 9 yr old German Shorthaired Pointer mix is not that interested. I’ve tried searing the chicken lightly to bring out the meat flavor. I’ve tried hammering the bones to make it easier for him. He eats a little, then refuses it. This morning, I gave up and gave him kibble with wetfood on it, and he ate that right up…should I keep trying? I’m thinking of cooking his portions of chicken (without the bones) and seeing if that will work. Any other suggestions?
I’ve taken care of plenty of picky eaters, and what I do is keep offering them the food at two times per day (when everyone else eats). I give the dog a few minutes to eat, and if he doesn’t, I take the food away. I offer it again at the next meal time and again at the next. Some dogs will wait two or three days before eating, but then they eat once they are hungry.
That’s what I would do in your case, as dogs will not starve themselves.
I decided to change my dogs from comercial dog food to RAW to try and get better health test results. We hip and elbow score all our dogs before we breed from them. I realy noticed a big difference, I found my dogs got better results, apparently this is because they grow more slowly allowing bone and joins to delvelope slowly.
My 6 month old Siberian Husky has been on a raw diet since he was 4 weeks old, that’s right he could eat it that young! As he become 8-10 weeks I added in bones. I mostly feed him chicken quarters as they give the perfect meat-to-bone ratio needed in a meal along with organ meat. As a puppy he gets 9-11oz in the morning and another at night, therefore it’ll end up being 1.2 pounds to 1.5 pounds a day which is the most you should feed a dog. I also include ground turkey/beef, pork neck bones, turkey backs, an egg, whole fish, beef/pork tongue, etc.
I will NEVER feed my dog commercial dog food, EVER. Plain and simple