Raw Dog Food Super Simplified
I’ve been a bit short on time lately – which is more than just an understatement. Between work, Pickle, the other puppies, and the ten gazillion emails currently sitting in my inbox, the last thing I have time for is a three day raw food making spree.
At times like this, I’m grateful that there are raw food short cuts available.
Several companies offer ‘base mixes’ that allow you to make your own, home made raw pet food, without all the grinding, blitzing, food processing and mixing. Just pick your own protein of choice, add a few ingredients (or, in some cases, none at all), mix with the raw food base, and package. That’s it. You can make a week’s worth of raw in an hour or even less.
Here are some of the shortcuts we’ve tried and like.
Essex Cottage Farms Urban Wolf
Urban Wolf from Essex Cottage farms is our go to mix when I’m short on time and need some home made dog food fast.
It comes packed in a recyclable paper bag, and looks more or less like flour. To make a batch of Urban Wolf, you:
Combine 6 Cups URBAN WOLF mix with 6lb. Raw Lean Meat, 3 Eggs, 15 Cups Water, 2 Cups Oil, and 2 cans jack mackerel
We use a higher calorie meat like lamb for puppies, and turkey (boneless, skinless thighs, bought in bulk) for the adults.
This recipe gives us about 30 cups of food.
Their bag supplies directions for smaller portions, more suited to owners of one or two dogs.
Sojos Grain Free Mix (Formerly Sojos Europa)
Sojos is another great, grain free raw dog food base. We’ve used it in the past, and the dogs really enjoyed it.
Meat is added to mix on a one to one basis, with water at a 2:1 basis.
Full instructions are on their website. Sojos makes approximately the same volume as Urban Wolf does.
Preference is a grain free raw dog food base, and, as with the two other brands, you can add your choice of protein, based on your dog’s individual needs.
Just add meat and water, and you’ve got a balanced, home made raw dog food.
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There are some other brands of raw dog food base mix on the market – Dr. Harvey’s, and Eagle Pack, among others – but I’ve only reviewed the brands we’ve tried personally.
If you have one that you’ve tried and reviewed, please let us know in the comments. Next week, I’m planning a post on pre made, fresh frozen raw dog food.
That sounds perfect as a time saver on one of those hectic weeks! I want those in Brazil 🙁
My favorite commercial raw is Primal nuggets. All raw fresh frozen in 1 ounce pieces. Easy to thaw and the perfect size for frenchies. Their patties are cheaper but are larger so I had to cut them up for my girls. Even my picky akita snarfs them up. I use these when I can (pricey) if I don’t have my own raw in the freezer when I can afford it. (sadly I lost ALOT of deer meat to a freezer malfunction earlier this year)
http://www.primalpetfoods.com
.-= Marie´s last blog ..I miss you Mimi La Rue! =-.
Thank you for these ideas!
Like you, I normally make my dogs’ raw food “from scratch” but sometimes life does intervene. I have used the Honest Kitchen Preference, as well as some of the more complete HK formulas and like them. I also like the Know Better products, (http://www.knowbetterpetfood.com/home) specifically “Better in the Raw” mix. I usually use the formula with liver so all I have to add is meat and water.
I use this a lot when we are traveling to shows with the dogs – partly because the powder takes up so little space and partly because they really like the mix, and even the dogs who don’t eat well while traveling will eat it readily when they might turn up their nose at their normal food.
.-= Barb´s last blog ..Mirror image Monday =-.
What the hell do you do with the world’s most finicky dog? I want him to have a nutritionally adequate diet, but I can give him prepared food, he’ll eat it for a day or two, then he’ll turn his nose up at it. I’ll mix up some raw food using ground meat and supplements, and sometimes he’ll eat it and sometimes he won’t, and it may be the exact same thing. I think what he’d like best is just plain ground beef, but I know that isn’t nutritionally balanced. Do I have a standoff with him? He’s not too skinny to go a day or two without food.
(This is Logan, of course. Bacon will eat anything that can’t outrun him.)
Try some Aunt Jeni’s beef dog food. It might also help to try their beef cat formula (the only difference between the cat and the dog is the meat/veg ratio is higher in cat than dog).
It’s VERY close to ground beef, and the Pets4Life beef was the first thing I could get Pickle to eat willingly.
I’ve also heard that doing what we did with Pickle works on adults – put him on a strict “15 minutes to eat” program. Crate him, give him his food, give him 15 minutes to eat it, then take it away. If he doesn’t finish it, give it to him next meal.
Tough love, I suppose. Have you tried something like this with him already?