Raw Feeding: Can It Benefit Greyhounds?

Can you raw feed greyhounds?  Yes.  
Is it good for them?  Yes, very.  
Isn’t it complicated?  No.  
Is it a faff?  It can be initially, but once you get the hang of it it’s very straight forward!

Over  here at The Zoomie Zone, we’re big on raw feeding, but we will  disclaimer this post by saying we’re not the kind of raw-feeders that  will try to convert you, or judge you for feeding kibble…at the end of  the day, our recommendation is to feed your hound the best food you can  afford within your budget, and in whatever manner suits your lifestyle  best.

Raw feeding isn’t for  everyone, you need to have enough freezer space, you need to be  organised in having things out to defrost, you have to be more thorough  with your cleaning and it can make travelling with your hound a bit  harder to manage…but if you are in a position to, we would 100% say that  raw feeding has many benefits and if able to, definitely consider going  full raw, or simply consider incorporating some raw into your hounds  normal diet.

Any dog, greyhound or otherwise, can benefit from raw feeding.  Such benefits include:

-  Improved Digestion: Raw diets are often more easily digestible than  commercial kibble, leading to small, firm poops and NO FARTING!  Natural  diets can also help rectify or prevent common gastrointestinal issues.   We’ve seen hounds suffering from chronic colitis, that was not  improving on medication, be immediately cured after being moved onto  raw!  

- Better Dental Health:  The complete lack of synthetic or filler ingredients such as cereals  (sugars and starches) mean there is little opportunity for plaque to  build up, raw food also doesn’t stick to their teeth like kibble does.   Additionally, chewing raw meaty bones can help clean teeth naturally,  reducing plaque, tartar buildup and preventing dental disease.

-  Healthier Skin and Coat:  This one is a stretch, because plenty dogs on  kibble have glorious coats, but a great many more have terrible  dandruff.  The high-quality protein, that is readily available and  digestible, in raw diets, ensures a healthy skin and coat.

-  Increased Energy and Vitality: In feeding raw, you are more in control  of what you are providing your hound, in control of the building blocks  needed to maintain a healthy hound, you are providing high-quality  proteins without the fillers leading to more sustainable energy levels  and fully utilised and absorbed nutrients that helps reduce the risk of  age-related conditions.  Many raw fed hounds also have improved immune  systems and are rarely unwell with conditions commonly related to poorer  quality diets.

- Weight  management: As with any food, if given too much they will gain weight,  but if fed raw correctly, through the absence of filler ingredients like  cereals, a hound’s ideal body weight can be more easily maintained.  It  reduces the risk of obesity, and the high-quality protein supports  muscle maintenance and overall fitness.  

-  Allergy Relief: Dogs with food sensitivities or allergies can find  relief in raw diets, as it eliminates all common allergens found in  commercial dog food!  Raw also gives a much easier opportunity to  provide an elimination diet, if trying to narrow down sensitivities, by  giving the option of many novel proteins like ostrich.

…but, these benefits can only be achieved if you raw feed correctly!

The  concept behind a raw diet is to replicate what dogs would eat in the  wild and mimic what their ancestors ate before the advent of commercial  dog food.  This consists of uncooked meat, bones, organs, and sometimes  vegetables and fruits.

There are several approaches, each with its own philosophy and methodology:

-  The most common approach is the Biologically Appropriate Raw Food  (BARF) diet.  This diet includes raw meat, bones, offal (organs), and a  small proportion of fruits, vegetables, greens and seeds.  Due to the  rise in popularity of raw feeding, the availability of BARF diet options  has increased massively. Whereas previously this would have had to be  achieved at home as a modified homemade diet, you can now choose from a  variety of pre-made raw diets.  Most commonly available in the 80-10-10  (muscle meat, organ meat and bone) which can then be supplemented with  fresh fruit and veg.  Although you can get some which already have these  included!

- The Prey Model Raw  (PMR) strives to mimic the whole prey animals that a dog’s wild  ancestors would eat by providing including all internal organs, blood,  and glands with the fur and feathers still attached.  There are two ways  that the PMR diet can be presented:
By providing  actual whole animals such as rabbits, chickens, quail and duck.  The  concept being that the whole animal is consumed with near to no waste.   This method is definitely not for everyone!
The  alternative format is what is referred to as ‘franken prey’ and that is  where a variety of animal parts (often different animal species) are  used in combination as the ingredients to accomplish the PMR diet ratio  guidelines: 75-80% muscle meat, 10% raw edible bone, 5% liver, 5% other  secreting organs, and 0-5% animal-based fibre (e.g. fur/feathers).

The  PMR model is a less common approach, mainly because it offends most  people’s sensibilities.  While we all know that dogs are carnivores,  many people do not quite appreciate being reminded of that, while their  hound crunches through a dead quail in their kitchen!  

It can, in some areas, be more challenging to achieve due to the difficulty in sourcing whole prey animals or parts.

The  80-10-10 is by far the most common, and universally available diet, but  while popular, it is not a complete diet on its own.  While it provides  a good foundation in which to build your hounds diet, it does need  supplementation to ensure the diet is nutritionally complete for their  long-term health.

First of all, you need to understand what an 80-10-10 is:

- Muscle Meat (80%)
Different  cuts of meat, and different protein sources, provide varying nutrient  profiles.  So, variety is key!  Make sure to regularly provide different  protein sources, either within each meal, separate meals, or even on a  weekly basis.  For instance, one week give chicken, the next give lamb.   
We like to give multiple protein sources within  each meal and change it regularly.  As a personal preference, we avoid  regular farmed proteins like beef, chicken and lamb and instead choose  to feed game-based proteins such as venison, quail, partridge, rabbit,  and other such things.  
The meat is considered  higher quality and nutritional, and in some instances is cheaper than  farmed meat…but again, personal preference!  If you’d rather stick to  typical farmed meat, we’d still suggest incorporating some game in to  vary things from time to time!

- Organ Meat (10%)
This  is essential.  Raw feeding is not a case of buying some chicken breasts  or steak from the supermarket and giving it to your hound.  A huge  amount of nutrients would be missing from their diet.  Organ meats  (offal) are nutrient-dense and should comprise 5% liver and 5% other  organs like kidney, spleen, and heart.  

- Bone (10%)
Raw,  edible bones are a crucial part of the diet for calcium and phosphorus.   In 80-10-10s, all the ingredients are ground down, making the bone  into small, swallowable pieces.  It is still worth checking your hound’s  food when you’re preparing it, for any pieces that have made it through  processing a bit too big.  We often choose to pull these out of the  bowls as our hounds are not the brightest and don’t chew their food!

While  this all sounds brilliant in theory, there are often certain nutrients  that are missed in the base 80-10-10, especially if you aren’t regularly  changing proteins to provide variety.

Beyond  providing fruit and vegetables, providing a source of fish or fish oil  in each feed as well as a source of vitamin E to help the absorption of  the omega 3s from the fish is crucial.  Eggs, a complete protein source  in their own right, and an absolute nutritional powerhouse, are also an  incredible thing to add to your hounds diet 2-3 times a week.  

(Did  you know that the most nutritional way to provide egg to your hound is  very softly boiled?  Though raw feeding is good too!)

Seaweed,  and other botanicals, are also brilliant for providing trace minerals  and iodine, that improve coat and skin health, as well as supporting the  immune, circulatory, digestive, urinary, and nervous systems (to say  the least)!  Not to mention the benefit for their joint health, and that  many botanicals have anti-inflammatory properties that assist with  illness and injury!

Should you want to, you can also include pro-biotics like yoghurt and kefir to boost their digestion and immune system!

Raw  feeding, despite its surge in popularity over the years, is still a  subject of debate.  There are many people who think that the risks  outweigh the benefits.  Such risks, while often exaggerated or based on  debunked myths, are based on some truth such as:

-  Nutritional Imbalance:  As we’ve discussed above, you want to take care  to ensure you are providing a complete diet as deficiencies or excesses  can lead to health problems.  Thankfully, there is an extensive amount  of availability in raw diets these days, and an even more extensive  amount of information available to ensure you provide the best for your  hound!

- Bacterial Contamination:  This is a big one that people like to go on and on about.  Raw meat  carries harmful bacteria like Salmonella.  Yes, it does.  But do you eat  meat?  Do you have raw meat in your fridge that you intend to cook and  eat for dinner?  You are of no greater risk of getting salmonella from  feeding your dog raw as you are from feeding yourself.  Just wash your  darn hands!
Dogs are natural hosts of Salmonella,  regardless of whether they are kibble or raw fed.  Salmonella is of no  risk to a healthy dog, it is only the risk to humans handling the food  that is the concern and if you are following sensible food preparation  guidance when handling your hounds raw food, this should not be an  issue.

Also, you’re more likely to get salmonella from kibble anyway!

-  Choking Hazards: Yes, this is a genuine concern.  When feeding bone,  you do need to be careful to both supervise but also choose appropriate  bones for the size of your dog (and their intelligence!)  If you have a  hound that will try to deep throat a chicken wing, or gouge a chunk out  of an ostrich bone and try to swallow it whole…perhaps you should only  allow them to eat the ground bone in their raw food than provide bones  as a chew!  Avoiding choking hazards is all about being sensible.

-  It’s Inconvenient: True, it can be.  For instance, if you’re doing  franken prey model feeding, sourcing and preparing diets can be time  consuming, and remembering to get your dogs food out of the freezer in a  rotation to ensure something is always defrosted can be a bit of a pain  in the ass when you first start out.  But it very quickly becomes  second nature.  
A big problem people face, that  prevents them from raw feeding, is if they regularly go away on  adventures or holidays with their hounds.  There isn’t always going to  be  the availability of a freezer where you’re going, and not all  boarding kennels allow raw fed dogs.  
Thankfully,  there is a rise in the availability of freeze-dried raw options, that  can be used as substitute in situations like these!

-  It’s Expensive:  This is bollocks.  Sure, it isn’t as convenient as  kibble, but we promise you it is not more expensive than even a middle  of the range quality kibble diet.
For instance, a  15kg bag of James Well Beloved which is an above average and  well-regarded kibble brand will set you back upward of £65. A 15kg bag  should last about 4 weeks for an average sized hound.  In comparison,  one of our hounds, who is fully raw fed on Totally Natural and Durham  Animal Feeds, costs £54 a month.

Yes,  there are countless raw brands that you need to take out a mortgage to  feed your dog on, but you don’t need to be going top of the range to  receive the benefits of feeding raw.  Many of the less expensive brands  yield the same result for a fraction of the price…which you can’t say  the same for kibble, where the quality and nutrition varies wildly  depending on the price.

You can  feed raw without breaking the bank.  If you choose to go for a higher  quality food, it’s brilliant that you are so financially secure…but we  can’t all do that and thankfully that doesn’t matter when it comes to  raw feeding.

- It Grosses People  Out: We can’t argue with this one, raw feeding is not for everyone,  especially people who have omitted meat from their own diets.  Although,  we are vegetarian and we raw feed although even we would be hesitant to  take the whole prey approach!

It  is essential to weigh the pros and cons carefully if you are  considering moving your hound onto a raw diet, or even just introducing  an element of raw into their existing kibble diet!  Any amount of fresh  food added to your hound’s diet will have an impact on their health.  If  you’re not sure how best to incorporate raw or fresh food into your  hound’s diet, consult a qualified canine nutritionist to help you!   Don’t bother asking your vet, they are not deeply trained in nutrition,  and they’ll just boohoo it on principle!

For  some owners, the convenience and simplicity of commercial dog food may  be a better fit, and there are many high-quality options available that  can provide balanced nutrition for greyhounds.

While  we will always (quietly) promote raw feeding, we don’t expect everyone  to do it.  It just isn’t practical for many people to do it, and yes, we  will admit that most dogs do live full and fairly healthy lives on  kibble.  Raw feeding isn’t for everyone and when you consider things  like lifestyle, budget, and personal preference, it may just not be  appropriate.