What it is, and why your dog needs it
All the doggy diet data out there can be a lot to digest. So, we’re here to explain why Little Hunter believes “Raw is the Law” when it comes to feeding your pups.
What is raw dog food?
Great question! Raw dog food is uncooked, minimally-processed recipes made primarily from whole-prey animals (meat, organs, and finely-ground bone), fruits, and vegetables. That's it!
Here at Little Hunter, our meals are 90% animal and 10% fruits and vegetables, ensuring a balanced, nutritious meal.
Is raw safe for my pup?
Not only is raw dog food safe, but it's what dogs were meant to eat! We, as humans, need to cook most of our food for obvious safety reasons.
That's not the case for pups – their digestive systems are very different from ours. Let's take a quick look:
Saliva
Bring on the dog kisses!
- Humans – Special enzymes help break down/digest food.
- Pups – No digestive enzymes to break down food; instead, saliva has potent bacteria-killing enzymes.
Belly
Ever wonder why you have to eat multiple meals a day, and your pooch is fine with one or two? It all has to do with the stomach!
- Humans – Food doesn’t hang out in our stomachs. Depending on the meal, it only takes about an hour for food to move through.
- Pups – Unlike human stomachs, dog stomachs are much more acidic ad made to break down things like animal bones and organs. Food stays in the stomach for much longer (making a pup feel full for longer), allowing ample time for that breakdown to occur.
Fun fact: The stomach of a pup has 10x more hydrochloric acid than a human stomach. During digestion, a dog's stomach is at its most acidic and can reach levels equivalent to car battery acid!
Intestines
Here’s where we start talkin’ nutrients!
- Humans – The intestinal tract is long; much longer than a dog’s! That gives the body plenty of time to absorb nutrients, especially from complex food like grain-based meals.
- Pups – The digestive tract is much smaller, which is both good and bad. The good? Bacteria have less time to multiply and pose problems. The bad? There is much less time to absorb nutrients. That’s why it’s best to feed a dog what its stomach was built for – meat, bones, and organs.
So, is raw safe for dogs? It’s not only safe; it’s what their digestive system is made for, what they were born to eat!
Not raw? Then it’s not for your pup!
As we can see, humans need a lot of help when it comes to digesting a meal. Our saliva, stomachs, and intestines working together are just part of it – we need a way to make most food safe for human consumption. That’s where cooking comes in.
We settle for destroying some of our food’s nutrients in the cooking process in exchange for killing off harmful pathogens and bacteria.
But pups? They don’t need that tradeoff. They can survive eating a slew of things, like raw animal organs and bones, as that's what their hearty tummies and digestive systems are designed for.
Additionally, dog food that is gently cooked, “air dried” at 160 degrees, baked, or highly cooked alters and destroys some beneficial enzymes, vitamins, and minerals, just like what happens when humans cook their food.
Fillers like wheat and soy are then typically added to these cooked foods to help boost that lost nutritional value. However, many dogs are allergic to filler products, leaving your pup itchy and with an upset stomach.
Fresh, uncooked dog food that comes frozen and needs to be thawed, often contains very little meat. In fact, many companies use less than 10%. What makes up the majority of their recipes? Water – sometimes it accounts for nearly 80% of the recipe!
Not only that but frozen fresh food presents a serious safety risk for the hooman members of the family. Thawed food must be consumed in a relatively short amount of time before it spoils and creates a pathogen issue in your kitchen or even your fridge, next to groceries.
Homemade raw dog food presents even more challenges, as kitchen surfaces become contaminated with disease-carrying bacteria. Extra caution should be taken for those with young children in the home.
Little Hunter isn't only raw – it's freeze-dried raw.
That means that the water or moisture content is removed. It arrives shelf-ready, no refrigeration required, with no risk of spoiling before your pup gets around to chowing down.
Other benefits
Pawrents who have switched from kibble to Little Hunter raw have seen allergy improvement, shinier coats, improved digestion, boosted energy, stronger immune systems, healthy weight, and more in their pups! Read trans-fur-mation stories straight from pack members to learn more.
Other than a healthy, happy pup, what else can you look forward to? Meals that are mess-free and convenient – no thawing hassle here.
Give raw a try!
Dogs were born to eat a whole-animal, uncooked diet with preserved vital nutrients and enzymes – not food with allergens, fillers, and junk!
Give our scrumptious raw recipes a try to give your pup everything they need to thrive as the little hunter they are.
Learn more about the Freeze Drying process here.
Read all of our blog posts here!
