Curious about raw dog food? Have you considered tailor-made?
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Finding a diet that works for you and your dog
It’s not surprising you’re curious, there’s a lot of talk about raw dog food. Perhaps it’s part of the wider food revolution, wrapped up in the paleo and clean eating movements – or maybe it’s just a sign that you could be looking for alternatives to traditional, off-the-shelf dog food.
Here we’ll talk about some of the benefits associated with raw dog food and explain how a tailor-made kibble blend could be that alternative, providing all the benefits of a better diet for your dog, without the safety concerns or extreme investment of time and effort that goes with a raw dog food diet.
What is a raw diet for dogs?
Raw dog food diets mean uncooked fresh or frozen meat, bones, and offal – plus vegetables and other ingredients. Sometimes you’ll see it referred to as a BARF diet, which stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food – and not the general reaction to offal. You can either make it yourself, or buy it ready-made from a commercial raw dog food supplier.
What are the benefits of raw dog food?
The thinking goes that raw diets can address health problems that come from a poorly balanced diet of traditional dog food. Owners who feed their dogs raw food say it contributes to a glossy coat, healthier teeth, better body condition, and improved energy levels. These are things we all want for our dogs – but they’re not exclusive to a diet of raw food.
What are the drawbacks of raw dog food?
There are several drawbacks to raw dog food. These range from the difficulty of getting the right balance of nutrients, to the practicalities of storage, preparation, and the effort it takes to do it properly.
It can be incredibly tricky to develop a homemade raw food diet that has the right balance of nutrients for each stage of your dog’s life. Any deficiencies can have a big impact on health and happiness. Buying food from a raw dog food company doesn’t necessarily improve things. If you do decide to feed raw, pick a responsible, regulated company: and make sure it’s a member of the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association.
Then there are the practical difficulties. Whether you make it yourself or buy raw dog food ready-made, you need the space to store it in the fridge or the freezer. There can also be a lot of mess involved. And a big risk of raw food contamination and food poisoning. That's because raw meat often carries harmful bacteria, normally destroyed when we cook our food. There is a risk of contamination from handling raw dog food but also from your dog's mouth, coat and poo after they've been fed raw food too. Raw diets are also a time-consuming way to feed your dog. In a busy life, your dog’s raw food diet is one more thing to add to the list.
Individually blended dry food: a different answer to the same needs
We don’t serve raw dog food at tails.com. We understand that you want the best for your dog – and our individually-made dry food blends are designed to meet your dog’s nutritional needs, right down to the last vitamin.
How do we do it? We’ll ask you a few simple questions about your dog – including their age, breed, weight and activity level. Then we’ll tailor a recipe to meet their exact nutritional needs. Delivering it to your door every month, in just the right amounts. Could it be easier? We don’t think so.
Every blend we serve is nutritionally complete. And it changes gradually over time to meet your dog’s needs at every stage of life. Our customers really notice the difference in their dogs, from clearing up itchy skin and addressing the complexities of sensitive stomachs, to transforming shaggy fur into a flowing, glossy coat.
Excellent customer reviews
"Wow! Where do I start. Harvey was sick for the first year of his life. Constant visits to the vets. I changed brands and type of food, from canned to kibble and all those in between, which he wasn't fussed on...All of which either made him sick or caused ear infections or both. Then I tried raw meat diet. Harvey loved it for the first two weeks. I saw an advert about tails. I applied for the trial. Harvey loves it, and three bags later he continues to clear his bowl. He's even woken me up in the early hours for a bowl of his tails. And we've had no recurrence of the ear infections. The service is excellent, the food is excellent. I cannot fault tails. If you are sceptical please try tails.You won't be disappointed."
Mixing things up
Once you’ve decided that a tailor-made blend is something you’d like to try, you can still mix things up. As long as you’re not frequently making sudden changes to your dog’s diet, you might find that adding a little raw food every now and again, like a salmon fillet or vegetables, can be a tasty and satisfying way to add variety to your dog’s diet. A healthy balanced diet for a very happy dog.
