Variety and Balance in the Raw Diet

You don't eat the same thing every day for months and months, nor should your dog.

While dogs and people have different nutritional requirements, we can both benefit from a diet that includes nutrients from a variety of sources. We know that eating a wide variety of fresh, unprocessed food is good for us, and the same is true for our dogs. Ideally, dogs and people alike should try to get their vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and amino acids from a range of fresh vegetables, fruit, proteins, and healthy fats.

I love blueberries and broccoli for dogs. They're rich in phytonutrients and are well known for their anti-cancer properties, but that doesn't mean we should feed them to the exclusion of other vegetables and fruit. Too much broccoli and blueberries, as healthy as they are, could cause upset tummies, an oversupply of certain nutrients, or cause your dog to miss out on the health benefits of other antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruit.

Use 'Eat the Rainbow' as your guide when selecting veggies and fruit for your dog. 

I generally prefer families to add their own vegetables and fruit to their dog's raw diet, instead of repeatedly feeding the same 3 or 4 vegetables which is often the case in commercial raw dog food.

The Trouble With Feeding Mostly Chicken

I have seen a tendency among raw feeders, due to cost, to gravitate towards a chicken only diet for their dog - which could be a costly mistake long term.

While chicken is more affordable than beef, lamb, pork or turkey, however, there are some concerns with feeding too much chicken. Unless the chicken is organic and free range, chances are they are from factory farms where they have been raised indoors and fed a high carbohydrate diet. This produces birds that are high in the omega-6 fatty acids which can contribute to inflammation within the dog's body due to an imbalance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids; this is a good example of 'your dog eats what his food has eaten'.

Chicken is not a nutrient dense food and it's not possible to meet all of your dog's nutritional requirements on a steady diet of chicken. Chicken meat is low in many nutrients including zinc, iron, copper, and some of the B vitamins. Chicken liver is not a substitute for beef or lamb liver in the diet since it is does not contain retinol, copper or vitamin D-3.

Variety and Gut Health

One of the most fascinating areas of research is the relationship between gut health (the microbiome), inflammation, immunity, and disease. Research shows that dogs who are fed a variety of fresh, highly digestible protein have more balanced, beneficial bacterial colonies than dogs fed the same type of food on repeat; in turn, these beneficial bacterial colonies support the immune system and overall health of the dog. A healthy gut is foundational for a healthy dog.

(If your dog requires a therapeutic diet due to a health condition or to keep stools normal, then variety may not be do-able.)

Variety and the Kibble Fed Dog

Fresh food diets are best for dogs, however, I realize that not everyone can feed this way. 

If you need to feed your dog a kibble diet, make sure to add some fresh food each day to his bowl. If your dog's digestion can manage it, regularly rotate protein types and brands of kibble to provide variety.  

Rotating through different brands and types of kibble can be helpful in decreasing your dog's prolonged exposure to heavy metal contamination, aflatoxin exposure, toxic levels of certain vitamins, and buffer the effects of recalled pet food. Most recently a large pet food manufacturer recalled their product due to toxic levels of vitamin D which has affected thousands of dogs. One or two bags of tainted kibble might not be a huge concern, but months or years of eating the same tainted kibble for each meal would certainly be concerning to me.

"The same principals of good health and nutrition that apply to people also apply our dogs.

This article is for general information purposes only, applies to healthy dogs, and may not apply to your dog. If you have any concerns about your dog, please consult your holistic veterinarian.