Overall, there are many factors that play into deciding between a raw diet and a commercial kibble diet for your pet. Important nuances include price point, evolutionary needs, and the idea of taking your beloved pet’s health out of the hands of companies whose top priority is financial gain and back into your own. Both choices require research and the help of a veterinarian or nutritionist in order to make an informed choice.
Due to the lack of regulation of information circulating within dog care communities, raw diets can have vastly different meanings. It can range from Dr. Billinghurst’s definition of 50% meaty bones and 50% unspecified BARF meat patties to carefully curated menus from vets and nutritionists who take evolutionary science into account, and anywhere in between (1). An important distinction on this scale is the price point. Meat from the butcher that you pick out without the help of a canine nutritionist is going to be less expensive than paying for a plan of balanced, high-quality foods. An important rule in creating a meal plan for your dog is to not base their diet on that of a wolf in the wild (see post EVOLUTION! for more details). Dogs are not wolves and have evolved to get energy from and digest foods that wolves cannot.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the extrusion process is designed to maintain the integrity of the nutrients that are put through it. The irresponsibility of companies is the ingredients that are being put through the funnel and into the machine. It is simply easier to get away with using ingredients that could be harmful because the ingredients are not visible in the final product. This is where the appeal of companies such as The Farmer’s Dog comes in. All of the ingredients are visible in the product, therefore one may feel as though they have more control over what they are feeding their dog. As long as one does research into the ingredients in the kibble they are buying, it is very possible to have a happy, healthy pup on a kibble diet. Like everything in life, balance is key. I try to give my dog fresh foods with his kibble diet in the form of dog-safe vegetables, fruits, and yogurt. Thank you for reading my work!
- Billinghurst, I. (2001). The Barf Diet. Google Books. Ian Billinghurst in Australia. Retrieved November 16, 2021, from https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/O3tXDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1.