How to Transition Your Dog to a Raw Diet

Transitioning to a raw diet is easier than you think, as the raw food is less likely to cause GI upset compared to many commercial pet foods. I recommend transitioning based on what you’re currently feeding your dog.

If your dog is already eating high meat content kibble (Orijen, Farmina, Nulo Challenger, Essence, etc.), canned, air-dried, or freeze-dried foods, you can transition very quickly or cold turkey. These dogs are generally used to digesting higher protein levels and richer foods.

On the other hand, if your dog is eating a lower meat content dog food, I would introduce raw food over the course of 5-7 days just to be safe. Starting with a lean protein like turkey is a good idea unless of course, your dog is sensitive to poultry. In that case, I would recommend transitioning to whatever protein she has had success eating in kibble form, i.e. beef to beef or lamb to lamb.

If you’re unsure how much raw to feed your dog, look up the calories per cup of her previous food and calculate how many calories per day she was eating to stay at an ideal weight. Then look at the calories per ounce of the raw food you have chosen and calculate how many ounces will be needed to feed the same calories per day of the old food. This is a starting point, as all calories are not created equal. Calories from carbohydrate-heavy kibble digest differently than calories from raw meat. Keep an eye on your dog’s weight and adjust as you go.

Always feel free to DM your nutrition questions to Maddie via @CaninePerspectiveInc on Instagram. We are happy to help answer questions about raw, kibble, canned or whatever else type of food you choose to feed. 🙂