How Is Mikki Doing On His Raw Diet?

The answer is..FANTASTIC🥳🥳🥳. We’re AMAZED😱 by the changes we have seen in our Mikki. We put down his very first bowl of raw food on the 8th of August so it’s been a fair few months, certainly more than enough time to see significant changes. We’re onto our 3rd premade raw brand (which we will all be doing reviews on) and so far Mikki has loved all his meals. Although he’s always loved all his food and we have never had a problem with pickiness because we’ve never encouraged it, we’ve honestly never ever seen Mikki so excited about his dinners. He has a new record time of finishing his food from the moment he takes the first bite which is 10 seconds🤭. Yes, he’s a speedy eater but it doesn’t appear to cause him any harm thankfully.

Breaking Free Of Poor, Processed Commercial Pet Food Diets

We thought that it was time to switch Mikki’s diet especially given his age. Mikki is 5 years and 8 months old (white muzzle hairs giving away his age😭) at the time of writing this and up until a few months ago he was a kibble (dry food) fed dog. He had some of the signs typical of a dog on consistent diet of dry food. Yellow tarter stains on his teeth which would eventually lead to the destruction of his dental health (Min Pins are amongst the more affected breeds), awful breath, excess shedding for a very short-coated breed, greasy fur, dry and flaky skin/flare-ups, eye bogies (yuck), strong doggy smell, absolutely huge poos, often loose and lots of it on every walk (sometimes he’d go 10 times), belatedness (drinking a large lake’s worth of water everyday) and hyperactivity. These are just the visible signs.

Internally there was probably a lot going on with his system that could have become progressively worse. If you feed a diet of dry food, you will notice these signs in your dog for sure. And if not, switch your Min Pin to a raw only diet for a few months and look back on the things you no longer see in him.. Before we read about these undesirable issues being a result of feeding dry food we thought it was entirely normal. Then we read about the very long list of improvements in dogs being switched from a dry food diet to a raw diet and realised that in fact, it wasn’t normal. This is because a raw diet isn’t just a fad or the latest craze but is actually a biologically appropriate and totally natural way to feed your dog. Fancy terminology aside, fresh food we know is the best thing for our own health. And the principles of feeding ourselves also apply to dogs because, surprise surprise, they are also mammals.

Processed food is okay in moderation as part of a healthy diet of fresh foods for us but then why should our dogs have only processed food, consistently, every single day of their lives, until they die? It’s illogical we think🤷🏾‍♀️. And aside from being illogical, there’s a much darker side to feeding our dogs an unnatural diet which is the decline of their health, leading to illnesses and diseases over time. Throughout generations of pet dogs, different diseases and illnesses have become more commonplace which is said to be directly linked to the increased reliance on commercial pet food over the decades. Foods which are fed to breeding dogs and their puppies in an endless cycle and cheap carbs used as a basis of pet foods has caused a lot of damage, which show up in pet dogs as predispositions such as allergies at best and terminal illnesses at worst.

This is because dogs are biologically carnivores (NOT omnivores as the large pet food companies that rely on consumer ignorance would have you believe) that have an ability to digest SOME carbs because of their special associations with humans. But nowhere near in the amounts that they get from dry dog foods on a consistent basis. Dogs are not able to remain healthy at a holistic level while on these diets-even if things appear ‘fine’ on the outside. We know there’s an intrinsic link between what we eat and our state of wellbeing. Cheap carbs in large amounts cause problems in us and we are omnivores, so just imagine what they’re doing to your dog’s system. A kibble fed dog will consume more in carbs than the average human, relatively. Fresh foods 🍉🥦can and do transform our health and will do exactly the same for your dog 🥩🐟 and you will definitely see the benefits.

The raw diet whether it’s the BARF model or prey model that’s followed is now well attributed to bringing dogs a plethora of all-round benefits and improvements in their health. Because anything going on internally will show on the outside. Fresh and unprocessed animal protein provides nutrients found in no other food group and is what your dog’s body naturally thrives on. There are many problems that are often caused by or exacerbated by poor commercial diets that can be avoided by feeding a raw diet;

• Less inflammation all over the body meaning allergies of all kinds clear up, joints, digestive system complaints and sensitivities improve. A point on digestive health. Because dogs systems were not built to deal with the excess in carbs i.e. grains found in dry diets, their pancreases are put under huge strain
• Dogs are no longer dehydrated. Dry food is very low in moisture leading dogs to be a constant state of dehydration which is why they consume so much water. And of course long-term dehydration wrecks havoc on their kidneys and related organs
• Optimum bone health will be achieved
• Stronger immune system with fresh food
• Existing health conditions such as those with kidney issues and hereditary conditions such as epilepsy can improve drastically
• Illnesses such as diabetes can be managed far more effectively on a natural raw diet. Of course high carb diets will never help diabetes (dry food anyone?)
• Weight loss. Overweight dogs will get down to a healthy weight also called their ‘ideal weight’ when they are no longer consuming a diet high in calories from carbs. Free-feeding dry food has a huge hand in overweight pet dogs
• More energy especially in older dogs
• Brain function is improved as well as attention-span which is vital for training and new learning
• The animal protein helps promote muscle-building which is why raw fed dogs look in peak condition. Also when all that excess carb bloating goes it gives way to a more athletic and natural body shape
• Superior dental health. While tarter after many years of kibble will not clear up without a de-scale, there won’t be anymore build-up
• Bad breath drastically improves on a raw diet especially once the tarter has been removed
• As well as skin condition improving, the most visible improvement is in the dogs coat. See below for photos. The coat will be in the best condition it can ever be in, shiny and glowing as you’ve never seen it
• Poops really do become small and less frequent. Mikki now poops maximum of twice a day and they are very small. Less carbs, less waste as your dog’s body is using most of what goes into it meaning there’s less output. Same with us💁🏾‍♀️
• Calmer. Yes, CALMER. There’s a lot of literature from new research stating the transformation in dogs behaviour and temperament who’ve been switched to raw. Many brands of dry food contains chemicals which are linked to unfavourable behavioural dispositions such as hyperactivity. This as well as being mostly carbs (sugars containing MORE sugars🤯) that we know cause behavioural issues in us. Fresh animal protein from a raw diet contains vitamins and nutrients that play essential roles that are reflected in a dog’s behaviour

We are absolutely dumfounded by the transformation in Mikki’s coat👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾. THE SHINE😍😍😍 on it now is like nothing we’ve ever seen before he began his raw diet. It’s really beautiful. These photos were taken today and for reference we’ve included photos of Mikki’s coat prior to his raw diet below. The FIRST change that owners who’ve switched their dog to raw see is in his coat. The difference in coat quality is due to the origin and therefore quality, of the protein the dog is consuming in their diet-NOT the amount of protein. Typically kibble’s best offering tends to be from poor quality meat meal and grains (grains have protein too) which cannot measure up against the proteins that haven’t been destroyed by the cooking processes of kibble, seen in raw animal product. You can see just how vibrant the coat is and how the light bounces off it.

These photos were taken in different seasons hence the disparities in Mikki’s weight. We’ve always maintained a regular grooming schedule so his coat has always been in good condition (imaging how his coat would look if we didn’t😲?). However you can see the difference in his coat quality and just how dull it appears in natural light in the second photos when he was on kibble, compared to now.

The next lot of photos illustrate the bloatedness he had when he was being fed a maximum amount of kibble (that he would eat). Bare in mind that although Mikki loves his food, he has never overeaten to the point where he became overweight which is due to the fact that he is intact (fully functioning metabolic system). So when he had a maximum portion of kibble he became bloated and looked terrible. You can see how his raw diet has brought out his muscles and his structure in the photos👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾. He also had a lot of tear staining and eye bogies which has cleared up significantly.

A lean, more muscular appearance is illustrated here without being underweight. Because people are so accustomed to seeing overweight dogs (or that bloated, filled out look from kibble) when they do see one dog that’s their ideal weight, they think they’re actually underweight! A dog weighing their ideal weight will have some ribs showing and even a slight amount backbone and hips but this should not be pronounced. When there is a healthy amount of muscle showing a dog is not underweight.

So you can see the physical differences in Mikki before and after his diet change. We 100% think he has changed for the better and we’re even noticing positive changes behaviour-wise too. He is a little more calm on the lead and when he does walk a bit too fast he’ll react much more quickly to our commands. He’s also slightly less reactive during bathing. A raw fed doggie is a happy doggie 😉😌. We are pro-raw feeding here at Heathside (in case you haven’t noticed😏) and when some of us can’t feed raw for any reason or you travel frequently with your dog, there are some great substitutes that don’t require frozen storage-see our feeding page for substitutes. We will be trying out freeze-dried and air-dried raw food options the next time we need to board Mikki. Some of these options are expensive however don’t fret because there are also some high quality wet food options that come in single-serve pouches or cans. So you don’t have to compromise on your dog’s nutrition😉.

Concerns We’ve Heard About Raw Feeding (some are crazy)

Understandably, if you’ve fed only commercial pet foods to your dogs and never tried raw, having concerns are normal. However as with all things that challenge the norm, a lot of myths circulate and raw feeding definitely has some of those!😑

• My dog will get sick from the bacteria in raw meat. Nope, not true. The stomach of a dog has a low pH level, more so than us which allows them to effectively kill bacteria and harmful pathogens in their raw food. Their digestive system is completely different from ours. As well as this bacteria from the food can also be killed in their mouth while they are eating-look up ‘lysozyme’. A dog’s intestinal tract is shorter than ours so harmful bacteria doesn’t have time to colonize. Dogs were designed to handle bacteria very well🙂.
• But how come I’ve seen other people’s dogs get sick with diarrhea and vomiting after being fed raw? After being fed processed food of a completely different kind than raw all their life, dogs systems need time to build up their microbiome. This is the level of biodiversity in their gut and the more they have it, the healthier they are (like us). The more variety a dog has had in his diet i.e. having some unprocessed foods regularly, the better their microbiome. While their systems adjust to a raw diet during the first month or two they will get diarrhea. As for the vomiting? Totally normal. And their called ‘hunger pukes’. New raw feeders notice that their dog’s raw food portion is much smaller than their kibble portion was. However raw is lightyears more nutrient dense and therefore your dog needs less of it. Raw meals will pass through your (delighted😍) dog’s system very fast leaving your dog, understandably, hungry. Kibble being mainly carbs bloats him up, often not allowing him to actually experience proper hunger. When your dog becomes hungry after a nutritious raw meal there is excess stomach acid now sitting around with nothing to do, which comes up as reflux hence the vomiting. Our Mikki had the same thing for the first month of transitioning. Options to remedy this is to adjust your dog’s feeding schedule or divide his raw meals into different times of the day. Whereas you may have fed kibble once in the morning and once in the evening, you now need to divide his raw meal into 3 different feeding times. Or you could also feed some healthy raw treats such as raw meaty bones to fill in between meal times. But this hunger puke period is transitory and will pass. These transitional symptoms often sadly put owners off continuing their dogs raw diet not realising that they don’t last. Then all they have to say about a raw diet is negativity🤦🏾‍♀️.
• My dog will become aggressive from eating a raw diet or become aggressive with other dogs. This is the most ridiculous one we’ve heard yet but many people believe it. A dog that’s aggressive around food has a resource-guarding issue, which is a behavioural problem that needs to be addressed but switching to raw will not suddenly cause an issue that wasn’t there to begin with, especially aggression with other dogs. Dog on dog aggression is a serious behavioural problem resulting from bad experiences and will need training or consulting a behaviourist to help resolve. Another thing is the cheap carbs that makes up the base of kibble, the sugars and the additives, are known to negatively affect a dog’s behaviour-much like us-promoting hyperactivity and exacerbating existing issues.
• A high-protein kibble is better than raw food because it contains more protein and dogs need protein more than anything. Raw food is lower in protein than a high-protein kibble. However the protein in these kibbles is always made from meat meal which is a completely processed component. The protein in meat meal is seriously compromised or destroyed from the cooking processes and nowhere compares to the quality of protein that is still intact in it’s natural form, as it is in raw food. Dogs need more than just protein by the way (surprise). Raw food is full of moisture and nutrients in all forms which are highly bioavailable, meaning that dog’s bodies can easily access and use them, which isn’t the case with kibble. Also being that dogs have a shorter intestinal tract, they are built to be able to extract all the quality nutrients they need, quickly.

Your Min Pin Wants Proper Nutrition!

We really urge you to give raw feeding a try for longer than a few months to get past the transitional period. As well as this ensure that the proteins in the recipes during the transition aren’t rich e.g. beef. Your dog’s health will transform and improve very quickly, even after almost a lifetime of feeding commercial processed food. You’ll often hear (maybe your one of them🤔) that people say “well I fed kibble to my dog for 10 years (and my previous one) and he’s in great health” and the answer to this is it’s only a matter of time before your dog’s system can’t take the poor nutrition and you end up with a new problem. Health problems due to poor nutrition show up over time. Your dog could be in good health for a lot longer if fed raw and also, think about the millions of dogs with active health issues and diseases. Your dogs are a few out of many. Even adding some fresh food to your Min Pin’s dry food diet can do wonders for his health. If you need more convincing to try out the raw food diet, visit any of these web links:

Perfectly Rawsome

Raw Feeding Community

Raw Feeding Advice And Support

We want to hear about your concerns about raw food and experiences you may have so please🙏🏾 comment below. Feel free to ask any questions you may have as well. 🐶🍗🥩