Premade raw dog food makes feeding dogs a raw diet less offensive to those who haven’t mustered up the courage to look their dog’s food in the face, but there are several downsides to buying premade raw dog food. Some of these downsides make feeding premade raw dog food unnecessarily dangerous and at the very least, significantly less healthy.
For some people, the concept of feeding their dog(s) a raw dog food diet is easier to digest -no pun intended- if the raw food no longer resembles the animal it came from. Others are too afraid to feed whole bones for fear of the myth that raw bones splinter.
Whatever the hesitation is for feeding whole meats, bones and organs, it’s important for owners considering a raw diet for their dogs (or already feeding raw) to know the downsides of feeding premade raw dog food.
First, let’s talk about why consumers should not blindly place trust in raw dog food companies.
Companies are Not Experts
While you don’t have to be an “expert” to promote the goodness of feeding a raw diet or make a living in the niche, blindly trusting a company as an expert or authority is unwise.
I don’t know about you but my social media feeds are bombarded with ads for premade raw dog food. For the most part, the information these companies are pushing is far from factual.
Every single company that I’ve seen advertising premade raw dog food is pandering to the majority of consumers who feed their dogs a raw diet and unfortunately feed an inappropriate diet.
Yes, the majority of dog owners who feed raw are feeding an unhealthy, inappropriate diet to their dogs that will inevitably lead to health issues. This majority is the target market of premade raw dog food companies.
What slows a company’s progress more than any other factor is having to educate consumers. The less a company has to educate its consumers the faster they can scale their business and the more money they can make.
Every premade raw dog food company (with the exception of one) that I have come across is promoting an inappropriate diet for dogs and cats.
They are not experts in canine nutrition. They are not experts in feline nutrition. The same way all of the kibble companies before them were not experts. And look where trusting companies got us; cancer, heart disease, and diabetes percentages that keep climbing, shocking death rates and drastically shortened lifespans.
When consumers trust a company to tell them what’s best for them (or their dogs in this case), they’re putting their wellbeing in the hands of an entity that has one main goal: to make money.
That’s not to say that there aren’t premade raw dog food companies out there that have good intentions. However, good intentions don’t always lead to good practices. A company can have good intentions but mistakenly or purposefully mislead its consumers.
Premade Raw Dog Food Companies are Not Regulated
Because pet food companies are not regulated or are regulated very little in areas that don’t ensure that our dogs are getting the safest food possible, the safety (or lack-there-of) of premade raw dog food is a big concern.
What the USDA regulates: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not regulate pet food. The USDA regulates meat for human consumption but not meat for pet food.
If you’d like to know more about the meats that are allowed in pet food, read this:
3D and 4D Meats: Dying, Diseased, Down, Dead
What the FDA regulates: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the main regulatory body over pet food. The FDA does not regulate the meat in pet food, though it does conduct infrequent inspections of the manufacturing process.
The FDA only investigates pet food if there are consumer or veterinary complaints.
That’s a big difference between the food we eat and the food our pets eat. Meats for human consumption are tested and regulated before being sold to consumers (though, at times, meats are still recalled after hitting shelves). Pet foods are tested by the FDA after dogs become ill and complaints are made.
To give you a clear picture of the escalation of recalls for premade raw dog food as it becomes more popular, here is a list of premade raw dog food and premade raw cat food recalls from 2007 to 2019.
Remade Raw Dog Food and Cat Food Recalls 2007-2019
You can find detailed information on each recall at FDA.gov by searching the company’s name.
April 8th 2019: Thogensen Family Farm ― Listeria Monocytogenes
August 14th 2019 8/14/19 – Texas Tripe ― Salmonella
August 14th 2019 8/14/19 – Texas Tripe ― Listeria Monocytogenes
February 24th 2018: Vital Essentials ― Salmonella
March 1st 2018: Blue Ridge Beef ― Salmonella
March 1st 2018: Blue Ridge Beef ― Listeria Monocytogenes
March 2nd 2018: Steve’s Real Food ― Salmonella
March 6th 2018: Raw Basics ― Salmonella
March 20th 2018: Radagast Pet Food ― Listeria Monocytogenes
March 26th 2018: Blue Ridge Beef ― Salmonella
March 26th 2018: Blue Ridge Beef ― Listeria Monocytogenes
March 26th 2018: Darwin’s ― Salmonella
March 26th 2018: Darwin’s ― E. coli O128
April 13th 2018: K9 Natural ― Listeria Monocytogenes
April 16th 2018: Vital Essentials ― Salmonella
April 20th 2018: OC Raw ― Listeria monocytogenes
July 6th 2018: Radagast Pet Food ― Listeria Monocytogenes
August 3rd 2018: C&G Raw ― Listeria Monocytogenes
August 21st 2018: Radagast Pet Food ― Listeria Monocytogenes
August 31st 2018: C&G Raw ― Listeria Monocytogenes
September 7th 2018: Steve’s Real Food ― L. Mono
September 7th 2018: Steve’s Real Food ― Salmonella
September 12th 2018: Performance Dog ― Salmonella
December 5th 2018: Columbia River Natural Pet Food ― Listeria Monocytogenes
December 21st 2018: Columbia River Natural Pet Food ― Salmonella
December 21st 2018: Columbia River Natural Pet Food ― Listeria Monocytogenes
January 13th 2017: Blue Ridge Beef ― Listeria
May 5th 2017: Smallbatch ― Salmonella
December 8th 2017: Darwin’s ― Salmonella
December 22nd 2017: Primal ― Product Inconsistencies
January 15th 2016: Vital Essentials ― Salmonella
June 23rd 2016: Rad Cat ― Salmonella
June 23rd 2016: Rad Cat ― Listeria
December 8th 2016: Blue Ridge Beef ― Salmonella
December 8th 2016: Blue Ridge Beef ― Listeria
January 16th 2015: Oma’s Pride ― Salmonella
March 13th 2015: Primal ― Low Thiamine
May 15th 2015: OC Raw ― Salmonella
July 5th 2015: Stella & Chewy’s ― Listeria
July 8th 2015: Vital Essentials ― Listeria
July 24th 2015: Nature’s Variety Instinct ― Salmonella
July 24th 2015: Bravo ― Salmonella
August 10th 2015: Northwest Farm Food Cooperative ― Salmonella
September 25th 2015: OC Raw ― Salmonella
October 2nd 2015: K-9 Kraving ― Salmonella
December 10th 2015: Bravo ― Salmonella
December 11th 2015: Stella and Chewy’s ― Listeria
April 8th 2014: Abady ― Salmonella
May 14th 2014: Bravo ―Listeria
September 26th 2014: Bravo ― Salmonella
February 15th 2013: Nature’s Variety Instinct ― plastic pieces
March 7th 2013: Steve’s Real Food ― Salmonella
April 3rd 2013: Bravo ― Salmonella
May 28th 2011: Primal ― Salmonella
June 3rd 2011: Bravo ― Salmonella
July 1st 2010: Feline’s Pride ― Salmonella
July 15th 2010: Feline Pride ― Salmonella
February 16th 2007: Wild Kitty Pet Food ― Salmonella
September 18th 2007: Bravo Pet Foods ― Salmonella
September 18th 2007: Bravo Pet Foods ― Listeria Monocytogenes
We’ve made little progress if we ditch kibble for premade raw dog food.
I’ll explain below, in detail, why ground meats have to be recalled more than whole meats. First, let’s talk about empty promises and unfounded claims.
Premade Raw Dog Food Companies Can Make Unfounded Claims
The false and grossly misleading claims made by premade raw dog food companies (most pet food companies at that) are rampant.
Because pet food companies are not regulated or are regulated very little, the claims that pet food companies can make about their products is vast.
Below are just a few examples of misleading and/or false claims by dog food companies.
GMO Free Dog Food: This claim means that there is no genetically modified corn or soy in the dog food. However, there are two big problems here. First, potatoes and other fillers are added in place of GMO grains and legumes which, just like grains and legumes, cause major health problems in carnivores. Most prominently, heart disease. The second problem with this claim is that more than likely the animals that make up this dog food were in fact fed GMO feed.
“You are what your eat eats.” Michael Pollen
Natural Dog Food: Foods for human consumption labeled “natural,” according to the USDA definition, do not contain artificial ingredients or preservatives. However, they may contain antibiotics and other similar chemicals. Remember that the USDA does not regulate pet food so a “natural” label doesn’t necessarily mean (and very likely doesn’t mean) that the food is free of artificial ingredients or preservatives.
The “natural” label is meaningless. After all of the processing that premade raw dog food goes through, calling it natural is just slapping a wholesome word on the packaging for marketing purposes. The word “natural” is meaningless when it comes to commercial premade dog food.
Made with Whole Meat: Minced dog food isn’t superior just because the ingredients were once whole. All ingredients are, at some time or another, whole.
Approved for Human Consumption: Just because meat was once approved for human consumption doesn’t mean it’s still considered “for human consumption” once it reaches the premade raw dog food manufacturing facility or after it’s processed by the facility. Many different things may have happened to that meat from the time it was approved for human consumption to the time it reaches processing and packaging, that no longer make it safe for human consumption.
Made by Hand: This sounds wholesome but make no mistake, machinery was heavily involved in the processing of the food. Maybe more hands touched the product but processing of the ingredients still took place.
Easily Digestible: This is stated a lot on premade raw dog food. It sounds like a positive but what it’s really pointing out is how processed the food is. The same way a smoothie passes through our bodies faster than whole foods, the slop that is premade raw dog food passes through their bodies faster because the integrity of the food has been compromised.
Quality Ingredients: Your idea of “quality” isn’t necessarily the same as your premade raw dog food company’s idea “quality”.
Just take a look at this: 3D and 4D Meats: Dying, Diseased, Down, Dead
3D and 4D meats are not “quality”. Meats from animals raised in confinement are not “quality”. Meats with chemical residue from what the animal was fed are not “quality”. Meats that are no longer (or never were) fit for human consumption are not “quality”.
Ingredients Listed: Consumers assume that the first ingredient listed on a label is the most plentiful one in the mix so dog food companies put the best ingredient first – usually chicken or beef. Just because an ingredient is listed first doesn’t mean that it’s the main ingredient.
High in Protein: When you feed your dog a proper raw diet you don’t need to worry about your dog’s diet lacking in protein. Their food is naturally, perfectly balanced. Premade raw dog food companies use this label to make consumers think that their dog’s current diet is lacking protein. The truth is that the filler ingredients in premade raw dog food disrupt the natural balance of protein in raw foods and sometimes companies make up for this by adding highly processed sources of protein.
Gourmet: This word is used solely as a marketing tactic. What classifies dog food as gourmet or not? Nothing. There’s no difference between gourmet premade raw dog food and non-gourmet premade raw dog food. All premade raw dog food is lacking things your dog needs.
Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Feed Premade Raw Dog Food
We’ve already covered quite a few reasons why you should avoid feeding premade raw dog food, but wait, there’s more.
In addition to sharing more downsides to feeding premade raw dog food, I’ll also revisit some of the above reasons, with more clarity.
Imagine eating food in mashed potato form for the rest of your life.
- Feeding your dog a premade raw dog food diet robs them of the benefits of eating raw food in its natural form. A dog’s teeth are designed to cut and tear meat, and break up bones with ease. Not only do dogs get to exercise their jaw and neck muscles, and clean their teeth when they eat whole meats, bones and organs, they also benefit emotionally by engaging in an activity that’s instinctual to them.
- Grinding dehydrates meats, bones and organs. One major benefit of feeding a raw diet is how much water it contains (about 70%). Seasoned raw feeders can attest to the fact that their dogs drink very little water compared to how much they drank when they ate kibble, yet still urinate just as much, if not more. Grinding reduces the benefit a raw diet has of being very hydrating.
- Mincing meats oxidizes their omega-3s by exposing them to air and heat. Omega-3s are very sensitive and oxidize easily. When your dog consumes omega-3s you want them to be eating them in their freshest possible state. If your dog doesn’t get a regular source of healthy omega-3s they can become susceptible to joint issues, heart issues and skin issues (to name a few) due to increased inflammation within the body. Additionally, mincing meats damages water-soluble vitamins.
- Joel Salatin (farmer and author seen in the Food, Inc. documentary) has had his pasture-raised chickens cultured to compare them to commercially raised chickens. The results showed that Joel’s whole chicken (ready for market) averaged 133 CFU (colony-forming unit: a unit used to estimate the number of viable bacteria or fungal cells in a sample) while the commercially raised and commercially processed chickens averaged 3,600 CFU. Joel notes in Food, Inc. that “…those have been through 40 chlorine baths and ours haven’t seen any chlorine.” When meat is processed (ground up for premade raw dog food) those colony-forming cells are given more surface area to multiply. Note all of the recalls listed above. While your carnivore has the ability to safely ingest and pass higher levels of harmful bacteria than you, it’s still important to take safety measures when feeding a raw diet. This includes avoiding premade raw dog food.
- As we covered in detail above, premade raw dog food companies are not regulated. Neither for what they claim on their packaging and in their marketing, or as food distributors. To repeat what I said above, we’ve made little progress if we ditch kibble for premade raw dog food. What I mean by that is that we need to take feeding ourselves and our animals back into our own hands and not switch from one dog food company (kibble) to another (premade raw).
- When is the last time you talked to a farmer? When you don’t know the people who grow your food, you don’t really know what you’re buying. I feel very strongly that our local farmers deserve our support and we need to move away from buying products. Instead, we need to buy food – real food. For an example of what I mean, instead of buying meat in boxes from a large corporation, I buy a whole cow (you can also buy halves and quarters) from a local farmer. In doing so I’m able to save money, fill my freezer with safe meat and directly support him and his family.
- Lastly, premade raw dog food companies are not experts on canine or feline nutrition. They may have badges on their websites that claim certifications, acknowledgments and awards, but that does not make them an authority or expert. Any dog food company that promotes an inappropriate diet for dogs (I only know one company that doesn’t promote an inappropriate diet) is very clearly uneducated.
When Ground Meals Can Be Beneficial
Mincing your dog’s meals yourself can be helpful as a short-term solution in some cases. Keep in mind that mincing/grinding whole meats, bones and organs in your own home, for a short period of time, is very different than a factory setting, done by a company.
You’ll know exactly what your homemade meals are made up of, that they’re correctly balanced for your dog and that they’re safely handled and stored.
Here are some examples of when grinding up your dogs’ food is helpful.
- When you leave town. Feeding your dog(s) raw requires you to take precautions. While choking is very rare, it’s always recommended to watch your dog eat every meal. In the rare instance that he/she does get something stuck in their throat you’d be there to either use the Heimlich maneuver or reach into their mouth and dislodge the blockage. The reality is that we’ll do just about anything to save our dogs’ lives, including sticking our hands into a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, risking harm to ourselves. Friends, family and even professional dog sitters will be less likely to take the same risk, making ground meals a great alternative when you leave your dog(s) in the care of others.
- After surgery or injury. Dental procedures, jaw reconstruction, cuts to the lips or gums, surgeries on the intestinal tract, neck pain or injury, pulled muscles, etc., are all instances when grinding your dog’s meals can make a big difference in their recovery. Any circumstance where a vet would recommend feeding wet dog food (to non-raw dogs) is a time to feed ground up raw dog food.
- For older or disabled dogs. Feeding a whole raw diet can help keep elderly and disabled dogs strong and engaged. However, in order to keep your limited dog on a raw diet, there are certainly times when your only option is to feed ground up raw dog food. The arguments against feeding minced food long-term are strong but there are no absolutes. Sometimes, no matter how hard an owner tries to keep their aging or physically limited dog(s) on whole meats, bones and organs, they lose the battle and have to resort to feeding minces. It’s a reality that some owners face and is a perfectly acceptable alternative when there are no better options. In these cases, I highly recommend that you grind their meals yourself.
The bottom line is this: Ground raw food isn’t an acceptable long-term feeding practice because it unnecessarily robs your dog of much-needed health benefits. However, there are instances when raw minces are acceptable and even necessary.
Disclaimer: All content provided on WhitneyLiving.com is for informational purposes only. The materials contained here are not intended to be used for the diagnosis or treatment of a health problem or as a substitute for consulting a licensed veterinary professional.
These suggestions are based on research and personal experiences. Whitney Bryson, the author of this site, assumes no responsibility or liability for the use of this information. This content is not meant to replace veterinary advice.
Another great post Whitney. Thank you XX