3 Things I Stopped Worrying About When I Started Feeding Dogs Like Dogs

One of the biggest misconceptions about raw feeding is that it has to be complicated.

You need the perfect ratios. The perfect recipe. The perfect supplement. Every nutrient has to appear in every bowl. You need a spreadsheet, a calculator, seventeen different powders—and apparently a minor degree in biochemistry—before you can put dinner down for your dog.

No wonder people feel overwhelmed.

As a canine nutritionist, I absolutely believe nutrition matters. I believe we should understand what we're feeding, build diets intentionally, and make sure our dogs' nutritional needs are being met.

But I also believe we've made feeding dogs far more complicated than it needs to be.

The more I learned about canine nutrition—and the more I started thinking about food from the perspective of the animal eating it—the less I worried about making every single bowl look exactly the same.

Here are three things I stopped worrying about when I started feeding dogs like dogs.

1. Making Every Single Bowl “Perfectly Balanced”

This is probably one of the biggest sources of anxiety I see with people who are new to raw feeding.

They believe every single bowl needs to contain the perfect amount of every vitamin, mineral, fatty acid and micronutrient their dog needs.

But that's not necessarily how a thoughtfully constructed fresh-food diet has to work.

Think about how we feed ourselves.

You probably don't calculate the vitamin E, zinc, manganese and omega-3 content of breakfast and then refuse to eat it unless every nutrient is represented in exactly the right amount.

Nutrition exists within the context of the overall diet.

The same concept can be applied when intentionally building a varied raw diet for a healthy adult dog. One meal might contain certain nutrients in greater amounts while another meal contributes something different. Ingredients and proteins can rotate, while the overall diet is constructed to provide appropriate nutrition over time.

That doesn't mean throwing random ingredients into a bowl and assuming everything will magically balance itself out.

“Balance over time” isn't the same thing as “anything goes.”

There should still be structure and intention behind the diet.

For example, my raw bowls are generally built around species-appropriate components such as:

• Edible bone

• Muscle meat

• Secreting organs

• Muscular organs

• Seafood

• Eggs and other nutrient-dense whole foods

• Targeted supplementation when appropriate

The individual ingredients may change from meal to meal or throughout a rotation.

The nutritional foundation doesn't.

Once you understand that distinction, raw feeding becomes a lot less intimidating.

2. Feeding the Exact Same Foods Every Day

One of the things I love most about feeding fresh food is that the bowl doesn't have to look exactly the same every day.

Different whole foods bring different nutrients to the table.

Beef isn't nutritionally identical to turkey.

Sardines aren't nutritionally identical to oysters.

Heart isn't nutritionally identical to liver.

Egg yolk isn't nutritionally identical to green tripe.

And that's a good thing.

Instead of seeing variation as something that makes raw feeding more difficult, I see it as one of its greatest strengths.

Variety can be part of the nutritional strategy.

I can rotate proteins. I can incorporate different organs. I can include oily fish and other seafood. I can use eggs, green tripe and other nutrient-dense whole foods.

This also moves us away from the idea that dogs should eat the exact same combination of ingredients, in the exact same proportions, day after day for their entire lives.

Of course, more variety isn't automatically better.

Some dogs do beautifully with extensive rotation. Others may need a much more controlled diet because of digestive issues, food sensitivities, medical conditions or simply their individual tolerance.

Which brings me to one of the most important principles behind the way I approach canine nutrition:

Feed the dog in front of you.

Not the dog in somebody else's Instagram post.

Not the dog on a generic feeding chart.

Not the hypothetical “average dog.”

Your dog.

Their age, activity level, body condition, digestion, health history, tolerance and individual needs should help guide the diet.

3. Needing a Supplement for Everything

Walk through the dog wellness world today and you could easily leave believing your dog needs a supplement for practically every organ in their body.

Gut powder.

Joint powder.

Skin powder.

Immune powder.

Multivitamin.

Mushroom blend.

Omega supplement.

Probiotic.

Digestive enzyme.

Green powder.

And before long, there's more powder than food in the bowl.

Supplements can absolutely have a place in canine nutrition.

I use them. I recommend them.

But I believe they should be targeted, intentional and appropriate for the individual dog.

Most importantly:

Supplements should supplement the diet. They shouldn't become the diet.

Before automatically reaching for another jar, I want to look at the foundation.

What is the dog actually eating?

What nutrients are already coming from whole foods?

Where are the legitimate gaps?

Is there a specific reason we're adding this supplement?

What are we trying to accomplish?

Could we provide some of that nutrition through food instead?

Sometimes supplementation makes perfect sense.

Other times, we're adding products simply because we've been convinced that more equals better.

It doesn't.

Start With the Foundation

This is really the philosophy behind Raw + reWild.

Start with the foundation.

Real, species-appropriate food.

Intentional variety.

Quality ingredients.

Appropriate movement.

Fresh air.

Sunlight.

Enrichment.

Rest.

And the opportunity to actually be a dog.

Then we can get more specific.

We can identify nutritional gaps. We can strategically incorporate whole foods. We can use supplements where they actually serve a purpose.

But we don't need to start by making dog wellness impossibly complicated.

Raw Feeding Shouldn't Feel Like a Daily Nutrition Exam

There's a difference between being intentional and being obsessive.

Understanding canine nutrition should give you more confidence when feeding your dog—not make you afraid that one imperfect bowl is going to ruin everything.

Learn the foundations.

Understand why you're feeding what you're feeding.

Build variety where it's appropriate.

Supplement with intention.

Pay attention to the dog standing in front of you.

Their stool tells you something.

Their coat tells you something.

Their body condition tells you something.

Their energy, appetite, digestion and overall wellbeing all provide information that a feeding calculator alone cannot.

Numbers matter.

Nutrients matter.

But so does the individual animal those numbers are supposed to serve.

And sometimes, the biggest shift happens when we stop asking:

“Did I make the perfect bowl?”

…and start asking:

“Is this diet working for my dog?”

Want Help Building a Raw Diet for Your Dog?

If you want to feed fresh or raw food but feel overwhelmed by ratios, ingredients, nutrient requirements, portions, supplements or simply knowing where to start, you don't have to figure it all out by yourself.

Through my one-on-one canine nutrition consultations at Raw + reWild, I help dog owners understand how to build a thoughtful, species-appropriate approach based on the individual dog in front of them.

Because the goal isn't to make feeding your dog more complicated.

It's to understand the foundation well enough that you can finally make it simpler.