This is easily the question that gets asked the most by pet owners. What makes our products better than the kibble that your dog is currently eating? Or better than the high priced premium dog kibble from your Vet’s office? The answer is the difference between FOOD and FEED.

Large dog feed corporations, no matter how natural or grain free they claim to be, use the “leftover” products that couldn’t be sold to humans as their dog feed ingredients. For example, the high quality cuts of a chicken like the quarters, breast, and wings, get inspected by the FDA and then sold in grocery stores for human consumption. What is left over gets made into dog feed, and is never inspected by the FDA. So while the label of your favorite kibble may have chicken, or lamb, or another meat source as the first ingredient, that doesn’t mean that you’re getting a high quality cut. What your dog is really getting is the leftover junk.

Since their feed never has to go through any sort of inspection process, it also means that large feed companies use Denatured Meat or meat from animals that may have died from causes other than butchering, like disease.

Simply Raw Dog FOOD is made entirely of FDA inspected Human Quality ingredients. All of our ingredients are sourced from the same place that your favorite restaurants get their food. Our products are fresh, made in an extremely clean environment, and made of only premium cuts that you would serve to your friends and family during a summer barbeque.

Yes. Bones are an important part of your dog’s nutritional needs. Raw dog bones are very soft, pliable, and highly digestible by your dog. They are an incredible and natural source of calcium, help support kidney function, aid the immune system, and have several other qualities that make bones an essential part to your dog’s diet.  

Cooked bones, however, should be avoided. Unlike raw bones, cooked bones become hard and brittle. They can splinter and get stuck in your dog’s throat or digestive tract.

As an added precaution, the bones in Simply Raw are all finely ground into pieces no larger than a pea. Even the smallest of breeds will have absolutely no problem swallowing or digesting these tiny fragments of bone, and will be able to take full advantage of all of their nutritional benefits.

This is my favorite question to answer, because it is the most astounding fact about Simply Raw. We source our food from the exact same places that your favorite restaurants do. Unlike the bag kibble companies that sell unregulated dog feed, we only source our meats, fruits, and vegetables from FDA inspected HUMAN QUALITY vendors. We aren’t talking about fast food quality either. Our ingredients are sourced from the same places that the high quality restaurants get their meat and produce. It is a common joke here at Simply Raw that are dogs eat better than we do, and it’s true!!!

Simply Raw Dog Food is priced at about the same level as “premium” kibble. However, our quality far surpasses any commercially made dog feed, so in an apples to apples comparison we are far cheaper. Those other companies are charging you a premium for “junk” leftover after all of the saleable parts of their meats and produce have been sold to grocery stores. What you are paying for is the part that couldn’t be sold. Those inedible parts were then ground into dog feed and freeze dried so you can’t recognize what it is.

Our food is made with all of the parts that were meant for humans to eat. This means no denatured meat, no meat from animals that died of disease, and no ingredients sourced from China, Thailand, or any other unregulated areas of the world. Simply Raw is made entirely of whole foods that have been inspected and certified by the FDA for human consumption. This fact makes Simply Raw a STEAL compared to those other commercially offered dog kibbles that only want to offload their leftover onto you and your fur family.

Probably better than you would expect. The common benefits of feeding your dog Simply Raw are a healthier and shinier coat, healthier and whiter teeth, loss of bad breath, more energy, and an overall happier dog. Your dog will also drink less water, because they are now gaining a majority of their hydration from their food (imagine how thirsty you would be all the time if you only ate croutons!) Other common benefits are a lack of “doggy” smell, and a dramatic decrease in stool size.

However, it is not uncommon for a dog to go through a detoxification process during the first 7-10 days on raw food. This is because your dog’s body is replenishing itself with good wholesome nutrients and ridding itself of the toxins that were introduced by your dry kibble. Signs of detoxifying may include crusty eyes, diarrhea, and coughing/phlegm. This is totally normal and usually subsides quickly. Imagine the changes your body might feel if you have only ever been fed fast food your entire life, and suddenly switched to a healthier Paleo diet.

This will vary from dog to dog. No two dogs have the same metabolism and it would be impossible to make the same recommendation for a Chihuahua as we would for an English Mastiff. However, we suggest feeding an adult dog (18 months or older) approximately 2%-3% of their body weight daily as a starting point. This can be broken into several meals or fed as one large meal. Since this is merely a starting point it is important to keep an eye on your dog’s weight and adjust as necessary. Some dogs may need more and some dogs may need less. It may also be a good idea to feed your dog a little bit extra if they have had a long and exhausting day at the park.

Puppies (under 18 months) are growing, so they need more than adults to support healthy bone and muscle growth. We suggest starting at 4%-6% of their body weight and adjusting as necessary. Unlike adults, it is recommended to feed your puppy at least twice a day. Again, this is simply a starting point and you may need some adjustment as your puppy grows. It is not entirely uncommon to see some puppies eating up to 10% of their body weight a day.

Yes. Your dog is likely going through a process of detoxification. This means your dog’s body is expelling all of the toxins in their bodies that were introduced by low quality kibble (even the premium brands of kibble don’t come close to the quality of a raw diet). Diarrhea may be experienced for approximately 7-10 days. If diarrhea continues past 14 days it is recommended that you mix a little bit of their previous kibble into their food and slowly taper it down.

It has been our experience that most dogs are well over the diarrhea stage much sooner than 7 days if they experience it at all. If you have any further questions about the detoxifying process please feel free to contact us and we will give you all of the information we can. We only want the best for you and your dog, and we will gladly take the time to answer any questions you might have before, during, or after your transition to Simply Raw.

We at Simply Raw recommend switching your dog to a raw diet cold turkey (no pun intended). This will speed up the detoxification process and get your dog on a healthier track sooner than tapering off their kibble. Your dog may experience signs of detoxification during this process, like crusty eyes, diarrhea, and coughing/phlegm, but they usually subside within 7-10 days. Every dog is different and it is impossible to predict whether or not your dog will go through the detoxification process at all.

However, if the signs of detoxification last more than 14 days, we recommend reintroducing a small portion of kibble into their raw food to help with the transition.

It is extremely unlikely that your dog can get any illness from a raw diet. Dogs are extremely well adept at handling bacteria in their food, such as salmonella, through various defenses given to them by Mother Nature.

Lysozyme is a naturally occurring antibacterial enzyme produced in dog saliva. When coupled with the extremely harsh acidic environment of a dog’s stomach, and the short digestive tract designed to push food through expeditiously, it is nearly impossible for bacteria such as salmonella to colonize. This is why we often see wild dogs, such and coyotes and wolves, able to eat meat that may have been left to spoil for several days under the hot sun.

To further mitigate any risk of salmonella, or any other food borne bacteria, we at Simply Raw only use human grade ingredients that have been inspected by the FDA. This ensures that your dog is only getting the highest quality food available, and has gone through the most stringent of quality assurance testing.

However, caution should always be practiced by dog owners whenever handling raw meat. Washing your hands after handling raw meat should always be practiced.

We DO NOT use denatured meat in any of our Simply Raw products. All of the ingredients in Simply Raw have been FDA inspected and approved for human consumption. We at Simply Raw take pride in the fact that we don’t use the cheap (oftentimes gross and diseased) denatured meat products that our commercial competitors do. We strive for a product that is head and shoulders above our competitors and will never settle for feeding our dogs anything that we would not feed our human family members.

This is another question that we get often here at Simply Raw, because feeding raw food is so different from the way we generally tend to look at food. Food is meant to be eaten cooked, right?

We do not suggest cooking Simply Raw because of the bone content ground into each serving. The raw bones in Simply Raw are soft, pliable, and very easily digested by your dog. They are included to ensure a proper nutritional balance and to closely replicate a dog’s natural diet. Cooking Simply Raw would change the structure of our bones into being hard, and may not be digested nearly as easily. Because our bones are very finely ground there is very little chance of serious complications from cooking Simply Raw, however, cooking is a non-essential step and is not how our premium quality food was designed to be served.

Our products are as fresh as the food currently in your refrigerator. At Simply Raw we produce our food in small batches to ensure that all of our products are as fresh as possible. Our ingredients are purchased, ground, combined, and packaged within 24 hours of acquiring them from the same places that your favorite restaurants get their ingredients. This is to ensure that your dog’s get the highest quality product that we can possibly produce, and eliminates the need for any harmful preservatives.

This is part of what makes Simply Raw a better choice than our competitors. We do everything possible to make sure that your dog is getting nothing but the very best. Our ingredients are fresh, nutritious, void of any harmful additives, and packaged by hand to ensure the highest quality.

The balanced and prey models of raw feeding are the two most commonly used, and two most commonly contested.

Simply Raw Balanced is a combination of muscle meat, bone, organ, fruits, and vegetables (along with other amazing ingredients like fish oil and ground chia seeds). The reason we include non-meat products in Simply Raw Balanced is because we feel that the methods of commercial farming may not provide our meat sources with the same sort of nutrition that they may get in the wild. Since most animals raised for meat are fed a simple diet (usually corn or some other similar grain) their meat may not have the same nutritional value as their wild counterparts that may be feeding on wild grasses, insects, and other diverse food sources. Because of this, we believe that the use of non-meat ingredients, like fruits and vegetables, help bring back any vitamins and minerals that may have been lost.

Simply Raw Prey is a combination of meat, bone, and more varied organs than our Simply Raw Balanced recipe. This is to better replicate what a wild dog, like a coyote or wolf, would have for a meal. The thought behind the Prey model of raw feeding is that all of the nutritional needs of your dogs will be met by nothing more than what can be provided by meat and organs.

We at Simply Raw feel that there are Pro’s and Con’s to each viewpoint, and have chosen to provide options to both crowds. So whichever you option you decide is best for your dog, we can ensure that you will be receiving the best quality food available.