Raw feeding for dogs

Raw food is nutrition that is as natural as possible for dogs. To ensure a well-balanced raw diet, you can vary the animal and plant products: meat, organs, bones, and various sources of dietary fibre. Dogs have no need of carbohydrates as such, and excessive carbohydrate intake may cause gastric issues and weight gain.

You can make your own raw food meals or purchase ready-made complete meals. The ready-made Oscar complete nutrition products offer total nutrition designed especially for dogs. You can feed them to your dog every day and rest easy knowing that they are getting all of their daily nutrients.

Cooking can damage or destroy beneficial enzymes, bacteria, vitamins, and amino acids. In particular, some vitamins and amino acids (taurine, B vitamins) are highly sensitive to heat. All of the nutrients are preserved in raw food, and freezing is a much gentler process than heating when it comes to foodstuffs. Natural feeding and unprocessed foods are also better for digestion, allowing the dog’s body to make better use of the nutrients – evidenced by a healthy coat, skin, and nails. Raw feeding can often normalise a dog’s immune system, keeping infections in check and offering welcome relief from many allergic skin issues. Raw feeding also benefits the joints and teeth.

Biologically Appropriate Raw Food
Bones and Raw Food

BARF is based on the idea that pets should eat the natural foods their species typically eats. For dogs, the cornerstone of their species’ diet is raw meat and meaty bones.

A dog’s BARF diet consists of various bones, cartilage, meat, poultry, organs, eggs, and puréed vegetables served raw. Natural supplements such as seaweed meal or salmon oil, as well as various vitamin and mineral supplements, can be used in self-made raw food.

Complete ready-made mixes for dogs already contain all their daily nutrients, requiring no supplements. Raw feeding is easy to start with ready-made meals. The Oscar complete meals are available as easily portioned meatballs, making raw feeding easier than ever for smaller dogs as well. You can defrost as many or as few as you need, and even help your pet cool down by serving them only partially thawed. This avoids the need to keep thawed meat in your refrigerator – meat always comes out as fresh as possible for your dog.

All complete nutrition meatballs are free of preservatives, colourants, grains, and artificial flavouring You can use ready-made meals as the foundation of your pet’s diet and give them meaty bones to chew on to give their teeth more cleaning action and exercise. You can find our raw food meals and other frozen products here

Finnish meat and fish

The Oscar products only contain clean, high-quality Finnish meat and organs: beef, pork, chicken, and turkey. Meat is the main ingredient of raw food meals. It provides the right taste and the fat and proteins required by dogs. Organs contain essential vitamins and micronutrients. For example, a small piece of liver will be enough to satisfy a dog’s daily intake requirement for vitamin A.

Salmon is also used in Oscar products. Salmon introduces plenty of beneficial fatty acids and energy. Minced bones and all, salmon is also an excellent natural source of calcium.

Vegetables, seaweed, eggs, linseed oil, and salmon oil

We use puréed Finnish vegetables and eggs to naturally introduce more vitamins and minerals to meals: vitamins C, E, D, and K, B group vitamins, choline, iron, selenium, and zinc. Vegetables are rich in dietary fibre and both balance and lighten meat-based meals. Eggs contain plenty of easily digested proteins and vitamins A and B, and their amino acid composition is ideal for dogs. Seaweed is a versatile foodstuff and a source of calcium, iodine, magnesium, etc. Linseed oil contains beneficial fatty acids and vitamin E. Salmon oil is an especially good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Food allergies and raw feeding

Raw feeding is a good choice for many allergic and sensitive dogs. Avoiding allergens is easy with ready-made frozen Oscar foods – make the perfect meals for your dog. Oscar foods are grain-free, single-animal protein source products that are ready to serve raw or cooked.

Partial raw feeding for dogs

If raw food is only used as part of a dog’s daily diet and the rest is dry pet food or home meals, for example, this can be called mixed feeding or 50/50 feeding. It is important to ensure that the meals fulfil the dog’s daily intake requirements for vitamins and micronutrients. Make sure to choose high-quality dry foods (at least 70 per cent meat) and feed your dog a variety of raw food.

You can also use Oscar raw food products to make delicious doggie meals at home. Raw foods can be cooked, and Oscar minced meat is an excellent choice for making well-balanced meals for dogs at home. We have a selection of delicious Oscar recipes.