A woman cuddles a dog.

We get it.

Its hard to know what’s best for our own health when it comes to food, let alone our four-legged friends. With ever-changing trends, advice and warnings when it comes to what we eat – it can be a real minefield to find what is best and what works for us. Should we cut carbs? Is sugar the enemy? Should I go veggie? What about the different types of fat?!


One good thing for pet owners is that when it comes to our pets, optimal nutrition is simple.

As simple as: high-quality protein sources, free from any biologically inappropriate or artificial ingredients, and raw. Just like the animal would eat in ‘nature’. Just what their digestive systems are designed to work with.

Traditional pet foods such as kibble and tinned varieties are man-made and tailored to what we as humans want and need, rather than what is nutritionally best for our pets. In most cases, this means convenient, cheap, and mass producible.

With Nutriment raw pet food, there is only one concern: animal health.

Unsure about how to feed?

Do you make meat-based meals for yourself and your family? If so, great! You’re fully qualified to deal with raw pet food.

The truth is, serving your pet a raw meal is really no different to preparing a steak for dinner or dicing up chicken for a curry. In fact, it’s easier, because there really is no preparation involved and your hands don’t actually have to even touch any of the food – it’s simply...

  • DDD - defrost, a golden retriever dog helps their owner take food out of the freezer.

    Defrost.

    When you're ready to defrost a meal, take it out of the freezer and leave to defrost in the fridge.

  • DDD - dish, a golden retriever watches their owner put raw dog food into a bowl on a kitchen counter.

    Dish.

    Once defrosted, just serve into their bowl with clean utensils.

  • DDD Delight - a golden retriever eating raw food on the floor of a kitchen with their owner petting them.

    Delight!

    Enjoy watching your pet devour every bite.

Unsure how to switch diets

Switching your dog from processed food to raw is super easy and there is no need to worry about following special methods or guidelines when doing so. You can simply start your new Nutriment raw food at breakfast time.

A dog scratching its leg.

Keep it simple for you and your dog

To make it even easier, we have ready-made starter packs and mixer boxes to introduce your pup to this new style of food for the first few weeks.

Once your dog has become accustomed to his or her delicious new diet, you can go ahead and introduce raw treats and bones, to keep your dog satisfied outside of mealtimes.

Nutriment is a complete formula and does not require any supplementation.

For many dogs, a straight switch is seamless and both dog and owner never look back. However, you may notice some changes or differences, which we talk about below.

These are all perfectly normal responses to switching to a raw diet!

Switching to the raw diet for many raises quite a few questions. To make it go smoothly we are addressing some of these below for you.

Switching to raw doesn’t need to be difficult at all but how you go about it can make a big difference. We suggest you make a straight switch to raw starting on a morning. If you are for some reason combining processed foods with raw keep them in separate meals, do note that Nutriment is a complete formula and does not require any supplementation. 

Try our starter packs or mixer boxes first, get the dog accustomed to the food for a few weeks. Then, if you want to start introducing meaty bones then do this gradually too… don’t try too much soon – keep it simple for yourself and your dog. 

My dog doesn´t seem to drink as much ...

This is normal! Raw contains a lot of moisture – it’s totally normal to see a reduction in water intake in your pet.

It should only be a worry if your dog is for example not urinating – this would require professional veterinary investigation.

My dog is struggling with poos ...

A change in poo (i.e. sloppy, mucous-y etc) initially is quite normal and to be expected. Not all dogs would have this but some do. As a one-off it shouldn’t be a concern. It can help however, especially those with sensitive digestive systems or on medications, to provide probiotics alongside your switch initially for a smoother transition.

If you dog is struggling with poo it might be that your dog has a lower than average bone tolerance; mix in some of our beef formula (which doesn’t contain bone) with the meals to reduce the overall bone intake.

The poo should be pellet like, firm and formed, not rock hard or soft. Because you will be feeding a variety of meats it is totally normal for poo to have different colours.

My dog doesn´t seem keen ...

We find most dogs LOVE their raw food from day one, however most processed foods contain salt and a variety of other additives to make it extremely tasty, almost addictive… It’s a little like being used to eating pizza and then deciding a rocket salad with pine nuts and feta is better… you might also need some persuasion.

Don’t be disheartened, and perservere. If needs be mix some of the flavours up, few dogs will turn up their nose to something mixed with the beef recipe!

There is no crunch to the food, how is this going to keep their teeth clean?

Most of pre-mades do contain bone and is abrasive enough to clean teeth. Raw also doesn’t stick to teeth like starchy processed food does (the cause of much tartar and teeth issues). Once you have gained your confidence with the raw diet you can of course start introducing meaty bones (although not a requirement!). In the meantime, if you are missing the crunching sounds, then a healthy treat like pizzles will give that crunchy chewing action.

My dog is eating too quick and seems hungry ...

Commonly, dogs who do really take straight away to this scrumptious raw diet become gobblers, they eat faster than before and then can sometimes regurgitate the food as it went down too quickly. Try and slow down your dog, get a lick mat or feed partially frozen for example.

If your dog seems hungry, this is part of the adjustment process; instead of having an expanding mass of food sitting in their stomachs struggling to be digested, raw is digested faster due to it being more natural to the digestive system. Play around with your dinner times, perhaps give a mid-day or just before bed (but substantial) snack.

Unsure about hygiene & storage?

High-quality raw dog and cat food is nothing like tinned or kibble varieties. There is no funny smell, no greasy residue and no off-putting jelly or other squeamish ingredients.

You don’t need to worry about specialist food safety and contamination risks, you just have to remember that raw pet food contains raw meat and so requires the same sanitary treatment as the handling of any raw meat in the kitchen.

In fact feeding Nutriment raw food products is really simple...

Hygiene Serving Storage

Please bear in mind these simple points when handling any raw meat, to keep your family healthy

  • Always use separate utensils for raw meat and cooked foods;
  • Keep raw meat covered and store it at the bottom of the fridge;
  • Open and dispose of packaging carefully;
  • Wash and dry your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat;
  • Always wash your pet’s food bowl in hot soapy water after each meal;
  • Never leave raw meat where it can become warm – always defrost somewhere cool or in the fridge overnight.

The easiest way to serve our products from the 1.4kg chubb is to either:

  • Defrost the entire chubb, snip one end and dispense into a container with a lid.
  • Skin the chubb whilst still frozen and defrost in a container with a lid.

Due to the minimal packaging, we provide our product in the chubbs in order to reduce costs, reflected in our prices.

All our foods and treats are frozen, and should be kept frozen until you are ready to use.

For Best Before date, please see the label or side of the pack.

To defrost the product, we suggest leaving somewhere cool (not warm) overnight.  If you forget to take food out to defrost, you may place a tub or chubb into a sink of warm water.

If the food is still partially frozen at feeding time, add some warm water from a kettle and allow to sit for five minutes.

Use within 2-3 days of defrosting.

Raw feeding myth busters

There are lots of myths about raw. Click below to find the truth behind the myths!

Raw food will turn my pet feral and dangerous

When any animal (including humans) receives all the nutrition they require to live healthy and happy lifestyles, the benefits are extensive. Studies show that high quality nutrition supports both physical and mental health in pets, which ultimately encourages calm and positive behaviour. Whilst resource guarding particularly tasty food is always a possibility with animals, this isn’t just applicable to raw diets.

Raw food is dangerous because of bacteria like salmonella

The digestive systems of dogs and cats are designed differently to humans. They are highly acidic and contain certain enzymes specifically to defend themselves from bacteria common in raw foods. In addition to this, UK raw pet food regulations provide a zero tolerance for salmonella. All Nutriment food products are tested for salmonella and other bacteria to the full extent required by law and we only ever use fresh meat and other ingredients fit for human consumption.

Raw food isn’t nutritionally complete

Nutriment’s raw food products are complete foods that do not require supplementation. This means that they provide all of the nutrition that pets require to live healthy and happy lives. Many of the filler products that bulk out traditional pet foods contain ingredients that dogs and cats simply do not need.

Vets do not recommend raw food diets

Canned dog food first became available in the 1920s (featuring horse meat), and traditional kibble was invented in the 1950s (when consumers went off the idea of horse meat). With clever marketing and a focus on convenience and cost, commercially available pet foods have been the staple diet for many household pets ever since. With 100 years of industry dominance, it’s understandable that many vets have received their education and training with a heavy focus on the benefits of commercial pet food. However, this landscape is changing for the better. Since raw pet food (following BARF guidelines) first picked up traction in the late 90s, many industry professionals have started to acknowledge the undeniable health benefits and suitability of raw pet food diets. In 2014, the Raw Feeding Veterinary Society (RFVS) was established by a group of vets to ‘promote the principles and practical aspects of species-appropriate nutrition, through education of veterinary professionals and the pet-owning public.’.

Raw bones are dangerous

The complete opposite is true. Cooked bones become brittle and likely to splinter, causing a variety of health issues which can be lethal. Raw bones, when fed in moderation and in addition to a healthy, balanced, raw diet, provide a wealth of benefits including mental stimulation and oral hygiene.

Raw food is only for large / working breeds

Small dogs have just as much to gain from eating raw food as larger dogs. In this case, size really doesn’t matter! Nutriment have taken care of raw feeding for smaller breeds with our ‘Dinner for Dogs’ range, to make mealtimes even simpler.

Raw = gore

Forget all the misconceptions you have about raw feeding. With Nutriment raw food, there’s no dripping blood, no handling cow organs, no kitchen massacre. Just high-quality, raw meat that resembles what you may cook for your everyday dinner.

Puppies can't be fed raw

It is recommended that puppies begin weaning from their mother’s milk from 3 weeks of age. At that point, weaning straight onto a raw diet is ideal to provide growing pups with all the essential nutrition that they need to develop properly. Nutriment’s specialist weaning pastes and puppy starter packs are the perfect weaning companions.

Dogs have adapted to dry / cooked diets

Dogs have only been eating kibble and processed dog food for the last 100 years or so. This is not enough time for their digestive systems to evolve to suit this type of food. Their fundamental nutritional requirements remain unchanged since before they were domesticated by humans (i.e. raw and protein based).

You can't switch a senior dog to raw

You absolutely can! You can switch from processed to raw at any stage of a dog’s life. In fact, ageing dogs benefit hugely from the additional nutritional support that raw diets provide - take a look at our specialist formulas for ageing dogs. Read our information and advice on switching to a raw diet.