Raw dog food: what it actually involves
Raw dog food means feeding meat, bone and offal instead of a cooked kibble or wet meal, usually as a frozen complete mix, a freeze-dried version of the same thing, or fresh chilled mince and chubs. The format you choose changes more about your daily routine — freezer space, defrosting, mess — than it changes what is actually in the bowl.
The three formats, and what they actually mean
Frozen complete meals arrive as portioned blocks or nuggets sized for a daily feed, usually meat, bone and offal balanced to a recognised ratio. They need proper freezer space and forward planning, because the pack has to come out and defrost in the fridge, not on the side, well before the meal it is meant for.
Freeze-dried raw is the same underlying recipe with the water removed, so it stores at room temperature rather than needing freezer space at all. It rehydrates with a splash of water before serving, which makes it the format that travels best, but it costs more per kilo than the frozen equivalent for the same recipe.
Fresh chilled mince, tripe and chubs sit closer to a butcher's counter than a pet food aisle. They are usually the least processed option and often the cheapest per kilo, but they have the shortest fridge life once opened, so they suit an owner who feeds through a pack quickly rather than one buying weeks ahead.
Storage and defrosting, in practice
A large dog on a frozen diet needs real freezer space, not a shelf. A week of meals for a bigger dog can fill a drawer on its own, and that is before you have room for anything else you actually wanted to keep frozen.
Move tomorrow's portion into the fridge the night before rather than leaving raw meat to defrost on a worktop, and keep it separate from your own food while it does. Once thawed, treat it like any raw meat: use it within the timeframe on the pack rather than refreezing it.
Portioning and mess
Complete raw meals are sold pre-portioned or in a block you cut down yourself, which makes daily amounts easier to keep consistent than guessing with a scoop. How much a particular dog needs depends on their weight, age and activity, so check the pack and, if you are unsure, ask your vet rather than eyeballing it.
Feeding raw is generally messier than kibble at the bowl end — meaty juice on a work surface, a bowl that needs a proper wash rather than a wipe, and packaging waste from individual portions that a large sack of dry food does not produce. None of that makes it impractical, but it is worth knowing before the freezer fills up.
Hygiene, and what changes day to day
Raw meat carries the same handling rules in a kitchen as it would for your own dinner: wash the bowl and any surfaces it has touched, keep it away from food you are about to eat yourself, and wash your hands after handling it.
If you have young children, anyone with a weakened immune system, or another pet with particular health needs in the house, it is worth being more careful still about where a raw meal is prepared and where a bowl is left afterwards.
What we stock
Our raw range includes frozen complete meals such as Benyfit Natural Chicken Tripe Complete Raw Dog Food and Nutriment's adult raw formulas in lamb and turkey, plus a frozen puppy option in Nutriment Puppy Raw Chicken Chubb. All of it lives in the same freezer section, bought and packed the same way as everything else we send out.
If you are trying raw for the first time, buying one bag rather than a bulk order is the sensible way to see whether your dog gets on with it and whether the freezer space actually works for your kitchen, before committing a whole shelf to it.
This format, in stock
Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.
Nutriment Adult Dog Raw Rabbit & Turkey Formula Frozen
Complete raw rabbit and turkey dog food in a frozen 500G pack
£5.69
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Turkey
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Turkey is listed in our frozen pet food range for dogs. The page brings together the available option labels and the product facts that can be checked, so unsupported claims are left out.
£2.39
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Chicken
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Chicken is listed in our frozen pet food range for dogs. The page brings together the available option labels and the product facts that can be checked, so unsupported claims are left out.
£2.39
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Lamb
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Lamb is listed in our frozen pet food range for dogs. The page brings together the available option labels and the product facts that can be checked, so unsupported claims are left out.
£2.39
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Beef
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Beef is listed in our frozen pet food range for dogs. The page brings together the available option labels and the product facts that can be checked, so unsupported claims are left out.
£2.39
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Fish
Bella & Duke Raw Basics Working Dog Fish is listed in our frozen pet food range for dogs. The page brings together the available option labels and the product facts that can be checked, so unsupported claims are left out.
£2.39
Cotswold Raw Active Mince Lamb Frozen
Cotswold Raw's complete frozen raw lamb mince, the richest in fat of their active range
From£4.95
Nutriment Adult Dog Raw Chicken Chubb Frozen
Complete raw dog food with 65% chicken in a frozen 1.4KG chubb
£6.29
Nutriment Adult Dog Raw Chicken & Lamb Formula Frozen
Complete chicken and lamb raw dog food in a frozen 500G pack
£3.49
Nutriment Adult Dog Just Raw Tripe
Frozen raw Adult Dog Just Raw Tripe — complementary food for dogs
£3.09
Natures Menu Natural Raw Turkey Necks
500G complementary food or treat for dogs, with composition and analysis stated clearly
£3.99
Cotswold Raw Puppy Mince Chicken Frozen
Cotswold Raw's complete frozen raw mince for puppies, with a puppy-specific mineral ratio
From£4.25
Common questions
- Is raw dog food more work than kibble?
- Yes, day to day it usually is. You need freezer space, a plan for defrosting the next portion in the fridge, and a bit more washing up than pouring biscuits from a sack, though many owners find the routine becomes automatic within a couple of weeks.
- Can I mix raw and kibble in the same bowl?
- Plenty of owners feed raw and kibble at different meals rather than mixing them in one bowl, since the two digest at different speeds. If you want to combine formats, introduce any change gradually and keep an eye on your dog's stools, checking with your vet if anything seems off.
- Does freeze-dried raw need the freezer at all?
- No, that is the point of it. Freeze-dried raw is the same recipe with the water removed, so it stores in a cupboard at room temperature and only needs rehydrating with water before serving, which makes it useful for travelling or for owners without much freezer space.
- Is raw dog food safe to handle at home?
- It is safe if you treat it the way you would treat raw meat for yourself: wash bowls and surfaces after use, keep it separate from your own food, and wash your hands afterwards. Take extra care if there are young children or anyone with a weakened immune system in the house.
Related
Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.