🐱 NEW!

Introducing the Cat Food Advisor!

Independent, unbiased reviews without influence from pet food companies

Reply To: Need Ideas to Supplement Raw Food Diet

#42918 Report Abuse
Hound Dog Mom
Participant

Hi zolicylus –

Supplementing a raw diet with items such as those suggested above – RMBs, sardines, oils – will not result in the components “digesting at different rates.” Why would a chicken neck digest at a different rate than ground chicken?

In fact, it’s very beneficial to supplement any diet with healthy fats such as coconut oil and sardines, as Sandy mentioned. Coconut oil offers many benefits – it has natural antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties and may help improve skin and coat health. More info here.

Darwin’s does not add a source of available omega 3’s (DHA/EPA) to their foods so it would actually be advisable to feed sardines (or another fatty fish on a regular basis). The only source of omega 3’s in the Darwin’s recipes is flax. plant based omega 3’s (with the exception of algal oil) contain omega 3’s in the form of ALA. ALA is a a short-chain fatty acid that is, essentially, a pre-cursor to long chain omega 3’s DHA and EPA. It is DHA and EPA that the body utilizes and because ALA is poorly converted (in most cases less than 10% actually gets converted) it’s necessary to feed foods naturally rich in long chain omega 3’s (EPA/DHA) such as fatty fish, algal oil or cage-free eggs.

Feeding RMBs in conjunction with a balanced ground raw diet (such as Darwin’s) will provide the dog with the dental benefits they miss out on when eating ground food.

  • This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
  • This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.