I wanted to write a short piece about a mistake I see a lot of pet owners making when feeding raw: Too many vegetables!
Let's review: Dogs and cats are carnivores, or meat-eaters. Dogs are primarily carnivorous; although they can eat other things, they do best on a meat-based diet. Cats are obligate carnivores, and need meat if they are going to live and be healthy.
This also means that the bulk of their diet must be meat. Dogs need at least 3/4 of their diet to be meat, cats need a little more.
Correspondingly, this means that your pet doesn't need that much vegetable matter.
Many people are trying to cut back on the meat bill by adding grains or increasing the proportion of vegetables compared to meat. Unfortunately, you can't do this and come out ahead in the long run. Even though you are technically feeding "raw," your pets might experience lingering health issues - especially those who are being fed grains. And, remember, "grains" include rice, pasta, oatmeal, barley, millet, quinoa, etc. Watch your treats as well. Even a small amount of grains in the diet in the form of treats can prevent your pet's symptoms from clearing up.
When it comes to vegetables, variety is important (you can't always feed carrots, no matter how much Fluffy loves them), and NOT TOO MANY. If you are feeding your dog 1 cup of meat, you need 1-2 tablespoons of vegetables...at SOME meals. For a cat, this means a teaspoon of veggies...sometimes.
You don't have to feed veggies all the time. If it's easier for you, fine. If not, don't worry about it. Some weeks my dogs get no vegetables in their food, but I'll steam some Brussels sprouts during the day and they'll eat them right out of the pot. Or I might give them some vegetable soup when I'm putting the leftovers into containers. My cats are still eating some processed (canned and dry) grain-free foods. They are already getting more carbohydrates than they need, so when I put out raw food for them I don't add veggies to it. The raw food that I use is just meat and bone, by the way, no veggies or supplements in it.
I think it actually makes our lives easier. Make sure you are feeding a variety of meat sources (not always chicken), and if you feed your dog some table scraps and leftovers, the vegetables will likely take care of themselves....depending on your diet, of course!
