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Get an expert breakdown on the differences between fresh, frozen and raw diets for your cat or dog.
Updated on June 19th, 2026
See what options there are with a raw dog food diet.
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Updated on November 6th, 2025
Raw feeding is a very good option for many dogs, as long as done properly. hygiene and freshness of the ingredients are the key to this diet, it is important to get the raw meals from a good supplier, you will usually need a dedicated freezer to store the food. it is also very important to take the food out of the freezer not too long before giving it to your dog as it can go bad quite quickly when left outside.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
I am a holistic vet. I love raw diets, but it is very hard to make your own raw diet and have it be balanced nutritionally. I highly recommend pre made raw diets such as Honest Kitchen and Sojos. They are freeze dried, so much safer, and you simply rehydrate with warm water. This way you can feed raw, AND ensure it is a balanced diet.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
I see what you mean now, thank you for clarifying. I apologize for not answering your question the first time. When you said rations, I would thinking of something else. Dehydrated meats are fine. Dehydrated protein sources are a more concentrated source of digestible protein, and many pet food companies dehydrate the meat. I personally like Royal Canin as a dog food. Its a very high quality dog food. Other brands I would recommend include Hill's Science diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I hope this helps! :-)
Updated on September 24th, 2025
You have a lot of flexibility since she's a young/middle age adult, and I'm assuming she's healthy. Basically any food made by a reputable company is going to be fine for her. There has been more and more evidence coming out recently that grain-free diets aren't healthy for dogs (linked to a particular type of heart failure called Dilated Cardiomyopathy) and raw food also presents risk of salmonella and e.coli to both the dog and family around the dog, so I'd generally recommend staying away from both of those options. The brands I like are Hills, Purina, and Royal Canin because they have veterinary nutritionists on staff, have good quality control, and generally make solid products. I hope that helps a bit!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
The only difference really is ease of preparation and use. The homemade is going to be essentially healthier because it's fresh, not frozen. Freezing can destroy some of the vitamins/nutrients. If you want to make a homemade diet I suggest you use the BalanceIT website. https://secure.balanceit.com/ They will tell you how to prepare the diet based on what ingredients you are wanting to use and then will also tell you how to balance the diet using their supplements. This website was created by a veterinary nutritionist and would be the only way I would consider feeding a homemade diet. Hope this helps.
Updated on September 24th, 2025