Should I feed my puppy raw food or stick with commercial kibble?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Siberian Husky | Female | spayed | 3 months and 27 days old | 54.3 lbs
I feed Nova Royal Cannin puppy food currently, she seems to be doing well with it. I have come across lot of people advocating for raw food. What's your opinion on it?
4 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on August 16th, 2017
Hello again! Royal Canin is a high quality food, so if Nova is doing well with it, I'd recommend continuing to feed it. There are conflicting opinions about feeding a raw diet, but most veterinarians recommend against it as there is an increased potential for gastrointestinal illness in both your dog and you (the preparer) from handling raw meats, and the benefits don't tend to outweigh the risks. If you'd like more information on safely feeding raw diets, here's a link to the FDA's recommendations for handling raw and undercooked foods meant for pet consumption: https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm206814.htm Remember, it's always best to consult with your vet before making a diet change, as your pet's individual needs should be taken into consideration. Best of luck, and I hope Nova grows up to be a happy, healthy dog!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
-
Published on April 21st, 2017
Congratulations your new addition! Truthfully, I never recommend raw diets to any dog of any age. Just like humans, dogs can become ill from bacteria (such as Listeria or Salmonella) present in raw meats, and can infect people that they lick after eating raw meats. Puppies in particular have more specific nutritional requirements to maintain optimal growth. For this reason, I encourage feeding a commercial dog food formulated either for puppies or all life stages. Royal Canin, Science Diet and Purina ProPlan are all good quality brands of food with a significant amount of research and clinical testing behind them. The bag of dog food generally has a chart that depicts how much Maggie should eat given her current age and body weight. Each food has a different caloric density, so continue to follow the recommendations on the food as she grows. After 1 year of age, you can switch to an adult diet, but anytime you change Maggie's food, be sure to do so by gradually mixing old and new foods together over 5-7 days. If for some reason you are uncomfortable with commercial diets and prefer cooking for Maggie, balanceit.com has a great website with recipes and vitamin/mineral supplements to assure that her diet is balanced.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
-
Published on May 21st, 2018
Great question! Wet food mixed with a kibble diet is better for Fenrir. I never recommend raw diets. There is too much risk of him getting sick from bacteria that is present in raw food, and there is a risk of you getting sick from making the meals and him passing it along to you (i.e. eating the food and then licking your face). There have been numerous cases of dogs getting sick on the raw food diet. In addition, there's no proof that raw diets are beneficial to dogs. I would keep him on his current diet. Best of luck, I hope this helps!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
-
Published on April 26th, 2017
I personally never recommend giving a raw food diet. There is no scientific proof is it beneficial to dogs, and there is a risk of poisoning from E.coli and Salmonella due to the raw meat. In addition, growing puppies need higher amounts of protein, calcium, and calories than adult dogs to grow properly, and a raw food diet will not meet those needs. If you want to do a homemade diet, I can give you links to websites that have recipes for nutritionally balanced cooked homemade diets. https://secure.balanceit.com https://www.petdiets.com
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
I just got an 8 week old puppy. She is an English bulldog and Boston terrier. I want to know the best food to feed her. I was thinking of a raw food diet. Can puppies eat raw meat and digest it normally? What else do they need in their diet besides
My dog is Labrador retriever... It is 50 days old we are giving royal canine ...so can we replace it with home food like curd rice or anything
what food is better Raw or cooked? Is a raw diet beneficial?
Hi I’ve been feeding my 7 month old boxer minced meat and white rice for the past 2 months and after asking a vet here ,I switched to giving him royal canin but he vomitted it out a couple of hours after I first gave it to him.Should I continue to fe
I have been feeding my puppy the BARF diet. A friend told me it's not healthy but I've done research on how it has alot of benefits. Should I keep feeding him Raw food?
I was curious if changing my dogs food to a raw diet is more beneficial then feeding her dry kibble. I have read some things online about the raw diet and was wondering if it’s recommended.
Hello! I am looking to get a second opinion on a raw food diet for a puppy! He is a labradoodle, and i having intentions of doing this for his lifetime if it is as good as i have read! I was hoping someone could talk to me about some precautions, ben
Hi, why you dont recommend for all pet owners to feed their cats and dogs raw food?. Since dry food and canned food are not healthy at all, containing carbs and starch, which leads to cancer. Today i made a research about Gluconeogenesis, which is th
MELANIE: thank you for your helpful answers!! In your opinion what is a better option for a balanced diet; a fresh food commercial diet that contains rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes and various meats and vegetables. Or a commercial kibble such as roya
Samson hasn’t been eating his kibble. Try mixing with wet food, no like. I have put chicken in there, he picks out the chicken. Am afraid he’s not getting all the nutrients he needs. Is raw dog food healthy enough to cover all his growing body( mind,
Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.
