What dog food you choose for your pup impacts their health, appearance, and energy in a significant way.

There are many considerations to make, including calories, age, size, and allergies your dog may have. With so many choices available, you may be wondering about the healthiest food for dogs.

One popular dietary option is raw dog food, which describes any food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Many pet owners prefer raw dog food for a variety of reasons. Eating raw dog food offers numerous health benefits for your canine companion, which may not be found in other types of diets.

Here are some of the benefits and why raw dog food can be a better choice. As always, please consult your vet before changing your dog’s diet.

#1 No Fillers

Kibble is convenient, but it’s also poorly made. The quality of ingredients is the stuff that human beings don’t want to eat, so it gets passed off to our pets. As if that wasn’t enough, kibble is packed with fillers which satisfies the appetite but not a dog’s health. Raw dog food, in comparison, is much higher in quality and doesn’t contain any fillers. Everything there serves a purpose in terms of health and eating.

#2 It’s Not a Carb-Based Diet

A dog’s teeth are made to rip apart meat and clamp on bone. A store-bought diet is often a lot of carbohydrates. The dog’s body isn’t equipped to process all those carbs. However, a raw dog food diet has lots of nutrients, protein and is far easier to digest. Regardless of what breed or size dog you have, their health would benefit greatly from a more optimized diet.

#3 Have a Shinier Coat of Fur

A coat of fur is representative of a dog’s health. If they are getting the nutrients they need, as contained in raw dog food, this makes their coat of fur shinier. It’s comparable to the materials and foods that a dog would normally eat in nature. They’re whole foods with no processing or alterations at a chemical level. In a sense, this restores a dog’s coat to exactly what it should look like.

#4 Have Healthier Skin for Dogs

A dog’s skin is also ultimately a representative of what they’re eating, just like us humans! When they’re getting essential amino acids, fatty acids, enzymes, and all those good nutrients, a canine’s skin is less oily and greasy. This translates to a softer, more comfortable, and less dry skin underneath a smoother and softer fur coat. If your dog is known for either oily or dry skin, switching to a raw food diet is something to try.

#5 Improve Dental Health for Dogs

A raw dog food diet with meaty bones can help keep a dog’s mouth clean. This is because raw foods for dogs are a natural abrasive on the teeth. It’s like eating the bristles of a toothbrush in some ways. Raw diets are also rich in minerals, calcium, phosphorous, and protein. They’re pouring in all these good things around their teeth while essentially cleaning them during raw food meals.

#6 Give Your Dog More Energy

A raw dog food diet also makes it easier to absorb the ingredients. This means a dog can eat somewhat less and last longer energy-wise on the food they have eaten. Raw food isn’t overly processed and packed with junk that a dog doesn’t need. It’s just got the good stuff. A dog spends less time and energy digesting food, taking that energy drain off and rededicating this towards being a dog!

#7 Your Dog Will Smell Less

The quality of the ingredients in raw dog food means a better coat of fur, decreased shedding and dandruff, and less of a smell. A dog’s body is better at processing raw dog food and due to the fact it contains less waste than kibble, there’s less of a smell. If your dog’s skin or breath normally smells bad, don’t be surprised if that goes away or diminishes after they are switched to eating raw dog food.

#8 Smaller Stools

Eating a raw dog food diet is very efficient in terms of waste processing in the body. You can expect stools to be smaller and possibly for a dog to have to poop less often. This varies on the breed, so don’t be alarmed if you start to notice them going to the bathroom less or outputting smaller stools. This is a sign that your dog’s meals are going to the right places, giving them energy and nutrition rather than being predominantly made of what amounts to waste products.

#9 It’s a Diverse Food Category

You can get raw dog food store-bought, or you can make it at home. It can be freeze-dried, dehydrated, and prepared in several different ways. It’s a very diverse category, usually made from organ meats, muscle meat, whole or ground bone, raw eggs, and dog-safe vegetables and fruits. As a pet owner, this allows you to shop for raw dog food affordably, offering a range of different meals to your canine instead of sticking with just one source.