We're often asked the same questions about Raw food...
Isn't 80-10-10 the best way?
Is 80-10-10 complete?
Why do you only stock complete foods...?
Why don't you stock 80-10-10 diets?
Well they all have a very similar answer - at least underpinning.
Firstly what does 80-10-10 mean?
It always shocks us how many owners that use this method don't really understand its meaning... 80% Meat, 10% Bone, 10% Offal... it sounds good right?
The big one... is it a complete food?
Simply put... no. We only stock raw brands that follow FEDIAF guidelines for complete feeds, we also require them to be PFMA members, this means we know your furry friend really is getting the BEST in nutrition... Why? Well they have to adhere to strict microbiological testing, practice safeguarding measures and adhere to current legislation.
Our first priority is bacteria, our brands have to follow legislation as bacteria is the worst was for raw feeding to go bad, we don't want poorly pups through illness, or through malnutrition.
It's easy for a food to appear as complete with clever wording... but in order to use the term "COMPLETE" on their packaging they HAVE to of achieved to FEDIAF nutritional levels. Brands will often use other terms but miss off the special C-word - Sneaky hey!
80-10-10 has been seen to be successful for experienced raw feeders - I will let you into a secret -they have to add supplements and added extra's to ensure the dogs diet is complete, its not a bad way to feed, but its super hard to balance... why not let the Nutritionists at our manufacturers do the hard part of balancing your dogs intake for you!
Its based upon the belief that dogs cannot absorb & digest any carbohydrates. When in reality dogs are well adapted through evolution to digest carbohydrates. In fact we would go as far as saying they can even be beneficial in their diet.
The messaging however can be confusing and mind boggling! Dogs have no dietary requirement for carbs, but this doesn't mean they can't put them to good use! There is a long sciency description of what your dogs body does to turn confusing carbs into highly beneficial ingredients (ask us in store if you'd like us to explain). For example - orange veggies like pumpkin, squash etc, are a fantastic source of fibre - often beneficial for dogs with stool or anal gland issues.
We are incredibly passionate about Science in the Pickles Pet Pantry team and we have to follow our gut (or our dogs) on this. Science and our knowledge is forever changing - we will always monitor and adapt based on where it leads us, for now we want to sit tight with our friends at FEDIAF - who really do know there stuff!
Ultimately science is our reason for not stocking 80-10-10 diets in store, we want to make things simple, let us handle the science while you and your pooch enjoy meal times!
References:
Fortes, C., Carciofi, A., Sakomura, N., Kawauchi, I. and Vasconcellos, R. (2010). Digestibility and metabolizable energy of some carbohydrate sources for dogs. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 156.
Di Cerbo, A., Morales-Medina, J., Palmieri, B., Pezzuto, F., Cocco, R., Flores, G. and Iannitti, T. (2017). Functional foods in pet nutrition: Focus on dogs and cats. Research in Veterinary Science, 112.
Case, L., Daristotle, L., Hayek, M. and Raasch, M. (2011). Canine and feline nutrition. 3rd ed. Maryland Heights: Mosby Elsevier.
