Ever considered feeding your dog raw food?  Going back in time to before dogs were domesticated, they ate raw meat (as some ancestors of dogs such as wolves, still do today).  Feeding a strictly raw diet, or using raw as a topper on kibble can be extremely beneficial for dogs.

Raw food provides three essential benefits that cooked pet food cannot compete with:

Enzymes: Enzymes are a catalyst for all processes in the body such as cell growth and breaking down nutrients during digestion. Most food enzymes are essentially destroyed under the conditions used to cook and process food, leaving foods devoid of enzyme activity. Enzymes are denatured when heat is applied.

Amino Acids: Amino acids form the proteins that in turn form muscle tissue and increase fat metabolism. There are two types of amino acids; essential amino acids and nonessential amino acids. Dogs and cats cannot make essential amino acids and so must obtain them from raw foods.

Intracellular Moisture: Intracellular moisture, also called cytosol, is the liquid found inside cells. Intracellular moisture is the most effective way for your pet’s digestive system to break down and process their food. Without the moisture from prey animal cells, the digestive system has to work extra hard to complete the digestive process. When cooked, plant and animal cells lose this natural moisture.

Burns Feed Store carries Northwest Naturals who offers many varieties of nutritious diets including:

• Lamb
• Beef & Trout
• Beef
• Chicken
• Chicken & Salmon
• Turkey
• Whitefish & Salmon

Burns carries a 6 pound resealable, easy-carry bag which holds individually quick frozen nuggets which weigh approximately .20 oz each, 80 to the pound (approximately 480 nuggets per bag). We also carry a 15 pound box which is a better value for those bigger dogs who eat more! The formulas are ground, formed and then quick frozen at -30° for 10 minutes.  Open the bag and pour the proper feeding amount into your dog’s bowl. The small nuggets will thaw quickly and are small enough for the tiniest dogs or puppies.

Another tip is once you purchase the bag or box and get home, take a few minutes and separate the appropriate amount of nuggets into small zip lock bags and place into the freezer.  Then the evening or morning before each meal, simply pull those bags out of the freezer and place them into the refrigerator. At next meal time, empty the pre-counted nuggets into the dogs bowl, already thawed, no counting or waiting needed.

Also check out the freeze dried diets and treats!!

Come on in and ask any questions you may have about feeding raw and Northwest Naturals, or visit their website at https://nw-naturals.net