AAFCO COMPLIANT
Our Titan Red and Titan Blue products meet the nutritional standards set by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles. If you want more information regarding this please give us a call or send us an email. We would be more than happy to talk to you about our high quality product.
RAW FEEDING GUIDELINES
When feeding raw it is important that dogs get the correct proportion of bone, muscle, organ meat, and vitamins. The AAFCO compliant Titan Red and Titan Blue formulas have been refined to have everything your best friend needs to be healthy. It is advised to split their food into at least two meals per day.
While most kibble is measured by volume, raw food is measured in pounds or ounces. This is because it is the most accurate way to ensure your pup is getting the nutrients they need. To figure out how much your adult dog needs to eat, simply take their weight and calculate 2.5%-3%. For puppies, feed 5%-10% of their current weight. Puppies require a lot of calories for their size because growing takes a lot more energy than almost any other activity. So, you want to make sure you are providing them enough food to grow properly.
To help an adult dog lose weight, feed about 2%. Senior or less active dogs may also require a reduce percentage. Very active dogs may require an increased percentage. If your dog needs to gain weight, start by increasing the percentage by .5%.
"HUNGER PUKES"
Because there is no filler in raw food, some dogs accumulate more acid in their stomach than they would while eating kibble. This is because they are digesting their raw food more quickly and efficiently than they would digest kibble. However, this sometimes results in an upset stomach and runny, yellow vomit. Luckily there are a few ways you can help your dog with this.
Split your dog's food into more than just two feedings. This keeps their stomach from having to be empty during the day which keeps acid from building up since it has food to digest.
Make their last meal of the day larger than the others they eat. This gives their stomach more food to digest before going all night without.
Add some fiber to their evening meal. This can be accomplished with a spoonful of plain canned pumpkin, rice, or plain oatmeal. All are are easy on the stomach and will help your dog feel fuller. Small dogs (<25lbs) may need about a teaspoon, while large dogs (>60) may need closer to a few tablespoons. Even larger dogs (>100lbs) may need close to 1/4 cup.
"GLUTTON" EATERS
We all know them. The dogs that eat their food as if it is going to disappear if they so much as glance away from it. The dogs that empty a full bowl of food within less than a minute of it being placed on the floor. While the sight can be amusing, this is actually a dangerous behavior. Dogs, especially larger dogs, are susceptible to something called "bloat" or gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV). This occurs when gas gets trapped in a dogs stomach causing it to twist and flip over, ultimately cutting off blood flow to the organ. This has to be corrected with surgery and often results in death. "Glutton" eaters are more likely to experience bloat because they ingest large amounts of air when they eat so quickly.
Now you might be wondering, "What do I do?" After all, you can't just tell your dog to eat slower. There are some solutions available for purchase or if you're looking to save some money there are some DIY solutions as well. Outward Hound makes several different styles of slow feeder bowls as shown below. These are available on their website and on Chewy.com. DIY solutions include thing like putting tennis balls (or other similar objects that are too large to fit in your dog's throat) into the dog's bowl so they have to eat around it or putting the food in either side of a muffin tin so they can only access small quantities at a time.
TREATS!
We offer a variety of high-quality, all natural treats for your best friend. While almost all our clients dog's love these treats, some of them love them a little too much. This isn't a common problem, but if your dog is a fast eater or has been known to swallow treats without chewing please be careful when giving them new treats. Tougher treats can potentially lodge in a dog's throat if they are big enough and haven't been chewed fully. For this reason we encourage you to supervise your dog when feeding new treats so you can help them out if needed by removing the treat from their reach. The best way to do this is to offer them something yummier and trade!
Some of our customers who have "non-chewers" that love our treats have had great success with simply breaking the treats into smaller bits. That way their enthusiastic dogs get their treats and stay safe too!
RAW FOOD SAFETY
PREPARING A DOG FOOD STATION
Clear the area you will be preparing meals in of all humans safe food and eating utensils. It is best to designate an area for preparing dog food away from where human safe food is being prepared or handled.
DEFROSTING FOOD
Keep food frozen until preparing for feeding. Defrost dog food in a sealed container inside a refrigerator. Ensure that this container is waterproof as product bags do leak when defrosted.
HANDLING FOOD
This food is comprised of raw meat and as such should be handled with care. Bacteria growth is common within raw meat and while dogs can process this without issue, us humans are not built to do so. This food best handled with gloves though they are not necessary as long as your hands are thoroughly cleaned after handling has occurred.
CLEAN UP
Clean area with bleach or other antibacterial cleaner. It is best to soak any utensils used in a bleach solution for at least ten minutes before washing and using again.
LEFTOVERS
Store leftover food in the refrigerator inside a sealed container. Use or refreeze food within 24-hours of defrosting.