Author: Nathan

A step-by-step guide to starting your puppy on raw food: when, what, how much and how often.

When can a puppy start raw food?

Many breeders wean puppies straight onto raw, so some puppies arrive at 8 weeks already eating it. If your puppy is on kibble or wet food, you can switch any time after they have settled into their new home. Give them a week or so to get used to you first, since a new home and a new diet at the same time can upset a young stomach.

Choose a complete food

Puppies need the right balance of meat, bone and organ for growing bones and teeth. Feed a complete food such as a Birmingham Raw 80/10/10 roll rather than single minces like tripe or chicken mince, which are complementary and not balanced on their own.

Start with one protein, usually chicken or turkey, as they are gentle and easy to digest. Once your puppy is doing well on that for a week or two, add a second protein, such as beef or lamb, one at a time.

How to switch: cold turkey or gradual?

Most raw feeders switch puppies straight over: last kibble meal one day, first raw meal the next. Mixing kibble and raw in the same bowl is usually avoided because they digest at different speeds. If your puppy has a sensitive stomach, a gentler route is to replace one meal a day with raw for a few days, then two, then all of them.

How much raw food does a puppy need?

Puppies need far more food for their size than adult dogs. As a guide, feed this much of their current weight each day:

Age	Daily amount	Meals a day	Example: 8kg puppy
8 weeks to 4 months	About 8%	4	640g
4 to 6 months	About 6%	3	480g
6 to 9 months	About 4.5%	2 to 3	360g
9 to 12 months	About 3.5%	2	280g

Weigh your puppy every week and recalculate. A useful cross-check is that the daily amount should rarely be more than 2% to 3% of the weight your puppy is expected to reach as an adult. Large and giant breeds should grow slowly, so feed them at the lower end and speak to your vet. Our raw feeding calculator has puppy settings that do the maths for you.

What to expect in the first two weeks

• Smaller, firmer poos. This is normal on raw. Very pale, crumbly poos mean too much bone; very soft poos can mean too much organ or too much food.
• A loose stool or two in the first few days is common. If it carries on, or your puppy is unwell, call your vet.
• Big enthusiasm at meal times. Most puppies love raw.

Handling raw food safely around puppies and children

• Defrost rolls in the fridge overnight, in a covered container.
• Use thawed food within 48 hours and don’t refreeze it.
• Wash bowls, surfaces and hands after every meal.
• Pick up anything your puppy leaves after 20 minutes.

Chews and treats for puppies

Teething puppies love something to chew. Soft raw bones such as chicken necks or duck necks are a good start, always supervised. Small, soft treats are ideal for training; see our guide to natural treats for training.

Questions

We deliver frozen raw food across WR postcodes. Shop complete raw food

This guide is general advice from a raw feeding dog walking team, not veterinary advice. If your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before changing their diet.

We walk dogs every day. Here’s how the two most popular Halti options compare, and how to choose.

The short answer

Choose a Halti headcollar for strong or large dogs that pull hard, lunge or need the most control. Choose a Halti no-pull harness for dogs that pull moderately, dogs that won’t accept something on their face, and short-nosed breeds. Many owners use a headcollar while training and move to a harness once the pulling eases.

How a Halti headcollar works

A headcollar sits around the nose and behind the ears, a bit like a horse’s head collar. The lead clips under the chin. When your dog pulls, their head is gently turned back towards you, and where the head goes the body follows. It takes very little strength to control a big dog.

• Best for: large, strong dogs; dogs that lunge at other dogs, cyclists or wildlife; owners who struggle to hold a pulling dog.
• Things to know: most dogs need a few days to get used to it. Introduce it with treats, and always use it with a lead that’s kept slack. Never use it with an extending lead or let a dog hit the end of the lead at speed.
• Not ideal for: very short-nosed breeds such as pugs and French bulldogs.

Look at the Halti Headcollar, or the Halti Optifit, which adjusts in more places for a closer fit.

How a Halti no-pull harness works

The Halti No Pull Harness has a lead connection on the chest and a lightweight front strap. When your dog pulls, gentle pressure across the chest discourages them from leaning into it, without anything on the face. It’s also padded and easy to put on.

• Best for: moderate pullers, dogs that dislike things on their face, short-nosed breeds and dogs recovering from neck problems.
• Things to know: it gives less control than a headcollar for a very strong, determined puller.

See the Halti No Pull Harness and the rest of our Halti range.

Side by side

	Headcollar	No-pull harness
Control of strong pullers	Highest	Good
Time to get used to it	A few days of training	Usually straight away
Short-nosed breeds	Not recommended	Suitable
Puppies	Once they’re used to a collar and lead	Suitable
Works with	A standard or double-ended lead	A standard or double-ended lead

Getting the size right

Most returns are down to size. For a headcollar, measure around the nose just below the eyes and check the size guide on the product page. For a harness, measure around the widest part of the chest. If your dog is between sizes, go for the larger one and adjust it down. You should be able to fit two fingers under any strap.

Training tips from our walkers

• Pair any no-pull aid with rewards for walking nicely. It helps you train, it doesn’t replace training.
• Stop and wait when the lead goes tight; move on when it goes slack.
• Keep high-value treats in a treat bag for the first few weeks.
• A double-ended lead lets you clip to the harness front and back, or to a headcollar and collar together, for extra control.

Questions

This guide is general advice from a raw feeding dog walking team, not veterinary advice. If your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before changing their diet.

What the numbers mean, why the ratio works and how it compares to complete-with-veg recipes.

What does 80/10/10 mean?

80/10/10 is a ratio used to balance a raw diet. Each meal is made up of about:

80% muscle meat	Protein, fat and most of the calories. Includes heart, tongue, tripe and other muscle.
10% bone	Calcium and phosphorus for bones and teeth, and firm poos.
10% organ	Usually half liver and half another secreting organ such as kidney or spleen. Vitamins A, D and the B group, iron, zinc and copper.

The ratio is based on the make-up of a whole prey animal, which is roughly what a dog would eat in the wild. It’s sometimes called the “prey model”.

Why use a ratio at all?

Meat alone is high in phosphorus and low in calcium. Fed on its own for weeks, it would leave a dog short of calcium and several vitamins. Adding the right amount of bone balances the minerals, and organ adds the vitamins that muscle meat lacks. Too much bone causes constipation; too much liver can cause loose stools and, over a long time, too much vitamin A. The 80/10/10 ratio keeps everything in a safe range.

80/10/10 or 70/10/10/10?

Birmingham Raw makes both. The 70/10/10/10 “complete with veg” recipes swap 10% of the meat for vegetables and fruit, adding fibre and a little extra variety.

	80/10/10	70/10/10/10 with veg
Meat	80%	70%
Bone	10%	10%
Organ	10%	10%
Veg and fruit	None	10%
Good for	Active dogs, prey-model feeders	Dogs that need extra fibre, firmer stools or slightly fewer calories

Both are complete, so you don’t need to add anything. Lots of owners rotate between the two.

Complete or complementary?

A complete roll is balanced on its own. A complementary food, such as a single mince of chicken, tripe or salmon, isn’t balanced and needs to be fed alongside complete food. Complementary minces are great for variety, for building your own meals, or for fussy eaters, but shouldn’t be the whole diet.

Do I need to balance every meal?

No. If you feed complete 80/10/10 rolls, every roll is balanced. If you build your own meals, aim to balance over a week or two rather than at every single meal.

How much 80/10/10 should I feed?

Most adult dogs eat 2% to 3% of their ideal body weight a day. A 20kg dog needs about 500g, roughly one 454g roll. Use the raw dog food calculator for your dog.

Questions

Browse Birmingham Raw complete 80/10/10 and complete-with-veg rolls. Shop raw dog food

This guide is general advice from a raw feeding dog walking team, not veterinary advice. If your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before changing their diet.

Everything you need to start raw feeding, without the jargon. Written by a team that walks and feeds dogs every day.

Why we feed raw

We walk dogs every day across Worcestershire, and our own dogs are raw fed. The changes owners most often tell us about are smaller, less smelly poos, a shinier coat, cleaner teeth and a dog that is genuinely excited at dinner time. Raw isn’t the only way to feed a dog well, but it’s simple once you know the basics.

Step 1: Choose complete food

The easiest and safest start is a ready-made complete raw food. Every roll has the right balance of meat, bone and organ, so there’s nothing to weigh or mix. Birmingham Raw’s 80/10/10 and complete-with-veg ranges are both complete. Read 80/10/10 explained for the difference.

Step 2: Start with one protein

Begin with chicken or turkey for the first week or two. Once your dog is settled, add a new protein, such as beef, duck or lamb, one at a time. Rotating proteins gives a wider range of nutrients, and if one ever disagrees with your dog you’ll know which.

Step 3: Work out how much

Adults eat 2% to 3% of their ideal body weight a day, split into two meals. Our raw feeding calculator works it out in grams and rolls.

Step 4: Make the switch

Most dogs switch straight from kibble to raw from one meal to the next. If your dog has a sensitive tummy, swap one meal a day for a few days first. Puppies have their own guide: switching your puppy to raw.

Step 5: Store and defrost safely

• Keep rolls frozen at -18°C until you need them.
• Defrost overnight in the fridge, in a covered tub on the bottom shelf.
• Use within 48 hours of thawing and don’t refreeze.
• Wash bowls, surfaces and hands with hot soapy water after feeding.

Step 6: Add chews and treats

Raw bones and chews, such as duck necks, lamb ribs and beef trachea, are great for teeth and keep dogs busy. Always supervise, choose a size your dog can’t swallow whole, and never feed cooked bones. Count them as part of the daily food allowance.

A starter shopping list

• A pack of 15 complete rolls in one or two proteins
• A few raw chews to try
• A lidded tub for defrosting
• A pack of natural treats for walks and training

Common beginner worries

“Is it expensive?” Buying in packs and boxes brings the cost per roll down a lot. A 20kg dog eats about one roll a day.

“Do I need a big freezer?” Not if you live in a WR postcode. We deliver several days a week, so you can order little and often.

“What about bacteria?” Raw meat for dogs is handled like raw meat for people. Follow the storage steps above and keep raw food away from very young children.

Questions

Start with a pack of 15 and see how your dog gets on. Shop raw dog food

This guide is general advice from a raw feeding dog walking team, not veterinary advice. If your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before changing their diet.

What makes a good training treat, and the natural, single-ingredient treats our walkers keep in their pockets.

What makes a good training treat?

• Small. About the size of your little fingernail, so your dog can eat it in a second and get straight back to work.
• Smelly and tasty. The higher the value, the harder your dog will work, especially outdoors with distractions.
• Natural. Single-ingredient meat or fish treats, with no added sugar, colours or fillers.
• Not crumbly or greasy. Easy to carry in a pocket or treat bag.

Our favourite natural training treats

Treat	Why it works	Best for
Training cubes	Already small, soft and quick to eat	Everyday training and recall
Fish cubes	Strong smell for high value	Recall and busy places
Jerky and meat slices	Easy to break into tiny pieces	Long walks and lots of repetitions
Dried liver or lung	Light, very tasty, breaks up easily	Puppies and fussy dogs
Chews such as tripe sticks or ears	Long-lasting reward	Settling and crate training, not quick rewards

See our full range of natural dog treats.

How many treats is too many?

Treats should make up no more than about 10% of your dog’s daily food. On a heavy training day, trim their meals a little to make room. Raw-fed dogs can be rewarded with small pieces of their own meal, too.

Making treats go further

• Break or cut treats into pea-sized pieces before you head out.
• Use lower-value treats at home and save the best ones for outdoors.
• Mix a few strong-smelling fish cubes into a bag of plainer treats to make the whole bag more interesting.
• Keep them in a treat bag so they’re quick to grab. Timing matters more than the treat itself.

Kit that helps

A treat bag on your belt, a clicker or whistle for clear timing, and a long line for recall practice make training much easier. See our training and travel range, including Coachi training gear.

Questions

This guide is general advice from a raw feeding dog walking team, not veterinary advice. If your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before changing their diet.