Why this question is harder to answer than it should be
Raw feeding — typically referred to as a BARF diet (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) or a prey-model diet — means feeding dogs uncooked muscle meat, organ meat, raw meaty bones, and sometimes raw vegetables and eggs. The idea is that this more closely mirrors what dogs' wild ancestors ate, and that cooking destroys enzymes and nutrients in ways that compromise health. Proponents point to shinier coats, smaller stools, better dental health, and higher energy. Many of these observations are real. The question is whether they're the whole story.
The complications arise in two areas: safety and nutrition. On safety, multiple peer-reviewed studies — including a 2018 study published in Vet Record — have found Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli, and other pathogens in a significant percentage of commercial raw dog food products. Dogs can often carry these bacteria without showing symptoms, acting as a source of contamination for humans in the household. On nutrition, independent testing of commercial raw diets has repeatedly found imbalances — excess or deficiency in calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, and iodine — especially in home-prepared recipes not formulated by a veterinary nutritionist.
The honest picture: raw feeding has real potential benefits, and those benefits are not simply marketing fiction. But the risks are also real, not invented by institutions trying to protect the kibble industry. Where you land depends on your dog's individual health, your household composition, and how carefully you source and handle the food. A blanket yes or no from any source — including official veterinary bodies — deserves scrutiny.
The raw food question comes up differently for different owners
People land on this question from very different starting points — which affects what the right answer actually looks like for them.
Getting this wrong has real consequences — in both directions
Feeding a poorly balanced raw diet long-term can cause serious nutritional deficiencies or toxicities — particularly in growing puppies, where calcium-to-phosphorus imbalances can affect bone development. At the same time, dismissing raw feeding entirely because of official warnings means potentially missing a feeding approach that genuinely suits some dogs well. The risk of doing nothing isn't zero either: staying on a low-quality processed diet with poor ingredient lists carries its own health implications. The point isn't to scare you in either direction — it's to help you make the choice with open eyes.
A 2020 study in PLOS ONE tested 35 commercial raw dog food products and found that 86% contained bacteria exceeding safe thresholds, and 54% tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Separately, a nutritional analysis of raw diets in the Journal of Nutritional Science found that approximately 60% of home-prepared raw recipes reviewed were deficient in at least one essential nutrient. These aren't reasons to automatically avoid raw feeding — but they are reasons to source and formulate it carefully.
There is a trusted solution for this.
We've gone through the studies, weighed the risks, and laid out exactly what a safe and nutritionally sound raw diet looks like — and when it's not the right call.
See the Trusted Solution →Free to read · Independently verified · Updated March 2026
What others have experienced
47 community experiences-
MR
Switched my four-year-old border collie to a commercial raw diet about six months ago after years of chronic ear infections and itching that no vet could fully resolve. The itching genuinely improved — noticeably — within about eight weeks. I'm not saying it's a cure-all and I don't know for certain it was the food, but it was the only thing we changed. I do use separate cutting boards and wash my hands obsessively. It's more work than kibble, no question.
34 found this helpful -
DK
I tried homemade raw for about four months using recipes I found online. At my dog's annual checkup, the vet flagged some abnormal bloodwork and it turned out she had developed a vitamin D deficiency. I didn't realize how easy it is to get the balance wrong without a properly formulated recipe. We've moved to a commercial raw brand that has an AAFCO complete-and-balanced statement and things have stabilized. I'd be more cautious about DIY recipes than I was.
28 found this helpful -
TP
Honestly, I tried raw for three months and went back to a high-quality kibble. My dog did fine on it but I have a toddler and an elderly parent living with us, and after reading about the contamination risks I just wasn't comfortable with it anymore. It's not that I think raw is bad — I think for the right household it probably works well. It just wasn't the right fit for ours. No drama, just a practical decision.
19 found this helpful
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