Raw Feeding Cheat Sheet
For Adult Dogs And Puppies
This quick resource covers the exact nutrients your dog needs, 85 ingredients you can use safely, and how to calculate your dog’s calories with one simple formula.
Raw Feeding Cheat Sheet
For Adult Dogs And Puppies
This quick resource covers the exact nutrients your dog needs, 85 ingredients you can use safely, and how to calculate your dog’s calories with one simple formula.
Raw Food Recipe For Dogs
If you’re looking for a nutritious, beginner-friendly raw food recipe for your adult dog, then this recipe is perfect for you. If you want a puppy recipe click here.
This DIY recipe is nutritionally complete so you can be confident your dog will get all the nutrients it needs to thrive. Includes easy-to-find ingredients you can get almost anywhere.
Enter your dog’s weight and activity level and this recipe will automatically adjust!
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Why ground beef?
In raw feeding, something like ground beef is deemed a “muscle meat.” Muscle meats are cuts of skeletal muscle that serve as the main source of protein in raw diets. Muscle meat also takes up the majority of a prey animal’s body. Generally, muscle meat should take up 50-80% of the entire diet.
What makes it important?
- Builds strong muscles
- Provides all essential amino acids (protein)
- Provides fatty acids like EPA, DHA, and AA (fat)
- Provides minerals like zinc and iron
- Provides all B vitamins
Where to find it:
- Chain grocery store
- Local small grocery store
- Butcher shops
- Bulk stores
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 6.4 oz (181 g)
Percentage of Meal: 53%
Why chicken hearts?
Hearts are an important part of a raw diet and are known as a “muscular organ.” Muscular organs are things like heart, lungs, green tripe, and gizzards, and they should take up 15-25% of the entire diet.
What makes them important?
- More nutrient-dense than regular muscle meat
- Supports organ function
- Provides minerals like zinc, iron, copper, selenium, and manganese
- Provides all B vitamins
Where to find them:
- Some chain grocery stores
- Some local grocery stores
- Butcher shops
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 4 oz (113 g)
Percentage of Meal: 25%
Why chicken necks?
Raw bone refers to the natural, edible bone found within a prey animal’s body and serves as the primary source of calcium for canines. Chicken necks are a great sized meaty bone for all breed sizes. Raw bone should take up 10-12% of the entire diet.
What makes them important?
- Keeps your dog’s bones and teeth strong
- Provides collagen which aids in joint health
- Promotes mental stimulation and enrichment
- Acts as a natural toothbrush
- Keeps the stool firm
- Provides minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sodium
Important Note:
When feeding raw meaty bones, the muscle meat attached to the bone plays an important role:
• The meat surrunding the bone makes it easier to chew
• It provides natural padding to help protect your dog’s teeth from fractures
However, that meat should be counted as part of the muscle meat portion, not the bone portion of the recipe.
This article will help you figure that out for your own meals—but for now, just follow the quantities in this recipe!
Where to find them:
- Some chain grocery stores
- Some local grocery stores
- Butcher shops
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 4 oz (113 g)
Percentage of Meal: 12%
Why liver?
Liver is animal liver like beef, chicken, or duck liver, and is a vital part of a raw diet because it’s an amazing source of vitamin A – which our dogs can’t live without. Liver should take up 2-4% of the entire diet.
Try to feed ruminant animal liver often — it's much higher in copper than poultry and rabbit liver. These come from animals like beef, bison, lamb, goat, and deer.
What makes it important?
- Keeps your dog’s vision sharp
- Supports your dog’s liver
- Provides minerals like copper, iron, and selenium
- Provides vitamins like vitamin A, D, and B vitamins
Where to find it:
- Some chain grocery stores
- Some local grocery stores
- Butcher shops
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 0.4 oz (11 g)
Percentage of Meal: 2.5%
Why kidney?
Kidney is deemed a “secreting organ.” These are organs like kidney, spleen, brain, pancreas, thymus, testicles, and ovaries, and should take up 5-8% of the entire diet. Kidney, in particular, is easy to find and highly nutritious.
What makes it important?
- Secreting organs are nature’s multivitamin
- Loaded with minerals like copper, iron, selenium, and iodine
- Provides all B vitamins
Where to find it:
- Some chain grocery stores
- Some local grocery stores
- Butcher shops
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
How much to feed:
Amount: 0.3 oz (8.5 g)
Percentage of Meal: 7.5%
The Final Ingredients
Ok, we’ve created the main base of this recipe! This is a great start, but there are a few nutrients that are still a bit low:
- Iodine
- Manganese
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin D
- Omega-3s
But don’t worry, we can add a few other foods to boost them!
Raw Feeding Cheat Sheet
For Adult Dogs And Puppies
Discover exactly what nutrients your dog needs (and which raw foods provide them), so you can be confident your dog will never deal with a nutrient deficiency.
Why dulse?
Dulse is a red seaweed that’s naturally high in iodine.
What makes it important?
- Naturally high in iodine, but not too high (seaweed like kelp can sometimes be too high)
- Often harvested from cleaner, colder waters (less heavy metal contamination)
- Can help the body naturally remove heavy metals by binding to them during digestion
- Provides additional iron to the diet
Where to find it:
I really like and trust the brand Maine Coast Sea Vegetables (not sponsored). Their dulse is wild-harvested from the clean, cold waters of the North Atlantic, and they’re super transparent about where it comes from and how it’s processed. They even do 3rd party testing for things like heavy metals and radiation and share those results publicly, which I really appreciate.
- Their website
- Amazon
- iHerb
- Whole Foods
- Walmart
- Local health food stores
- Local fish markets
How much to feed:
Amount: 1/4 tsp
Frequency: Daily
Why hemp hearts?
Hemp hearts are the edible inner portion of hemp seeds, which are naturally high in manganese. I usually prefer cooked blue mussels or green beef tripe for manganese, but I’m using hemp hearts in this recipe as they’re easier to find for beginners.
What makes it important?
- Naturally high in manganese
- High in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
- Easy to find
- You don’t have to soak and grind them like other seeds
Where to find them:
Most hemp heart brands are fine, so there isn’t one particular brand I recommend. Just look for raw, unseasoned hemp hearts. Organic would also be ideal. For this recipe, I was using Bob’s Red Mill (not sponsored).
- Chain grocery stores
- Local health food stores
- Online (many places)
How much to feed:
Amount: 0.3 oz (8 g)
Frequency: Daily
Why butternut squash?
Butternut squash is a type of winter squash that provides both soluble and insoluble fiber to support digestion. You are welcome to use a different fiber source as long as you cook, ferment, or puree it for better digestion.
This is not to provide essential nutrients, it's just to add fiber to the recipe to firm up the stool if neded.
What makes it important?
- Provides soluble and insoluble fiber to aid in keeping the stool firm
- Easy for dogs to digest
- Low in starchy carbohydrates that can spike the blood sugar
- High in potassium and magnesium
Where to find it:
- Chain grocery stores
- Local grocery stores
- Bulk stores
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Online retailers
- Your own garden!
How much to feed:
Amount: 1.5 oz (43 g)
Frequency: Daily or as needed
Why vitamin E oil?
Vitamin E is an essential nutrient to dogs, and it’s easiest to provide it through naturally derived vitamin E oil.
What makes it important?
- Provides much more vitamin E than a whole food like sunflower seeds can
- Doesn’t add unnecessary calories to the diet
- This vitamin E oil is naturally derived, not synthetic
- Is a “full-spectrum” vitamin E, which delivers the complete range of natural vitamin E found in foods
Where to find it:
I trust and recommend Kala Health Vitamin E T8 softgels (not sponsored). Their vitamin E is naturally derived through sunflower oil and contains all 4 tocopherols and all 4 tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta). Each tocopherol and tocotrienol has unique antioxidant properties, and they work together to protect the body.
If you can’t use Kala Health, I also recommend the brands NOW and Solgar.
- Their website
- Amazon
- Walmart
- Local health food stores
How much to feed:
Amount: 1 softgel
Frequency: Every 4 days
Why chicken egg yolks?
Egg yolks are one of the most nourishing foods you can feed! They’re packed with valuable nutrients that supports your dog’s brain, eyes, skin, and overall health. Yolks are meant to grow a baby chick, so they provide nearly everything needed to support life!
What makes them important?
- Egg yolks are also deemed nature’s multivitamin
- They’re high in vitamin D and omega-3’s which are low in this recipe
- Contains lecithin, which helps your cat digest fats more easily and supports healthy skin and a shiny coat
Where to find them:
Pasture-raised eggs are significantly more nutrient-dense because the hens were fed a species-appropriate diet (bugs, grasses, seeds), which allows them to receive all the nutrients they needed naturally. This is why I suggest feeding pasture raised egg yolks, but just do the best you can with your budget. All egg yolks are still nutritious.
- Chain grocery stores
- Local, small grocery stores
- Bulk stores
- Asian markets
- Farmers
- Backyard chicken owners
- Your own chickens!
How much to feed:
Amount: 2 yolks
Frequency: Daily
- 90/10 Ground Beef – 6.4 oz (181 g)
- Chicken Heart – 4 oz (113 g)
- Chicken Neck – 4 oz (113 g)
- Beef Liver – 0.4 oz (11 g)
- Beef Kidney – 1.2 oz (34 g)
- Hemp Hearts – 0.3 oz (8 g)
- Butternut Squash – 1.5 oz (43 g)
- Egg Yolks – 2 yolks
- Dulse – 1/4 tsp
- Vitamin E – 1 softgel (every 4 days)
This recipe can be split into however many meals you fed your dog daily.
Mariah
Mariah is the founder of Paws of Prey. She’s been passionate about animals since childhood, with a special interest in wildlife, exotic pets, and species appropriate nutrition. Her mission is to help pet owners provide the best life for their animals through proper nutrition.
Mariah
Mariah is the founder of Paws of Prey. She’s been passionate about animals since childhood, with a special interest in wildlife, exotic pets, and species appropriate nutrition. Her mission is to help pet owners provide the best life for their animals through proper nutrition.
Next Step:
Ready to Make the Switch?
Discover how to transition your dog to a nutritious, homemade raw meal—step by step!
Read the article →Raw Feeding Cheat Sheet
For Adult Dogs And Puppies
- 85 Raw food ingredients categorized into muscle meats, bones, organs, and more so you know exactly how to build a raw diet safely.
- Discover exactly what nutrients your dog needs (and which raw foods provide them), so you can be confident your dog will never deal with nutrient deficiency.
- Avoid digestive issues with size-appropriate bones — plus, get nutrition percentages for 25+ bones to prevent overfeeding or underfeeding.
- How to calculate your dog's daily calories with one simple formula (so you can customize your dog's meals to their individual biology and activity level).
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