What do we mean by variety?
When we talk about variety, we mean a good range of proteins, preferably aiming for a minimum of 4-5 different proteins in a week from the following sections, some examples are:
White Meat:
Chicken
Turkey
Quail
Duck (although this is game it does fall into the white meat category due to a low level of myoglobin and being a commonly available bird)
Red Meat:
Beef
Lamb
Pork
Goat
Wild Boar
Buffalo
Horse
Game & Exotic Meat:
Rabbit
Venison
Pheasant
Goose
Kangaroo
Guinea Fowl
Ostrich
Zebra
Camel
Alpaca
Feeding a variety of proteins from the 3 different meat areas helps your dog gain the different vital nutrients they need to thrive.
What is the term brand blindness?
Brand blindness is when you feed only 1 brand of raw food to your dog for a prolonged period of time, we actively encourage and recommend feeding a variety of brands.
Some will feed 1 or more brands a day, switching each day. Others choose to switch weekly, others monthly. However you choose to do it to get the most variety you can is fine, any raw is better than no raw after all and buying within your budget is also an important factor to take into account. Take advantage to special offers where you can too.
Why is brand variety important?
A variety of brands is important for several reasons. the main reason is because each brand will ultimately provide a different range of nutrients when digested by our dogs. The levels of nutrients present will come down to the different types of meat used within the minces, this can be due to the type of meat, muscle meat and the offal content used. The offal content often seen in minces are the standard Liver and Kidney however you’ll find some brands use spleen as an alternative offal source instead of kidney.
As well as the above brand variety will also give your dog different textures, some minces will be very finely minced where as others will be of a more chunkier texture. Providing different texture types helps prevent boredom at mealtimes.
The final reason is that each manufacturer will source protein from different areas. Manufacturers can use a combination of animal products:
Farmed
Free Range
Red Tractor
Pasture Raised
Organic
Grass Fed
Grass Finished
Each of these aspects will mean the nutrient availability will differ slightly as the high quality life, including soil quality, vaccinations, conditions kept in, and other stress factors, will mean higher nutrient availability for our dogs.
The importance of eggs and fish
Eggs and fish are not only important to have included throughout the week for your dog to receive vital fatty acids and other nutrients they provide, but it’s also important you provide a variety of different types within the diet.
This is because different fish and egg types can provide different levels of nutrients. Below are some suggestions for different types of Fish and Eggs that can be included.
Eggs:
Hen
Duck
Quail
Turkey
Goose
NOTE: Quail eggs contain less fat per egg when compared to Hen eggs.
10 quail eggs approx. equals 11 grams of fat whereas 2 large Hen eggs equal 10 grams of fat.
Making quail eggs a good egg choice if your dog is on a diet.
Oily Fish:
Sprats
Mackerel
Sardines
Herring
How else can variety be added to a dogs meal times?
You can also provide variety to your dogs by switching up the way their food is given to them. Some dogs enjoy eating off a variety surfaces such as bowls, licki mats, different styles of enrichment toys. This enables them to work for their food which is primarily important for dogs that come from working backgrounds.
Enrichment doesn’t have to be costly, you can do a simple ‘find it’ game using their meal time allowance.
NOTE: You can still provide a variety even to a dog on a diet, across the red, white and game meats area. It’s important not to limit it too heavily even though your dog may be on a diet as all dogs need some level of fat in their diet. For weight loss advice see the Blog: Body Condition The Weigh In on Health
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