The Subject of Balance
I feed my dogs a nutritionally complete diet. I start with an 80/10/10 blend that I mix with a base mix. I alternate the main protein weekly to provide a variety of amino acids. And I feed eggs, fish, vegetables, and raw meaty bones too. This works for my adult dogs. For puppies, I feed Darwin's Pet (or another commercial raw brand).
Balance according to whom?
Whenever I find myself stressing about raw feeding, I think of Maggie, a raw fed dog that lived on a farm, ate what her humans ate, and got
tons of exercise daily. Maggie's human wasn't using the NRC guide, software, or spreadsheets to feed his dog and she lived into her thirties.
I'm not trying to replicate Maggie's life; instead, I use that example as proof that every dog is unique and there is more than one way to feed our dogs a balanced diet.
Why is balance important?
I don't balance my own diet, so why should I balance my dog's diet? This is was my mantra several years ago and it makes me laugh now. It's okay for me not to eat a balanced diet daily because I can feel and see signs of vitamin or mineral deficiencies.
On the other hand, my dogs can't tell me how they feel and I don't know enough about the signs of vitamin and mineral deficiencies to quickly identify an issue. And I believe that by the time something shows up in their blood work, it may be too late to correct.
So, I do my best to make sure I'm meeting my dogs nutritional needs by balancing over time.
Why do we argue about balance?
When it comes to balance, I don't think anyone has it 100% correct. Every dog is unique and what works for one dog may not work for another. NRC, AAFCO, FEDIAF are the main resources we have - but not everyone can afford or understand the books and software.
And that's okay.
For those of us who don't want to stress about macro/micronutrients, we work with a meal formulator, we buy balanced commercial raw, or we use a base mix.
There's more than one way to achieve balance and I think THIS is why people argue because people have monetized raw feeding and they get angry when someone doesn't use science to feed their dogs.
The next time someone gets angry with you about how you feed your dog - look to see if they offer meal formulation services.
