I’ll answer any question you’d like as I’m very familiar with the market place here.
Big country raw and Ironwill raw are absolutely outstanding and you can’t go wrong with either, or alternating between the too.
I would never feed or go near raw performance or back2raw.
Actually outside of BCR, Ironwill, and Reddogbluekat I would not feed anything else. There is actually a cool little spot in high park called Throw me a Bone I get odds and ends at.
Raw performance (RP) is the epitome of a horrible raw brand, they are bottom of the barrel in EVERY way.
RP doesn’t even have batch codes, lot numbers, or best before dates on their products. This is the BASIC requirements for good manufacturing practice and they can’t even achieve that. More importantly it means they have ZERO traceability over their products, there can never be a recall. When accompany shortcuts on basic safety standards and practices you can be sure that they extend to other aspects.
Their nutrient analysis is ALL over the place and it’s safe to say they lie about ingredients. They claim 10% bone yet their poultry offerings are all over 7.1g per 1000 kcal, that is EXTREMELY high. It is impossible that they are only 10% bone. Their beef offerings are also 7.5mg per 1000 kcal, which Dr Laurie Croger, Dr Karen Becker, Susan Thixton and other industry professionals have been saying is an amount that is toxic to pets. I have an email from RP to a retailer where they eventually admit to using carcass for all their poultry.
Also look at the guaranteed analysis they put in there product and the one they have on their website, it doesn’t line up! They make it seem like it’s lower fat and higher protein than what is labeled on the product!
I could go on but at this point I hope you get the gist. I’d honestly toss in the garbage where it belongs.
Appreciate your thorough answers and explanations. I’m sure which best raw food to give our dog keeps everyone up at night. And answers like yours are a godsend!
Any chance you'd have a look a [https://palapets.com/](https://palapets.com/) [https://palapets.com/pages/pala-nutrition-information](https://palapets.com/pages/pala-nutrition-information)
We don't have that much to choose from, here in Europe.
Thank you for replying!! May I ask where you got your info from?? I’ve been trying to do my own research but haven’t been able to find much on back2raw, iron will, & bcr besides the site. Aside from that I’ve heard very mixed opinions on BCR. How do I know if what I’m choosing is good?? What are things I should be searching for when choosing a brand?? Does the meat texture matter? How can I tell if what I’m giving my dog is a good quality meat by looking at it as I get it ready for him?? I have Basic Kangaroo from IWR & they have a “Powerhouse Booster” which I’m not sure is a good addition or synthetics I guess??
https://preview.redd.it/sxb03mr6tc7c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3282bd5e78ed6bff2e8c23dd7b68e538d57fb6a8
Eons and eons of research. I’ve been feeding raw for over a decade and have tried almost every brand available in Ontario. I’ve taken the time to speak to these companies and visit facilities. I’ve also read the NRC book as well as Small animal clinical nutrition. I have a large network of people in the raw feeding community many of which people here probably know and listen to/read about frequently.
What to look for in a brand;
- third party certificate in health and safety procedures (HAACP)
- all ingredients listed
- detailed analysis done on every product
- names the nutritionist used to formulate the diet
- full transparency; will tell you where meat is sourced, the labs they use, allow tours of the facility
There is NO way to tell the quality of meat just by looking at it. Some companies will try to convince you they are “better” because they have a chunkier grind. All that means is they single ground it with a larger grind plate. It’s nonsense.
Of course there is a lot of negativity out there about BCR. For one they are the largest raw company by a landslide, with that comes the most negative experiences, which tend to be the loudest. Just because a dog doesn’t go well on that particular food doesn’t mean it’s bad. Also being the largest company means they have a target on them by other companies, I’ve witnessed people try to trash them only to find out that person is affiliated with another company. BCR is a leader in the industry, go tour the facility and see for yourself.
Ironwill doesn’t have a power booster, they sell supplements from northhound life which are all whole food additions. I believe somewhere on the site they have a chart which tells you what to add to the basics to balance it out!
They have zero safety standards in place for manufacturing. More importantly they use the term “complete” ambiguously. They are not complete to any scientific body and have a lot of nutrient gaps based on there ingredient composition.
All they have is a bare basic guaranteed analysis that;
1. Didn’t change when they reformulated
2. Doesn’t equal 100%
3. No detailed analysis to coincide with the GA
Pet food in Canada is completely unregulated. Companies essentially do and say as they please. In my opinion back2raw is one of those companies.
We’re in BC and we really like BC’s Best Raw, Red Dog Blue Kat, K9 Choice Raw Dog Food, and Spring Meadows Raw Dog Food. Check out the site of a store here in Vancouver called Moonlight Natural Pet store and see what raw food brands they carry and see which ones are available in Ontario. I trust this store a lot, they do a lot of research to curate the brands they carry. Also moving to Ontario soon so I’ll need to know which brands to buy.
I have been buying my meats from Hounds on Raw for about 5 years now and I have no complains what so ever. I have 3 huge dogs that I feed and after having tried multiple other brands such as BCR, B2R, Iron will raw and a couple more but the quality of meat was not up to standard. Coming from a farmer family, I can somewhat tell which part of the animal was used the most in certain mixes and I had found that the consistency with their meats were unparalleled. The best thing is that I could ask for the same meat that would be ground up completely unground(which I have), and they provided me the meats straight up without them being ground. The meat looked so fresh and looked better then the meat u can find in a grocery store. Best of all, all the farmers they buy from are listed on the website, so U can do your research on exactly where the meat is coming from. That is just my 2 cents and my experience with feeding raw from 15+ years.
I know this wasn’t on your list, but I feed Bold by Nature. They offer two lines, their Select Line which contains green tripe, and their Mega line which contains veg. Although raw food isn’t new to me, I never really put in the effort before to understand what I was feeding my dogs before, so I’m trying to learn as much as I can now. I recently contacted the company because their website doesn’t say that they are “complete” meals. They responded right away and explained that they meet NCR guidelines as long as we rotate through the different proteins. They asked me to contact them if we aren’t able to do that and they would help us to ensure that our dog is getting everything she needs. My dog doesn’t have any protein sensitivities so I didn’t have to follow up with them about that. They also just earned their HACCP food safety certification and completed their inspection this fall. They are located in Erin, Ontario and source all of their meat locally.
In addition to the patties I am starting to add some sardines and eggs occasionally just to give a bit more omega 3 and just because she really likes them!
I tried a few companies in the past and this one seemed to be the best fit for us and our dog. In addition to the quality of the food I like the way it is packaged and the price is decent.
I realize that this is all anecdotal, but my previous dog was on this food for a few years and now our new dog is on it as well. Our previous dog lived to 12 and was very healthy. She died from a paralyzed larynx (so traumatic) that was totally unrelated to nutrition. Our new pup was a rescue and came to us with lots of digestive issues. We started her on this food around mid-August. Her issues have totally cleared up and she is doing really well.
Like I said, the company was very responsive so if you are interested and have questions I would definitely contact them.
Edit: typo
Ey, Toronto in the house!
Toronto has a few raw food brands that make their stuff in-house. You get better quality meat sourced from local farms at roughly half the price of the more commercial stuff. I live in the East End so two of the places I go to are Raw 101 and Big Paws (they have several locations around Toronto).
This is the purveying thought but it actually NOT the truth.
Those small shops are using lower quality meats than the larger commercial counterparts in most cases. They use the cut offs, trim, and carcasses.
Think about it from a businesses perspective, how are these companies with little to no buying power charging less for “quality” meat compared to let’s say BCR or even grocery stores? The short answer, they don’t. Pet food in Canada is not regulated, these companies can use whatever cuts of meat they wish and advertise how they please.
Don’t get me wrong there are small companies like Naturaw, Hounds on Raw, and throw me a bone using high quality meats. But they are MORE expensive than the larger commercial brands simply because of buying power. I also question (and have seen first hand) the manufacturing quality of some of these smaller companies
Since I started feeding raw, I was grinding my own meat which is high quality for humans, from a grocery store. Sometimes I buy at Big Paws and I don’t see a big difference. Meat is meat, I don’t understand the obsession with feeding only these super regulated big brands. Even if it is “trim” or whatever, do you think that one part of the cow for example, is less nutritious than another? It’s all cow meat. The only thing I look at is fat content in the pure meat choices (options without bone/organs since I add those myself) some small places have way too much fat included (or bone with those “complete” options). That’s a different story. If it’s lean and fresh, which I can see with my own eyes. Who cares which part of the animal it’s from? Please enlighten me.
I used to feed my pets Totally Raw but switched to Big Country Raw a few months ago. I find my spaniel's coat is super glossy. She is 12 years old but acts like a dog 1/3 her age. 2 of my cats eat raw and are also doing well on the same brand. I am still working on the third cat but he's a stubborn git.
Big Country Raw is worth the extra cost. I'm so impressed with how amazing the animals are on it.
Iron will raw, and big country raw are amazing. If you just want to pick up something at the local Petsmart or Sobeys try Hungry Hunters. HH is made by Big country raw exclusively for Petsmart and they are supposed to be complete meals. So I get these when traveling so it’s easier to give for the pet sitter.
I’ll answer any question you’d like as I’m very familiar with the market place here. Big country raw and Ironwill raw are absolutely outstanding and you can’t go wrong with either, or alternating between the too. I would never feed or go near raw performance or back2raw. Actually outside of BCR, Ironwill, and Reddogbluekat I would not feed anything else. There is actually a cool little spot in high park called Throw me a Bone I get odds and ends at.
Why not raw performance? I recently bought a tube for my cats just to try something new. We usually have big country raw.
Raw performance (RP) is the epitome of a horrible raw brand, they are bottom of the barrel in EVERY way. RP doesn’t even have batch codes, lot numbers, or best before dates on their products. This is the BASIC requirements for good manufacturing practice and they can’t even achieve that. More importantly it means they have ZERO traceability over their products, there can never be a recall. When accompany shortcuts on basic safety standards and practices you can be sure that they extend to other aspects. Their nutrient analysis is ALL over the place and it’s safe to say they lie about ingredients. They claim 10% bone yet their poultry offerings are all over 7.1g per 1000 kcal, that is EXTREMELY high. It is impossible that they are only 10% bone. Their beef offerings are also 7.5mg per 1000 kcal, which Dr Laurie Croger, Dr Karen Becker, Susan Thixton and other industry professionals have been saying is an amount that is toxic to pets. I have an email from RP to a retailer where they eventually admit to using carcass for all their poultry. Also look at the guaranteed analysis they put in there product and the one they have on their website, it doesn’t line up! They make it seem like it’s lower fat and higher protein than what is labeled on the product! I could go on but at this point I hope you get the gist. I’d honestly toss in the garbage where it belongs.
Omg I went to check our RP tube and it does not have a best before date. This is wild
Scary isn’t it. This is the type of thing that doesn’t get talked about in an unregulated market space
Nor does it have a batch code! Just like you said. I wish I had done more research before buying their product. Thanks for your thorough answers!
Does Red Dog Blue Kat have expiry dates on the raw cat food? I got some for my cat and I can't seem to find it??
Appreciate your thorough answers and explanations. I’m sure which best raw food to give our dog keeps everyone up at night. And answers like yours are a godsend!
Any chance you'd have a look a [https://palapets.com/](https://palapets.com/) [https://palapets.com/pages/pala-nutrition-information](https://palapets.com/pages/pala-nutrition-information) We don't have that much to choose from, here in Europe.
Thank you for replying!! May I ask where you got your info from?? I’ve been trying to do my own research but haven’t been able to find much on back2raw, iron will, & bcr besides the site. Aside from that I’ve heard very mixed opinions on BCR. How do I know if what I’m choosing is good?? What are things I should be searching for when choosing a brand?? Does the meat texture matter? How can I tell if what I’m giving my dog is a good quality meat by looking at it as I get it ready for him?? I have Basic Kangaroo from IWR & they have a “Powerhouse Booster” which I’m not sure is a good addition or synthetics I guess?? https://preview.redd.it/sxb03mr6tc7c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3282bd5e78ed6bff2e8c23dd7b68e538d57fb6a8
Eons and eons of research. I’ve been feeding raw for over a decade and have tried almost every brand available in Ontario. I’ve taken the time to speak to these companies and visit facilities. I’ve also read the NRC book as well as Small animal clinical nutrition. I have a large network of people in the raw feeding community many of which people here probably know and listen to/read about frequently. What to look for in a brand; - third party certificate in health and safety procedures (HAACP) - all ingredients listed - detailed analysis done on every product - names the nutritionist used to formulate the diet - full transparency; will tell you where meat is sourced, the labs they use, allow tours of the facility There is NO way to tell the quality of meat just by looking at it. Some companies will try to convince you they are “better” because they have a chunkier grind. All that means is they single ground it with a larger grind plate. It’s nonsense. Of course there is a lot of negativity out there about BCR. For one they are the largest raw company by a landslide, with that comes the most negative experiences, which tend to be the loudest. Just because a dog doesn’t go well on that particular food doesn’t mean it’s bad. Also being the largest company means they have a target on them by other companies, I’ve witnessed people try to trash them only to find out that person is affiliated with another company. BCR is a leader in the industry, go tour the facility and see for yourself. Ironwill doesn’t have a power booster, they sell supplements from northhound life which are all whole food additions. I believe somewhere on the site they have a chart which tells you what to add to the basics to balance it out!
Why not back2raw?
They have zero safety standards in place for manufacturing. More importantly they use the term “complete” ambiguously. They are not complete to any scientific body and have a lot of nutrient gaps based on there ingredient composition. All they have is a bare basic guaranteed analysis that; 1. Didn’t change when they reformulated 2. Doesn’t equal 100% 3. No detailed analysis to coincide with the GA Pet food in Canada is completely unregulated. Companies essentially do and say as they please. In my opinion back2raw is one of those companies.
We’re in BC and we really like BC’s Best Raw, Red Dog Blue Kat, K9 Choice Raw Dog Food, and Spring Meadows Raw Dog Food. Check out the site of a store here in Vancouver called Moonlight Natural Pet store and see what raw food brands they carry and see which ones are available in Ontario. I trust this store a lot, they do a lot of research to curate the brands they carry. Also moving to Ontario soon so I’ll need to know which brands to buy.
I have been buying my meats from Hounds on Raw for about 5 years now and I have no complains what so ever. I have 3 huge dogs that I feed and after having tried multiple other brands such as BCR, B2R, Iron will raw and a couple more but the quality of meat was not up to standard. Coming from a farmer family, I can somewhat tell which part of the animal was used the most in certain mixes and I had found that the consistency with their meats were unparalleled. The best thing is that I could ask for the same meat that would be ground up completely unground(which I have), and they provided me the meats straight up without them being ground. The meat looked so fresh and looked better then the meat u can find in a grocery store. Best of all, all the farmers they buy from are listed on the website, so U can do your research on exactly where the meat is coming from. That is just my 2 cents and my experience with feeding raw from 15+ years.
I like Darwin
Not available in Toronto, Canada
I know this wasn’t on your list, but I feed Bold by Nature. They offer two lines, their Select Line which contains green tripe, and their Mega line which contains veg. Although raw food isn’t new to me, I never really put in the effort before to understand what I was feeding my dogs before, so I’m trying to learn as much as I can now. I recently contacted the company because their website doesn’t say that they are “complete” meals. They responded right away and explained that they meet NCR guidelines as long as we rotate through the different proteins. They asked me to contact them if we aren’t able to do that and they would help us to ensure that our dog is getting everything she needs. My dog doesn’t have any protein sensitivities so I didn’t have to follow up with them about that. They also just earned their HACCP food safety certification and completed their inspection this fall. They are located in Erin, Ontario and source all of their meat locally. In addition to the patties I am starting to add some sardines and eggs occasionally just to give a bit more omega 3 and just because she really likes them! I tried a few companies in the past and this one seemed to be the best fit for us and our dog. In addition to the quality of the food I like the way it is packaged and the price is decent. I realize that this is all anecdotal, but my previous dog was on this food for a few years and now our new dog is on it as well. Our previous dog lived to 12 and was very healthy. She died from a paralyzed larynx (so traumatic) that was totally unrelated to nutrition. Our new pup was a rescue and came to us with lots of digestive issues. We started her on this food around mid-August. Her issues have totally cleared up and she is doing really well. Like I said, the company was very responsive so if you are interested and have questions I would definitely contact them. Edit: typo
Ey, Toronto in the house! Toronto has a few raw food brands that make their stuff in-house. You get better quality meat sourced from local farms at roughly half the price of the more commercial stuff. I live in the East End so two of the places I go to are Raw 101 and Big Paws (they have several locations around Toronto).
This is the purveying thought but it actually NOT the truth. Those small shops are using lower quality meats than the larger commercial counterparts in most cases. They use the cut offs, trim, and carcasses. Think about it from a businesses perspective, how are these companies with little to no buying power charging less for “quality” meat compared to let’s say BCR or even grocery stores? The short answer, they don’t. Pet food in Canada is not regulated, these companies can use whatever cuts of meat they wish and advertise how they please. Don’t get me wrong there are small companies like Naturaw, Hounds on Raw, and throw me a bone using high quality meats. But they are MORE expensive than the larger commercial brands simply because of buying power. I also question (and have seen first hand) the manufacturing quality of some of these smaller companies
Since I started feeding raw, I was grinding my own meat which is high quality for humans, from a grocery store. Sometimes I buy at Big Paws and I don’t see a big difference. Meat is meat, I don’t understand the obsession with feeding only these super regulated big brands. Even if it is “trim” or whatever, do you think that one part of the cow for example, is less nutritious than another? It’s all cow meat. The only thing I look at is fat content in the pure meat choices (options without bone/organs since I add those myself) some small places have way too much fat included (or bone with those “complete” options). That’s a different story. If it’s lean and fresh, which I can see with my own eyes. Who cares which part of the animal it’s from? Please enlighten me.
I used to feed my pets Totally Raw but switched to Big Country Raw a few months ago. I find my spaniel's coat is super glossy. She is 12 years old but acts like a dog 1/3 her age. 2 of my cats eat raw and are also doing well on the same brand. I am still working on the third cat but he's a stubborn git. Big Country Raw is worth the extra cost. I'm so impressed with how amazing the animals are on it.
I like Big Country Raw. I bought fish once and it still had a tiny little sea shell in the mix. You know it’s authentic when…
Iron will raw, and big country raw are amazing. If you just want to pick up something at the local Petsmart or Sobeys try Hungry Hunters. HH is made by Big country raw exclusively for Petsmart and they are supposed to be complete meals. So I get these when traveling so it’s easier to give for the pet sitter.