“Food is medicine- people forget that. But like any medicine it has to be used correctly, in the right amounts, in the right combinations “Dr. Thomas Seyfried- author of the metabolic theory of cancer”

For anyone using a premade manufactured Keto food or even standard premade Raw Grinds for that matter and are then adding additional fat in an attempt to increase the ketogenic ratio, take note that this is not at all the right way of attempting to feed a High fat Ketogenic diet for your dog. 

Any food that is formulated as “balanced” is only nutritionally balanced when it’s served “as fed”, meaning if it’s then used as a “base food” and then fat added to increase ketogenic ratio, the meal is no longer nutritionally “balanced” to meet daily min. vitamin/mineral/nutrient level standards. I’m not posting this to scare people or single out any brands, but everyone needs to be aware. I never assume everyone has the same knowledge about pet nutrition, many of you may already know this, but many may not – we’re always learning and improving.

Many Raw dog foods being sold aren’t even properly balanced to begin with! Many of these premade raw foods may not even have a complete guaranteed analysis listing the micronutrient breakdown to ensure that all of the nutrients are even being met. They may only list a very basic Macro nutrient analysis (fat, protein, carb content) and many of these are only Min. levels, meaning that they can vary from batch to batch , which right off the bat excludes a product like this from being able to be accurately factored in home prepared ketogenic diet.  If the label on the raw dog food only lists a handful of items, you can bet that there is no way it’s properly balanced.  A lot of premade raw “grinds” can be very deficient in nutrients such as Zinc, Vitamin E, Choline, Iodine, Manganese, they can be sky high in copper from too much animal liver, they may contain little to no Vitamin D, they may contain ZERO amounts of EPA/DHA.

Now you may be thinking, well It might just be easier to purchase a premade Ketogenic dog food. But it’s important to know that of all of the ketogenic dog foods on the market, none of them are available in the very high fat levels that we are feeding such as the 2:1 ketogenic ratios. And many raw feeders simply do not trust buying premade dog foods. And for good reason considering the lack of regulation on dog food. And nothing compares to the bond you form with your dog when you are making your dogs meal from start to finish and you know exactly what has gone into the process using human grade foods, not “mystery meat” that a dog food company may very well be using in their products. . 

Now, Take for example a high fat 2:1 ketogenic ratio which is what we will typically start feeding to a dog with cancer or epilepsy, a 2:1 ratio drastically reduces protein compared to ANY standard raw diet.  And with that reduction of protein comes a reduction of ALL nutrients that MUST be corrected during the diet formulation process! And unless you have extensive knowledge and experience in doing this, it is best left to be done by someone who is well versed in these diets. 

For example, if just ONE of these essential amino acids listed below in the picture is low or deficient the body cannot make specific proteins effectively. And proteins are the building blocks of cell growth, maintenance and repair. These amino acids are essential meaning they MUST come from the diet. it’s not optional. Now, on the other hand non-essential amino acids can be produced in the body and therefore are not essential to come from the diet alone.

In layman terms, Let’s just say you take your favorite choice of “balanced” premade food, and you’re adapting it to suite a 2:1 ketogenic ratio. you very well may be only using HALF the amount of the actual premade raw food and the other half is coming in the form of your added fat to meet your total daily calories. so now your dog may only be getting HALF of the daily recommended nutrient levels since the “balanced” food is reduced. This is the WRONG way of attempting to feed a ketogenic diet. If we stand any chance of a Ketogenic diet being effective, it MUST be formulated properly. I cannot emphasize this enough. If the diet is not right, we are simply wasting our time. 

There are over 50 points of individual nutrient levels that are tightly regulated during the formulation process to ensure that the dog is getting all of the proper nutrients they need, and to ensure that the ketogenic diet itself is right.

If you are attempting to do a home prepared Raw Ketogenic diet and if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing, working with someone experienced to help you formulate these diets for your dog is paramount. For details on a service that can walk you through every step of the way to ensure you are doing these home prepared diets properly, please follow the link below and join the countless other pet owners across the world who have taken advantage of this program. The ONLY program out there with this much personalized attention to detail guaranteed!

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