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Feeding raw was certainly not an option that had ever been mentioned by our vet, the puppy school - happy to hand over promotional leaflets from a major kibble brand - nor was it visible in any of the pet stores we visited with our first puppy back in 2007.
We vividly remembered that our dogs loved trialling the Essentials formulas - each of them sampling a different protein from Beef, Chicken and Kangaroo for about a week with no issues regarding digestibility and lots of happy grins.
It is a testament to Raw and Fresh's premium quality products and fantastic customer service that not only are these options still available 5 years later but the company has diversified its range offering even more real food options to both dog and cat owners.
They now also deliver well beyond the Sydney – Newcastle corridor with a loyal national customer base extending across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and other regional areas.
A bit of background about Raw & Fresh
Founded in 2015, Raw & Fresh has been created out of a love of pets and the desire to provide the best possible nutrition.
A bit of background about Raw & Fresh
Founded in 2015, Raw & Fresh has been created out of a love of pets and the desire to provide the best possible nutrition.
The original founders were dog lovers and hugely involved in rescue and fostering dogs; they ended up with five large dogs, many of whom faced digestive issues and skin allergies.
Raw & Fresh was the result of their research to discover what would be the best diet to help these dogs recover from their ailments, whilst putting on much needed healthy weight, improving their digestion, teeth, coat / skin and strength.
The Raw & Fresh Raw Food Options
When you contact Raw & Fresh you will likely be speaking to one of the owners because great customer service is at the centre of every decision they make.
What is a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF) diet for your dog?
Before domestication, it was in the nature of dogs to hunt, kill and then feed from their prey. The Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet or BARF diet (previously Bone and Raw Food diet) was established to reintroduce suppliers of dog food to their traditional way of eating, which included roughly 60% raw and fresh meat on bones.
The Raw & Fresh Raw Food Options
When you contact Raw & Fresh you will likely be speaking to one of the owners because great customer service is at the centre of every decision they make.
What is a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF) diet for your dog?
Before domestication, it was in the nature of dogs to hunt, kill and then feed from their prey. The Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet or BARF diet (previously Bone and Raw Food diet) was established to reintroduce suppliers of dog food to their traditional way of eating, which included roughly 60% raw and fresh meat on bones.
The Raw & Fresh dog food meals align with the BARF dog food philosophy and also include essential vitamins and minerals for optimal pet health. All their raw recipes include human-grade meat, offal and the options of vegetables and rice.
What all options (Basics, Essentials, Deluxe and the Complete Meal we recently sampled) have in common is that all pet meals are made with only the freshest raw ingredients without any chemicals, preservatives or fillers like grains.
There are also raw food choices conforming with the BARF diet to cater for your cat’s diet.
What We Like
It is a sobering thought when you realise that 15.75kg of meat only feeds your pack for one week...
What We Like
It is a sobering thought when you realise that 15.75kg of meat only feeds your pack for one week...
The online ordering process is extremely easy (with the ability to set up recurring deliveries to save 5%) with orders coming directly to your door through their fast refrigerated courier network.
Receiving the meals pre-portioned in 750g packs (a daily serve for each of our 30kg dogs) certainly made the process easier, even when we needed to split these during the 4-5 day transition period, only feeding a half pack (twice a day).
Organised for Boxing Day, our delivery was easily trackable and we received a courtesy SMS the day prior, confirming approximate the arrival approximate time (the 2-hour window was spot on!).
All pre-portioned meals were contained in an insulated sleeve with a reusable ice pack and this should keep the meals safely refrigerated for hours if you’re not there to receive.
You should freeze all portions within 12 hours of delivery (earlier is best) and thaw them individually in the fridge before serving. We occasionally forgot to take out a pack out of the freezer 36 hours in advance (24 hours never seems to be enough). Thawing meat on your kitchen bench is NOT an option!
Raw & Fresh are constantly innovating to create new recipes and packaging that meets the evolving customer demand.
We (well, our dogs!) were lucky to have the opportunity to trial their brand new Beef & Chicken Complete Meal recipe before its official release to the public.
This new recipe offers a wealth of premium fresh ingredients for a balanced meal though the exact quantities remain a closely guarded secret...
We (well, our dogs!) were lucky to have the opportunity to trial their brand new Beef & Chicken Complete Meal recipe before its official release to the public.
This new recipe offers a wealth of premium fresh ingredients for a balanced meal though the exact quantities remain a closely guarded secret...
✔️ Meat: Beef Meat, Chicken Meat. From the dark colour, we assume there is a lot more beef.
✔️ Offal / Bones: Chicken Heart, Chicken Bones, Beef Liver, Beef Kidney, Beef Spleen.
✔️ Beef Offal is used due to the high amount of vitamins and minerals contained in it.
✔️ Vegetables: Spinach, Sweet Potato, Cauliflower, Carrots, Kale, Broccoli.
The addition of raw vegetables ensures the delivery of dietary fibre plus some essential vitamins and minerals like Magnesium, Calcium, Vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, C, E, K, Iron, Potassium, Folic Acid, Zinc, Copper, Biotin and Manganese.
✔️ Superfoods: Sunflower Seeds, Chia Seeds, Wheat Germ Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Omega Oil.
Our delivery consisted of 21 refrigerated packs (750g each), split across 2 boxes for convenience.
The addition of raw vegetables ensures the delivery of dietary fibre plus some essential vitamins and minerals like Magnesium, Calcium, Vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, C, E, K, Iron, Potassium, Folic Acid, Zinc, Copper, Biotin and Manganese.
✔️ Superfoods: Sunflower Seeds, Chia Seeds, Wheat Germ Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Omega Oil.
Our delivery consisted of 21 refrigerated packs (750g each), split across 2 boxes for convenience.
Most sources advise the daily recommendation for high-quality raw diet is to feed between 2-3% of your dog's body weight daily.
For our 30kg Belgian Shepherds, this would be anything from 600g to 900g daily, depending on their level of activity. Our 750g pack falls right in the middle with a moderate level of exercise for our two Malinois and a lot less for our 14-year old senior so we ended up with the same for everyone.
A few years back we admit that we struggled with handling large quantities of raw meat (especially first thing in the morning) but we clearly built up our stamina not even baulking at the visible (small) pieces of offal and bones.
It’s very hard to document (as our dogs don’t wear a FitBit to monitor their sleeping time) but we’re convinced they are sleeping better and are generally more relaxed (well, by Malinois standards anyway…)
We noticed they were napping more during the day and we "enjoyed" their loud snoring at night too!
We definitely noticed the volume of poo produced by our dogs when fed on raw diets is significantly less than when fed a standard kibble (even one with a low amount of carbs), the reason being that they utilise this food more efficiently.
The Beef & Chicken Complete Meal recipe is the latest addition to an already great range of options but you may need to try a few different proteins before deciding what works best for your dogs.
If unsure where to start, Raw & Fresh offers both a Dog Starter Pack and a Cat Starter Pack or why not reach out to them directly with the exact needs for your pet (any current health issues) and benefit from their expertise to let them guide your selection?
If you’re already comfortable feeding your dogs raw food diets and have large dogs or a multi-dog household, we would recommend the budget-saving bulk packs.
The Beef & Chicken Complete Meal recipe is the latest addition to an already great range of options but you may need to try a few different proteins before deciding what works best for your dogs.
If unsure where to start, Raw & Fresh offers both a Dog Starter Pack and a Cat Starter Pack or why not reach out to them directly with the exact needs for your pet (any current health issues) and benefit from their expertise to let them guide your selection?
If you’re already comfortable feeding your dogs raw food diets and have large dogs or a multi-dog household, we would recommend the budget-saving bulk packs.
To say that our dogs loved their new meals (especially on hot summer days) is an understatement. They are always extremely open to changes and we have tried many types of food and a variety of proteins over the years but there’s something about raw fresh meat that clearly awakens those wild instincts!
Price & Where to Buy
Price & Where to Buy
There are many combinations to choose from and the price will depend on your choice of protein: Chicken is currently the cheapest option, followed by Kangaroo and then Beef.
Your second decision is whether you opt for Basics (only meat & offal), Essentials (adding vegetables) or Deluxe (all of the above plus 1% brown rice).
Finally the size of your order (small portions or bulk pack) will have a big impact on cost.
RRP: from $19.25/week for a 5kg dog or $69.30/week for a 30kg dog for the Complete Beef for Dogs (7 x 750g packs) so this works out at $13.20/kg. For comparison, it would cost $67.20/week for a 30kg dog on Roo Essentials or $12.80/kg.
RRP: from $19.25/week for a 5kg dog or $69.30/week for a 30kg dog for the Complete Beef for Dogs (7 x 750g packs) so this works out at $13.20/kg. For comparison, it would cost $67.20/week for a 30kg dog on Roo Essentials or $12.80/kg.
For those on a budget or with a multi-pet household, the 15kg Bulk Pack (6 x 2.5kg) delivers value for money and you'll receive 2 x 2.5kg packs of each protein (whether Basics, Essentials or Deluxe). Comparing pricing for the Essentials, this brings the cost down to only $7.86/kg. As long as you're happy to handle a lot of meat in one ago to split into your required portion sizes before freezing, this would be our go-to option!
When you visit their website you can grab a coupon to receive either 10% off your first order (GETSTARTED) or free shipping (STARTSHIP).
For more details on all available options, please visit rawandfresh.com.au
Disclaimer: A complimentary one-week trial for our 3 dogs was provided to us by Raw & Fresh Pet Food to facilitate this review. We only accept a handful of products for reviews (no payment is received) simply because we only want to trial the best for our dogs and share our findings with other dog owners.
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