This post is sponsored by Instinct® and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Instinct Raw but Heart Like a Dog only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Instinct is not responsible for the content of this article.
We’re raw feeders in our house. It’s not something we talk a lot about, but it’s also not something we are secretive about either, it’s a titchy subject, you either think it’s great, or you don’t.
Raw dog food was originally suggested to us by our vet, to help our dogs lose weight. Both of them were very heavy and that weight was contributing to Delilah experiencing a good bit of pain in her back due to a pinched nerve. Don’t get me wrong, we fed a good quality kibble, but it just wasn’t the right food to keep them fit and trim.
Enough with the pictures already, I want to eat now!
When we first switched we only went half-way, meaning they got raw for one of their meals and the other meal they got kibble. They both started losing weight. After a while of doing this, we went raw all the way and never looked back. Both of the dogs have lost over 25 lbs.
That’s EACH yo!
There are raw feeders out there who really go raw and by that I mean, they buy their food directly from farm or store and make their own balanced meals.
I’m not that girl.
I buy a pre-mix, it has the proper distribution of bone/muscle/organ that’s required from raw. One of my go-to brands is by Instinct®, it’s called Instinct Raw and it’s made by Nature’s Variety.
I prefer the natural approach with myself and my dogs and raw dog food is as close to natural as I can find. It’s a grain free, gluten free, high protein, high quality, nutrient dense food, and my dogs have done amazingly well with it.
We were given the opportunity for two bags of our choosing of the Instinct Raw Bites. I decided to go with two different flavors. I chose the chicken and tuna mix as well as the duck. I’ve been wanting to try the dogs with fish so this was a perfect opportunity. They’d had duck before and loved it, so I thought that would be a nice treat.
Even though my dogs had had both chicken and duck before, I still fed the Instinct Raw Bites to them on two different days. It’s important when trying anything new with your dog to introduce things slowly. If you add too many new things at once and they have a reaction, how will you know what they’re reacting to?
This food is so simple to serve, the little bites look just like kibble, except they’re uncooked dog food (that’s why we call it raw food peeps) 😉
Chicken and tuna. Looks just like kibble, no?
What I love about raw food is there’s no fillers, like chicken meal or corn meal, it’s just meat, bones, organ meat, fruits and veggies, along with some great nutrients like salmon oil, and flax seed.
One of the things I love about Instinct Raw Bites is their availability. You ready? You can find it in the freezer at your local PetSmart! I love the variety of options I have for protein sources because each protein provides different nutrients. You can choose from chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, duck, venison, rabbit and tuna! It’s every dog’s dream.
The little bites defrost in minutes (in case you forget, which is often times the case for me). The serving portion is right on the back and you simply scoop, wait a few minutes and serve.
Because we are strict about watching their weight, I weigh mine out in the dog’s food bowls the night before and let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight. I take it out about half an hour before I’m ready to feed them and we’re good to go!
My scale is set to grams and each little bite weighs just about 1 gram.
But do the dogs like it, you ask? I’ll let them tell you.
Sampson loves his food. His eyes get big and sometimes he dances with his front paws.
One of the things I really love about Instinct Raw Bites is the quality of the product. It’s ground super fine, so there’s no worry about bits of bone. I love how easily it defrosts and how easy it is to get just the right amount my dogs need.
And guess what? Instinct Raw Bites are available in the US AND Canada!!
If you’re interested in learning more about Instinct Raw, and all the different products they offer, you can check out their website Instinct Raw, or follow them on Facebook. Want to check out raw but you’re unsure? Instinct Raw currently has a coupon for $3.00 off, I believe it’s even good on their trial size bags.
I can’t deny that I love raw feeding – and I am one of those feeders who really go raw!
We never used to feed raw, but after some research I decided it was a good option. After trialling it, and altering it to suit Cody, I saw benefits soon after! And Cody loves it!
Instinct Raw looks like a great product and I loved how excited Delilah got! Sampson and Delilah also lost a great amount of weight!
You do, huh? Honestly, I just don’t have the time to find everything and make sure I’ve got the proper ration. Kudos to you for doing it! I bet Cody loves it.
That looks like a great way to serve raw food, and would be the only way it would work for me. It looks super convenient, and of course delicious for the dogs.
It’s very convenient and super easy. I imagine storing it would be an issue for you, especially if you are going somewhere away from the big city. Although Torrey and Roxie probably go through less food than Sampson and Delilah do. 😉
Being able to buy pre-packaged meals has been a big boost for raw feeding. Most people don’t even cut up their own meat for themselves much less also for their dogs.
Raw feeding intrigues me. But I have to admit, I haven’t felt ready to take on the nutritional learning curve. It sounds like Instinct has also dealt with that hurdle as well.
Loved seeing Delilah in the video. She should be the Instinct model for their commercials. 🙂
They have. If I’d had to do the raw balanced diet myself, it wouldn’t have happened. 🙂 Truthfully, she could be the spokesdog for ANY dog food. LOL
Looks quite yummy. We do like the size of the kibble
Snorts,
Lily & Edward
It’s a very nice size and think it would fit easily into a Kong or other food toy.
can ya believe there is a choc lab on the package? Great review and pictures. Have a wonderful week, see ya when I get back.
Maybe one day, but right now Mom isn’t ready to go to raw. We do mostly all natural stuff these days and high quality, grain free, raw infused kibble. That is amazing both your dogs lost so much weight! You must be so proud of that!
Well if Mom ever sees the need, Instinct Raw makes it super easy.
We have been using Instinct Raw in our house as well and we love it! the huskies have been doing great on it!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
This is fabulous, Jodi and timely since my current dog food service is going out of business (loved their food and the fact that they deliver it to the house made it all the more convenient) but now would be a good time to shift gears so I’m gonna give this a go. Thanks! Have a terrific weekend. 😉
We really love their treats! As a vegetarian, this would be a much easier way to do raw for my pup! Thanks for sharing Jodi!
I am very interested in this. Cocoa has had tummy issues since we adopted her and we have had to change her food a couple times and also give her a probiotic. I initially thought of a raw food diet the last time her tummy acted up but didn’t know if I could do it successfully. I really like the idea that everything is ready to go so you are not missing nutrients. I am going to check them out!!
Let me know how Cocoa makes out. I hope it helps!
Awesome food, and just the way we like it – natural, nutritious, high-quality, without-all-the-junk, raw! Sampson and Delilah are lucky pups, and I’ll bet they’re healthier and better for it, too. That’s quite interesting how they lost so much weight switching from the kibble, too.Excellent choice!
It never occurred to me that some people went to raw food in order for their dogs to lose weight….wow, 25 lbs, that is awesome!
I’m like Pamela…intrigued but on the fence about raw. This type of food certainly sounds easier than going all the way to completely homemade raw.
Is it expensive? Whenever we have looked at pre-made raw, it has always been cost prohibitive for us.
It is definitely pricier than Kibble. My understanding though is a raw fed dog has less health issues so there are less vet bills etc….
A couple weeks ago when I was at PetSmart there was a Nature’s Variety representative giving out free treats. I talked to her for about an hour about all the different types of dog food her brand offered. I would have tried either the Raw Bites or Raw Patties, but unfortunately the price of their food was outside my budget. I guess another issue for me would be freezer space. However, it did seem like a very good product and the representative I spoke with was very nice, honest, and knowledgeable about dog food.