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.