🐾 The Beginner’s Guide to Raw Feeding Your Puppy 🐾

Switching a puppy to raw food can feel a bit daunting at first. Their growing bodies need the exact right balance of nutrients to build strong bones and healthy joints.

The rewards are totally worth it! Feeding raw supports:

🐾 Shiny coats & radiant skin

🐾 Sparkling clean teeth & fresh breath

🐾 Stable, happy energy levels

🐾 Smaller, firmer, and less smelly poos! 🧻

Because puppies do a lot of growing in their first year, getting the balance right is key. Here is our simple, step-by-step guide to safely transitioning your puppy to a raw diet using products right here from Otago Petfoods.

🏡 Let Them Settle In First

If you just brought your puppy home from a breeder or shelter, wait at least 1 to 2 weeks before changing their diet.

Moving to a new home is a massive life event for a little pup. Their stress levels are already a bit high, which can temporarily weaken their digestive system. Keep them on whatever food they were eating previously until they are completely settled, sleeping through the night, and comfortable in their new environment.

While some adult dogs can handle switching "cold turkey," a puppy's digestive tract is still developing. A gradual 10-day transition is the safest way to prevent runny tummies and let their gut microbiome adjust beautifully.

Days 1 to 3 - The Introduction : 25% Raw, 75% Old Food.

Serve 75% of their old food and 25% of the new raw food. You can feed them in the same bowl or split them into separate meals (e.g., kibble for breakfast, raw for dinner).

Days 4 to 6 - The Halfway Mark : 50% Raw, 50% Old Food.

If their stools are firm and they have plenty of energy, move to a 50/50 split of old food and raw food.

Days 7 to 9 - Almost There! : 75% Raw, 25% Old Food.

Increase the raw food to 75% of their daily intake, leaving just a small amount of their old food.

Day 10+ - 100% Raw! : Fully Transitioned.

Your pup is officially a raw-fed dog! You can now cut out the old food completely.

When introducing a puppy to raw food for the very first time, you want to keep things easy on their developing digestive systems.

🌟 Our Top Pick : Otago Petfoods Premium Chicken Mince

💡 Why it works:

Made from 100% NZ chicken, our premium minced blocks are the perfect starter meat. Chicken is highly digestible, gentle on young tummies, and rich in essential fatty acids to promote bright eyes and a glowing coat.

Raw Feeding Tip: Feed just this single protein for the first 3 to 5 days. This gives your puppy’s stomach acidity time to adjust and allows you to make sure their stool remains firm before moving on.

Once your pup is tracking well on chicken, you can introduce a wider variety of nutrients. In the wild, canines eat the whole animal, so a balanced puppy diet needs a specific ratio of muscle meat, bone, and offal (organ meats).

To take the guesswork out of the math, we’ve created pre-made, balanced blends based on Raw Feeding New Zealand guidelines:

🐂 Our Raw Mix:

A beef-based mix featuring 55% muscle meat, 25% green tripe, 10% offal, and 10% ground chicken bone. It also includes green-lipped mussel extract for early joint care.

👑 Our Supreme Mix:

A nutrient-dense combination of beef, chicken, salmon, green tripe, venison, and heart.

🐇 Our Rabbit & Hare Mince:

This mince contains the whole rabbit carcass (excluding head, feet, and guts), making it a fantastic natural mix of muscle meat, organs, and bone.

🟢 Why Tripe is a Puppy Superfood: You’ll notice green tripe in our mixes. It might smell a bit funky to us, but puppies go crazy for it! It is packed with natural probiotics and enzymes that optimize your pup’s digestion and build a robust immune system.

Puppies grow at a rapid rate, and their joints, bones, and immune systems need extra support during these crucial early months. Adding a high-quality supplement ensures they aren't missing any vital micronutrients.

Depending on your puppy's specific needs, here are some of our favorite NZ-made supplements available in-store:

🦴 For Strong Bones & Immunity: NZVEL Deer Velvet Puppy Formula

Made right here in New Zealand, deer velvet is a traditional powerhouse for supporting rapid bone growth, healthy joint development, and overall immune health in young dogs. It is the perfect daily addition to a growing puppy’s bowl.

https://otagopetfoods.co.nz/products/nzvel-deer-velvet-puppy-formula

🐟 For a Glowing Coat & Skin Health: Newflands Hoki Oil

Puppies can’t produce essential fatty acids on their own. This 100% natural oil is packed with Omega 3, 6, and 9. Adding a splash to their raw meals helps prevent flaky puppy skin and gives them a beautifully shiny, soft coat.

https://otagopetfoods.co.nz/products/newflands-hoki-oil-200ml

🧪 For Total Vitamin Support: Vetafarm Predamax Raw Food Supplement

If you want total peace of mind that your puppy is hitting all their nutritional milestones, Predamax is designed specifically to balance raw meat diets. It provides a careful blend of essential vitamins, minerals, and calcium needed for healthy development.

https://otagopetfoods.co.nz/products/vetafarm-predamax-raw-food-supplement

🌿 For Ultimate Meal Boosting: Tukkathyme Nature’s Mix

If you want to add the benefits of plants and herbs easily, this grain-free, nutrient-dense concentrate is a winner. It includes ground flaxseed, kelp (for thyroid health), rosehip, and dehydrated seasonal vegetables.

https://otagopetfoods.co.nz/products/tukkathyme-natures-mix

🥛 For Gut Health & Digestion: Scoop Dog Goats Milk Powder or Bone Broth

A puppy's stomach is still learning how to handle new foods. Adding a splash of rehydrated Goats Milk Powder or a spoonful of Scoop Dog Beef Bone Broth provides gentle, gut-soothing nutrients and natural electrolytes that make digestion a breeze.

https://otagopetfoods.co.nz/products/scoop-dog-goats-milk-powder

https://otagopetfoods.co.nz/products/scoop-dog-beef-bone-broth-concentrate

This is one of the most common questions we get asked! Strictly speaking, dogs are facultative carnivores, meaning they can thrive entirely on a balanced diet of meat, bone, and organ. They do not require vegetables to survive.

However, adding a small amount of finely pureed or steamed low-carbohydrate vegetables can be very beneficial if necessary:

🩺 When to use them:

If your puppy is experiencing slight constipation, a spoonful of pureed pumpkin or steamed broccoli can add safe, dietary fiber to help move things along.

🍳 How to serve them:

Always cook and puree vegetables first! Dogs cannot break down the raw cell walls of plants, so pureeing ensures they can actually absorb the vitamins.

Unlike adult dogs who eat a percentage of their current weight, growing puppies need to be fed based on their expected adult weight or a higher percentage of their current weight (usually around 4% to 6% or more, split across 3 to 4 small meals a day).

Because every breed grows at a different rate, keep a close eye on their body condition. You should easily be able to feel their ribs under a light layer of fat, but they shouldn't be visibly poking out. 🐕

🌟Start with a gentle, single-source protein that is easy on the stomach, like chicken, lamb, or rabbit before introducing richer meats like venison, horse, or salmon.

🌟Stool Changes

Don't panic if you notice a few digestive changes in the first week! It's completely normal for your pup's body to go through a brief adjustment phase

🌟Less water drinking:

Raw food naturally contains a lot of moisture (unlike dry, dehydrated kibble). Your pup will likely drink significantly less water from their bowl, which is totally normal and a sign they are well-hydrated!

⚠️ Disclaimer: If your puppy develops persistent diarrhea, vomits, or seems lethargic, pause the transition immediately and consult your local vet.

Pop into our Mosgiel or Dunedin store or check out our online shop to pick up some Premium Chicken Mince or a few bags of our Raw Mix medallions.

We offer click-and-collect, local Dunedin delivery, and overnight South Island shipping to make feeding your pup fresh food as easy as possible! 🚐💨