Cotswold RAW has arrived in Oakington!

Why Cotswold RAW?

We have fed raw to our dogs for over 7 years. We have found that it suited our dogs very well, it kept them at a good weight, their coats were in good condition especially as they had been neutered and they absolutely loved it. There’s nothing nicer than seeing the anticipation on their faces as their meals are dished out. Over the course of 7 years we got to the point of preparing everything ourselves from scratch, but times change and as we now have less time to fully prepare everything we started to look at what products were on the market that would provide us with a complete raw meal for our dogs.

Floyd, our Golden Retriever, suffered from hot spots when the kibble manufacturers changed their recipes every now and then, and of course they don’t advertise when they change their recipe and maybe substitute a cheaper ingredient. We believe that a raw diet keeps our dogs in tip top condition and in good health generally.

There are many reputable good raw food suppliers on the market and we've tried the majority of them. Needless to say our dogs loved them all! For us Cotswold RAW came out on top because:-

They are an independent, family run company and there is nothing better than actually talking to the people that make the product and run the company.
They were very knowledgeable about their product and where they source their meat and ingredients from.
The texture and quality of Cotswold RAW is what we were looking for, not too refined, but with a bite
And their selection of products (mince, sausages & meaty bones) gave us the variety we were looking for all from the same company.
Rated 4.9 out of 5 on allaboutdogfood.co.uk, but when I checked today they actually rated 5/5.

So, nearly 12 months after we and our dogs started our research, Cotswold RAW has arrived in Oakington!

Opening Offer

While Stocks Last - Free packet of Cotswold RAW natural treats (worth £2.95) when you buy 2kg mince or sausages.

Cotswold RAW Loyalty Card

Butcher’s Dozen – Buy 12 and get your 13th free of chicken mince. Loyalty card will be marked up for either 500g or 1kg packets.

BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food)

This is the easiest way to feed your dog a natural raw diet. BARF consists of feeding your dog a mixture of raw meat and bones, vegetables and minerals. These are carefully mixed to replicate a dog’s natural ancestral diet.

Raw feeding basically means mimicking a dog’s natural diet that they would have in the wild. A dog’s digestive system is the same as that of a wolf and is designed to digest their prey including raw meat, bones, and organs.

Dogs were eating this diet a very long time before dog kibble was invented for man’s convenience; a raw diet basically lets their digestive system do what it was made to!

A raw diet consists of around 75-85% fresh meat, the other 15-25% is made up of vegetables, organs and animal bones as well as other natural ingredients designed to give your dog a well-balanced and healthy diet.

Why feed your dog a Raw diet?

Dog foods often claim to be good for your dog’s health, but on closer inspection they can contain sugars, meat meals and meat derivatives. There are many benefits of feeding a raw diet, here are some of them:

Easier to digest and beneficial for sensitive doggie tummies
Less allergies / food intolerances than with kibble
Fresher breath, cleaner healthy teeth and gums
Less flatulence
Smaller stools
Less hyperactivity, balanced energy levels
Robust immune system
Reduces inflammatory issues and supports healthy joints
Healthier skin and less itching
Glossy coat
Lean muscle tone
Better weight management
Longer Lifespan
Can be expected to suffer less illness and disease

So, you can see there are many benefits of feeding your dog a raw diet, now let’s look at how to get started.

How much Raw food should you feed to your dog?

Adult Dogs

You can split your dog’s Raw food into 2 equal meals per day.

As a starting point look to feed your dog around 2-3% of their ideal adult body weight in Raw food.

If your dog is very active you may need to feed a little more or a little less for other dogs. All dogs are different just like we are. All of our 3 dogs get fed different amounts and they are all around the same weight! Proving that no 2 dogs are the same, they all have different metabolisms.

The easy way to check if you are feeding correctly is to run your hands over the dog’s ribs, you should be able to feel their ribs under a light layer of fat and you should be able to see a waistline. When you take your dog for their annual checkup at the vets get them to weigh and check your dog’s weight. They will help advise you on any weight issues.

Puppy Dogs

Puppies need more nutrition so should be fed about 8%-10% of their puppy weight up to about 6 months and then this will gradually reduce till they get to 12 months of age. For smaller and miniature dog’s the percentages will be higher, seek advice from your raw food supplier or breeder if they feed a raw diet. Feeding a puppy a higher percentage in these formative months will help give them all the nutrients they need to build strong healthy teeth and bones as they grow at such a fast rate. It is important to monitor and weigh the puppy every week to ensure they are fed the right amount and are developing at the right rate.

What to feed your dog

Aim to feed a balanced and varied Raw diet over the course of each week and change things up to include different meats where possible.

How to change to a Raw dog diet

Probably the best way to make the change is to fast your dog for a day so that all the kibble processed diet is out of his system first. Then switch straight across to raw food. Good raw food suppliers provide a lot of help and support to their customers to help them move across. They only want the best for your dog.

DON’T mix kibble and raw food – they are digested at different rates. The kibble slows down the digestion of the raw food and allows the possibility of bacteria being able to flourish.

Stick to one or a couple of types of meat for the first couple of weeks to avoid upset tummies – tripe is a good option to begin with as dogs find this extremely tasty and easy to digest.

Most raw food companies include offal as a percentage of their complete raw food meals.

The same process for puppies although split into 3 meals/day to start with until around 6 months old.

Once your dog is used to their Raw food diet you can look to introduce Raw treats too.

Keep a close eye and always supervise your dog when giving them Raw meaty bones – choking hazard.

We are so pleased to be able to offer Cotswold RAW to our customers and we hope you and your dogs enjoy Cotswold RAW as much as we and our dogs do.