• Healthy Gut Biome. Raw food contains digestible, bioavailable nutrients and enzymes. Your pet’s poop will be smaller, firmer, and less smelly when they eat species appropriate whole foods.

• Strong, Clean Teeth. Raw food, without high sugar levels or carbohydrates, reduces dental disease by boosting the immune system. Chewing on raw, meaty bones also cleans tartar and plaque from teeth.

• Hydration Boost. Most kibble-fed dogs are chronically dehydrated and inflamed because of dry food. Pets need moisture-rich food to thrive—Oma’s Pride raw food contains about 70% moisture.

• Softer, Shinier Coat. Pets who eat nutrient-rich, biologically appropriate foods experience less inflammation, fewer allergies, less shedding, and less atopic dermatitis. The result? Healthy, shiny, and less oily coats that are soft to the touch.

• Better Weight Control. Raw food contains essential vitamins, minerals, and protein for optimal nutrition and metabolic health. Pets on a raw food diet are less inflamed, more muscular, and less likely to become overweight.

• Allergy Relief. The root cause of most allergies is linked to the immune system. An anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense raw diet can lead to less itchy skin, less redness, and reduced scratching and chewing.

There are two ways to switch your pet to raw food, gradually or using the “cold turkey” method.

1. The Gradual Method:

The gradual method is ideal for older pets or pets with sensitive stomachs. Essentially, with the gradual method, you slowly introduce raw meat into your pet’s diet. You begin by feeding both the current food and raw food at different times of the day. We recommend gradually decreasing the amount of kibble (or current food) fed in the morning while increasing the amount of raw food fed in the evening over a week or two.

Please wait to introduce raw meaty bones (Turkey Necks, Chicken Necks, Chicken Backs, and Duck Necks) until your pet has been on full raw for 7-10 days.

Example feeding plan: Think of your pet's daily intake adding up to 100%. Begin in the morning by feeding about 75% of their daily food intake using their current kibble (or other food). Then, in the evening, give them about 25% of their daily food intake using the new raw food. Feed this percentage until your pet’s stool is healthy looking.

Every few days, begin decreasing the percentage of kibble and increasing the percentage of raw food.

• Days 1-4: AM 75% kibble (or current food) and PM 25% raw food

• Days 5-8: AM 50% kibble (or current food) and PM 50% raw food

• Days 9-12: AM 25% kibble (or current food) and PM 75% raw food

• Day 13 - 100% raw food diet!

2. The Cold Turkey Method:

When using the cold turkey method, you immediately switch your pet to raw without slowly transitioning. If your pet is young and healthy without digestive or stomach issues, you may be able to use this method.

If you choose this method, we recommend fasting your pet for 24 hours from all foods (but they should have plenty of fresh water). This fast will clear their current food from the digestive system.

On day two (after the fast), you can begin feeding your pet raw food. We recommend starting with Oma’s Pride Signature mixes (for dogs) or Oma’s Pride Complete Meals. These specific products contain bone and will help the digestive tract prepare to eat whole bones. We also recommend starting with chicken or turkey proteins as they are milder, easier to digest, and contain less fat.

Please wait to introduce raw meaty bones (Turkey Necks, Chicken Necks, Chicken Backs, and Duck Necks) until your pet has been on full raw for 7-10 days.

In addition, we strongly recommend adding one of our daily supplements, like Digestive Performance or Fundamental Vitality, to ease your pet into a raw food diet. Both of these supplements contain probiotics to help regulate a healthy digestive tract.

Here are a few reasons why you should not be concerned:

1. We use bacteriophage technology. Oma’s Pride uses bacteriophaging during the food production process to reduce or eliminate the presence of disease-causing bacteria (salmonella, E-coli, and listeria). Bacteriophaging does not impact the taste, color, quality, or consistency of products. It is a trusted technology, which is why it is used in the human food industry on products like smoked salmon and deli meats. The bacteriophage process leaves only beneficial bacteria in the meat to preserve its raw nutritional integrity. Read more about bacteriophaging on our blog.

2. We use high-quality ingredients. Oma’s Pride only uses all-natural, top-quality, and human-grade ingredients. We follow our rigorous HACCP program and USDA regulations.

3. Raw meat is biologically appropriate. Cats and dogs are carnivores anatomically built to process raw meat as an ideal diet. Pets’ systems are highly acidic (for example, their stomachs contain about 10 times more hydrochloric acid than human stomachs), so harmful bacteria have trouble surviving in this environment. Pets also have shorter GI tracts than humans, jaws designed to chew and rip meat (not plant matter), and sharp canine teeth.

Unless your pet has a sensitive stomach or other digestive issues, they should not experience digestive upset when transitioning to raw food. We recommend starting with a milder, lower-fat protein like chicken or turkey to avoid upset. If you are worried about digestive upset, we recommend slowly transitioning your pet to raw food over a week or two.

Please note that it is normal for pets to have looser stools or experience diarrhea when first transitioning to a raw diet (called detoxification). To help with the transition into a raw food diet, we strongly recommend adding one of our daily supplements, like Digestive Performance or Fundamental Vitality. Both of these supplements contain probiotics to help regulate a healthy digestive tract.

Yes, puppies and kittens can eat raw food. Here’s how:

• Puppies can begin eating a quality raw diet directly after they are weaned from milk (around 5-6 weeks old).

• Kittens can start on a quality raw diet when they are 3-4 weeks old after weaning from milk.

While some may be concerned that kittens and puppies will get sick from a raw diet, they are carnivores designed to process this diet after weaning. The earlier they begin eating biologically appropriate food, the better. Additionally, starting your kitten or puppy on a raw diet can help them develop a healthy gut and immune system early.

Yes, you can feed your pet raw and dry food together (in the same bowl).

In the past, people have said that pets cannot eat raw and dry food together. Why? Since raw food and kibble are very different, people thought pets’ GI tracts could not handle the fluctuating PH levels. They also said that processing foods at different speeds is dangerous because it could lead to harmful bacteria growth or an upset stomach. This, it turns out, is a myth.

A pet’s system digests all foods using the same general 4-10 hour process (food travels from the mouth to the stomach to the intestines in a highly acidic environment). Small fluctuations in gastric acid levels shouldn’t cause distress to a healthy animal’s body. No scientific studies show that a healthy carnivore’s body cannot handle raw and dry foods together.

Please note! If your pet has a sensitive GI tract, changing foods too quickly can cause digestive upset. This is where feeding raw and dry food together can cause an upset stomach. If your animal is sensitive, slowly add new foods over time. You can also add our Digestive Performance supplement, canned 100% pumpkin, or slippery elm bark to your pet’s bowl to help.

At the end of the day, the best way to feed your furry family member is the one that works for you. If you feed kibble as a base, don’t be afraid to add a raw topper to give your pet a nutritional boost. Your pet can eat raw and dry food at the same time, or simply within the same day.

We recommend incorporating as many raw, whole foods into your pet’s diet as you can. As we like to say, any raw is better than no raw!