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Get an expert breakdown on the differences between fresh, frozen and raw diets for your cat or dog.
Updated on June 19th, 2026
See what options there are with a raw dog food diet.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025
Find out how to tell if dog food has gone bad, how to store it properly, and tips to ensure your pup’s meals stay fresh and nutritious.
Updated on June 19th, 2026
Get insights into natural dog food ingredients and learn how they support your pup’s overall health and well-being.
Updated on June 19th, 2026
Can dogs eat raw meat? Visit Petco to learn about whether raw meat is okay for dogs to eat and other dog food questions.
Updated on June 16th, 2026
Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Tater-Tot (great name!) I am sorry that she is not doing well. It is hard when senior dogs stop wanting to eat the food that agrees with them the most. Since she has a sensitive stomach and likes the stews, I would ask your Vet about Hill's i/d stew. It is prescription but it is an intestinal diet so she may tolerate it better. Also Weruva makes a human grade canned food called Funcky chicken that is human grade. Looks like chicken soup, I have heard that 90% of dogs that don't want to eat will eat that. I wish you the best
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Raw feeding is a very good option for many dogs, as long as done properly. hygiene and freshness of the ingredients are the key to this diet, it is important to get the raw meals from a good supplier, you will usually need a dedicated freezer to store the food. it is also very important to take the food out of the freezer not too long before giving it to your dog as it can go bad quite quickly when left outside.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Hello, thank you for your question about Sky. There are many different opinions on feeding raw food diets, so you may hear different opinions depending on who you ask. I would not recommend feeding your dog raw chicken feet. In general feeding raw or even freeze dried food can lead to bacterial infections such as Salmonella. This can be transmitted to humans also. There is no advantage to feeding freeze-dried/raw food over commercial dog food. Hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Unless the raw meat is a formulated raw food diet, then the raw meat alone is not a balanced diet. There are a number of raw food diets that are formulated to be complete diets, so if that is all Ma wants to eat right now, you could look into feeding her one of those for now. There are also some freeze dried raw formulations that might be a good option. Stella & Chewy's ( https://www.stellaandchewys.com ) makes both formulations, that might be something to look into. Good luck! Thanks for using PetCoach.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
The only difference really is ease of preparation and use. The homemade is going to be essentially healthier because it's fresh, not frozen. Freezing can destroy some of the vitamins/nutrients. If you want to make a homemade diet I suggest you use the BalanceIT website. https://secure.balanceit.com/ They will tell you how to prepare the diet based on what ingredients you are wanting to use and then will also tell you how to balance the diet using their supplements. This website was created by a veterinary nutritionist and would be the only way I would consider feeding a homemade diet. Hope this helps.
Updated on September 24th, 2025