FAQs About Albright’s Raw Dog Food

Food Dogs were Designed to Eat. Nutrition You Can Trust.
We want our customers to know and understand as much about the benefits of raw feeding as we do. Here we answer some of the most common queries about making the change to a raw food diet. However, if you have a question that hasn’t been answered below, don’t hesitate to get in touch here.

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FAQ

Ingredients and Nutrition

What's in Albright’s raw dog food?

Raw all-natural whole-food ingredients combined to give your dog all the nourishment they need.

The muscle meat comes from beef hearts, pork hearts, lamb hearts, chicken breasts, chicken heart, ground chicken, ground turkey and turkey gizzards.

Organ meats are derived from beef and pork kidney; and beef, chicken, pork and turkey livers.

Then there’s ground bone, organic whole eggs, including the shell, rounded out with kale, cranberries, sunflower oil, and organic dried kelp.

All ingredients are North American-sourced, human-grade quality, but (not least because it contains ground bone and eggshell) this is pet food, and should never be consumed by humans.

Details of the provenance and complete nourishment found in all ingredients can be seen on the Ingredient Benefits page.

What does the term B.A.R.F mean?

The acronym stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. This denotes a complete and optimally nutrious pet food, in which none of the ingredients’ benefits have been lost in processes like cooking or pasteurization. Albright’s Raw Dog Food comprises of mostly quality muscle meat, with some offal and bone, and a small complement of produce such as, eggs, fruit and vegetables, sunflower oil and kelp to give your dog full nutrition. 
Our complete and balanced recipes follow the biologically appropriate style of feeding.

What exactly does ‘complete and balanced’ mean?

Complete and balanced are official Association of Animal Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) terms. "Complete" means that the food contains ALL the nutrients a dog requires. "Balanced" means that these nutrients are in the correct proportions. These terms are applied to a specific life stage of the dog, meaning the food is complete and balanced for a pup of a certain age.

What does Prey Model Raw (PMR), or "80/10/10" feeding - mean?

The Prey Model Raw (PMR) feeding philosophy states that the following ratios should be used when feeding a dog: Muscle meat 80%, organ meat 10%, bone 10%. 10% organ meat is typically divided between 5% liver and 5% other secreting organ. This ratio breakdown is meant to mimic the ratios found in typical prey animals.

Albright's recognizes that not all pet parents want fruit/veg in their raw food. That's why we now offer a full line of PMR products - please call or email for details!

Why do your complete and balanced recipes contain fruit and vegetables? 

In the wild, a predator usually consumes most of the prey animal. That includes the contents of the stomach and intestines of the herbivores they eat. The intestines and the stomach of these prey animals contain the fruits and vegetables (and more importantly the nutrients) that those animals ate.

Additionally, wolves have been observed eating fruits and vegetables in the wild; most likely to obtain the nutrients that those food sources provide.

We include kale, cranberries, kelp powder, and sunflower oil to make our food complete.

Why do you use sunflower oil as an ingredient?

We use sunflower oil as an ingredient because of the nutritional vitamin E, but also because of the healthy fat content.

Albright's uses ONLY cold-pressed, high-oleic sunflower oil, which helps us manage the Omega 6:3 ratio and helps ensure our recipes are AAFCO compliant.

For more details, click the button below!

Where do you source your proteins?

All proteins are sourced from the US and Canada from USDA-certified facilities. We NEVER use 3D or 4D meats... and NEVER will. Most proteins are sourced from Indiana and the MidWest, but on occasion, are sourced from Western states or Canada. Please contact us if you have more specific sourcing questions!

Do you add vitamins or supplements to your food? 

No. Our recipes are carefully created precisely to ensure we don’t need to! For more details visit our Ingredient Benefits page.

Does your food contain ground bone?

Yes. Ground bone is a great source of calcium and phosphorus, and it’s also been found to aid dog’s digestion.

Do you use commercial dried bone meal? 

No. Our ground bone comes from the beef femur bones we sell. They're cut up on the band saw and produce some "bone dust" that we include in our Beef Recipe. The Beef & Chicken and the Chicken Recipe have enough bone from the chicken. The Turkey Recipe contains ground turkey bones, and the Pork Recipe has ground pork bones.

Why does your food contain eggshell? 

Eggshell is rich in calcium and the attached egg membrane has collagen, glucosamine, chondroitin and hyaluronic acid. If however, you’d prefer no eggs or eggshell in your dog’s raw food, our Turkey Recipe and our Pork Recipes are both egg-free.

If it's grain free, do I need to worry about DCM/dilated cardiomyopathy?

In the last few years a few dogs have developed DCM on a grain free diet. DCM is often caused by a lack of taurine, the amino acids used to metabolise fats. Research is still underway, but it doesn’t seem that a lack of grains is the problem. Rather, it appears that many pet-food manufacturers have swapped out grain fillers for even cheaper bulking ingredients such as peas, lentils, beans, and potatoes, and these ingredients may be preventing taurine production or the use of taurine.

Albright's Raw Dog Food, and other high quality raw foods, are meat-based (so rich in taurine), and don’t contain any kind of filler, be it grains, pea protein, lentils, beans, or potatoes. Raw food like ours has not been implicated in any of the DCM cases to date. 

The FDA's most recent information (December 2022) into DCM causality can be found here.

Product Info

What recipes do you sell?

Our core recipes are complete and balanced and include a Beef Recipe, a Beef & Chicken Recipe, a Chicken Recipe, a Turkey Recipe, a Pork Recipe and a new Lamb Recipe. All are sold frozen.

We also sell Prey Model Raw (80/10/10) food which includes Beef PMR, Pork PMR, Chicken PMR, and Turkey PMR. In the fall of '23, we plan to add a Duck PMR and Venison PMR.

Lastly, we recently launched our Puppy Recipe, which is the first recipe in our line of "Life Stage" products. This product line will be rounded out by an aging dog and performance dog formula. Stay tuned for product launch details!

In what quantities can I buy Albright’s Raw Dog Food?

 We sell our food in tube cases called ‘chubs’, weighing either 2 lbs or 5 lbs. Our 2 lbs chubs are packed 18 to a case (for a total case weight of 36 lbs), while our 5 lbs chubs are packed 8 to a case (for a total case weight of 40 lbs). Our plastic chub wraps are BPA (Bispenol A) free.

We also offer a user-friendly, EZ Peel corner, 1 lb packaging.

What’s the shelf life?

 Because we sell it frozen, our raw dog food can be stored in the freezer for up to a year after the date of manufacture. You’ll find a “Best By” date and lot number on each package and case. Thaw in a refrigerator (usually takes 2-4 days), and once opened use within 72 hours, or repackage and refreeze within 24 hours. Defrosting in a microwave will destroy the raw food’s natural enzymes and cook the bone content.

Do you make a puppy formula? 

Yes! A new favorite among puppy customers, our puppy recipe is specially formulated for growth and development. Exciting new ingredients include blended protein (beef & pork), beef tripe, cod liver oil, goat's milk, and dried colostrum.

What about freezer burn? 

Freezer burn is caused by dehydration and food exposed to air for a long time. This is unlikely since our food is sold in vacuum-packed chubs.

Is it normal for the food to have blood in it?

Yes - because the proteins go through two grinding cycles, blood will be part of every chub. Blood is highly nutritious because it is an excellent source or protein for muscle repair and growth. Plus, it is instrumental in keeping your pup hydrated - you'll be amazed at how much less water they drink!

Why is the color different from the last package?

 Due to the small batch nature of our production process, raw meat can vary slightly in color, and that is perfectly normal.

This food has a strong smell. Is that normal? 

Yes. Our food smells stronger than fresh human beef or chicken because it also contains offal such as liver and kidney.


Changes in My Dog

How should I transition my dog from kibble to raw?

Slowly! It is essential when transitioning from any other type of food to introduce the new food (Albright's, we hope) slowly. A dog's digestive system is sensitive to change and too quick of a transition to any new food can be a (healthy) shock to the system. For more tips, click the button below.

Since moving to a raw diet, why is my dog pooping less?

Your dog's stool will usually be smaller and firmer on a raw diet. Instead of eating a lot of bulk filler that passes quickly through the digestive tract, more of the food is used and digested. As long as your dog is maintaining the proper weight, less poop is just another big benefit of raw feeding. And it should smell less too...

How much should I feed my dog?

A good starting point for adult dogs is to feed them 2.5% of their body weight. However, other factors need to be considered such as activity level and if weight needs to be gained/lost. Puppies also require more food. For a comprehensive feeding guide, click the button below.

Is my dog constipated on raw food?

Because your dog’s stools will be smaller and firmer they may have to strain a little harder. This is no bad thing, as it helps evacuate the anal glands, so you won’t have to pay a groomer or vet so often to do the same. If a dog really does seem to be constipated, give them a spoonful or two of canned pumpkin. If it seems to be a regular thing for your dog, just add a spoonful to your dog's food daily. Some dogs just need a bit more fiber. Pumpkin is low in calories, good for them, and they love it. 

My dog used to leave his food around all day, now it’s gone in a minute. Is that too fast? 

No. That's exactly how dogs and wolves behave in the wild. It just proves your dog knows that raw is right.

My dog always begs for more. Am I not feeding him enough?

 If your dog is maintaining a healthy weight (and not losing weight), it’s far more likely your dog just wants more of the good stuff. Our deliciously raw products can have that effect!

How can I tell if my dog is the right weight? 

For information on the healthy weight range for each breed see The American Kennel Club’s Breed Weight Chart

Change your dog’s life for the better. Simply by changing their diet.

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