Raw feeding is popular and genuinely polarising. This is a plain explanation of the ratios and portions people use — not an endorsement. The evidence on raw diets is contested, and the failure modes are serious enough that this is a conversation to have with your vet, not the internet.
The two common models
| Component | Prey model (80/10/10) | BARF |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle meat | 80% | 70% |
| Raw edible bone | 10% | 10% |
| Organ (½ liver) | 10% | 10% |
| Vegetables / fruit | — | 7% |
| Seeds / nuts / dairy | — | 3% |
Prey model tries to approximate a whole prey animal. BARF ("Biologically Appropriate Raw Food") adds plant matter. Both start from the same 80/10/10 spine.
How much to feed
| Dog | Daily % of body weight |
|---|---|
| Adult, maintain weight | 2–3% |
| Adult, lose weight | 1.5–2% |
| Adult, gain / very active | 3–4% |
| Puppy 4–6 months | ~8% |
| Puppy 6–12 months | ~5–6% |
A 50 lb adult at 2.5% eats about 1.25 lb (20 oz) a day. Our raw dog food calculator takes weight and feeding goal and returns the daily amount split into the 80/10/10 components.
Why the 10% organ split matters so much
Organ is where raw feeding most often goes wrong, in both directions.
Half the organ must be liver. Liver is the main source of vitamin A, copper and several B vitamins. Miss it and you get deficiencies over months. The other 5% should be a different secreting organ — kidney, spleen, pancreas.
Heart is not organ. This trips up almost every beginner. Heart is a muscle, nutritionally and anatomically, and it counts toward the 80%. Feeding heart as your "organ" portion means feeding zero actual organ.
Too much liver causes problems too. Vitamin A is fat-soluble and accumulates. Excess causes real toxicity. More is not better here — the 5% is a ceiling as much as a floor.
Bone: the 10% that can hurt
Raw edible bone provides calcium and phosphorus in roughly the right ratio. It has to be raw. Cooked bone splinters and can perforate the gut — this is not a debated point, and it's a genuine emergency when it happens.
Too little bone causes calcium deficiency. Too much causes constipation and hard, white, crumbly stools. Bone content is usually the first thing an experienced raw feeder adjusts.
Note that a chicken quarter is not 100% bone — it's maybe 25–30% bone by weight. Beginners routinely count whole pieces as bone and end up feeding two or three times the target.
The risks, stated plainly
Nutritional imbalance is the big one, and it's slow. A diet that's 90% right produces a dog that looks fine for months and then doesn't. Growing puppies are the highest risk, because bone development is unforgiving of calcium errors.
Bacterial risk is real for the household, not just the dog. Raw meat carries salmonella and listeria, and dogs shed those in stool whether or not they get sick. Public health bodies flag this specifically for homes with infants, elderly people, or anyone immunocompromised.
Bone injury — fractured teeth, obstructions, perforations. Uncommon, but severe when it happens.
If you do switch
Go slowly. Start with one protein — chicken is the usual choice — for a couple of weeks before introducing another. Rushing into five proteins at once means that when something goes wrong, you have no idea what caused it.
Expect smaller, firmer stools. That's normal and it's the most commonly reported change.
Compare portions against a conventional diet with our dog food calculator, and if you're feeding a growing puppy, our puppy adult size calculator helps you project the weight your portions should be tracking toward.
Try the free calculator
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 80/10/10 raw feeding ratio?
80% muscle meat, 10% raw edible bone and 10% organ, with half the organ portion being liver. BARF adds around 7% vegetables and 3% seeds or dairy.
How much raw food should I feed my dog?
Adults typically eat 2 to 3% of body weight daily, so a 50 lb dog eats about 1.25 lb. Puppies need far more — roughly 5 to 8% depending on age.
Does heart count as organ in raw feeding?
No. Heart is a muscle and counts toward the 80% muscle meat. Organ means secreting organs like liver, kidney and spleen — a common beginner mistake.
Is raw feeding safe for dogs?
It carries real risks — nutritional imbalance, bacterial contamination that spreads to the household, and bone injury. Major veterinary bodies don't broadly endorse it, so consult your vet first.