Is Raw Feeding Really Best For Your Dog?!

When we were given the opportunity to try Poppy’s Picnic, raw dog food with a difference, we were really excited and hopeful.

Bisbee has always been an incredibly picky eater – after hearing from the vets that she was underweight numerous times- though we were always trying to get her to eat, we settled on a combination of kibble, wet food mixed in, AND a slice of sandwich chicken for every meal to try to get her to eat, which she still only did begrudgingly. We have daily conversations with her about eating her dinner, and worry about it quite a bit.

We’d wanted to try her on a raw food diet for a while because of the health benefits. We knew with the above combination we weren’t feeding her the most nutritious meal, our focus had been on just trying to get her to eat full stop. So whenever she has been fed proper meat in the past, she has gobbled it up. Would raw meat finally mean that we wouldn’t be pressuring her to eat her dinner?

We hadn’t tried raw previously because of the prep time we believed it would take, the potential cost, and because handling raw meat on a daily basis is not my idea of a good time. When we looked on the Poppy’s Picnic site, we were pleased to see their ‘RAWPLICITY’ system means that the food is all prepared for us – meat mixed together with vegetables and healthy ingredients to give maximum nutrition to the dog with minimal disgust from us, and no cereals or fillers in sight! The cost wasn’t bad at all either. We worked out we’d be spending about £0.80 per day on Bisbee’s food – that is a small price to pay for an eating, happy, healthy dog! I ordered a trial box that had an assortment of chicken, beef and lamb meals right away.

(Excuse the dead plant, but I loved how much effort they went to to hide the package when we weren't home!)

When they arrived in their frozen pack, Bisbee was immediately interested. She seemed to know (or hope!) it was for her, and we were impressed with the adorable packaging as we put each pack into the freezer. We had calculated how much of the food she would need per day based on her weight – and though it looked less than what we currently feed her, we read that dogs need less raw food as it is so high quality, and not filled with cereals etc. Bisbee needs roughly half a pack per day, split over two meals.

We decided to introduce her to Poppy’s Picnic slowly, by putting in a little kibble in with it. When we first put down her bowl with her first meal of Poppy’s Picnic chicken, she looked so suspicious and kept checking with us – was it a mean joke, or an accident, that we had given her actual meat for dinner? With lots of reassurance, she gobbled up the entire meal within the first 10 minutes – which for Bisbee is a record, and for us, a relief!

The next morning, we put down her bowl expecting the same performance. But to our dismay, she didn’t touch it for a few hours. It turned out that the quality food is so filling, that she wasn’t hungry in the morning! We learned to give her a little less, which meant before long she was eating as soon as we put the bowl down, without any encouragement from us – something that had never before happened in the three years we have had her!

 

Another thing we really like about Poppy’s Picnic is the support you get from the company. We found that Bis wouldn’t eat the lamb one (crazy dog, I don’t know many pups that are picky about the type of raw meat they get!), so when we told Rebecca she suggested we mix it in with the chicken or beef, which indeed worked! Dylan, Rebecca, and the team are always on hand to help with answers to questions or suggestions.

If you considering raw  it is well worth checking out the website: Poppy's Picnic , there is a tons of advice, it shares exactly what goes into the food and how they decide what each meal should include. There is also a blog and FAQ question section full of useful info. 

We were very impressed with Poppy’s Picnic, and what it did for Bisbee. We’ve found that she eats more regularly, better quality food, has a bit more energy, and we are relieved that with the system of defrosting one at a time and keeping it covered in the fridge means the kitchen doesn’t smell, and there is minimum handling of the food.

 

We’d recommend you try Poppy’s Picnic for your pup! They’ve kindly given us a 10% off code for you to order your first individual packs with! The code is bisbeelovesfood. If you do give it a go, please let us know! We’ll definitely continue using Poppy’s Picnic for Bisbee’s food.

 Disclaimer: We were given the opportunity to try Poppy's Picnic free of charge, however were under no obligation to provide a positive review - all above opinions and experiences are our own.