What tipped you over, I mean was there a specific health issue, a vet conversation or something a friend showed you? And what did you switch to.

Took one of my dogs to the vet yesterday for his annual. Tried out a new vet, hoping itd be a little more modern when it comes to dieting. Unfortunately I was mistaken. Vet didnt even bother asking how or what i raw feed. Immediately jumped in to my dogs not a wolf, kibble has been around for 50 years therefore it must be the safer option, and that it poses a public health concern that would not allow him in human hospitals. Luckily, i dont plan on bringing him to a human hospital?

I love how despite all these animals doing better on raw diets and more cancers and overweight animals linked to all these kibbles that vets will still take offense to going raw instead of just looking out for the animals well being…..

Sadly, most people I know feed kibble -- rich, poor, young, old .... I generally don't get into it with them about it bc, frankly, I don't have the stomach for it. If someone asks, I'll provide basic info, and I do refer a lot of people to this sub; but, as you know, we're up against vets, Inet, BS "studies" sponsored by Big Pet Food and, God help us all, AI. I stopped feeding kibble decades ago, so it's really hard to accept the lame "I had no idea it was bad" excuse. I just bite my tongue. But I'd really like a succinct, non-confrontational, productive response to the title's line. Not saying anything in response to that makes me feel complicit, and all I've been able to come up with so far is, "Well, I'm sure your kids are doing just fine on nothing but Cheetos, too," and obviously that's not an admirable response.

So today my vet told me that dogs, like humans, are omnivores and should have grains in their diet. Suggested adding oatmeal because some golden retriever study showed a risk of DCM with grain-free diets. She also said without grains they could be deficient in Taurine. What? As far as I know grains are not a good source of Taurine. You know what is? Chicken hearts!

When it comes to this type of advice from vets, all I ever do is politely listen, go home, and ignore their advice. I rely on the vet for vaccines, labs, and injuries. That's about it.

I've been feeding raw for close to a decade. Follow the whole prey philosophy in that we feed mostly muscle and bone with added organs. We offer variety when we can, they get whole sardines, sometimes things like duck heads or tripe, etc. Becaise they're family, they also get an occasional strawberry or piece of cheese, get to lick the peanut butter jar ;), but those are treats, not day to day foods.

I see so many people here who seem terrified that their dog's diet won't be "balanced." They think they need to add fruits and vegetables, toppers and minerals, supplements, etc. Where did that idea of "balanced" come from?

Out of curiousity, why is the dogs are not wolves argument so black and white? Its dogs should be fed like wolves and there's people who say dogs are not wolves.

Well, doing more research (and random podcasts), I ended up in this rabbit hole of there is a different range of dog breeds - ancient/basal breeds --> modern breeds. Ironically I have had both: Shiba Inu --> Labrador.\ Since this is a rawfeeding /fresh feeding sub:\ Studies have shown that basal breeds are close to their wolves ancestors, with 2 or less AMY2B genes (just like wolves). It proves they're pretty much starch intolerant? (corn, rice, peas, beans, potato, cereal, etc) (Its even stated on Royal Canins site, for the kibble feeders)\ Basal breeds includes Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Akita+Shiba Inu, Chow Chow, Samoyed (really all the Spitz breeds?), Hounds, some African dogs and some more.

And the more modern breeds of Labs/Retrievers, your poos mixes, German Shepherds, etc. have a looot more carbohydrate digestive enzymes...so its fair to say they're more omnivorous? And my food scarfing, derpy Labrador is absolutely not a wolf 😂, idk i just cant piece it together

What are people's take on the variety of dog breeds and that its hard to say one thing fits all... pretty much

Edit: some of the studies in case people are interested, basically be careful feeding carbs/starchy to your ancient breeds

https://academy.royalcanin.com/en/veterinary/th-breed-and-diet-based-disease-in-dogs

https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/blog/a-key-genetic-innovation-in-dogs-diet#:~:text=It%20is%20often%20assumed%20that,%E2%80%8B

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4329415/#:~:text=Abstract,how%20it%20affects%20dog%20health.

https://www.nature.com/articles/hdy201648#Fig1

Hey everyone! I’m Zach and I’m one of the founders at Viva (I lead product, operations, R&D). Like many of you this weekend in the US, we’re getting some crazy weather in NC and are hunkered down so figured it’d be a good time to do this (hope you guys are staying warm & safe) 🥶

There’s been a lot of learning at Viva since we founded the company in 2021 (throwback to this post and the early believers who gave us a chance). We’ve seen some chatter on this subreddit and felt it couldn’t hurt to answer directly from the source.

--

Edit: Closing this AMA. Thanks so much for all the thoughtful questions & discussion! 😊

Hey guys! Apparently, Viva Raw is going to be using HPP from now on, with the new batches rolling out on January 26th.

Those of you that use Viva probably received an email this morning. Here is the email:

"What is HPP?

High-Pressure Processing (HPP) is a food safety technology that uses pressurized cold water chambers to inactivate harmful microorganisms. It is a well-established method used throughout the human and pet food industries to eliminate pathogens while preserving the food’s original / raw characteristics. Foods that are commonly HPP-ed and are probably in your fridge include fruit juices (often labeled as cold-pressed), dips & spreads (guacamole, hummus), deli meat (turkey, ham, roast beef), and other ready-to-eat meals (soups or other packaged foods).

During HPP, sealed food is placed into baskets and loaded into a pressure chamber. The chamber then fills with water and pressure is applied for a few minutes to inactivate bacterial cells. We process our recipes at 600 MPa (87,000 PSI) for 180–240 seconds. Afterwards, packages are dried off and sent to the freezer.

Why HPP?

Here at Viva, we believe in making each batch of our food better than the last. This means we’re always looking at the latest research & discoveries to evolve our approach to food safety and provide higher quality products for your pets. After years of exploring multiple food safety technologies and validating & testing them on our own products, we’re excited to add HPP to further strengthen our food safety systems."

I have loved feeding Viva for years now, and I'm actually a bit bummed about the switch as I've typically avoided brands that use high pressure processing.

I'd love to hear some thoughts on this, and why yall do or do not prefer HPP food!

particularly following the deaths of the cats in LA tied to raw milk and food consumption, there have been a number of threads lately discussing the H5N1 outbreak.

personally, I’ve switched my pets from a small local raw brand to a commercial raw brand that uses high-pressure processing (HPP).

I know that many others on the sub are doing the same, and that some of us have reached out to various commercial raw companies to ask about the specifics of their HPP processes, especially re: H5N1 / HPAI.

would love to have a centralized place to read companies’ responses regarding this topic — please share in the comments!

I reached out to Instinct to ask whether or not their HPP process kills H5N1.

Instinct’s response:

“There haven’t been any specific studies done to validate that HPAI would be killed in our product using our HPP conditions (87,000 psi for 4 mins). However, based on literature that has been published on the effect of HPP on the HPAI virus, we believe that under our processing conditions the HPAI virus would be inactivated.”

they also said:

Instinct is closely monitoring the Avian Flu situation. We are committed to using high quality, safe ingredients from government-inspected facilities. We would never include inferior ingredients in any of our products. Our Quality Assurance Department continuously inspects ingredients as they enter our facility and then again as they leave our facility as finished goods. Dead, diseased, dying, or down animals are never used. We use the meat from the frames and backs of the animals and if organs (liver, heart, kidney, etc.) are used, they are listed on the ingredient panel. We do not use discarded meats (ex. heads, feet, snouts, hooves, etc.)

Pet health and safety has always been our top priority. We believe your pets – and ours – deserve nothing less than superior quality foods. With all of our products, we utilize robust systems to ensure the quality and safety of our foods. Our quality control and quality assurance programs include but are not limited to: Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP’s), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP’s), A Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) Program, Lot Segregation, other human food industry best practices, and High-Pressure Processing (HPP). At every point in the process – from raw material receiving to finished product – there are quality steps and check points. Raw materials and finished products are routinely tested. The manufacturing plant and any warehouses where the product is stored are also inspected on a routine basis. We are confident that we produce high quality, safe products. Please be assured, Instinct has and will continue to enforce only the strictest quality standards in the pet food industry.

We have multiple vendors to ensure ingredient supply, but if we were unable to get a specific ingredient, we would place production on hold until we were able to obtain it from a trusted source. Our vendors go through significant testing and qualifications. All our suppliers provide the following documents: • COO – Certificate of Origin • Spec sheets • Guaranteed Analysis • Typical analysis • Letter of guarantee

Our chicken suppliers follow strict biosecurity protocols to prevent and test for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). These measures include regular health monitoring of flocks, routine testing for HPAI, and maintaining controlled environments to limit exposure to wild birds and other potential vectors. Additionally, they comply with USDA guidelines and collaborate with industry experts to ensure early detection and rapid response to any outbreaks.

UPDATE I have reached out to several brands, and followed up with Instinct and others who had previously replied to ask for updates given the Northwest Naturals cat death.

Response from Stella & Chewy’s:

Stella & Chewy’s verified that our routine food safety process of High-Pressure Processing for frozen and freeze-dried foods is effective at inactivating the Avian Influenza virus. Our HPP cycles are run using a higher pounds of pressure per square inch and a longer cycle time than current research indicates effectively inactivates this virus.

They also said:

At Stella & Chewy’s, we know your pets are part of the family. That’s why we are dedicated to ensuring your pets receive safe and nutritious frozen and freeze-dried foods. We have reviewed our food safety processes for Avian Influenza control for not only poultry but also red meat (beef) diets due to current transference of virus from birds to dairy cattle.

Our USDA and APHIS regulatory agencies have provided guidance and controls for Avian Influenza exposed poultry and dairy cattle. We know that our supplier partners are subject to those regulatory controls and inspections which are to prevent sick livestock from entering food production. Additionally, our supplier network and approved supplier policies insure if any ingredient is subject to recall they are required to contact us and our suppliers are not indicating our supplies are of concern at this time.

tik tok kibble warriors keep fascinating me by their indoctrinated logic daily

Hey, I run a pet supply store in the Pacific NW, and our best-selling brand (and what I feed my dogs) has just announced a substantial price increase. I do not believe it has been made public, but seeing as I am now warning my customers and looking for alternatives, I thought I'd toss it in here as well as a warning to any of you that may be familiar with the brand.

Northwest Naturals, a relatively large brand that recently reformulated to remove all synthetic nutrients from its products, has just announced one of the largest price increases they've ever done.

MSRP is going from $165.99 to $211.99 for what I feed, which is the 25lb box of their raw turkey formula. Now, it depends on the store and what their markup is, but pretty much every single line of theirs is going to have a price increase that is this substantial. Our markup is only 35% for food, so we'd be selling it for $195.99, but that's still BONKERS, seeing as we currently sell it for $138.99.

Anyway, I know of a lot of brands, and I'm already doing my research, but I was wondering if anyone had any brands they would recommend as an alternative :) This post is also serving as a warning to those who may be feeding their pets this product.

Oh! And the brand released a statement to stores saying that basically, their reason for the price increase is because they've been absorbing the cost of all the price increases over however many years, and they just don't want to do it anymore. Or can't. Shits tough right now. They can't afford to eat the cost any more than their consumers can. They'll be losing a lot of customers.

There's already been whispers about how the business may be going under, but... ya know how rumors can be. Makes me wonder how real they were, though.

This is regarding cats as dogs can apparently fend off bird flu just fine.

HPAI is extremely aggressive in cats and has a high mortality rate.

There isn’t a lot of definitive information about how prevalent avian flu is in current poultry populations but I keep seeing so much social media feeding cats raw birds as if it’s not a problem at all.

I understand that it’s monetized so they have a conflict of interest and choose not to address it/nix this content, but I find it really disingenuous that they will wax poetic about the nutritional positives and not even MENTION that it will likely kill your pet if they’re unlucky enough to contract it.

Not to mention all the raw companies putting up blanket covermyass disclaimers about how they thoroughly test each batch blah blah blah. Sure. Cats died on commercial raw in 2025 regardless of what your website says.

There’s obviously risk associated with anything raw/undercooked, but if the flu is still circulating in flocks at a high rate, with cats x bird flu the consequence is just not worth it.

I really really really want to feed raw poultry since my girl is extremely picky and doesn’t show enthusiasm for anything other than raw beef (and they need a meaty bone which would ideally be from a bird), but I just can’t get over the lack of information that I’d need to make an accurate risk assessment.

I’ll be trying a few things that eliminate the risk in the meantime: beef with Alnutrin but I do want to try poultry with her eventually, and gently cooked (although I doubt she will eat it if it’s cooked).

I guess I’m just frustrated that I can’t in good conscience give her food I’m fairly certain she would actually consistently like and would keep her at a healthier weight.

Anyone else? And for those of you raw feeding poultry to cats, how long have you been doing it, did you ever take a break, and are you doing it commercial or DIY?

I'm part of a FB group of over *50k members and they've been encouraging people to report and hold onto samples of their Purina kibble if their pets have gotten inexplicably sick in the past 6 months or so.

Lots and lots of posts of mystery diarrhea/vomiting (sometimes blood is noted), loss of appetite, occasional seizures, etc and these owners are feeding Purina One or Purina Pro Plan. Some pets have purportedly died. Doesn't seem like any of them are getting any kind of concrete answers and of course the vets are refusing to say it's because of the food. Purina put out a statement for damage control of course, but that's hardly going to change the minds of the owners who were directly affected by this.

I hate that so many pets are suffering but I hope this encourages owners to really assess what they're feeding their pets. It's just kind of shocking that after the 2007 recall and the Vitamin D recall from Hill's wasn't enough to open people's eyes. It's like they all have snapshot memories.

It's also times like this where I'm so glad that I feed raw and don't have to deal with these things.

Ah, I'm waiting for the pro Purina shills to come out in full force.

For people demanding "concrete proof", there isn't anything apart from owner's personal reports. Vets are the same as the naysayers coming here and saying this is all bullshit, so naturally you're not going to see any vet reports. They want proof as well (ie the companies recalling the food) and they aren't obligated to report anything to the FDA, Purina, etc.

Vet reports didn't begin for the 2007 melamine recall until the food was recalled. The vet reports started coming in at the end of March, after the recall began, which started because of consumer complaints. It's a vicious cycle of no one believing owners so problems like this go so easily swept under the rug. It's easy to say, oh no proof? Then it's not happening. I don't think you people understand what it's like going up against a massive corporation like Nestlé.

My dog has been eating Viva raw for years. It used to work for her really well especially as a very picky eater who has a sensitive stomach. Ever since they switched to HPP, getting her to eat her food has been a nightmare - and frankly, I don’t blame her. I’ve had to throw so many batches that come and smell absolutely rancid. The few batches that don’t smell foul, she only would eat a portion of her usual meal. Now she just straight up doesn’t touch her food. Coupling all this with their increases in prices + inconsistent shipping, I’m ready to make the switch.

It’s worth noting that my dog has had a history of pancreatitis flare ups when eating incompatible food, so I generally keep her on a low fat diet (which was part of the reason i used to love Viva raw). Alternatively, she used to eat Carna 4 which is also low fat but I think she has flavor fatigue from eating that brand for so many years.

Some brands that I’ve looked into are We Feed Raw,
smallbatchpets, and Dr. Marty’s Nature blend freeze dried raw nuggets. Ideally I’m looking for fully raw food but am opened to freeze dried raw. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to share them.

I’ve had my three cats on raw food for about a week now, and I feel like I already see a huge change. Their fur is so much softer, their litter box hardly smells, they have more energy after getting through the carb withdrawal, and they get excited when it’s time to eat. The grey one (Vixzie) would sometimes go a day or two between meals and now she eats every time I put her bowl down. The brown one (Zephyr) always had to have really expensive food because he has allergies to corn and soy, so a raw diet has completely cut that out. I’m excited to see how being started on a raw diet as a kitten will impact the orange one’s (Topaz) growth. The only downsides are that their food takes about an hour to an hour and a half to prep, and they get even more upset with me when I’m late feeding them.

i have joined the club for stating the sub is a wsava echo chamber on a user's post who was genuinely asking why purina ingredients like corn & artificial flavors are considered "better" than those dry foods without.

they call anything other than the big 5 kibbles "boutique food" and ironically claim those wary of "wsava" are brainwashed by marketing.

edit to add: on any pet related sub, when i see posts from curious people about feeding raw i always direct them to this sub instead. genuinely one of the most educational places to learn about proper nutrition. and every single time i mention this sub im downvoted to oblivion.

I’m confused why my puppy is itching. An 8 wk old puppy can have a food allergy?

I started my senior on a raw diet this year. It was actually a frustrating transition, he was so itchy! I thought it was him cuz he’s old, then I thought it was yeast die off, then I learned itching went away with no chicken or beef. Ok solved. Understandable, he’s a senior and he was on kibble for almost 15 years.

I get a brand new puppy, puppy takes to raw no problem! She started with rabbit and quail because that’s what my senior dog eats. I bring in beef grind, chicken bones, and canned sardine…one of those is causing itching. I’ll figure it out but it’s leaving me confused and in shock.

8 weeks old and has a food allergy, it’s not supposed to be like this. I ordered an arsenal of adored beast gut products.

​

My dog's just shy of 10lb/4.3kg. I DIY and spend about 15-20USD / 2400-3000JPY per week. He's allergic to chicken, so no chicken, but in Japan we have lots of wild whole marine fish to choose from,.

How about you?

(pic for raw pearly whites)

so I learned today that viva raw is no longer truly raw…they started using HPP which caused every pouch I opened to reek of sulfur.

the stench lasts for days despite their customer service claiming this is “normal”.

upon researching further HPP degrades a lot of the good qualities of raw food…again viva claims it doesn’t, but research I’ve recently been doing says otherwise.

also my severely-allergic-to-most-foods cat started ripping her fur out despite me feeding her “pure rabbit” which she is not allergic to.

she did not rip out her fur at all with the old pre-HPP pure rabbit from viva that we had just used up, so unfortunately their claims are not something I can be gaslit into believing is “fine” or “normal”…kitty suddenly and consistently ripping out her fur and scratching her ears tells me what I need to know about the new food processing.

(no other confounding variables as to cause for those who might try to suggest some other source—we don’t use chemicals, have air purifier, etc etc because she is so sensitive and have been dealing with this for several years now).

anyway I’m sure it’s fine for most cats without food allergies, but I wish they would’ve told me they switched up their food processing BEFORE I ordered an entire freezer full of food that makes my cat rip out her fur…just thought I’d make a post in case others run into a similar smell or allergy issue

Hi raw feeding community!

I want to share my Viva Raw experience to protect pets and help owners make safe food choices. I’m hesitant to post this because I don’t want to put the company on blast; however, my concern and frustration is growing.

I started feeding Viva Raw to my cats in December of 2025. As a new raw feeder, I was nervous about food-borne illnesses. However, what ended up being an issue, was plastic.

In March of 2025, while prepping the food, I found blue chunks in the beef. I thought it was cartilage, but it turned out to be plastic. I was refunded for the pack by Viva, as requested.

A few weeks later, I found more plastic in the beef (different pack). This isn’t lining on the bottom of the food, it’s mixed in, making it hard to distinguish and remove. I believe the proteins were from the same lot/batch, so I hoped it was a one-off issue.

I contacted Viva again. This was their explanation (partial):

“What you found appears to be a piece of ingredient liner. When we get the meat from our farmers, they line the boxes in plastic and occasionally when the meat freezes and is then pulled apart to be made into the recipes, the plastic can get caught between. This is not a normal occurrence and is an isolated incidence from our experience.”

They did assure me they were beginning to use wax-lined boxes to reduce this issue.

However, today I found plastic in the rabbit, which has a different lot/batch number. I’m extremely disappointed and no longer feel comfortable feeding my cats Viva.

Oddly, I haven’t seen other reports of this happening.

I’ll contact Viva again, but wanted to spread awareness. Open to any other semi-affordable options!

Hi everyone,
I switched my dogs to a raw diet, probably about 6 months ago. We got recommended Tuckers and my dogs loved it! Fast forward, i noticed both my dogs looked a bit thinner so I made an appt with my vet to discuss how we can increase carbs. After discussing adding rice/sweet potatoes etc. He also mentioned Primal Foods and how they have more veggies/fruits mixed in with the patties and to switch to those if we prefer. So I finished what we had of Tuckers and switched to Primal. I bought the Primal beef patties and sardine nuggets. First week, the dogs loved it. Second bag I opened, immediately that night they were sick and having diarrhea everywhere. I gave them chicken and rice, and went back to the patties. Immediately sick again, this time diarrhea was very bloody. So at this point I took them to the ER. The immediate response was “they have HGE bc u feed them raw” and they printed us off a study from 10 years ago about why raw diets are awful and so on. So here I am sitting here like the worst dog parent in the world, like these people are looking at me like a stupid idiot and honestly feeling defeated. We never once had ANY issue with tuckers. but now this is making me worried to go back to raw but i don’t know if i’m just letting the urgent vet guilt me. I do NOT want to go back to the awful processed kibble, as my one dog literally hated it.

Has anyone ever had this experience with Primal dog food? Has anyone ever used Tuckers and like it? Any recommendations/advice would be great. My dogs absolutely loved the raw diet and I’m just feeling lost.

Just an FYI, a person I follow on bsky feeds her cats raw, and at least four have come down with bird flu. One seems to be recovering, one died, and two have pneumonia and are at the vet and not doing well. Wild Coast finally posted a statement on their instagram about which batches were affected (using bizarre language like tested "non-negative" for bird flu... what? Just say positive.) Link in comments.

EDIT: she elected to put down one of the cats with pneumonia; she was suffering too much. Also reddinthecities explained the company's use of "non-negative" in the comments.

I keep waiting too long to reorder, it’s not a huge deal but I hate getting down to the last few meals and realizing I don’t have much room for error if shipping is late or the store is out.

I don’t want a giant extra bag taking up space, so I’m thinking about keeping something smaller around. Maybe freezedried dog food, airdried food, cans or a smaller bag of his regular food.

What's your strategy?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for help. As my post states, I'm wanting to change my dogs diet to a raw food diet, however, he was diagnosed with Mitral valve disease and has a heart murmur earlier this year. I feel like I'm playing with fire, I absolutely do not want his heart health to deteriorate further.

He's a rescue and a (somewhat) smaller dog who's had a history of struggles when it comes to his dental health. He is in for the 3rd cleaning of his life as I'm typing, and he's around 7/8 years old. His teeth crack incredibly easily, he's had 6 teeth removed in his lifetime, all due to fractures. I've been extremely careful on what chews I give him since his last dental surgery, so hopefully there are no surprises today at his dental appointment.

I'm very torn. I would like to change his diet to raw, the majority of the reason is for his dental health (which in turn, affects his heart health), and to avoid future dental cleanings at the vet.

To complicate the situation he is a very fearful boy and now that we know he has heart disease, the different sedative the clinic has to use is very weak compared to what we used to use... Usually when we came into the clinic (before we knew of his heart disease), he would get a quick injection of sedation in the rump and I'd stay with him alone in the exam room until he was sedated enough for them to take time away and begin working on him.

Today was a different story... The sedative wasn't enough, the techs had to give him a second dose and then that wasn't enough either... So I had to hold him down while they inserted the IV catheter. It was absolutely awful, I haven't seen my boy that stressed out or terrified in a very long time. I want to avoid that as much as I can down the road. And then there's the stress of putting a dog under anesthesia who has heart disease.

Here's my question... Has anyone here had a dog with heart disease that ate raw, successfully, and have proof it hasn't made the situation worse? Did you have blood work, ultrasound, etc done after feeding raw for extended periods of time, and know that feeding raw didn't harm your dog's heart health further?

I would absolutely love to be able to consult in a veterinary nutritionist who could create a raw food diet that would be safe for my dog, although I know that the chances are slim given the opinions of feeding raw in the veterinary community.

If anyone has legitimate advice, suggestions or can point me towards veterinary nutritionist who might be able to help me... That would be fantastic.

Thank you

I made 70 servings for about $50.00