Several models or approaches exist for feeding dogs a fresh, whole-food diet. Models vary in the types of ingredients used and the ratios of those ingredients in the diet. Commonly used models include:

Prey Model Raw (PMR): The Prey Model Raw diet attempts to mimic a dog's natural diet in the wild, with the belief that dogs are biologically designed to eat like their wild ancestors. This model focuses on feeding whole prey or parts of prey animals, such as muscle meat, bones, and organs, in ratios similar to what a dog might consume in the wild. It typically avoids including fruits, vegetables, or other plant-based ingredients.

Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF): The BARF diet includes a broader variety of ingredients, aiming to provide a balanced diet that encompasses both animal-based and plant-based foods. It has muscle meat, bones, organs, fruits, vegetables, and sometimes other additions like dairy or eggs. The BARF model emphasizes variety and nutrient balance.

Ancestral Diet: The ancestral diet for dogs is based on the understanding that dogs are primarily carnivorous animals, and their natural diet should consist mainly of animal-based foods. At Real Dog, we have defined the diet as the Real Ancestral 6X Diet that consists of 6 key components: muscle meat, raw meaty bones, seafood, liver, other secreting organs, and fiber in fur or vegetables. 

The Prey Model Raw (PMR) is synonymous with the 80/10/10 diet, which emphasizes feeding dogs a combination of whole prey or parts of prey animals to ensure they receive a balanced and biologically appropriate diet. The idea is to mimic the natural diet of wild canids, where they consume the entire animal, including muscle meat, bones, fur, and organs.

The numbers in "80/10/10" refer to the percentage of specific food components in the diet. 

The breakdown of the 80/10/10 raw diet is as follows:

80% Muscle Meat: The diet includes about 80% muscle meat from various sources such as beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, or fish. Muscle meat provides essential proteins, amino acids, and vitamins for a dog's overall health and muscle development.

10% Edible Bones: The diet includes approximately 10% edible bones, which can be found in chicken necks, wings, or other soft and digestible bone sources. Edible bones are an essential source of calcium and phosphorus, promoting dental health and providing minerals for bone strength.

10% Organ Meat: The diet includes around 10% organ meat, consisting of the secreting organs such as liver, kidneys, spleen, brain, pancreas, and testicles. Organ meats are rich in vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, D, iron, and B. In general, you feed 5% liver and 5% other organ.

The 80/10/10 raw diet should be balanced over time, meaning that various raw meaty bones, meats, and organs are rotated to ensure your dog receives a full spectrum of nutrients. Every food ingredient has its nutrient profile. By rotating the ingredients, you provide your dog with a wide range of nutrients. It’s also essential to feed the dog in front of you. Just like humans, every dog is different. While we all have the same basic nutritional requirements, each individual's needs vary, and we must be attentive to accommodate those needs.

Possible Nutrient Gaps with the 80/10/10 Diet

While some people feel that all required nutrients can be obtained from raw meaty bones and muscle meat, others strongly feel that your dog has other nutritional needs. In particular, your dog may need additional vitamins, minerals, fiber, and fatty acids.

Proponents of following AAFCO or NRC standards are very critical of the 80/10/10 diet because of the potential nutrition imbalances. However, you must remember that the NRC standards were created as guidelines for dog food manufacturers, not as what is in fresh whole foods. The difference is in digestibility and bioavailability of the food.

The proportion of all nutrients in food available to your dog for absorption from the intestine into the bloodstream is its digestibility. The proportion of ingested nutrients delivered to target tissues and available for specific utilization by your dog’s cells and organs is known as nutritional bioavailability. Generally speaking, digestibility and bioavailability significantly improve as the food quality improves.  

Dogs can absorb more ingredients when they eat fresh, whole food because of the increased bioavailability. If you try to mimic the NRC recommendations, you can supply your dog with toxic levels of vitamins and minerals! 

The primary function of dietary fiber for your dog is to increase the bulk and water content of the contents within the intestinal tract. Fiber can decrease the intestinal transit time in dogs with a regular or slow transit rate or increase the transit rate in dogs with a fast transit rate. These variables work together to promote and regulate proper bowel movement. 

Fiber raises the population of anaerobic flora and lowers luminal pH by producing short-chain fatty acids. Short-chain fatty acids have antibacterial qualities that help reduce pathogenic intestinal bacteria, increase gut resistance to colonization by pathogenic bacteria, and aid in preventing and recovering intestinal diseases and cancer.

Some dietary fibers are prebiotics, which promote the growth of good bacteria that protect the GI tract from pathogen invasion.

Although fruits and vegetables are good sources of fiber, a more natural fiber source for dogs is fur. Providing furred items such as rabbit feet and ears from cows, lambs, wild boars, and rabbits provides fiber and manganese, a trace element often deficient in your dog’s diet.

While some raw meats, especially those from pasture-raised ruminants, contain omega-3 fatty acids, ensuring an adequate and balanced intake of these essential fats is essential. Adding small oily fish such as sardines, herring, capelin, or anchovies will give your dog high Omega-3 levels to maintain healthy skin, haircoat, and brain cognition.

Fresh fish is also an excellent source of vitamin A, a vitamin known to boost eye health. In particular, vitamin A is found in the highest amounts in salmon. Fish is also high in iron, zinc, and selenium, promoting a healthier immune system. Iron aids in the production of red blood cells. Zinc is an antioxidant that aids the thyroid and digestive systems' function. And selenium boosts both the immune system and thyroid function. 

Vitamin D is a crucial vitamin that plays a vital role in the health of a dog's bones. It works closely with calcium and phosphorus to keep their bones strong and functioning. Many mammals can produce vitamin D3 in their skin when exposed to sunlight. However, dogs have lost this ability over time due to their carnivorous diet.

Dogs can obtain vitamin D from natural food sources, including fatty fish such as sardines, herring, capelin, or anchovies), egg yolks, and liver. 

A vitamin E deficiency in your dog can lead to serious health problems due to its crucial role in maintaining cellular health and protecting against oxidative damage. While vitamin E deficiency is rare in dogs, certain conditions or factors can increase the risk. 

When feeding your dog a fresh, whole-food diet, you need to include foods that are good vitamin E sources. High-quality protein in muscle meat from organically pasture-raised ruminants, cattle, elk, bison, goats, swine, or sheep is high in vitamin E. Grass-fed meats have four times the amount of vitamin E as grain-fed or grain-finished meats. This is due to the increased quantities of vitamin E in the grass, which results in higher tissue levels of vitamin E. The color of grass-fed meat is red and vivid (associated with oxymyoglobin), whereas grain-fed meat is brown.

Organically, pasture-raised meats, eggs, spleen, liver, salmon, mango, pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, blackberries, and broccoli are all great sources of vitamin E. 

Zinc is a trace mineral essential for nucleic acid metabolism, protein synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, immune system regulation, healthy skin, wound healing, cell replication, differentiation, development, reproduction, and hormone generation, among other physiologic processes.

High-quality meats from organically pasture-raised animals are a good source of zinc for dogs. Beef, lamb, pork, and poultry (such as chicken and turkey) are rich in zinc. Organ meats like liver and kidney can be especially rich in zinc.

Another great source of zinc is shellfish, especially oysters. When offering oysters to your dog, it is crucial to ensure they are sourced from reputable and safe sources. Raw oysters can carry the risk of bacterial contamination, so they should be cooked thoroughly before feeding.

Eggs can contribute to a dog's zinc intake. The yolk contains zinc, along with other essential nutrients. Read about The Benefits of Pasture-Raised Eggs for your dog.

Manganese performs various functions, including as a component and activator of enzymes, developing the organic matrix within the bone, metabolism of fats and carbohydrates involved in neuromuscular transmission, and essential for reproductive health. High amounts of manganese are found in fur, feathers, feet, green tripe, and blue, black, and green-lipped mussels.

According to Karen Becker, DVM, “Contrary to popular belief, most cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) problems in dogs don’t arise from acute injuries. A lack of manganese in the diet is a major contributor.”  Ensuring that you are providing adequate manganese is essential for your dog’s joints, especially the knees.

Your dog needs magnesium for bone and intracellular fluids, neuromuscular transmission, and as a component of several enzymes. It plays a role in the complex relationship between vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus in bone growth and health. 

An excellent source of magnesium is raw meaty bones. Giving your dog a variety of edible bones will ensure that she gets enough magnesium in her diet. Hemp, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds, spinach, seaweed, and mackerel are also good sources of magnesium. 

Iodine is a trace mineral that helps maintain your dog's cognitive health, regulates thyroid function, promotes a healthy metabolism, aids growth and development, and prevents chronic diseases like cancer. Consuming too much or too little iodine can cause severe health conditions. 

Whole food sources of iodine include seafood like cod, haddock, salmon, sardines, seaweed and kelp, eggs, and grass-fed meats. Other sources of iodine are spirulina, brain tissue, and oysters. 

You should measure your dog’s clinical health markers to ensure she consumes the proper nutrients. Annual veterinary visits with complete panels of blood tests, urinalysis, and a physical examination will provide relevant information on your dog’s health status. Commercially available tests can be run to reveal how well your dog's body is processing its food. A Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a comprehensive analysis that tests for 15 minerals and 17 elements, 7 of which are toxic. A fecal examination to analyze the contents of the gut microbiome will provide valuable information on the gut's health.

The 80/10/10 diet combines 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ meat.

Muscle meat and bone type rotation will enhance the nutritional value of your dog’s meals.

Monitor your dog’s clinical markers to ensure all nutrients are provided.

Billinghurst, I. (1993). Give your dog a bone: The practical, commonsense way to feed dogs for a long, healthy life. I. Billinghurst.

Lonsdale, T. (2001). Raw meaty bones: Promote health. Rivetco P/L.

Brady, C. (2020). Feeding dogs dry or raw? The science behind the debate. Farrow Road Publishing.

Is an 80/10/10 raw diet nutritionally complete?

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