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Questions
Yes — raw dog food is safe for most healthy dogs when it’s produced properly, kept frozen and handled with the same basic kitchen care you’d use for meat you’re cooking for your family. Dogs have short, acidic digestive tracts built for raw meat, and thousands of NZ dogs thrive on it. The genuine risks — bacteria handling, unbalanced DIY diets and the wrong bones — are real but well understood, and each one has a simple habit that manages it.
Raw meat can carry bacteria like Salmonella and Campylobacter — that’s the headline concern, and it’s a fair one. The important context is who it affects: a healthy dog’s digestive system is well equipped for raw meat and handles normal bacterial loads comfortably. The real exposure is human handling — hands, bowls and surfaces — which is why the safety conversation is mostly about kitchen hygiene, not the dog.
There is some NZ research on bacteria in raw pet food, but it’s dated and small (a 2017 survey of 50 samples collected back in 2010), and a 2025 New Zealand Food Safety review notes local data are limited. What matters more in practice is buying from a supplier who handles meat properly and keeping your own handling clean — both covered below.
Freezing slows bacterial growth but doesn’t sterilise food, which is another reason the cold chain from our freezers to yours matters.
The handling question matters most in homes with small children, elderly relatives or anyone with a weakened immune system — the same people you’d take extra care for when cooking chicken. If your household routine can handle separating raw pet food from human food and cleaning up promptly, the risk is very manageable. If that would genuinely be a struggle, there’s no shame in choosing a different diet; raw feeding should fit your life, not fight it.
Bacteria get all the headlines, but the most common real-world problem with raw feeding is simpler: dogs fed plain muscle meat or a badly planned DIY diet miss calcium and other nutrients over months. Boneless meat has no calcium at all, and an 80:10:10 ratio is a starting point, not a guarantee.
The fix is easy: feed complete meals, or plan DIY diets properly. Ask one question of any food you buy — is it nutritionally complete for my dog’s life stage? If the answer isn’t clear, ask the supplier.
Our Raw Dog Feeding Guide explains the basics and the Feeding Calculator gives you a starting amount.
| Concern | What to keep in mind | A sensible step |
|---|---|---|
| Bacteria | Raw meat may carry bacteria, and freezing does not remove all risk. | Keep it cold and practise good kitchen hygiene. |
| Nutritional balance | Meat alone is not a complete diet; ratios are not a guarantee. | Check life-stage suitability and plan the whole diet. |
| Bones | Raw bones still carry risks, including choking or tooth damage. | Choose carefully, supervise and never feed cooked bones. |
We’re Auckland-based, and we source New Zealand meats through local supply chains, focused on quality and ethical sourcing. Our products are handled in line with the food-safety requirements that apply to pet-food production in NZ, then frozen hard and fast to lock in quality.
Frozen orders are packed in insulated packaging with ice and dispatched nationwide on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Order by 6pm the evening before your chosen dispatch day. When your order arrives, transfer it to the freezer as soon as possible, and follow the storage guidance on the pack.
Our My Pooch Ready-Made Raw Meals are pre-portioned daily packs with a seasonal mix of proteins, bone, offal, tripe and fish — complete meals with no guesswork, no measuring and minimal handling at home. Less handling is genuinely safer: the pack goes from freezer to fridge to bowl.
And we’re proud to have 235+ five-star reviews from long-standing customers across NZ — raw feeding done properly is something families stick with for years.
Treat raw dog food with the same care you would use for raw meat in your kitchen, and keep it away from food prepared for people. These habits take only a few minutes:
If a delivery ever arrives looking off, don’t feed it — get in touch and we’ll sort it. Our delivery information explains how frozen orders are packed and what to do when they arrive.
Raw bones are one of the great joys of a raw diet, and appropriately chosen ones are fine for healthy dogs — the rulebook is short: match the bone to the dog’s size and chewing style, supervise, and take it away once it’s small enough to swallow.
Never feed cooked bones. Cooking can make bones brittle, increasing the chance they splinter. For more on choosing and supervising bones, read our guide to feeding dogs bones.
Raw feeding suits most healthy dogs, but a few situations deserve a chat with your vet first: dogs with a health condition or on immune-affecting medication, dogs who’ve had pancreatitis, growing puppies (where balance matters even more), and households that can’t reliably keep food frozen. Common sense, not deal-breakers — for puppies, our puppy feeding guide covers what matters at that stage.
If you decide to try raw, keep the change simple. A gradual transition can be easier for dogs with sensitive stomachs, and introducing one change at a time makes it easier to see how your dog responds. Our transition guide has practical steps.
Most dogs take to raw brilliantly; if yours has persistent vomiting or diarrhoea during the change, get them checked rather than pressing on.
Yes, for most healthy dogs — when the food is complete and balanced, the cold chain is maintained, and you handle it with normal kitchen hygiene. Those are the whole ball game.
It can, in the same way any meat can — which is why proper handling and a trustworthy supplier matter. Healthy dogs on well-handled raw food rarely get sick from it; if yours does seem unwell, get them checked as you would with any diet.
Handled the way you handle raw meat for your own cooking — separate storage, fridge defrosting, washed hands and bowls — the household risk is small. Take extra care if there are small children or immune-compromised people at home.
Views vary. Some vets are cautious about raw due to bacteria studies; many are comfortable when the diet is complete and handled well. If you’re discussing it with your vet, bring the product label and feeding plan so the conversation is about your dog’s actual diet.
Yes — puppies do brilliantly on raw when the food is complete for growth. That means meat, bone and offal in the right balance, not plain muscle meat; our puppy guide covers it in detail.
Keep it frozen until the day before serving, defrost in a covered container in the fridge, and follow the pack’s instructions for leftovers and refreezing. Treat it exactly like meat you’d cook for yourself.
Curious why so many NZ owners feed raw? Our Why Raw page covers the thinking. Ready to try it? The Starter Box is a low-commitment way to test the waters, and our Raw Feeding Guide and Feeding Calculator make the planning easy. If your dog has a health condition, a quick vet chat alongside is a smart move.
