Balance?

Veterinarians and big box pet food companies have instilled in our brains that our pets require a balanced diet "every meal." This is actually false. Very few animals actually eat what would be considered a "balanced" diet every meal. Humans are one of the species that do not. It does not effect the body as long as it receives the required nutrients within a reasonably allotted time period. This time period is usually a week.

Your animals do not require a balance diet in every meal they eat. Most animals eat balance over a period of time, usually a week or two. This is normal and completely acceptable. It is not normal for an animal to consume every single thing is needs in one meal unless it is consuming whole prey. But even whole prey are not “balanced.”

Feeding offal (organ meats) once or twice a week is very natural for your carnivore. This is similar to how they would eat in the wild. Many animals eat bone a few days a week and many eat bone daily, it depends on the animal. If your animal cannot handle offal in larger meals, break it down to portions in more meals, but this does not mean they require it every time they eat. Feeding bone is the same way, feed bone every other meal or every two meals if your animal can handle it. Always base how you feed on the animal individually. Just because one dog can handle bone every other day, your other one may not be able to.

Balance over time is very important and replicates the natural diet more. It also tends to make the feeding regime easier because you are not trying to get perfect portions of everything in one meal. Feeding over a period of a week also lowers the chances of vitamin overdoses from organ meats. This can be just as detrimental as deficiencies.