Take a Tour of the Raw & Well Calculator
How the Raw & Well Engine Works
Step 1: The Precision Dog Profile
Precision begins with exact data. Instead of generic age buckets, we analyze 8 specific biological markers to build your dog’s unique metabolic fingerprint:
How Raw & Well supports this: The app collects the profile inputs once and keeps assumptions visible, so you can re-check a recipe when life stage or activity changes.
- Biological Profile: Breed Genetics (191+ specific multipliers like POMC), Life Stage (pediatric/adult/senior curves), and Neuter Status (hormonal shifts).
- Physical Context: Exact Weight (BW0.75 allometric scaling) and Body Condition Score (BCS) for safe clinical weight management.
- Health & Model: Activity Levels (Final DER), Feeding Model (BARF, PMR, or Custom ratios), and Clinical Flags (Safety overrides/IRIS).
Allometric Energy Modeling
While we use the NRC standard \( \text{RER} = 70 \times (\text{BW}_{\text{kg}})^{0.75} \) as our biological baseline, we don’t stop there. Our engine stacks your dog’s activity levels and genetic predispositions to calculate a Daily Energy Requirement (DER). We handle the complex math so you can focus on the bowl.
Step 2: Your Calibrated Daily Targets
Your dog’s profile is translated into a consistent reference frame (energy-based targets and life-stage context). Instead of guessing percentages, you can compare a recipe against the same unit system used in what NRC 2006 recommends.
The Raw & Well workflow: We translate nutrient tables into clear, actionable targets and show what changed when you edit a recipe.
From Science to the Kitchen
We handle the math so you can focus on the bowl. You receive a kitchen-ready breakdown of gram weights for muscle meat, bone, liver, and organs - with targets and assumptions shown so you can sanity-check the result.
Step 3: Intelligent Meal Planning & Cloning
Bridge the gap between science and the bowl. Select from our USDA FoodData Central database of raw ingredients - specifically categorized into Muscle Meat, Raw Meaty Bones (RMB), Liver, Other Organs, and Veggies & Fruits to match your dog's feeding model more consistently. Every ingredient links to its verified USDA FoodData Central entry — the same government database used in peer-reviewed veterinary research — so any nutrient value can be checked independently.
How Raw & Well handles the math: The system calculates ingredient ratios as you build your plan. You skip the manual spreadsheets and keep a clear path to nutritional balance.
Build a single day or a full 28-day rotation in minutes. Use the "One-Click Clone" feature to jumpstart your month, swap ingredients without breaking your structure, and reduce accidental repetition that can hide micronutrient gaps.
View planning safeguards →
Step 4: The 3-Tier Formulation Audit
This is the heart of the engine. As you build recipes, the Analyzer runs a real-time audit starting with your Daily Food Portions. It checks whether the gram weights for muscle meat, bone, liver, and organs align with your chosen feeding model.
The Raw & Well advantage: Our multi-tier audit applies bioavailability assumptions to every ingredient. This helps you estimate usable intake instead of treating label values as fully absorbed.
Next, it secures your Macronutrient Balance (Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates) for safe energy density. Finally, it dives into the micronutrients, applying strict NRC bioavailability assumptions - showing how different forms and ingredients can affect estimated intake, rather than treating label values as fully absorbed by default.
How we calculate effective absorption →
Step 5: Smart Feedback - Food or Supplement?
Our engine acts as your Nutrition Co-Pilot. Whether you are a professional or a beginner, you do not have to calculate nutrient gaps by hand each time. If a recipe is low on Zinc or Omega-3s, the Feedback Brain presents you with a choice: Add [X]g of Whole Food or Add [X]mg of Supplement. You choose your path, and the app handles the decimal-point math to hit NRC standards.
How Raw & Well supports this step: The Feedback Brain identifies gaps and offers food or supplement bridges. You can adjust with the inputs visible.
Explore the Choice Logic: Food vs. Supplement →
Step 6: The Plan-to-Symptom Correlation Overlay
There is no arbitrary score. The engine uses a date-based overlay instead. You report what you observe; the engine maps it against what your dog actually ate.
- The User Input: You log symptoms using qualitative severity keys -
normal,info,warning, anddanger- for stool consistency, itching, energy, and other markers. - The Engine Overlay:
generateCorrelationData()matches each symptom log to that calendar day's macronutrient breakdown: the exactbonePct,meatPct, andorganPctfrom the meal plan. - The Result: Instead of a generic score, the app produces a Correlation Map. It identifies whether a
dangerflag for liquid stool coincides with a high-organ day or the introduction of a new protein - giving you a traceable trigger, not a guess.
| Aspect | Raw & Well | Typical Free Calculators | Spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| NRC 2006 Standards | ✓ NRC (2006) reference framing | ✗ Energy only, no nutrient check | ⚠ Manual only |
| Micronutrients | ✓ Automatic | ✗ 5-10 nutrients max | ⚠ Manual entry |
| Activity & Life Stage | ✓ Personalized | ✗ Basic life-stage only | ⚠ Manual calculation |
| Aggregated Prep List | ✓ One click | ✗ No | ⚠ Manual |
| NRC Compliance Report | ✓ Exportable PDF | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Time to Plan 4 Weeks | ~15 minutes | N/A | 3+ hours |
FACT: NRC-BACKED NUTRITION
NRC 2006 nutritional standards are a widely used scientific reference for nutrient requirement classes and safe upper limits. Raw & Well uses it as a reference frame to review recipes in consistent units.
RAW & WELL INSIGHT
Peer-reviewed audits of home-formulated raw diets commonly find at least one nutrient shortfall when recipes are not measured and balanced. Trace minerals and vitamin E are frequent problem areas.
Source: Dillitzer, N., Becker, N., & Kienzle, E. (2011). Intake of minerals, trace elements and vitamins in bone and raw food rations in adult dogs. British Journal of Nutrition, 106(S1), S190–S192. DOI
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