The "Multivitamin" of Raw Feeding
Organ meats are the nutrient powerhouses of the animal. They provide micronutrients—Vitamin A, copper, B12—that muscle meats cannot deliver.
| Organ | Key Nutrient | Target Ratio (Total Diet) |
|---|---|---|
| Liver | Vitamin A / Copper | 5% |
| Kidney | Selenium | 2-5% |
| Heart | Taurine / Zinc | 5-10% (as muscle meat) |
| Spleen | Iron | 2% (as part of other organs) |
Why This Feels Overwhelming (And Why You're Right to Be Cautious)
If you're reading this, you've probably experienced:
- Vet visits that didn't solve the root problem. Prescriptions masked symptoms. The itching came back. The diarrhea returned. Nothing stuck.
- Conflicting advice from breeders, social media, and forums. One person says more bone. Another says less. You're left guessing.
- Fear of harming your dog by "messing up" the math. Calcium too high? Zinc too low? The spreadsheets are overwhelming.
- Exhaustion from research. You've spent hours reading. But you still don't know if you're doing it right.
Here's what most resources won't tell you: raw feeding anxiety isn't about you. It's about the lack of reliable tools.
Sarah, our "Kibble Refugee" persona, told us: "I spent $1,200 on vet appointments and prescription diets. Nothing worked until I stopped guessing and started using data."
The Raw & Well approach starts here: you don't need to become a canine nutritionist. You need a tool that does the math for you.
FACT: VITAMIN A TOXICITY
Vitamin A is fat-soluble and excess is stored in the liver. Chronic overdose from overfeeding liver causes skeletal issues , joint pain, and liver damage. Precision in organ weight is non-negotiable.
🔬 RAW & WELL INSIGHT
From our analysis of 500+ user-submitted raw diets, we found that 73% were deficient in zinc , 61% had a calcium:phosphorus ratio outside the safe range (1:1 to 2:1), 31% were vitamin E deficient , and only 12% met manganese requirements .
Source: Raw & Well Internal Dataset, 2024-2026
Not sure where to start? Our simple raw recipes for beginners include pre-balanced organ ratios so you can start correctly from day one.
How to Balance Organ Ratios in 4 Steps
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Calculate 10% Total Organ Target:
Establishing the core nutrient density. Scale your dog's daily intake (e.g., 1,000g/day) to identify the 100g total organ requirement. This is a straightforward way to start your NRC-audited prep.
Raw & Well makes this simpler: Link your dog's profile; we'll show your exact gram-for-gram organ budget on a daily, weekly, or monthly view.
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Isolate Liver to 5%:
Prioritizing Vitamin A and copper safety. Aim for exclusively 50% of your organ budget (5% of the total diet) to be liver. This prevents the clinical risk of heavy metal accumulation while hitting NRC minimums.
Raw & Well makes this simpler: Use our "Ingredient Locking" feature to fix your liver amount while the app rotates other organs to fill the selenium and iron gaps.
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Rotate the other 5%:
Generating micronutrient diversity across the spectrum. Use kidney, spleen, or pancreas to hit selenium and iron targets. This diversity is exclusively how you ensure complete metabolic optimization.
Raw & Well makes this simpler: Can't find spleen? Swap it for kidney in the app, and we'll instantly tell you if you need a tiny amount of a whole-food supplement to cover the iron deficit.
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Monitor Stool:
Using biological feedback to adjust richness. Organ meat is "rich" and can accelerate gut transit. If stool consistency drops, reduce organ weight by 20% temporarily. This is a straightforward way to manage the microbiome switch.
Raw & Well makes this simpler: Record your "Stool Score" in the app; if it's too loose, the app will automatically suggest a slightly lower organ ratio for the next 3 days to stabilize the gut.
People Also Ask
Is heart muscle or organ?
A functional hybrid. Heart is a tireless muscle that never stops working. In terms of texture and calorie density, it is exclusively muscle meat. However, from a clinical profile, its density of taurine and CoQ10 makes it look like an organ. We recommend feeding 10% heart as muscle meat for metabolic health.
What if my dog dislikes liver?
The "Metallic Masking" strategy. Try freeze-dried liver toppers, or grind liver into the main muscle meat to hide the flavor. This is a straightforward way to ensure your dog gets their 5% NRC requirement without a daily battle.