Jago’s first encounter with a raw chicken wing lasted approximately four seconds. He sniffed it. He tilted his head, made a noise somewhere between a growl of triumph and a concerned question, and then — crunch. Gone. He looked up at us as if to say “why have you been holding out on me?”
That wing was the start of a journey we’re still on. Not a sudden conversion, not a cult-like devotion to raw feeding, but a gradual experiment driven by Buster’s skin issues. His chicken allergy meant we were already reading ingredient labels obsessively. Raw feeding kept coming up — in forums, from other Frenchie owners, from a breeder we trust. Every conversation ended with “…and then we switched to raw and never looked back.”
We didn’t switch to raw and never look back. We switched partially, cautiously, with a lot of anxious Googling at 11pm. This guide reflects that — not the evangelist’s version, but the owner’s version. What actually happened when we tried it, and what you need to know if you’re standing in your kitchen holding frozen chicken necks wondering if you’ve lost your mind.
What Is Raw Feeding, Actually?
Raw feeding means feeding dogs uncooked meat, bones, organs, and sometimes vegetables and supplements — essentially, a diet that mimics what a dog’s wild ancestors would have eaten before domestication and kibble.
There are two main approaches:
BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food): This is the broader, more common model. It typically includes muscle meat, raw meaty bones, organ meat, and some plant matter — vegetables, fruits, seeds. The ratios vary by recipe, but a common starting point is roughly 70% muscle meat, 10% bone, 10% organ (half liver, half other secreting organs like kidney), and 10% plant matter.
Prey Model Raw (PMR): This attempts to replicate whole prey — no vegetables, no supplements, just meat, bones, and organs in ratios that approximate the composition of a small animal. It’s more hardcore and harder to balance correctly without serious research.
Most UK raw feeders for pet dogs fall somewhere in the BARF camp, and that’s what we explored for the boys. The fully-prepared commercial raw foods that now line the freezers of pet shops and online retailers are essentially BARF — they’ve done the balancing for you.
Why Raw? The Case For It
The arguments for raw feeding are worth understanding, even if you ultimately decide against it. The key claims:
Control over ingredients. You know exactly what’s going into your dog. With Buster’s chicken allergy, this was the single most compelling argument. No mysterious “meat and animal derivatives.” Complete transparency.
Better skin and coat. This is the one you’ll hear most from raw feeders. Buster’s coat went from “fine” to genuinely glossy within about six weeks of going partially raw. We can’t prove causation — we changed several things at once — but the timing was suggestive.
Dental health. Chewing raw meaty bones cleans teeth in a way that kibble doesn’t. Both our boys’ teeth improved noticeably, and the vet commented without being prompted.
Smaller, firmer stools. Less filler, less waste. Almost every raw feeder reports this. Not the most glamorous benefit, but if you’ve ever tried to pick up a soft kibble-produced deposit from wet grass, you’ll understand.
Higher palatability. Jago does actual spins before a raw meal. He does not spin for kibble. That’s the entire case, right there.
The Risks: What Can Go Wrong
We need to be honest about this, because the raw feeding community can sometimes gloss over the risks.
Bacterial Contamination
Raw meat carries bacteria: Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli. Dogs have shorter, more acidic digestive tracts that handle bacteria better than ours, but “better” isn’t “immune.” A dog eating raw food sheds bacteria in saliva and faeces — which means you, handling the food, bowls, and dog, are exposed.
This matters more if you have small children, an immunocompromised family member, or an elderly relative. We don’t have children, and we’re meticulous about hygiene — separate chopping boards, bleach-based cleaning, obsessive hand-washing — but it’s a genuine consideration.
Nutritional Imbalance
A raw diet that isn’t properly formulated can cause serious harm. Too little calcium leads to bone problems. Too much liver causes vitamin A toxicity. Inadequate taurine affects heart health. This is the biggest risk for DIY raw feeders — getting the ratios wrong over the long term.
This is why we lean heavily on commercial pre-prepared raw — it removes the nutritional guesswork. If you’re going fully DIY, work with a veterinary nutritionist, not a Facebook group.
Bone Hazards
Raw bones are generally safer than cooked bones (which splinter dangerously), but they’re not risk-free. A bone that’s too large can damage teeth; one too small is a choking hazard. French Bulldogs, with their compressed jaws and enthusiastic eating style, need bones sized appropriately.
We feed chicken wings (whole), chicken necks, and duck necks. No weight-bearing bones from large animals — those are too hard and risk tooth fractures. No cooked bones, ever.
The Vet Divide
Be prepared: your vet may not support raw feeding. The British Veterinary Association and many vets are sceptical, citing bacterial risks and the lack of robust long-term studies. Our approach: we told our vet what we were doing, listened to their concerns, and made our own decision. If your vet is outright hostile, find one who’ll have the conversation rather than the lecture — they exist.
Our Raw Feeding Setup (What We Actually Do)
We don’t feed fully raw. We feed what we’d describe as a “hybrid” approach: high-quality fish-based kibble as the base, supplemented with raw elements. This isn’t ideological — it’s practical. Here’s what it looks like:
Morning meal: Fish-based kibble (the boys are on a salmon and white fish formula — see our best dog food guide for the brands we’ve tested), weighed out by calorie requirement.
Evening meal, 3-4 times a week: A portion of commercial pre-prepared raw — usually a frozen complete raw food from a UK brand like Natures Menu, Nutriment, or Bella & Duke. These come as frozen nuggets or mince, already balanced with the right meat/bone/organ ratios. We defrost overnight in the fridge and serve at room temperature.
One evening a week: A raw meaty bone — typically a chicken wing or duck neck — as a meal replacement, not a treat. This is their dental care and mental enrichment rolled into one. They take it to their beds and work on it for 15-20 minutes, and it’s genuinely the happiest we ever see them.
The rest of the week: Kibble only, but we sometimes top with a spoonful of wet food or a raw egg (shell crushed in) for variety.
This hybrid approach means we get many of the raw feeding benefits — the coat condition, the dental health, the sheer joy of watching a Frenchie tackle a chicken wing — without the full commitment and risk of a 100% raw diet. It also means we’re not panicking about nutritional balance, because the kibble provides the complete nutritional foundation and the raw elements are supplementary.
Getting Started: The Transition
If you’re moving from kibble to raw (even partially), go slowly. A sudden switch can cause digestive upset — Frenchies have sensitive stomachs even at the best of times, and a raw meal is very different from kibble.
Our transition plan:
- Week 1: Replace one meal with a small portion of commercial raw. Watch for any digestive reaction. If stools are very loose, slow down.
- Week 2: Increase the raw portion at that one meal. The other meal stays kibble.
- Week 3: If all is well, introduce a second raw meal in the week.
- Week 4+: Gradually increase the number of raw meals until you reach your target ratio — whether that’s 50/50, fully raw, or anything in between.
Some dogs transition fine in days. Some need weeks. Buster took about three weeks to settle; Jago, predictably, had an iron stomach from day one and would have happily transitioned in a single afternoon.
Watch for: loose stools, constipation (too much bone), vomiting, or lethargy. Any of these means slow down or pause. If symptoms persist, talk to your vet — raw feeding might not suit your individual dog, and that’s fine.
What to Feed (If Going DIY)
For those going the DIY route, here’s what you need:
Muscle meat (70%): Beef, lamb, pork, venison, rabbit, duck, turkey, fish. Avoid chicken if you haven’t ruled out a chicken allergy — it’s the most common Frenchie allergen. Variety is important — don’t feed the same protein every day for months. Rotate between at least 3-4 protein sources.
Raw meaty bones (10%): Chicken wings, chicken necks, duck necks, turkey necks. These provide calcium and phosphorus, plus dental cleaning. Never feed cooked or smoked bones, and avoid weight-bearing bones from large animals (beef marrow bones, knuckle bones) — they’re too hard and can crack teeth.
Organ meat (10%): Liver (about half the organ allocation), plus kidney, spleen, pancreas, or brain. Liver is essential for vitamin A and B vitamins but must be limited — too much causes vitamin A toxicity. Organs are nutrient-dense powerhouses, but they need to be measured, not eyeballed.
Plant matter (10%, optional): Blended leafy greens, pumpkin, berries, carrots. These provide fibre and phytonutrients. Frenchies don’t need vegetables in the way humans do, but some plant matter helps with stool consistency and provides variety. We blend spinach, blueberries, and a bit of pumpkin into a paste and freeze it in ice cube trays — one cube per raw meal.
Supplements: Omega-3 (fish oil or whole sardines), vitamin E (to balance the fish oil), kelp (for iodine). If you’re feeding a properly balanced commercial raw, you likely don’t need supplements. For DIY, they become essential. This is where working with a veterinary nutritionist pays for itself.
How Much to Feed
Raw food is more calorie-dense than you might expect. The standard guideline is 2-3% of ideal adult body weight per day for maintenance. For a 12kg Frenchie, that’s 240-360g of raw food per day, split across two meals.
But — and this matters — that’s a starting point, not a rule. Use the body condition score (explained in detail in our feeding guide) to adjust. If your Frenchie is getting pudgy, reduce. If they’re losing condition, increase.
One thing we noticed: raw food seems to satisfy differently. Buster, who would inhale his kibble in under thirty seconds and then stare at us like a famine victim, takes longer with raw and seems genuinely satisfied afterwards. He still looks hopeful (he’s a Frenchie), but the desperation is dialled down. We suspect it’s the combination of chewing time, higher moisture content, and the mental engagement of working at a bone.
Common Raw Feeding Mistakes
We’ve made most of these. Learn from our errors:
Too much, too fast. You read three raw feeding success stories, buy a freezer full of meat, and switch your dog overnight. Then spend the next three days cleaning up diarrhoea. Transition slowly — your Frenchie’s digestive system needs time to adapt.
Not enough variety. Feeding the same protein source for months increases the risk of developing new sensitivities — exactly what happened with Buster and chicken on kibble. Rotate between at least 3-4 different animal sources.
Skipping organs. It’s tempting to just feed muscle meat because it’s easy to source and your dog loves it. But organs are where the micronutrients live. Without liver and kidney, you’re missing vitamin A, B vitamins, copper, and zinc. Commercial raw foods include organs by design; DIY raw feeders must buy them deliberately.
Too much bone. Bone provides calcium, but too much causes constipation — hard, chalky, crumbly stools that are difficult and painful to pass. If you see this, reduce the bone content (less bone-in meat, more boneless muscle) for a few days.
Not enough bone. Too little bone means not enough calcium, which can lead to soft stools and, long-term, skeletal problems. The stool test is actually useful here: firm, well-formed, easy to pick up = right bone ratio. Loose = not enough bone. Hard and crumbly = too much.
Poor hygiene. This is the one that matters for the humans in the house. Separate chopping boards. Bleach wipes on surfaces. Wash hands thoroughly. Store raw food in sealed containers in the fridge or freezer. Don’t leave raw food out at room temperature. Clean food bowls after every meal — don’t let them sit with raw residue.
No transition from kibble to raw in the same meal. Kibble and raw digest at different rates. Feeding them together can cause digestive upset. We separate them: kibble in the morning, raw in the evening, never mixed in the same bowl.
Sourcing Raw Food in the UK
The UK has a genuinely good raw pet food market now. Here’s where to look:
Online raw food retailers: Companies like Natures Menu, Nutriment, Bella & Duke, and Paleo Ridge deliver frozen raw food nationwide. Most offer complete balanced meals in nuggets or mince — the easiest way to start.
Local pet shops: Many independents now have raw food freezers. Worth checking — you might have one nearby without realising it.
Butchers and supermarkets: Butchers are the best source for offal and meaty bones. Supermarket meat works too — just avoid anything pre-seasoned or smoked. The reduced section can be a goldmine.
Costs: The boys’ hybrid approach costs us roughly £45-60 a month for two dogs. Fully raw would be more; fully kibble slightly less. The sweet spot for us is the middle ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is raw feeding safe for French Bulldogs?
When done properly — with attention to hygiene, nutritional balance, and appropriate bone sizing — raw feeding can be safe. The risks (bacteria, nutritional imbalance, bone hazards) are real but manageable. Commercial pre-prepared raw reduces most of these risks significantly. If you’re immunocompromised or have young children, talk to your GP about the bacterial exposure risk before starting.
Can I feed my Frenchie raw and kibble together?
Yes, but not in the same meal. Feed them 6-8 hours apart. Many owners (including us) use a hybrid approach where some meals are raw and some are kibble, and it works well — but mixing them in the same bowl is asking for digestive trouble.
What raw bones are safe for French Bulldogs?
Chicken wings, chicken necks, duck necks, turkey necks — these are the safest options. They’re soft enough to chew and digest, small enough to manage, and provide good dental cleaning. Avoid weight-bearing bones from large animals (beef marrow bones, knuckle bones), any cooked or smoked bones, and any bone small enough to be swallowed whole. Always supervise bone meals.
Will raw feeding help my Frenchie’s allergies?
It might. Many owners report significant improvement in skin conditions after switching to raw — partly because you can control exactly what proteins your dog eats, and partly because raw diets are free from the fillers, grains, and additives present in some kibbles. Buster’s skin improved noticeably on our hybrid approach. But it’s not a guaranteed fix, and the improvement could be from removing a specific trigger (chicken, in his case) rather than from raw feeding itself.
Can French Bulldog puppies eat raw?
Yes, but with caution. Puppies need precise calcium-to-phosphorus ratios for bone development, and getting this wrong can cause permanent damage. Use a commercial raw food specifically formulated for puppies — not DIY. Transition slowly, and discuss it with your vet. Our recommendation: wait until at least 6 months before introducing raw elements, and keep the base as a high-quality puppy kibble.
Do I need to add supplements to a raw diet?
If you’re feeding commercial pre-prepared raw (complete meals), no — they’re already balanced. If you’re DIY raw feeding, yes — you’ll likely need omega-3, vitamin E, kelp for iodine, and possibly others depending on your recipe. Work with a veterinary nutritionist to get this right. “Winging it” with supplements is dangerous.
How do I store raw dog food safely?
Freeze immediately after purchase. Defrost in the fridge overnight, never at room temperature. Use within 2-3 days. Keep raw food on the bottom shelf so it can’t drip. Clean bowls and surfaces after every meal. Treat raw dog food the way you’d treat raw chicken for your own dinner.
Will raw feeding stop my Frenchie’s gas?
It helps, but it’s not a cure. We’ve noticed the boys’ gas is noticeably reduced on raw days versus kibble-only days. Frenchies will always be Frenchies, but raw feeding can take the edge off — a meaningful quality-of-life improvement for everyone in the room.
Raw feeding isn’t a religion. It’s a feeding choice, and like every feeding choice, it has trade-offs. For us, the hybrid approach — quality kibble as the foundation, raw elements for variety, dental health, and the sheer joy of watching our boys work a chicken wing — hits the sweet spot. We get the benefits without the full risk. If you’re considering raw, start small, stay curious, and don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re doing it wrong just because you’re not doing it their way. Buster and Jago certainly don’t care about ideology. They just care about what lands in the bowl.
Disclaimer: This article reflects our personal experience as French Bulldog owners and is not veterinary advice. Raw feeding carries specific risks including bacterial contamination and nutritional imbalance. Always consult a qualified veterinarian before making significant changes to your dog’s diet, and work with a veterinary nutritionist if you plan to formulate raw meals yourself.
Related guides:
- Best Dog Food for French Bulldogs UK — The brands we actually feed and why
- French Bulldog Food Allergies: Symptoms, Causes & What to Feed — How we discovered Buster’s chicken problem
- How Much Should I Feed My French Bulldog? — Portions, calories, and the body condition score
- Best Slow Feeder Bowl for French Bulldogs — For dogs who inhale their dinner (raw or otherwise)
- French Bulldog Breathing Problems — Managing health in a brachycephalic breed