by Some pet dogs are gaining attention on TikTok thanks to their owners feeding them a raw food diet.
Kayla Kowalski, a certified canine nutritionist (CertCN) from Phoenix, Arizona, has made it big on social media with her style of out-of-the-ordinary dog diets that consist of raw meat and other nutritional additives.
Kowalski’s interest in pet health began after she and her boyfriend rescued their dog, Rudy, who struggled with various health and mental issues when he joined the family, she told Fox News Digital.
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“I didn’t know too much about dog nutrition, [but] Kibble wasn’t doing it for him,” she said. “It was making a lot of his problems worse.”
“And then we came across the raw diet and just really transformed it.”
Kayla Kowalski became a certified canine nutritionist after rescuing her German shepherd dog Rudy (left), and has continued to use the raw dog food diet on all her pets, including Rylie, the husky mix pictured to the right. (Feed by Kayla Kowalski)
After sharing her journey on social media, she started getting a lot of interest from other pet parents who also wanted to try the raw dog food diet with their pets.
It was then that Kowalski decided to become a CertCN and create her own business.
Today, she creates personalized diets for customers and shares exclusive recipes in her e-books.
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Applying what started as raw and cooked meat as toppings to her pet’s meals was a different matter. She slowly phased out the use of a popular consumer brand and began adding more raw cuts — including turkey and chicken necks, duck legs, goose heads, beef kidneys, livers and more.
All three of Kowalski’s dogs, Rudy, Buddy and Rylie, are on a complete raw food diet.
“Just like humans, [dogs] They need certain vitamins and minerals to be as healthy as they can be,” said Kowalski.
“If you look back at how dogs ate hundreds of years ago, how wolves eat, it’s really how they’re biologically meant to eat.”
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Kowalski sees pet store food as something made out of “human convenience.”
But she said if that’s another pet’s preferred food based on vet advice, she and her brother, Nick Kowalski, recommend hydrating the food with water or bone broth for better digestion.
Kowalski incorporates a primary source of raw protein into her pet’s meals and includes add-ins such as liver or kidney, chicken legs and sometimes even a goose head. (Feed by Kayla Kowalski)
Add-ons don’t have to be complicated, she said. Steamed Brussels sprouts and most veggies, a raw egg plus the film, ripe bananas or any fruit other than grapes can be added to a dog’s food bowl, she said.
Now that the raw diet has more than 441.3 million hashtags on TikTok — and Kowalski has millions of views on her own videos — vets are laughing.
“Feeding dogs raw meat with so many different ingredients shown in these videos can be hard on their stomachs, causing severe diarrhea and pancreatitis and making dogs sick,” Lindsay Butzer, a veterinarian from Boca Raton, Florida , associated with Fox News Digital.
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Butzer said she has seen how some of these additions to certain dog families could do more harm than good.
“As appealing as it is to watch these videos of creators building bowls and explaining why each ingredient is healthy, with all these unique meats and ingredients to feed a dog, as a vet I don’t recommend feeding your dog this way,” Butzer said.
It’s not about following a trend; it’s about making an informed choice about the health and longevity of our pets.
She can see that a single source of raw protein or vegetables and grains might be better for a pet’s digestive system than a variety of “foreign ingredients” all at once, she said.
“As a veterinarian, I am an advocate for raw kibble and freeze-dried pet food brands that are studied, labeled and approved as a complete and balanced diet for our pets,” noted Butzer.
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Kowalski, however, prefers the holistic approach to pet health and has spoken to a variety of veterinarians who have found their methods beneficial for dogs.
“As a holistic veterinarian, I want to address the growing interest in raw diets for pets, which, contrary to popular belief, is not just a trend but a health-conscious choice for pet owners,” Dr. Katie Woodley , a holistic veterinarian and founder of The Natural Pet Doctor in Colorado, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Recent studies, including those found on PubMed, have provided compelling evidence supporting the many health benefits of raw diets compared to processed kibble diets.”
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Dr. Woodley has recently reviewed various studies to support this diet and her research has shown that the raw dog food lifestyle can make a positive difference to a pet’s overall health and well-being, she said.
Kowalski adds a variety of foods to her dog meals, including fruit, pumpkin puree, vegetables and animal liver or kidney. (Feed by Kayla Kowalski)
She is a proponent of raw dog diets because of the nutritional benefits; but this needs to be carefully considered and managed well.
“When properly formulated and managed, raw diets offer a natural, nutritious, species-appropriate option that aligns with the nutritional needs of carnivore pets,” she said.
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“It’s not about following a trend; it’s about making an informed choice about the health and longevity of our pets.”
The raw dog food diet has gone viral on TikTok, but it seems to have created a debate among pet nutritionists and veterinarians. (Feed by Kayla Kowalski)
She encourages her customers to note that the raw dog food diet is just as balanced and full of vitamins and nutrition as the dried kibble.
Most importantly, Kowalski recommends that pet parents be informed when it comes to learning more about their pet’s health and the raw diet.
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