Raw Gold’s Holiday Feeding Guide

The holiday season brings extra treats, relaxed schedules, and tempting extras for your dog. Without care, these can lead to unwanted weight gain. By focusing on portion control and ingredient quality you can preserve your dog’s health over the holidays. Raw Gold’s premium raw meals are designed to help you maintain balance.

Why Portion Control Matters During Festivities

During holidays, many dogs get more snacks, leftovers, or extra portions. Even well-intended treats can add unplanned calories. Over time, small surpluses push a dog above ideal weight.

Portion control helps in two ways:

It ensures your dog gets the right number of calories for their size and activity level.
It prevents overeating when the environment encourages treats.

In short, controlling meal size is your first line of defence against holiday weight gain.

Ingredient Quality’s Role in Weight Management

Of course, keeping your dog’s meals balanced isn’t only about how much they eat, it’s also about what’s in their bowl. High-quality ingredients make digestion more efficient, reduce inflammation and help the body use nutrients properly.

uses free-range, growth-stimulant-free, preservative-free meats in their complete raw meals. Because these ingredients are less processed, your dog’s body doesn’t waste energy dealing with artificial additives or low-grade fillers.

Better ingredient quality often means:

Higher nutrient yield per calorie
Less waste (firm, healthy stools)
More satiety (feeling full longer)
Lower risk of inflammatory responses that can complicate metabolism

When holiday temptations arise, a dog eating quality raw food is in a stronger position to resist weight creep.

Applying These Principles: Holiday Tips

Here are practical tips to combine portion control + ingredient quality over the holidays:

Weigh meals preciselyUse a digital scale. Even a small overestimate gets magnified over many meals.
Adjust portions for reduced activityIf your dog is less active during holidays (less walking, more lounging), cut back 5–10 % of their usual portions.
Stick to Raw Gold’s complete raw mealsStick to Raw Gold’s complete raw meals for balanced, nutrient-dense feeding. The Free-Range Chicken Meal 1kg offers a wholesome base for daily nutrition, while the Bushveld Harvest provides a leaner protein option for variety and weight management.
Limit high-fat extrasFestive foods often include fats, sauces or extras. Skip those or use tiny portions of Raw Gold treats instead.
Feed in calm settingsDistractions make dogs eat faster (and swallow more air). A calm spot promotes better digestion and helps them feel full sooner.
Monitor body condition, not just weightUse body condition scoring (feel ribs, waistline) weekly. If you see a rounding midsection, reduce portion or frequency of extras.

Holiday Weight Control: What to Watch Out For

Even with the best intentions, small habits can quickly derail your dog’s progress. Keep an eye out for:

Frequent “just one bite” feeding: Those bites add up quickly.
“Holiday mode” mentality: It’s tempting to skip portion control. Avoid it.
Mixing multiple food types: Sudden variety can confuse digestion and lead to overconsumption.

By staying consistent with Raw Gold’s natural, high-quality raw meals, you help your dog avoid these pitfalls and stay healthy all season long.

Keep Your Dog Healthy and Balanced This Festive Season

The holidays should be a time of joy, not guilt about your dog’s weight. With mindful portion control and high-quality raw nutrition, you can help your dog stay lean, energetic, and healthy while enjoying the season together.

Every small choice you make, from portion size to ingredient quality, has a lasting impact on your dog’s wellbeing.

Choose Raw Gold’s balanced raw meals as your foundation this festive season and give your dog the gift of wellness that lasts well beyond the holidays.

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