PMR vs. Whole Grinds: What's the Difference?
If you've been shopping for raw pet food, you've probably seen terms like PMR, whole grind, whole prey, 80/10/10, and more.
While they all fall under the umbrella of raw feeding, they're not exactly the same.
At My Pet Carnivore, we offer both PMR grinds and Whole Grinds because each has a valuable place in a raw-fed diet. Understanding the difference can help you choose the option that best fits your pet.
What is PMR?
PMR stands for Prey Model Raw.
Rather than grinding an entire animal, PMR combines individual ingredients to create a prey-inspired recipe. The classic guideline is:
- 80% muscle meat
- 10% raw bone
- 10% secreting organs (typically 5% liver and 5% another secreting organ)
These proportions mimic that of a prey animal.
At My Pet Carnivore, our PMR recipes are built with the same standards we apply to everything we produce.
That means:
- Fresh raw ground bone—not bone meal
- Multiple secreting organs whenever possible
- Single-protein recipes only—if it says beef, it's beef
Our Beef Supreme PMR, for example, contains beef liver, kidney, and spleen to provide excellent organ variety while remaining a true single-protein option.
What Are Whole Grinds?
Whole Grinds are exactly what they sound like.
Instead of building a recipe from individual ingredients, we start with the whole animal and grind it with very few removals.
That means your pet receives the natural variety that already existed within the animal.
Depending on the species, we remove the stomach, intestines, and fur or feathers. Smaller animals such as chicken and duck are typically ground with the head included, while larger animals like pork or goat have the head removed before grinding.
Everything else contributes to the finished product.
Why We Love Whole Grinds
Whole Grinds are our favorite way to feed because they preserve the natural diversity found in an animal.
Rather than selecting specific cuts or organs to meet a formula, Whole Grinds naturally include a wide variety of:
- Muscle meats
- Bones
- Connective tissue
- Fat
- Multiple organs
- Glands
That natural variety is difficult to recreate with a formulated recipe, simply because every animal contains far more than just meat, bone, liver, and one additional organ.
It's one of the reasons Whole Grinds have always been the foundation of what we do.
So...Are Whole Grinds Better Than PMR?
Not necessarily.
Think of Whole Grinds as the most natural representation of a prey animal, while PMRs are thoughtfully formulated recipes designed to closely recreate the ratios found in a whole prey animal.
Sometimes Whole Grinds simply aren't practical.
Beef is a great example.
Sourcing beef economically to consistently produce a Whole Ground Beef isn't all that possible right now. Rather than remove beef from your pet's rotation, we created our Beef Supreme PMR using fresh raw bone, three secreting organs, and only beef ingredients.
The Ground Whole Turkey is another fantastic example. The whole turkey that we source we only get once a year. So, if we sell through that, we start making Turkey PMR instead. That way your carnivore isn't left without a great turkey option!
The result is a high-quality PMR that allows you to continue offering valuable protein variety.
Both Have an Important Place
Whether you choose Whole Grinds or PMRs, both are excellent choices when they're made with quality ingredients.
Whole Grinds provide the natural diversity of an entire animal.
PMRs provide a carefully balanced alternative when whole animals aren't available.
Many raw feeders use both throughout their pet's rotation—and that's exactly how we designed our product line.
The Bottom Line
If a Whole Grind is available for the protein you're looking for, that's generally our first recommendation because it offers nutrition the way nature intended it.
When a Whole Grind isn't available, a well-crafted PMR is an outstanding choice that helps keep important proteins in your pet's rotation without sacrificing quality.
No matter which you choose, one of the biggest nutritional advantages comes from feeding a wide variety of proteins over time. We recommend rotating through at least four different proteins a week to help provide the broadest range of naturally occurring nutrients.
