If you’re feeding your pet a boneless raw or cooked diet, it's crucial to replace the essential calcium and minerals that bones naturally provide. Without proper supplementation, your carnivore may develop deficiencies that impact bone health, muscle function, and overall well-being.
Additionally, cooking destroys natural digestive enzymes, which help break down food and improve nutrient absorption. If you’re cooking your pet's meals, adding a digestive enzyme supplement can will support nutrient absorption.
Replacing Calcium in a Boneless Diet
Bones are a natural source of calcium and phosphorus, which are vital for strong bones, teeth, nerve function & loads of processes in the body. When feeding a boneless diet, you can replace these nutrients by adding chunked bone or a high-quality supplement.
Here are our top-recommendations for calcium supplements for carnivores:
🔹 Four Leaf Rover’s Better Bones – A powdered bone supplement.
🔹 Dr. Peter Dobias’s GreenMin – A marine plant based supplement rich in bioavailable calcium and trace minerals.
🔹 Wholistic Pet Organics Calcium Support – A pure, easy-to-absorb calcium supplement derived from coral.
🔹 The Pet Health & Nutrition Center’s Seaweed Calcium – A sustainably sourced, highly absorbable calcium option made with seaweed.
Why Digestive Enzymes Matter for Cooked Meals
Cooking food alters its natural structure, breaking down the living enzymes naturally contained in raw food. Without these enzymes, your pet’s body has to work harder to break down food into usable nutrients, which can lead to bloating, gas, and nutrient deficiencies.
A digestive enzyme supplement can help:
✔ Improve digestion and nutrient absorption
✔ Reduce gas, bloating, and stool irregularities
✔ Support gut and immune health
If you’re unsure about which enzyme supplement to choose, check out Rita Hogan’s podcast episode, “🎧 Dogs Are Individuals – Digestive Enzymes,” for expert insights.
Final Thoughts
Feeding your carnivore a raw or cooked homemade diet requires doesn't have to be hard or scary. You just need to be sure that the meals contain all the ingredients a good fresh food diet should have meat, bones & organs + make sure you offer plenty of variety. If you’re skipping bones, make sure to add a high-quality calcium supplement. And if you’re cooking meals, a digestive enzyme supplement will help support nutrient absorption.
By making these small adjustments, you’ll be giving your carnivore the best chance at a long, healthy life! 🐶💚