What does “meeting needs” mean?

A food is considered to meet the dog's needs if it provides the dog with all vital nutrients in the right amounts – adapted to weight, age, activity and health condition.

Important: The NRC (National Research Council) recommended values ​​originally served as guidelines for industrially produced ready-to-eat foods. These values ​​take into account the lower bioavailability of nutrients in ready-to-eat foods, but not the significantly higher bioavailability of fresh ingredients in BARF.

1. BARF (raw feeding)

BARF is based on meat, offal, bones, as well as fruits, vegetables, and oils. To ensure it meets nutritional needs, the following points must be observed:

- Calcium-phosphorus ratio (approx. 1.3:1 to 1.5:1)

- Iodine supply via seaweed flour

- Vitamin D from cod liver oil or fish

- Supplement zinc and manganese if necessary

- Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil or algae oil

2. Wet food

Wet food doesn't automatically meet your dog's needs. Nadine Wolf emphasizes that iodine and vitamin D are often lacking. Important points regarding wet food:

- High-quality animal ingredients

- Complete declaration of all vitamins and minerals

- Balanced calcium-phosphorus ratio

- Supplementation of essential nutrients if not sufficiently contained in the ingredients

3. Dry food

According to Nadine Wolf, dry food, especially cold-pressed food, rarely meets the dog's needs. Iodine and vitamin D are often particularly lacking. Important points:

- Complete declaration of all nutrients

- Synthetic supplementation of many vitamins and minerals necessary

- Ensure good bioavailability despite processing

Checklist: Feed to meet needs (all feeding types)

Essential ingredients:

- High-quality proteins

- Healthy fats (including Omega-3)

- Vitamins (A, D, E, K, B complex)

- Minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, etc.)

- Trace elements (zinc, iodine, manganese, etc.)

- Fiber (crude fiber from vegetables)

- Sufficient moisture (especially with wet and raw feeding)

What a good food should NOT contain

- Artificial colors and flavors

- Sugar & Sweeteners

- Cheap fillers (e.g. cellulose)

- Preservatives such as BHA, BHT

- Vegetable by-products of inferior quality

- Animal meal and low-quality slaughterhouse waste

Conclusion

Whether it's BARF, wet, or dry food, a truly nutritionally complete diet contains all essential nutrients in the right amounts. BARF can be formulated in a natural way with expert knowledge, while wet food only meets nutritional needs with careful labeling and additives, and dry food achieves this almost exclusively through synthetic additives.

Note: The information contained here is based on the statements of Nadine Wolf and additional scientific findings.