C.L. Galka-Agnew,  D.V.M.                      Companion Animal Care Center
Please note: there is much controversy over what constitutes a correct diet in our companion animals. There are even advocates for vegetarian diets as discussed at Veganpets.com All the info below is advised IF you choose to feed your animal natural raw, rather than a good quality kibble.  There is no one correct diet for all dogs or cats. Each is an individual and needs to be treated as such. One diet works well for one animal, and not another. There simply is no one final  diet that will meet all individuals needs. If you wish to feed natural raw do the studying required so that you feed a properly balanced diet.

         The ideal diet for your animal is an all-natural,  RAW  diet.  Dogs and cats are carnivores.  Their   digestive tract is quite different than that of humans.  They are easily able to digest raw meats, as they have higher levels of stomach acids.  The importance of providing uncooked meat is that there are live enzymes and nutrients  in raw meat that are necessary for food utilization.  Cooking destroys these vital nutrients.  Although there is a small risk of introducing parasites, the benefits outweigh the risks.  The meats I advise you to use are beef,  lamb,  chicken, turkey, fish and venison. I DO  NOT advise  feeding  pork  or  rabbit, either raw or cooked.
         It is important that you make this transition, gradually, (over 2 to 3 months)  as your animal's digestive tract is probably asleep and needs to  "awaken" to be able to assimilate the raw foods.  It takes approximately 10 minutes a day to prepare a healthy meal for your animal, rather than pouring kibble (that has almost no positive nutritional value, and has many potentially harmful additives) into a bowl.    You can reduce the time required to provide this diet by preparing quantities of meat in one kitchen session, then freezing individual daily portions for a week or two at a time. Feeding a live creature dead food exclusively  CANNOT  provide optimum health.   I realize it is not feasible to always   provide solely fresh raw food.   There are a few kibble formulas which could be used, as a supplement to the natural raw diet. 
        On a scale of  0 to 10  (zero being survival  and  10  being optimal health and wellness) here is a general idea of  my personal impression regarding the quality of nutrition in  various feeding plans: Your animal is at "0" (merely surviving)  if he or she is on generic kibbles, soft moist packets or canned foods, or solely meats.  If your animal is on a more expensive supermarket kibble, they are most likely at "1' or  "2".  Still not vitally alive, and much more susceptible to any illness that comes their way.  If you place your animal on a premium food, they are up to maybe a "4."  If you feed a premium  brand on our "Acceptable Kibble" handout,  along with raw food, you increase your animal's nutrition to about a "5" or "6".  There is a list of 17 or 18 premium dry kibble foods that are accepted by most  holistic vets to use as a supplement to natural raw foods (try www.altvetmed.org , or see my article on acceptable kibble foods).    If you are able to feed a balanced, raw natural diet  at all times, your pet is as close  to "10" as it is possible to be on the nutritional scale.   All dogs and cats on a natural diet should have bone meal, digestive enzymes, and Canine Plus  or  Felovite/NuCat  supplemented in with their food daily.  Ideally, they should have raw, meaty bones 2 or 3 times a week, either ground up  or gradually added whole to the diet.  I feed my family animals raw chicken necks almost daily, and give my dogs large, raw beef bones to chew on (under close supervision) as a regular part of their natural diet.  As I mentioned above, if you don't feed raw bones, it is vital that you use bonemeal powder in the diet.

       Gradually start adding meats until you are feeding  30% raw meat,  30% accepted kibble,  30%  cooked rice, oats,  or barley  and  10%  veggies or varied "leftovers."  This breaks down to a  10 lb. dog consuming  1/3 cup in an entire day:  a  25 lb. dog would consume a total of 1 cup per day;   a 50 lb. dog consuming a total of 1 &  3/4 cup in an entire day;  and   a 100  lb. dog would consume a total of 3 & 1/2 cups daily.  Separate this amount into (2) feedings daily.  These amounts are approximations that vary with individual activity levels. (One important note:  do not feed dogs and cats  onions, raisons or grapes-- ever! Also, no macadamia nuts as they are toxic to dogs.)  Puppies up to 18 months of age, working dogs and lactating bitches need roughly  75 - 100%   more  than these amounts.   Cats need a higher amount of protein than dogs, with approximately 75% of the total diet consisting of protein.
        Another point I need to stress to you:  when you transition your animals to a higher nutritional plane, they may have what are known as "healing episodes."   This may consist of  occasional diarrhea or vomiting, excess shedding or itching, or mucus secretions from eyes and nostrils.  These symptoms may occur off and on  for 1 -2 months.  This is the body's way of getting rid of accumulated      toxins.  The older the animal, or the worse the prior commercial food, the longer the healing episodes may occur.  Your animals should remain energetic during a healing episode.  Do not let this  deter you from transitioning your animals to a higher nutritional level and greater wellness!  Be patient.  It took all your animal's life to this point to accumulate all the toxins which need to be removed before they can move on to state of better health.
          A final point is that ideal natural raw diets include raw meaty bones, like chicken necks and wings. If you are uncomfortable feeding the bones whole, you may wish to invest in a grinder, if you have a lot of family animals. Grinders cost around $600. I found mine at Cabelo's. Another alternative is to purchase raw frozen meats from various companies that specialize in packaging meat meals for dogs and cats. There are many websites (such as barfdiet.com) that refer you to these companies. Similarly, if you cannot bring yourself to feed the meats raw, lightly cook the meats and follow all the other guideline described in this article for proportions of meat to carbohydrates and veggies. Although raw is best, cooked meats with veggies and various carbohydrates is a far superior diet to commercial kibble. 

For more through understanding of the principles behind the natural raw diet, I would encourage you to read "Give Your Dog a Bone" 1993 and "Feed Your Puppies Bones" by Ian Billinghurst DVM.