This is a specific conversation about Raw dog food — what to know before you start — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Switching from air-dried raw to frozen raw is a meaningful upgrade in moisture content, and for a Norwegian Elkhound — a breed historically prone to kidney issues — that extra hydration actually matters more than most people realise. Raw feeding done well can be excellent, but done badly it creates nutritional gaps that cause real harm over time, and the difference is balance and sourcing. Before I point you toward anything specific: is your Elkhound around the typical 20–25kg range, and are you looking for a complete frozen product where the nutrition is already balanced for you, or are you planning to build your own meals from components?
She's 22kg, yes. I want something complete — I don't want to be calculating percentages of bone and organ myself. She's been doing well on the air-dried but I've read frozen raw is closer to what they'd actually eat in the wild.
inparticular.ai
You're right that frozen raw retains more of the natural moisture and a broader enzyme profile than air-dried, which goes through a low-heat dehydration process. The nutrition in good air-dried is solid, but frozen is genuinely closer to fresh raw. For a complete frozen product that's already balanced, what protein has she been on with the air-dried?
Mainly chicken and turkey. She's had no digestive issues, no allergies that we know of.
inparticular.ai
Perfect — that makes this straightforward. I'd recommend Natures Menu Country Hunter Frozen Nuggets, specifically their chicken or turkey varieties to keep continuity with what she already tolerates well. They're nutritionally complete to FEDIAF standards, include raw meaty bone content, organ meat, and added botanicals, and the nugget format makes portioning for a 22kg dog very easy — roughly 5–6 nuggets per meal twice a day. They're widely trusted, have good traceability on sourcing, and the transition from air-dried to these is typically smooth because her gut is already accustomed to raw proteins. Defrost overnight in the fridge and you're set.
How do I actually transition her over? Do I just swap straight away or do I need to do it gradually?
inparticular.ai
Because she's already on raw — even air-dried raw — her digestive system is significantly better prepared than a dog coming from kibble. You can transition fairly quickly: days one and two feed 75% air-dried and 25% frozen, days three and four go 50/50, then days five and six 25% air-dried and 75% frozen, and from day seven onwards fully frozen. Watch stool consistency — slightly looser stools for a day or two is normal as the extra moisture adjusts things, but anything watery or lasting more than three days warrants slowing the transition down.
That's really helpful. One more thing — should I be giving her anything extra, like supplements, once she's on the frozen raw?
inparticular.ai
If you're using Natures Menu Country Hunter as a complete meal, you shouldn't need to supplement the core nutrition — that's already handled. The one addition that genuinely earns its place for a raw-fed Elkhound is a good omega-3 source like cold-pressed salmon oil, since frozen raw can vary in its fatty acid balance depending on the protein. A small daily pour over her meal supports coat condition, joint health, and — importantly for the breed — kidney and cardiovascular function. Beyond that, keep it simple. Over-supplementing a balanced raw diet can cause as many problems as under-supplementing.
