Raw food for Dalmatians with digestive issues

Three brands in and still dealing with loose stools and gas — that's frustrating, and it tells me the issue probably isn't raw feeding itself, it's what's in the food. Dalmatians are one of the few breeds with a genuine metabolic quirk: they process purines differently to other dogs, which means high-purine proteins like beef, offal-heavy mixes, and game can cause digestive upset and, longer term, urate stones. Most mainstream raw brands are built around beef and high-offal ratios because that's cost-effective — but it's exactly the wrong profile for a Dal. Before I point you anywhere specific, can you tell me roughly how much he weighs, and do you remember which proteins were in the three brands you tried?

That explains everything. Beef and tripe are both high in purines, and 80/10/10 blends typically load up on kidney and liver which makes it worse. You haven't found the limits of raw feeding — you've just been trying the wrong proteins for this breed every single time. For Dalmatians, you want white meats: chicken, turkey, and white fish are the safest options. You also want to avoid mixes that are heavy on secreting organs and keep the offal proportion modest. What protein was he on before you tried raw, and did he have any gut issues then?

That's a really useful data point. Salmon is actually one of the lower-purine fish options, and the fact he was completely settled on it tells you his gut is fine — it's specifically the high-purine proteins that are triggering him. The good news is there's a straightforward switch that should work. I'd recommend Natural Instinct Pure Chicken. It's a complete raw food, made with chicken meat, chicken bone and a small amount of chicken liver — nothing else. No tripe, no beef, no game, no added offal beyond what's needed for balance. It's one of the cleaner formulations available, the purine load is genuinely low, and for a 25kg Dalmatian it's a very manageable daily amount. Transition over about ten days, starting at around 20% new food and building up slowly. His system should settle within two to three weeks.

Natural Instinct Pure Chicken is formulated to FEDIAF guidelines for complete nutrition, so it's not a DIY blend — it has the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio correct, appropriate organ content, and it meets daily requirements as a standalone food. The concern people raise is usually about variety over time, which is valid for homemade raw, but less so for a properly formulated complete product. If you want to add variety later, you could rotate in Natural Instinct Pure Turkey on alternate days — turkey is also low-purine and he should handle it well. But starting with just the chicken will let you confirm he's settled before you introduce anything new.

Natural Instinct sells direct from their website with frozen delivery, which tends to be the most cost-effective for bulk orders. It's also available on Amazon UK if you want smaller quantities to start with before committing to a larger order — worth doing that for the first kilo or two just to confirm he takes to it and his digestion settles. For a 25kg Dalmatian you're looking at roughly 450–500g per day, so a 2kg pack gives you about four days to run a proper initial trial.