Raw dog food manufacturer, Poppy’s Picnic, is changing dogs’ diets across the UK with its RAWgust campaign, a ‘change-for-life’ themed month for pets.
The Wiltshire-based firm has been calling on pet owners to improve their dogs’ wellbeing by feeding raw food throughout the month. The campaign provided an opportunity to educate those who are unfamiliar with the multiple benefits of feeding raw, and also encourage those who have always wanted to try it to see how easy it is to make a real and lasting difference to their dogs.
In the campaign’s opening week, Canine Nutritionist and Behaviour Expert, Anna Webb, and Poppy’s Picnic Founder, Dylan Watkins were interviewed by over 20 radio stations nationwide, including 14 BBC stations. Poppy’s Picnic also worked alongside The Victoria Derbyshire Show to develop a pet obesity feature which cited its new research highlighting the lack of association between fresh food for dogs and better weight management.
To mark the launch of RAWgust, which is in its second year, Poppy’s Picnic released brand new research* which showed that although 81% of the British public recognise fresh food as the best diet for humans to stay fit and healthy, only 51% think the same is true for dogs. With the Pet Food Manufacturer’s Association’s 2019 Pet Obesity Report highlighting that 51% of dogs in the UK are obese, it is clear there is a need to stimulate awareness.
Dylan Watkins says, “With the majority of the nation feeding their pets highly processed foods, our research shows there is a dire need to educate Britons about the content and freshness of pet food, which often contains a lower meat content than the once notorious Turkey Twizzlers, which contained just 34%. Whilst for humans there is no shortage of campaigns attempting to turn the tide of obesity and its complications, we wanted to lead the charge in educating dog owners.”
Anna Webb explains why a biologically appropriate raw food diet, with no grains, fillers or artificial preservatives is best for dogs:
“Feeding a biologically appropriate diet nourishes dogs at a cellular level. Its bio-availability means you're feeding to optimise health and help prevent disease, whereas processed diets comprising 30%-60% grains are high-glycaemic, promoting allergic reactions via a pro-inflammatory response. Allergic reactions are a symptom showing that your dog's immune system is not functioning at 100%. Often an allergy is atopic (on the skin), making dogs very itchy, with hair loss and incessant scratching. Depending on the severity of your dog's condition, switching to a raw diet will pay huge dividends especially with hair re-growth and stopping the itchiness. And not least putting a lustre back into the coat which might have been lacking. Feeding raw will also help any 'yeasty' conditions, itchy paws and gunky wax build- up in the ears.”
Poppy’s Picnic describes the changes you can expect to see from feeding raw food as ‘The 7 Signs of Happiness’:
Since launching the campaign last year, Poppy’s Picnic is thrilled to see blogs springing up online, as well as retailers getting behind the movement. In addition to guest videos, Facebook Lives, expert blogs and promotions, a new feature for this year’s RAWgust includes the Stockist in the Spotlight Series which sees a member of the Poppy’s Picnic team interview proud independent stockists about their business and passion for raw feeding.
Dylan continues, “RAWgust is inclusive, it’s meant to make a difference to as many dogs as possible and I’m thrilled to see the uptake. Having launched the Change 4 Life campaign for the Department of Health I knew a campaign like RAWgust is what the industry was missing, and I’m pleased to see how well its translated. It’s simple really, just as humans need fresh food to stay in tip top condition, so do dogs. I desperately want to encourage owners to give as much consideration to what’s in their dog’s bowls as they do to what goes into their own bodies.”
*The survey of 1,500 adult Brits was conducted by independent research company, Ginger Research
