Big Country Raw is a Canadian company. Rob & Geraldine Brouwer own and run it. They had a breeding program. They wanted raw food to feed dogs in their breeding program. The first store opened in 2012. Now they ship their products throughout Canada.
BCR produces raw and dehydrated foods. They also produce treats and supplements for dogs and cats. BCR has its own processing facility. It’s located in Smithville, Ontario.
For our Big Country Raw dog food review, we’ll look at the food ingredient quality and safety of each line of food. Our dog food reviews are based on these criteria.
IS BIG COUNTRY RAW A GOOD DOG FOOD?
Big Country Raw offers 3 lines of frozen raw dog food. They have one line of dehydrated food that are all considered low risk dog foods. There is some light processing involved in the raw foods. That does not affect the nutritional value. However, dehydration involves moderate processing. The Trek line loses a few points for that.
BCR doesn’t use fillers or grains in its recipes. This is clear from the low carbohydrate count expected in raw dog foods. Trek Dehydrated recipes have average carbohydrates of 38%. This is quite high for a dehydrated dog food. The dehydrated recipes include ingredients like sweet potato, pumpkin and some fruit. They contribute to the carbohydrate level. They also provide nutrients.
All recipes have a lower percentage of fat than protein. This is desirable in raw dog food. Animal protein is the priciest ingredient. High fat diets can shift gut bacteria. This can cause chronic inflammation in dogs. They can also be indicative of cheaper protein sources.
It’s noteworthy that 3 of their 4 dog food lines have no added vitamins and minerals. This speaks highly of the quality of the whole food ingredients. They don’t need synthetic supplements to balance these foods. Only their Raw Dinner line has a few added minerals.
BCR ingredients include pasture-raised beef, lamb, and buffalo. Their poultry is also pasture raised. They’re sourced from local, free range farmers. The produce used in some lines is organic. The wheat and barley grasses used are not. All fish used is wild caught. This is preferable to farmed. It’s more nutritious than farmed fish and has a healthy fatty acid balance.
They make all their dog foods at their own plant. Once processed, raw products are flash frozen at temperatures below –20 degrees.
Big Country Raw doesn’t provide the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio for its foods. This isn’t unusual for most dog food makers. The ratio is always a concern because AAFCO allows a highly inflammatory ratio of 30:1.
BCR offers good options for those wanting a commercially prepared raw diet. The company is also very responsive to customer inquiries.
Let’s look at each line in a little more detail.
Big Country Raw Dinner
Score: 9.2/10
Ingredient List For Bison Dinner Recipe: Buffalo meat, bison meat, bison heart, ground bison bone, bison liver, bison spleen, bison kidney, spinach, zucchini, broccoli, cranberries, blueberries, calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, barley grass, wheat grass, kelp, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, vitamin E.
Big Country Raw Dinner dog food is a low risk dog food by our criteria. It has 9 recipes that average 56% protein and 8% carbohydrate.
Only the Duck Dinner has higher carbohydrates of 18%. This is higher than expected in a raw food. There are no added grains or starches so they come from the whole food ingredients. All recipes have a lower percentage of fat than protein. This is desirable in raw dog food.
BCR Dinner is a minimally processed raw food so it maintains its nutrients. The company doesn’t use added vitamins, but 4 of these recipes have a few added minerals. You want to see nutrients supplied by the whole food ingredients whenever possible. They add Vitamin E as a preservative.
Dinner Benefits
- Minimal processing
- Low carbohydrates
- High protein
- No added vitamins
- No added amino acids
- Organic produce
- No GMOs
Dinner Concerns
- Some added minerals in 4 recipes
- High pesticide/herbicide foods
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Big Country Pure Raw
Score: 10/10
Ingredient List For Pure Rabbit Recipe: Rabbit (meat and bone), rabbit organ meat.
Big Country Raw Pure dog food is a low risk dog food by our criteria. It has 8 recipes that average 60% protein and negligible carbohydrates. All recipes have a lower percentage of fat than protein. This is desirable in raw dog food.
This is as a prey model food that includes meat, organs and bones to achieve a balanced dog food. This line includes a single protein in each recipe. It also has recipes with novel proteins: kangaroo, rabbit, lamb, and duck.
BCR Pure is minimally processed so it maintains nutrients. The company doesn’t use added vitamins and minerals. This indicates high quality ingredients that don’t need added nutrients.
Pure Benefits
- Minimal processing
- Low carbohydrates
- High protein
- No added vitamins or minerals
- No added amino acids
- Made in house
Pure Concerns
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Big Country Signature Blend
Score: 10/10
Ingredient List For Turkey, Salmon, Lamb Recipe: Turkey (meat and bone), salmon, lamb liver, lamb spleen, lamb kidney.
Big Country Raw Signature Blends dog food is a low risk dog food by our criteria. It has 3 recipes that average 60% protein and 3% carbohydrate. All recipes have a lower percentage of fat than protein. This is desirable in raw dog food.
This is a prey model food that includes meat, organs and bones. It uses several proteins to achieve a balanced dog food.
BCR Signature Blends is minimally processed so it maintains nutrients. The company doesn’t use added vitamins and minerals. This indicates high quality ingredients that don’t need added nutrients.
Signature Blend Benefits
- Minimal processing
- Low carbohydrates
- High protein
- No added vitamins or minerals
- No added amino acids
- Wild caught fish
- Made in house
Signature Blend Concerns
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
Big Country Trek Dehydrated
Score: 8/10
Ingredient List For Turkey And Beef Formula Recipe: Turkey (meat & bone), beef muscle meat, beef organ meat (liver, spleen), organic sweet potato, organic pumpkin, organic kale, organic spinach, organic cranberries, organic blueberries, kelp, alfalfa, spirulina.
Big Country Raw Trek Dehydrated dog food is a low risk dog food by our criteria. It has 2 recipes that average 30% protein and 38% carbohydrate. These have lower average protein. They have higher carbohydrates than expected in a dehydrated food. There are no added grains or starches. The recipes include ingredients like sweet potato, pumpkin and some fruit. This would contribute to the carbohydrate level.
BCR Trek Dehydrated is moderately processed so it maintains nutrients. The company doesn’t use added vitamins and minerals. This indicates high quality ingredients that don’t need added nutrients.
The produce used in BCR recipes is organic, which has a lower pesticide risk and is non-GMO. The company notes that grasses like alfalfa are not organic. Alfalfa is a known GMO crop. Researchers have conducted limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops. They are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils. This leads to increased pesticide use. This can harm bees and contribute to bee die-off. This BCR line is the only one that includes alfalfa in its recipes.
Raw Trek Dehydrated Benefits
- Moderately processed
- No added vitamins or minerals
- No added amino acids
- Organic produce
- Wild caught fish
- Made in house
Raw Trek Dehydrated Concerns
- High carbohydrates
- GMO ingredients
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
BIG COUNTRY RAW DOG FOOD RECALLS
To date, Big Country Raw has not had any recalls or voluntary withdrawals.
Evaluation Criteria
We evaluate and score dog foods based on two criteria:
Are the Ingredients High Quality?
Here are some common low-quality ingredients or markers we look for:
- Is there excessive carbohydrate content, which can cause gut imbalances?
- Does the food contain unnamed proteins, which are low quality?
- Does the food use cellulose (wood pulp) as a source of fiber instead of real food?
- Are there excessive vitamins and minerals added in place of real food nutrition?
- Are there excessive added amino acids or plant proteins instead of expensive meat protein?
- Does the food contain inflammatory processed seed oils?
How Safe Are the Ingredients?
Many ingredients come from unhealthy, inflammatory sources or are full of pesticides so we look for:
- How processed is the food?
- Does the food contain known genetically modified foods?
- Does the food contain ingredients known to be high in pesticides?
- Does the food contain natural flavor, which are often MSG or animal digest?
- Does the food contain rice, which is high in arsenic?
Each food is objectively evaluated by these criteria and a score is assigned using the average of ingredient quality and safety. This is NOT a paid list and there are no affiliate links. Dogs Naturally has partnered with DogFoodReviews.com to make sure dog owners have unbiased, objective criteria to help them choose the best dog food on the market. You can view the full Evaluation Criteria at DogFoodReviews.com.
