Did you know that you can and should add fur to raw dog food?
That’s because fur, wool, and feathers are a great source of manganese. They’re also a great source of fiber and help naturally express anal glands.
Manganese is a mineral that falls into the category of micro minerals, also known as trace minerals.
“Trace” means that only very little is needed.
However, they’re still essential for a properly functioning body!
Why It’s Important To Add Manganese To Raw Dog Food
Manganese helps dogs digest and absorb protein and carbs, as well as fatty acids.
It also slows down the aging process and is needed for bone growth and thyroid hormone production.
Manganese deficiency in dogs
Dogs who are deficient in manganese can have skeletal defects that result in CCL problems.
That’s short for cranial cruciate ligament. It’s a disease that causes knee problems and hind leg lameness.
They can also have reproductive issues, nerve deficits, and suffer from skin and hair problems.
How much manganese does a dog need?
The daily requirement of manganese is 2.3 mg per lb of dog food.
There are tiny amounts of manganese in bone, liver, and pancreas. Bone has 1.5-2 ppm of manganese, liver has 1.5-2.5, and pancreas has 1.2-1.6 ppm.
PPM stands for parts per million. It’s a unit that’s used in chemistry to describe a tiny amount of something, and apparently it’s what manganese is measured in.
How Much Manganese Is In Hair And Feathers?
There are other foods that are much higher in manganese than bone, liver, and pancreas.
For example, cow hair has 12 ppm of manganese, and pullet feathers have 18.7 ppm of manganese.
Why To Add Fur To Raw Dog Food: Recreate A Prey Animal
My favorite way of looking at the how’s and why’s in raw feeding is to picture the prey animals that dogs and wolves would eat in the wild.
They consist of EVERYTHING.
Including heads with brains and eyes, hearts, livers, kidneys, legs, fur and fins in fish, etc. You get the idea.
That’s why it’s SO IMPORTANT to not only feed a large variety of different protein sources, but to also feed different cuts of the animal within those protein sources.
Without this variety between protein sources and cuts within each protein source, raw dog food is not balanced and will have nutritional holes.
That’s why it’s important to add fur to raw dog food!
Fur Sources For Raw Dog Food
You can use the following sources to add fur to your raw dog food.
All-Natural Cow Rawhide Rolls With Hair
Raw Feeding Miami carries cow rawhide rolls with hair on them!
As their name suggests, the company is located in Miami, FL, and ships nationwide within the US.
The rolls are available as 8 inch, 10 inch, and 12 inch rolls, made by hand, and sold per piece.
Unlike regular rawhide, these particular ones are NOT bleached or treated with chemicals, which makes them fully digestible.
RFM also carries dehydrated beef ears with fur.
They’ve made it into Wally’s Christmas Stocking, along with the furry rabbit ears mentioned next!
Tip: You can save 10% off your first Raw Feeding Miami order with my referral discount link.
Furry Rabbit Ears
These are an absolute favorite of Wally’s, and they’re a great alternative to the cow ears for dogs who have a food sensitivity towards beef.
I used to buy them freeze-dried from Vital Essentials on Amazon. But unfortunately, they stopped carrying them.
Thankfully, here’s some alternatives:
And Hare Today also carries dehydrated rabbit ears.
So does Raw Feeding Miami: dehydrated rabbit ears and feet.
Tip: Remember to save 10% on your first Raw Feeding Miami order with my referral discount link.
Furry Rabbit Feet
Hare Today also carries furry dehydrated rabbit feet.
Whole Prey Rabbit With Fur
Of course you can also feed rabbit in its entirety, fur included. This option is either available ground or whole.
Hare Today
Hare Today also carries whole prey rabbits with their fur.
They’re located in Pennsylvania, in close proximity to the Ohio border, and ship nationwide within the US.
Whole Prey Quail With Feathers
Hare Today also carries whole prey day old quails with feathers.
Add Fur To Raw Dog Food: Bottom Line
Fur is part of what dogs and wolves would eat in the wild, so it makes sense to add it to their raw dog food.
Although it might seem difficult to source at first sight, there are good options for buying furry food items, and they’re not overly expensive.
Even if you don’t feed raw dog food quite yet, you can certainly treat your pup with the dried cow, rabbit, and lamb ears!
Please leave your comments or questions in the comment section below this blog post. For more raw feeding resources, visit my full homemade raw dog food library.
Related Reading:
- Your raw feeding FAQs answered
- Vet-approved, whole prey rabbit feeding
- How to include healthy fats in raw dog food
- What’s so great about single-ingredient treats?
- Rabbit for raw dog food: Where to buy it and more
Barbara Rivers is the founder of K9sOverCoffee and a raw feeding educator with over a decade of hands-on experience.
She has fed raw in the US and Europe since 2015, after her Boxer mix Missy’s cancer diagnosis led her to move away from processed kibble and commit to species-appropriate nutrition.
As a former professional dog walker, she developed deep insight into canine behavior, conditioning, and the essential link between proper exercise and long-term health.
Barbara completed online training with veterinarian Dr. Marion Smart and Labrador breeder Dana Scott and works for one of Germany’s leading raw dog food brands, BARFER’S.
In 2026–2027, she is completing a year-long raw nutrition certification for dogs and cats at THP School, founded by raw feeding pioneer Swanie Simon.
Through her blog and weekly newsletter, she provides clear, experience-based guidance to help dog owners feed raw safely and confidently.
Great information! Thank you.
Here’s a question- My 2 Austrialian Shepherds play grab the neck, nibble the legs, basically get fur in their mouths every day. They do get furry poop sometimes. Does that count as fur in their diet? 🙂
Hey Stacey, now that is an interesting question – I’ve never thought of that particular scenario, but I would guess that it counts! I’ll run it by Dr. Lonsdale and see what he says.
I asked Dr. Lonsdale for advice, and he said that fur in general is a fundamental aspect of the diet, and that includes dog fur. So if your dogs ingest some of their fur, no need to go out of your way and add other furry sources like furry rabbit ears or paws, or furry cow ears.
I have three cats that I brush often and get lots of fur. Can I add that to my 20 pound dogs raw diet? If so, how much and will it make him want to eat my cats?😂
Hi MaryJo, I have to admit that I had to chuckle at your question…but yes, you can totally add your cats’ fur to your pup’s raw meals. I’d go with 1/2 a hand full per week. My pup Wally’s just shy of 40lbs and he either gets 2 furry rabbit ears per week or one whole prey guinea pig with fur per week that weighs around 5 oz. Or one big whole prey rabbit with fur once a month. And no worries, your pup’s not going to want to go after your cats 🙂 Do you raw-feed them too? I’ve been learning a lot about raw cat food now that I’m working at a raw dog & cat food brand in Germany. So if you have any cat-related raw meals questions, I’d be happy to (try and) answer them!