Raw dog food questions - please help!

[daisyduke]

Hi! I starting feeding my dogs raw food last week. Can someone please post what their daily feeding schedule is like? Also, can someone point me to some raw dog food forums where I can find more information? Thanks so much!

[luckitri]

I just feed mine once a day and leave dry dog food for them if they wish. They have very little of the dry any more. There is a thread on here about it - if not more. My female has suddenly decided that she will have no more of the chicken gizzards so when my freezer empties of those I won't get any more. My fat 1/2 blind old man is getting his youthful figure back, energy, vision, attentiveness - it is very noticeable and only 2 weeks approximately! And he hasn't had any more teeth fall out! I am very casual about it as I have difficulty maintaining any kind of schedule other than getting to work on time.

[D'vorah]

Each dog's needs are different. Size, age, health, activity level all affect what and how much to feed. My Jack Russell eats almost as much as my Golden Retrievers do, because her activity level and metabolism are higher.

It's OK to go through trial and error figuring out what works for your dog, the vet where I am has had no problem with drop-in visits to check body weight.

Most raw pet food books and web sites make it seem like you have to have a college degree in wolf biology to pull it off, but I've found it's really easy. The early days were the most challenging as I went through eliminations to find out what foods were causing problems (for us, higher fat meaty bones and eggs were not good. In place of the higher fat bones, my dogs love beef feet. I endure putting them out for them.).

Do yourself a favor and get:

Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog (Paperback)
by Carina Beth Macdonald

http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Dog-Food-Make-Easy/dp/1929242093/sr=1-34/qid=1160965166/ref=sr_1_34/002-2051161-1368041?ie=UTF8&s=books

This book takes all of the hype and mystique out of the process. Honestly, I think some of the raw pet food people I've talked to get off on the heady nature of the image of needing all of this complicated information nailed down. Really, it doesn't have to be that hard.

OK, you asked for samples, keep in mind what I said about each dog's individual needs. . . in the AM I used ground meat, turkey usually, yogurt and chopped veggies all mixed together. I don't do that veggie-mush routine and mine do great. In the evenings the Goldens get a chicken leg quarter or a couple of chicken thighs or some amount equivalent to that. The Jack gets about the same AM feeding, with about half of what the Goldens get for the evening, unless they are kennelled and I'm out of town, then the Jack gets more, as she runs weight off faster than we can put it on her.

The book that I mentioned offers some weight guidlines.

They also sometimes get kidney or heart or other organ meat, but no tight schedule. Anytime I need time to myself and don't want to watch them, they get beef feet, that keeps them happy and busy and out of trouble while I take a nice long bath or read a book. All meals are offered in the garage where mess is less a concern.

Hope that helps,

Deborah

[D'vorah]

OK, not sure why I can't get it to post the entire address for that book, but if the link doesn't work, just search it by title and author, it'll come up.

D

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Hi DaisyDuke,

Here are a few of my favorite Pet's raw food websites:

Pat has free e-book down loads for dogs & cats:
http://www.creationsgarden.com/default_Basset.asp

Healthy Paws (has a chart on quanity of meats/veggies):
http://www.healthy-paws.ca/

BARF:
http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/barfdiet_specific.shtml

Shirley's Wellness Cafe - Holistic Animal Health:
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/healthypets.htm

[Bingka]

Raw is easy.....

My Chocolate LAb is 10 months old and loves raw.

I buy meat with bone in. Like pork shoulder, beef ribs, pig feet, etc. I have been using about 3% of her bodyweight as a guidline for the amount of food. - 75 lbs x 3% = 2.25 lbs of food. I try to keep a 70% meat to 30% bone weight. But I do not measure or weight. My vet thinks she is a little skinny, but can't explain why she is extremely health. I need to find a new Vet.

Ken

[hawaiigal]

We have an avocado orchard and I find it interesting that my dog and our neighbours dog love to eat them. They even go get them for themselves.
When the Avos are in season I quite often find 2-3 half eaten on our Lanai.

[dangergrrlxx]

Hey there! I live in Canada and also feed my dog raw. I've found the yahoo groups about raw dogs to be usefull, as well as a book I purchased on Amazon about feeding raw. Stella ( a bulldog) gets one meal a day, and I try to feed her a large variety of foods: beef, turkey, chicken, etc with veggies. A lot of times I'l take the pulp from my juicer and feed that to her along with her meat. I also try to supplement with an all raw dog food that is in my health food store's freezer section. She'll also get olive oil and kelp in her food. Hope that helps! Morgan

[rawnora]

[QUOTE=D'vorah]
It's OK to go through trial and error figuring out what works for your dog,"

I found out how much my dog needed to eat by experimenting, but I was too slow to learn and the unfortunate result was that my dog had raging ear inflammation in both ears and I didn't discover and correct my mistake until there was nerve damage. He was hearing one week, and deaf the next. I'm sure it wasn't just too much food, but too much fat and muscle as well. Once I stopped feeding ground meats, started fasting him and removing all visible fat and a good portion of the muscle from his food, he achieved a healthy weight and has had no more problems with his ears. I feed him once a day, approximately (very approximate, I've never weighed it) 1-2 pounds of food (he weighs about 20 pounds).

"Honestly, I think some of the raw pet food people I've talked to get off on the heady nature of the image of needing all of this complicated information nailed down. "

Yes! It is not complicated at all, and anyone who wants to make it so is using it as a hobby, imo.

"All meals are offered in the garage where mess is less a concern."

I feed outside or in the garage, too. Beef feet. I'll have to try that.

"My vet thinks she is a little skinny, but can't explain why she is extremely health. I need to find a new Vet."

Ha! I agree, time for a new vet. :) I see coyotes on occasion and it always amazes me how thin they are! Dogs are not meant to carry so much weight. There's no question in my mind that dogs who are "underweight" according to vets outlive their pudgy counterparts by many years.

Daisyduke,
You asked about feeding schedules so I wanted to mention that one thing that I started doing was not feeding according to a regular schedule. Dogs are designed to eat irregularly and I have to admit it is liberating to know that if I don't have time to feed my dog, he can wait till the next day. It may seem hard-hearted but it is a very kind thing to do for them. Most dog owners, imo, project their unhealthy emotional hang ups with food onto their dogs. I see many, many dogs whose owners love them to death by feeding them as much as they want (and kibble, no less). Dogs don't turn down food when it's available because food is hard to come by in the world of a wild dog. Dogs are hard wired to EAT when they have the opportunity. Since we don't have nature controlling their intake, we've got to assume that role.

Also, the veggie thing seems to stymie many new raw feeders, but I've found an easy way to get veggies into a dog. I noted that 3 of the raw dogs that I take care of frequently ate grass, so I started blending wheat grass, celery and livers together and dehydrating it for treats. I know some raw feeders don't feed veggies at all but when a dog eats grass it seems like a pretty clear indication that s/he is missing something in the diet. Dogs can't digest grass in its natural state because they can't chew it enough, though. They're supposed to get it in the stomachs of their prey, or at least that's the theory.

Happy feeding,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com

[carolg]

My dog has been eating rawe about 6 years. She used to eat veggies with some of her meals, but these days with hubby feeding her, she's strictly sold out to meat. She truly hates veggies mushed up or even takes chunks to nibble on. She is skinny too, and very picky. I used to even give her barley powder on her food, but these days she is just merry and moving along great. I don't do dairy products for her, but would love to bring back veggies into her diet. I have to figure out how to fake her.

I have been blessed with great dogs, but this is the only raw one I ever had.

carolg

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Also, the veggie thing seems to stymie many new raw feeders, but I've found an easy way to get veggies into a dog. I noted that 3 of the raw dogs that I take care of frequently ate grass, so I started blending wheat grass, celery and livers together and dehydrating it for treats. I know some raw feeders don't feed veggies at all but when a dog eats grass it seems like a pretty clear indication that s/he is missing something in the diet. Dogs can't digest grass in its natural state because they can't chew it enough, though. They're supposed to get it in the stomachs of their prey, or at least that's the theory.

Hi Nora,

That looks easy enough to make. What is a ratio of wheat grass, celery and liver? I catch my dogs eating grass now and then and I often feel that they aren't getting enough of something. I do grind up carrots and lettuce and mix it in their meat. (yes I do grind up whole chickens, with the bones). I'm going to try giving them the whole part of a chicken for one feeding a day and continue the grounded up meat for the other and see how they do with the "whole" part. It's more the fear of me as I had read if you hadn't fed your dogs the meat on the bones and they are older (my dogs are 9 or 10) that they may not be able to handle it. They may not chew it. I've gave a wing to my husky once and she swollowed it whole. They do eat whole carrots with no problems. But I'm willing to give it a try. Any part of the chicken you would recommend to try first?

[daisyduke]

RawNora, Thank you for sharing that information. Can you please tell me what it is exactly that you feed your dog? Are chicken necks okay? With organic beef ground up with some lettuce and celery? My dogs really hate veggies though. Thanks!

[Shmoopie]

There's a great place to buy raw dog food online. They also have a lot of information about the things you're asking. The website is thehonestkitchen.com

One thing with dogs is that many of them are intolerant to grains, like a lot of people are. In your typical dog food, there are a lot of grains. Dry, itchy, red, and/or irritated skin; yeasty/bad smelling ear infections, intolerance to having their paws touched...these are all typical signs of grain intolerance.

This dog food is raw and dehydrated. They have some with grains and a brand or two without. They have different foods for different ages, energy levels, etc. And if you deicde to buy some, one thing you need to know is that...a 10lb. bucket may cost $60. But it's not 10lbs. of dog food. After it's hydrated, it's more like 45 lbs. of dog food...so you're getting a lot more for your money than it first appears. It is still pricey, but worthwhile if you can afford it. We do what we can, of course.

Anyway, check out the site. It's pretty informative and it seems like a great product. I'm definitely going to switch my dog to their food very soon.

Good luck!

[Fruitarianone]

I feed my dobies raw meat and bones....I found it works the same way as raw works for us!

The funny thing is that all of them love fruits!!!...but I generaly don't give them fruits on a regular basis....

Here's a link to a story of how I got one of our dobes through pnuemonia by building up his immune system and cleaning him out on a raw diet...

NOT FOR THE SQUEMISH!!!

http://s12.invisionfree.com/FLF/index.php?showtopic=1020

[rawnora]

RawNora, Thank you for sharing that information. Can you please tell me what it is exactly that you feed your dog? Are chicken necks okay? With organic beef ground up with some lettuce and celery? My dogs really hate veggies though. Thanks!

Hi Daisy,
I feed whole chicken skeletons. I buy them at an Asian market here in Seattle (Uwajimaya). They are basically what is left over after the boneless, skinless chicken filets are made and they are very cheap if you can find them. Necks are fine but they're not sufficient because they are mostly cartilege, not bone and bone is important. You can get chicken backs almost anywhere. They're good and I was buying them for a long time but they usually come with a huge amount of fat that you have to pay for, then trim. When I can't get skeletons, I shop around to find cheap bone-in split chicken breasts and trim about 50% of the flesh and skin and all the fat. I use the muscle to make treats for the dogs I train and care for. I feed skeletons 4-5 times per week, and the other days I feed whole game hens and steak. In addition, I feed eggs and veggies (wheat grass, celery and eggs blended) a couple times a month and organ meats 3-4 times per week. I don't recommend feeding ground meat at all, because you can't control the fat content and a dog's meat shouldn't be pre-chewed.

Hi Helen,
The ratios aren't important. I just buy one of those square containers of wheat grass and cut it with scissors right into the blender. Then I add a few cut up stalks of celery, a pound or so of chicken livers and sometimes I add some chicken breast meat if I have it, and blend it up. I was toying with the idea of adding some kind of nuts to give it more substance because the treats come out very thin but I'm not sure dogs and nuts are a good combo. Carrots, btw, should not be fed at all. They usually just come out the same way they went in, which means they didn't get digested at all. They're too starchy for dogs to break down unless a small critter has already chewed and pre-digested them.

Yeah, I've heard other dog owners express fears about their dogs wolfing their food. I don't think it's dangerous. Interestingly, my dog used to choke sometimes on food until I *stopped* cutting it up for him. Now I make sure to give it to him in large enough pieces that HE has to decide what size the bites are. If I had a larger dog, I wouldn't cut it up at all. A wild dog would not encounter a small creature already disassembled, lol. I only do it for my dog because he's small and it makes it a little easier for him to manage.

Happy raw feeding,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Thanks Nora :D

I'm going to Wild Oats today and will pick up the liver, celery & wheatgrass and make some treats for my dogs! (huskey & black lab).

Also will call a place that tried to get the chicken bones, with little meat left on them, a few years back. He was trying to get them that were antibiotic and hormone free. His prices were very reasonable (if he could get them). Currently, I think I pay more for my dogs and cats food than I do for my family!!!!!

[daisyduke]

Thanks Nora! Will try to find chicken backs...

[Missrawdiva]

About mid day I juice carrots and apples. I then mix the pulp with gravy doggie vitamins and feed it to my shep and Dalmation and they love it. I think my Dalmations is starting to improve because he had gray spots in them when he was only eating Science Diet.

[rawnora]

Thanks Nora :D

I'm going to Wild Oats today and will pick up the liver, celery & wheatgrass and make some treats for my dogs! (huskey & black lab).

Also will call a place that tried to get the chicken bones, with little meat left on them, a few years back. He was trying to get them that were antibiotic and hormone free. His prices were very reasonable (if he could get them). Currently, I think I pay more for my dogs and cats food than I do for my family!!!!!

You know, I've only made the wheat grass/liver treats once and I think I can improve on it now that I've experimented. Next time I'm going to skip the celery and put in 2 or 3 containers of wheat grass. Celery has a lot of water, which makes the mixture thin and wheat grass has less water but more concentrated nutrients, AND ground up grass is closer to what might be found in the stomach of a rabbit (dog's perfect food, if I had the stomach and bank account). If just using wheat grass and liver makes it too thick, I'll add an egg yolk or two but it should be just right with chicken livers (beef livers are much thicker).

Btw, I wouldn't worry too much about getting antibiotic and hormone free unless you can get them very cheaply. These substances are mostly stored in the fat, which will be trimmed off anyway. It can really be cost prohibitive to feed organic meats.

Cheers,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com