Wanna feed my dog raw food; where to start?

[casablanca]

I have a 2.5 year old Dobberman/ mixed breed. From the day I got him, under the vet's advice, I've only fed him dry dog food. He is extremely tall and thin(almost looks like a great dane) His stomach is very fragile. Anytime I would give him any kind of bones, he ends up chewing, completely eating it, then throws up a few ours later.

It obviously makes him sick. Once his vet told me that he had cholesterol, which would justify throwing up after eating bones. His vet tells me to keep him strictly on dry dog food. I just can not do that anymore; I feel so bad for the poor thing..

I started cooking pasta, veggies and chicken breast and my doggy is just thrilled everytime he eats now. As he is exteremely thin and tall, I feel he may need to consume some kind of bones for his joints, and to avoid arthiritis as he gets old. Lately, he has been asking a LOT for store bought bones.
I wish I could give real bones, but don't wanna hurt him.

Can I freeze, then thaw a chicken and give it to him? I've always hear that chicken bones can be deadly to animals, especially considering my dog has never really eaten "real" food on a daily basis.

Please help my doggy!
lol

[snoops]

I would be interested to hear what people say as well as I have been considering feeding my Snoops raw. He is a beagle and wolfs food though. I have never been able to give him bones of any kind as I am scared he will inhale one and need surgery. I can't even give him rawhides or anything like that cause he will swallow too big a piece and choke on it. Who da thought I would have a dog with an eating disorder. LOLOLOLOL

[katchmoleen]

I did some searching and found some good articles on the net. If you read my blog and find the post on Dog Gone Raw, I think I might have some references on there, not sure. Anway, at first I had to give her ground up raw meat and bones, because she was picky. But now after a few months, she loves to crunch up her bones. You want to give raw meaty bones, with about an equal amount of meat and bones. Good sources are chicken wings and necks, turkey necks, and beef rib bones. You also want to give some organ meat a few times a week. There is a formula to determine how much they should have. My dog should weigh 60 pounds and that comes to about 1 pound a day of meaty bones. I also give her a little green smoothie and she laps it up. She eats a lot of grass. Chicken bones are only dangerous when cooked. Raw, they crunch right up.

It has done wonders for my dog. She has lost about 20 pounds, has more energy, and seems less gimpy.

[oceanluv]

if you google raw dog food, or BARF diet, you will find more info than you can read in one day. :)

[Bananapie]

I have a great book at home I use it has lots of recipes and it was written by a vet, I use it a lot with my pets at home. it has been out for a while so your library may have it or you will easily be able to find used copies on line.

Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats (Paperback)

The dogs I have had have benefited greatly from raw food homemade diets.

The rest of the world makes their pet food at home.

[crkdjwlr]

We changed our dog over to the raw diet using the barf diet online as a guide and it has changed her for the better. There is a kennel club in our town and they all feed a raw diet with excellent results.

Take care and good luck , Paul LeMay.

[rawlee]

I have been feeding my 120 lb shepherd/hound raw chicken for 2 years now. He always inhaled his dry mix and I was nervous at the beginning. With his first raw chicken half, it was so interesting watching him. He ate very slowly, sniffing and licking it and slowly tearing the meat off and carefully crunching the bones. It took him a half hour to eat. He is more efficient now. I know this is how dogs are supposed to be fed. He no longer has bad gas, has smaller stool amounts, tartar is clearing off teeth. Raw bones are flexible and not a danger. It's the dry cooked bones that splinter and can cause injury .

[concrete_woman]

Don't forget fruits and veggies! Our dogs are omnivores and love some fruit and veggie as well (not cats though, pure carnivores). I follow the BARF diet by Ian Billinghurst (he has a couple of books out, just google Billinghurst and BARF diet). He states aprox 40% fruit and veg to 60% meat/bones/organs etc. My Ridgeback is all raw and I think he looks pretty good don't you?

[TaupeRawMan]

We feed only raw to our two small dogs. Ground organic turkey mixed with some greens/fruits ground up in the processor. They love it.

Feel free to contact me by e-mail to discuss further.

[smiley]

My puppy has been raw now for 6 years.

I feed my puppy once a day. He is 70 pounds and his weight has been consistent throughout the 6 years. The Vet says that his weight is perfect.

I give him raw chicken (all parts including hearts and giblets) once a day.

A couple times a month I will get him lamb stew bones.

I tried pork and beef and rabbit but he won't eat it at all.

He will also eat avocado (he loves it). Whenever I make a pie, he always eats a couple slices. I've been 100% raw for 6 years now and I always offer him what I'm eating too. Sometimes he will eat it and sometimes he won't.

I attached a pic of him with me. His name is Scooby Doo. :D

[solarliving]

I am wondering for those of you who feed your dogs raw meat, where do you get it?

[michigan roman]

ive read about panthers or whatever type of wild cats are in south america that eat avacados

and my friends sheppard likes my dehydrated banana chips

and my friends sheppard is a police dog , hes a canine cop totally into
his dogs . and for dogs health he wont ever over feed them and let them get fat . he only feeds his two sheppards once per day around 9 pm

[concrete_woman]

I am wondering for those of you who feed your dogs raw meat, where do you get it?

There are quite a few natural pet food stores in my area that specialize in raw diets. I mostly buy from them as there is a large variety of meat; all hormone and medication free and usually free range as well. If I were on a tighter budget, I would source out a turkey of chicken producer where I could buy turkey necks, or chicken backs/necks/wings. Also, for my dog, you could go to the fish market and get some fish heads etc. Bones and organ meats from the butcher. I also add raw fruits and veggies that I've run through my champion juicer, to the dog's food.

[solarliving]

There are quite a few natural pet food stores in my area that specialize in raw diets. I mostly buy from them as there is a large variety of meat; all hormone and medication free and usually free range as well. If I were on a tighter budget, I would source out a turkey of chicken producer where I could buy turkey necks, or chicken backs/necks/wings. Also, for my dog, you could go to the fish market and get some fish heads etc. Bones and organ meats from the butcher. I also add raw fruits and veggies that I've run through my champion juicer, to the dog's food.

Thank-you for your reply. I recently came across a meat market who claims their cows are grass fed without hormones and anti-biotics so I'm going to try them out. Do you have any suggestion as to what I should ask for? I have a little dog and he is only 4 months old. Thnks.

[concrete_woman]

Thank-you for your reply. I recently came across a meat market who claims their cows are grass fed without hormones and anti-biotics so I'm going to try them out. Do you have any suggestion as to what I should ask for? I have a little dog and he is only 4 months old. Thnks.

With a puppy, I would start with chicken wings, probably just the tips if he is small. You might even want to hold onto them at first while he eats to make sure he doesn't wolf them down without chewing. From the meat market I would probably just get some knuckle bones for now, something too large to eat, what would be called an "entertainment" bone. There are recipes that you could use to make your own "patties" from ground meats/organs/veggies but you do need a recipe or you risk getting the proportions off.

you could start here: http://www.barfworld.com/

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/sampleraw.htm

Hope this helps.

[christinajade]

I notice that this post was from a while ago but...I figured I'd give my 2 cents. I have 2 Cane Corsos, both over 100 lbs. Bruno is 110 and Mia is 105. Both of my dogs have been on raw food all their life. I used to buy the frozen stuff that is delivered to your door but it got very expensive for 2 very large breed dogs. I have done a lot of research over the years and I now make my own raw dog food. It varies on what I feed them. It consists of 70% raw meat with bones, 20% raw fruits and veggie mix and 10% organ meat. I also give them fish oil and alfalfa powder as well as raw apple cidar vinegar in their food. When dogs are little, especially for large breed dogs, it is very important to include a vitamin c powder to help with the prevention of hip dysplasia, amoung other joint problems. Mia is almost 4 years old and she has no sign of grey hair at all. Bruno is only 2 but both of them are completely healthy and they have great coats. If anyone needs information, feel free to ask. I also sell my raw food dog mixtures and do deliveries in my area. Shipping is an option too. :)

[ChangingChild]

I've read that fragile chicken bones can easily splinter and harm dogs, but large, tough bones are fine. I know two rescued greyhounds, and every day they get a large piece of cow rib with some meat still on it. They go beserk over it. :)