Raw food for my dog

[didan]

I usually give my dog my juicing remnants. ...I mix it in with her food (nutro). She loves it, gobbles it up immediately! :)

I would really like to introduce her to raw foods that are recommended for dogs. Does anyone have a recommendation for

1. regular meals

2. supplements ...Are there whole food vitamins for dogs? I take new chapter and megafooods vitas...I wonder if there's a pet version!

[RawDad]

I've been giving my parents dog raw free range lamb chops fresh as I can get 'em. She loves it, but the detox cant be picked up and calls for the hose.

[BlackKat]

check out Vital Essentials and Stella and Chewy's.

[Shaeliya]

I would encourage you to research a raw carnivore's diet. Dogs are carnivores. Although they can eat pretty nearly anything, they do best on a carnivore diet of meat, organs, and bones. I feed my dogs the "prey diet" which is 80% raw meat, 10% bone, and 10% organs. My son owns the litter mate of one of my dogs and my son absolutely refused to consider anything but store bought kibble (good quality) when I switched to the raw meat diet. His dog looks and acts like an old dog at age 9. Mine looks and acts like a dog around 3 or 4.

It's called being "species appropriate." My goats eat hay. My dogs eat meat. I eat fruits and veggies. Neither my dogs nor I would survive on hay, and the goats would die on meat.

[fastfreedom]

Here's a good site. There are many more. http://preymodelraw.com/

[rawgirl00]

Pat came up with this recipe/supplements from working with dogs & cats for 30 plus years

Raw Food Basic Recipe

From Pat McKay


Our own domestic cats and dogs must eat live food just as carnivores do in the wild to be at their optimum health.



The Raw Food Basic Recipe for preparing meals for your cats and dogs is75% raw ground and/or chunk meat (20% of that should be organ meats: heart, liver, kidney, spleen, gizzards, and 20% should be fat and/or skin) and 25% finely ground raw or steamed/mashed vegetables.



These percentages are a guideline. It is not essential that each meal be to exact proportions.



To prepare one cup (8 ounces) of food: Mix 3/4 cup (6 ounces) of raw meat and 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of vegetables.



To prepare a larger amount: Mix 6 cups (3 pounds) of raw meat to 2 cups (1 pound) of vegetables.



If your cats prefer, you may prepare a 90/10 ratio for them. 90% raw ground and/or chunk meat and 10% finely ground raw or steamed/mashed vegetables.



To prepare one cup (8 ounces) of 90/10: Mix 7.5 ounces of raw meat to 1.5 ounces of vegetables.



You may prepare sufficient amounts for your family of animals on a daily basis or you may prepare large amounts and freeze it in packages containing enough for their daily food. ( I have found that preparing the meals right at meal time works best for me, but you will find what works best for you. When you first start feeding raw it may seem like a daunting task, but trust me after a few feedings you won't think twice about it. And you will not believe the positive changes in your pet. My doga Bella's coat is one of the softest things I've ever felt- not to mention how healthy she is! )



You may have an animal that eats 1 tablespoon a day or you may have an animal that consumes 6 cups a day. No matter what the size of your animal the 75/25 or the 90/10 proportions remain the same.



Proteins, the best to feed are: Raw egg yolks, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, buffalo, venison, elk, emu, ostrich, all fit for human consumption.



Vegetables, the best to feed are: broccoli, zucchini and any other winter or summer squashes, kale, chard, Romaine lettuce, Chinese cabbage, celery, asparagus, and pumpkin. (Even canned pumpkin is fine as long as the label says 100% pure pumpkin.) (If you have a healthy animal, you may include root vegetables including carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, etc.)



Your animals meals need to be supplemented with BIO-8-POWDER and CLO-3-PEARLS for a complete and balanced supplement program.

Other supplements may be needed for animals who are ill; however, they should be selected with great care, because often you could be feeding and/or giving energy to the very bacterium, virus, or fungus that your animal's body is fighting.



The only foods that should pass your cat or dog's lips are raw meat, raw egg yolks, raw poultry, finely ground raw or steamed/mashed vegetables and . All food should be for human consumption.



BONE is a four-letter word: The reason you cannot feed the bones of farm animals is because they are not fresh kill. Prey that they catch in the wild is raw, fresh and alive. The bones are still soft, supple, hydrated and full of nutrients. Bones from farm animals have been dead for days, weeks, or months. Rigor mortis sets in right after death and the bones become hard, brittle, dehydrated; the nutrients are dead and gone. What is left is a gritty substance that causes severe pancreatitis, leaky-gut, irritable bowel, impacted bowel, chalky and bloody stools, diarrhea, constipation, all of which are devastating to the gastrointestinal system. ( I found this out the hard way. When I first started feeding Lewie raw I also fed him raw bones, he developed bloody mucousy stools- scary and not fun! It wasn't until I read the information about bones did I realize what was going on. I stopped the bones and have not had any more issues)



Yes, you can occasionally give SOME dogs or cats bones for pleasure; however, people often take things to the extreme, give them as a meal and give them too often. After what I have seen in the past several years, I am now opposed to feeding bone…ground or whole…except an occasional bone for dessert to chew on for pleasure. And even that needs to be evaluated depending on the individual dog/cat, how voraciously s/he goes after the bone, whether that particular dog/cat can digest it, and what it looks like when it comes out the other end. If there are any digestive problems, do not give bones. If there are any chalky or bloody stools, diarrhea or constipation, do not give bones.



The only treats that should be given to your cats and dogs are pieces of raw meat; the size of the chunks of meat depend on the size of the animal. For training purposes, you may give tiny pieces of roasted meat, because it certainly isn't convenient to carry raw meat in your pocket.


The following is a list of No-No's for dogs and cats:

NO grains, cereals, bread, rice, pasta, dairy, fruit, yeast, pork, rabbit, soy, ground bone, bone meal, egg shells, alfalfa, kelp (or any other herbs), canned/dry foods, dehydrated foods, commercial cat/dog treats, milk bones, rawhide, pigs' ears, nylabones, etc.



NO vegetables with hulls (peas, corn, beans, etc).

NO nightshade vegetables: white potatoes, raw tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, or iceberg lettuce or raw spinach. (Steamed spinach is fine.)


When dogs or cats have an illness of any kind:

NO root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, beets, etc). Later on when symptoms are gone, some cats or dogs may have some root vegetables depending on their body's response to them.

[rawgirl00]

Pat McKay (the one that wrote that bout bones)found in her 30 plus years of working with clients that bones were causing issues. I saw the issues first hand with my own dog; that's all the proof I needed. Oh and I was on a couple yahoo groups regarding raw feeding /nutrtion and no one could tell me why my dog when on raw with bones had mucousy/bloody stools. Pat McKay was the only one with an answer. No more bones- no more bloody/mucousy stools and yes I do supplement in place of bones.

[Melesine]

We have been feeding raw prey model to our dogs for about 5 years now. Basically it's raw meaty bones with some organ meats added to the meals 2x a week. We don't do supplements. My dogs are in great health and we raised our puppy on raw since we brought her home a year ago. Just started her out by grinding the meaty bones before feeding, so it is similar to how the adults get them started at weaning with regurgitated meat. We gradually moved her over to chunks and then whole pieces. Our other dogs were adults when we switched them to raw.


I completely disagree that dogs should be fed fruits and veggies on a regular basis and certainly not as 20% of their diet.

[BlackKat]

The Raw Food Basic Recipe for preparing meals for your cats and dogs is75% raw ground and/or chunk meat (20% of that should be organ meats: heart, liver, kidney, spleen, gizzards, and 20% should be fat and/or skin) and 25% finely ground raw or steamed/mashed vegetables.

Keep in mind that felines are even more "carnivorous" than canines. 25% veggies seems abnormally high. Even for canines. If they were eating in the wild they would be consuming the carcass of the animal they hunted down, whatever was in their stomach (grass, berries, greens, seeds) but that's very SMALL amounts. Also occasion vegetation eating in order to aid in digestion. Cats would be eating around the same thing, even less. This is why these animals digestive tracts are so short compared to ours in order to discard the rotting flesh before it goes rancid in their bodies.

[BlackKat]

If you look at it this way, humans can be carnivorous.... should we be? Almost everyone on this forum would say NO. There are many health risks and research that have backed up this opinion. Also can I say common sense?

So keeping that in mind, dogs can be fed vegetarian food and some people do this.. But should they be? Would a dog choose to just eat grass in the wild? No. They hunt in packs, and eat raw fresh flesh, blood, bones of animals in the wild.

Do people do that? no. Are we more intelligent and have the ability to create fire? Yes. Should be being cooking already decaying animal flesh? Some people argue all day and all night about this.

When there is any question about it, go back to the simplest form. What would humans eat without technology, hunting weapons, and ability to rip open animal flesh with teeth and eat bone, guts, gristle? What would cats and dogs eat in the their NATURAL state. Not what their "domesticated" owners buy them in cans and bags. Because they (like us) can adapt to a diet of OUR choice, does that mean it's right for them? Probably not.

[k8sl8]

I would encourage you to research a raw carnivore's diet. Dogs are carnivores. Although they can eat pretty nearly anything, they do best on a carnivore diet of meat, organs, and bones. I feed my dogs the "prey diet" which is 80% raw meat, 10% bone, and 10% organs. My son owns the litter mate of one of my dogs and my son absolutely refused to consider anything but store bought kibble (good quality) when I switched to the raw meat diet. His dog looks and acts like an old dog at age 9. Mine looks and acts like a dog around 3 or 4.

It's called being "species appropriate." My goats eat hay. My dogs eat meat. I eat fruits and veggies. Neither my dogs nor I would survive on hay, and the goats would die on meat.

Thank goodness !!!!! This is the best response I've ever read to the 'question'. My spouse is a Veterinarian and I've tried for state it, but never as well as you have!! Thanks.

[makovach]

I too feed my dogs a raw diet. I fallow the Prey model raw diet for my dogs. I feel it is best for everything to eat as nature intended.

www.preymodelraw.com helped me a lot to learn what to feed, when to feed, how to feed and why to feed with PMR.

[Hurraw]

I feed my dog raw food exclusively. I buy it at Whole Foods. It's in the frozen pet food section. It's called New Zealand Lamb and or Beef. It's about $5.00 per pound. Not only is it raw meat but it contains ground up vegetables and ground up bone, all of which are essential to a dog's diet. My vet told me years ago: "All dog food is CRAP, even the best Science Diet and or canned food." The best food for a dog is raw meat, vegetables, and bone. Thankfully, we can all now buy it. Thank God I have a Chihuahua. (I do have a big dog too. Big dog get's crap. Sorry big dog). :)