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My dogs had been on a Raw diet for about 3 months, I was going to a butcher every Saturday and spening about $40 on Ribs, Neckbones and even the large roasts etc. These are cuts that humans eat they are mostly meat.
They would tear into them no problem. Then they both just stopped eating it. I would come home to find the meat completely untouched.
So now I am back to the beginning with them mixing 1 raw pattie from a pet store with 1 scoop of their organic dry.
Has this happened to anyone else?
If I'm not mistaken - you have to have the right ratio of meat types. Dogs eat more organ meat(heart, liver, tripe, ect.) than muscle meat - they also need a certain percentage of bone in their diet.
You may be giving them the incorrect amounts of the types.
Thanks for replying I was not giving them liver or hearts, where would I get hearts as I have never seen them at the butcher. Regarding bones, they were getting a lot of bones with the ribs, pork neckbones and shanks etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Broken Aquarian
I will try the liver and ask my butcher about hearts.
Thanks again
It's very important that you read up and study raw feeding for dogs. If it's not done correctly, it can and does cause malnutrition. Just giving the dog pieces of meat isn't sufficiant enough nutrition.
Only feeding certain body parts to your dog would be like us only eating carrots and zucchini - it's good for us, but doesn't have everything we need and will cause malnutrition. :)
When I feed raw, I feed whole rabbits, chicks, chickens ect.(skins and all-frozen/thawed - not alive)
That way, I know they're getting everything they need, instead of only part of the body.
When predators kill prey, they eat the guts first - so they are getting more organ meat than bone muscle.
I buy my whole prey from online stores that sell frozen food for reptiles and such.
you can also give turkey necks daily, plus some RAW veggies (broccoli, caluiflower, carrots) here and ther (as an extra,not the main course) and then add once a week some ORGANIC chicken or beef liver. then about once a week tripe is also good. for sure make sure the organ meat (esp liver) is organic.
i am going to a raw holistc vet now and he recommended this above. also he recommends fasting one day a week. my dog LOVES the turkey necks. also he suggests a calcium supplemt and i give fish oil and acidopholus b/c my dog had a stomach issue before. he also told me to switch it around and dont give JUST turkey or JUST chicken, but to rotate the meat source every now and then, like after a week on one, then switch.
if you want loads of good info on raw you can look at www.leerburg.com they even have menus of home- prepared raw for dogs AND cats!
i would have difficulty feeding dead chicks or whole rabbits, it would just ick me out, even though it would be natural for them to eat that...
jen
I have pre-made frozen raw dog food auto shipped from www.onlynaturalpet.com. I used to make it myself, but I became very busy. This is pricey, but it's very nice patties with a mix of many healthy ingredients. My dogs love it. It is delivered on dry ice. For anyone who's very busy, this is a nice option. I add a bit of dry food to it. Raw food has kept my dogs extremely healthy. I also give my dogs chicken necks and wings or even a whole fish as is.
Kitty has raw kibbles frozen then thawed...she loves them. She likes dry a bit too. Balance for her. She does well. Best
They would tear into them no problem. Then they both just stopped eating it. I would come home to find the meat completely untouched.
So now I am back to the beginning with them mixing 1 raw pattie from a pet store with 1 scoop of their organic dry.
My puppy eats raw meat now for almost 6 years. He eats mostly chicken. I find chicken to be the cheapest. I feed my puppy once a day, about 1/2 a chicken. He weighs a consistent 70 pounds and the vet said that is his perfect weight.
The thing I've learned is that it is ok if they do not eat for a short period of time. I remember my puppy didn't eat for 3 days and I was so worried. But, the vet said that it is normal and since his weight was good not to worry.
My recommendation is to keep feeding them the raw meat and organs. If your puppies do not eat 1 or 2 meals, I wouldn't worry. Give them the food and if they don't eat it within a short period of time, put it back in the fridge and try later.
I feed my Golden Retriever raw chicken, including bones and organs. He weighs 95 pounds and gets 14 oz. twice a day. He is in perfect health!
HI,
I would like to offer you some ideas to think about. One yahoo has a group called RAWMEATYBONES that has been very helpful in our path of going all raw with our dogs. Here is the website for them.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RawMeatyBones/
Two, Ron Londsdale has two books that I know of out that are very helpful and is supported by the raw meaty bone group listed above.
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/index.html
You want to have roughly 80% muscle meat, 10% each of bones and organ meat. You can tell if the amount is right for your dog by what the stools look like. Too runny add more bone, too hard add more organ meat.
This group really helped me with our dog Mocha who had insulinoma cancer. Although cancer took her life she ate like a queen for the last 6 months of her life and the changes were amazing. She was a short haired mix that we lovingly called a rotten boxer. Her hair became much softer, her teeth became sparkling white, and her breath got sweeter.
I hope this helps you. It took a bit to get us used to the idea of crunching bones but now it is music to our ears.
I will try to check back in here next week to see if you have any questions aimed my way or if I can be of any other help. Good luck and as always with any information please do further research.
How often are you feeding them? My dogs eat once a day, with small snacks two times. anymore than that and they are very fussy and finickey eaters with very little appetite.