Jump to content

Menu

Raw Diet?


Recommended Posts

I bought a dvd from Leerburg a cpl of yrs ago. I was really disappointed. I got sick and tired of him promoing his website and different products rather than focusing on the training that I bought the dvd for that I never even bothered to finish the dvd.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah but there are some good book recommendations on there. Check Amazon too. The reviews are helpful. Honestly, it's fairly simple to feed. Atleast 2-4% of puppies weight should be split up and fed 2-3 times a day. Puppy looking a little thin, up their diet a bit, looking pudgy, scale back. Large breed puppies need to be filled out, but not fat. It's bad on their joints (adult dogs too). I love the larger breeds. We've had Danes and GSD's for the last 7 years. Would love a couple more larger dogs, but we have a couple smaller ones (DH and Ds's dogs) right now so we're at capacity for the time being.

 

Your local library may have some books too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ian Billinghurst wrote a couple of great books before he stopped to concentrate on hawking his stuff. (I wonder if he's still around - I have a cat that LOVED kangaroo!). Look for Kymythy Schultze's book. That was pretty good. And there's a new one that was so common sense and made me laugh all the way through it: http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Dog-Food-Make-Easy/dp/1929242093/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1342826826&sr=8-2&keywords=give+your+dog+a+bone

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Real Food for Cats and Dogs - by Dr. Clare Middle.

 

It's a simple small book, but expains everything so well, and it's all you need without fluff and without pushing any particular product.

 

She's an Australian vet, so I don't know if the book will be available in the US. Let me know if it's not, and if you'd like it - I'll post you a copy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah but there are some good book recommendations on there. Check Amazon too. The reviews are helpful. Honestly, it's fairly simple to feed. Atleast 2-4% of puppies weight should be split up and fed 2-3 times a day. Puppy looking a little thin, up their diet a bit, looking pudgy, scale back. Large breed puppies need to be filled out, but not fat. It's bad on their joints (adult dogs too). I love the larger breeds. We've had Danes and GSD's for the last 7 years. Would love a couple more larger dogs, but we have a couple smaller ones (DH and Ds's dogs) right now so we're at capacity for the time being.

 

Your local library may have some books too.

Honestly, it's the amts re: protien, calcium, etc that concerns me. I want to be sure to do the best I can for her, kwim? Flying blind worries me. I can't get specialty food around here...even in the major city, I could only find kibble that was 26% protien, that was the lowest...and it was $70 for a big bag! I can't see making the 45 min trip to the nearest big city for dog food. We have a butcher in town, that does all organic, hormone free...but they only process pigs on a regular basis, so I need to find another source for other meat.

Real Food for Cats and Dogs - by Dr. Clare Middle.

 

It's a simple small book, but expains everything so well, and it's all you need without fluff and without pushing any particular product.

 

She's an Australian vet, so I don't know if the book will be available in the US. Let me know if it's not, and if you'd like it - I'll post you a copy.

I'm in Canada ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, it's the amts re: protien, calcium, etc that concerns me. I want to be sure to do the best I can for her, kwim? Flying blind worries me. I can't get specialty food around here...even in the major city, I could only find kibble that was 26% protien, that was the lowest...and it was $70 for a big bag! I can't see making the 45 min trip to the nearest big city for dog food. We have a butcher in town, that does all organic, hormone free...but they only process pigs on a regular basis, so I need to find another source for other meat.

 

 

 

If you're using raw, meaty bones, the protein/calcium ratio works itself out. You just need to find what type of meaty bones you can get for a decent price. When we had a Great Pyr, I was able to buy turkey backs and necks for like 29 cents a pound and that was his main meat. It is kind of overwhelming at first, but if you find some websites on raw feeding with a community to ask questions, that will help. I've only got one cat now on raw, so haven't kept up to date on what raw feeding websites are out there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It does all even out. It's way better than feeding the kibble. Feed one source for 2 weeks or more (chicken is the easiest), then add in another source (most people go to beef), then another. Most animals do not have allergies to the meats. It's mostly the grains in the kibble. We add in eggs a couple times a week, 10% of their diet is in organ meats (liver, lungs, gizzards, etc). Heart is considered by most muscle meat, but too much is not good. Same with lungs. Green Tripe, if you can get it, is great for them, but it smells-just saying :tongue_smilie:(if not, there are companies that sell it canned). My dogs like pigs feet for chewing fun...they get larger bones for recreationa chewing from time to time.

 

I freeze all my meats (if they aren't already frozen, especially wild game). Then thaw and feed. The dogs share a freezer with us (we have two full sized ones, but I have their own mini fridge to thaw their meals.

 

A tip, local butchers can sometimes order things in bulk for you. Spanish/ethnic grocers/butchers carry a variety of different meat sources.

 

A full service local processor (small local slaughter house) may be willing to sell you organs and green tripe.

 

Chicken quarters have a good meat to bone ratio,but you may have to use a mallet to crush some of the bone at first. She might need help figuring it all out.

 

Gotta run, it's dinner time here...tonight's menu:

 

Ground beef, eggs with shell, and some mackeral mixed together, with a chicken back on top...x 6 dogs, lol . :D

Edited by CountryGirl2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I'm sure it will vary depending on what's available near you. Here's a page I just found that looks like it has some good guidelines (and talks about starting off with a whole chicken, which should be easier to find :))

 

http://rawfeddogs.org/rawguide.html

 

Thats the page I was attempting to look for earlier. :D I thought I had it bookmarked, but I remembered it was on the old computer. We stopped raw for a little while and was doing kibble (circumstances), but we're back and hubby sees now that it is better for them. He even let me buy a little fridge for their thawed meals. :D

 

Our little beagle Maggie isn't always begging at the door now for food. She was constantly hungry when on kibble. It was crazy and she was staying thin (we gave her a complete worming just in case). It wasn't helping. I was upping her feed and she was still thin-she is not active either. Our GSD would just not eat some days at all. He'd sniff and walk off. Leave it all night, but guard it from the others. Since switching back Maggie looks great and Hunter eats every time. He no longer looks as lean as he used to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It does all even out. It's way better than feeding the kibble. Feed one source for 2 weeks or more (chicken is the easiest), then add in another source (most people go to beef), then another. Most animals do not have allergies to the meats. It's mostly the grains in the kibble. We add in eggs a couple times a week, 10% of their diet is in organ meats (liver, lungs, gizzards, etc). Heart is considered by most muscle meat, but too much is not good. Same with lungs. Green Tripe, if you can get it, is great for them, but it smells-just saying :tongue_smilie:(if not, there are companies that sell it canned). My dogs like pigs feet for chewing fun...they get larger bones for recreationa chewing from time to time.

 

I freeze all my meats (if they aren't already frozen, especially wild game). Then thaw and feed. The dogs share a freezer with us (we have two full sized ones, but I have their own mini fridge to thaw their meals.

 

A tip, local butchers can sometimes order things in bulk for you. Spanish/ethnic grocers/butchers carry a variety of different meat sources.

 

A full service local processor (small local slaughter house) may be willing to sell you organs and green tripe.

 

Chicken quarters have a good meat to bone ratio,but you may have to use a mallet to crush some of the bone at first. She might need help figuring it all out.

 

Gotta run, it's dinner time here...tonight's menu:

 

Ground beef, eggs with shell, and some mackeral mixed together, with a chicken back on top...x 6 dogs, lol . :D

Here, it's pork that I can access easiest. Problem is, it tends to be leg bones...ok for recreation, but not consumption. I talked to them today about getting heart and kidney. They don't process much beef though.

 

I'm going to look around, find out more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...