Raw Food Diets...
 With the impending addition to our little family, I started researching our other options and came across the raw food diet. Now, I'm aware that there are brands out there that do sell frozen and/or dehydrated raw food, but they're all so incredibly expensive and I wanted to look into doing it ourselves. I refuse to go into this blind, however, and was wondering if anyone here had any experience in feeding their dogs raw using their own recipes. Any hints/advice/recipes?? Also, I just bought the book 'Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy For You And Your Dog' and have been reading through it, but it doesn't really have any specifics. |
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| These are two good yahoo groups to join to find meat suppliers in your area: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Carn ... -Supplier/ http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/ Many raw feeders order from this site. I've been told they have good quality items. http://www.mypetcarnivore.com/ |
| some examples from friends; Mon - pork neck or rib tips and 2"x2" piece of liver Tues - green tripe (either ground or strips) Wed - turkey wing (I don't like drumsticks because they splinter) and 2"x2" piece of liver Thurs - ground offal/organ mix Fri - lamb neck Sat - canned mackeral and 2"x2" piece of liver Sun - beef heart or tripe Mon - beef ribs (am) and turkey hearts/gizzard (pm) Tues - veggies mixed with canned salmon (am) and lamb ribs (pm) Wed - turkey wings (am) and lamb stew chunks (pm) Thurs - fish portion; trout or salmon (am) and half a chicken (pm) Fri - turkey necks (am) and tripe (pm) Sat - liver/veggie chopped mix (am) and lamb ribs (pm) Sun - canned mackeral (am) and turkey wings (pm) Our local butcher is a godsend.He sends us all the cast offs(including stomachs,kidney,tripe and offal) of the animals he butchers,along with the bones and fat we get monthly. Our dogs get a good variety.They get enriched rice cooked with barley, split peas and lentals, kelp and seaweed,winter squashes,pumpkin,fresh baked breads(like bannana nut,bran muffins,pumpkin and zuchini bread, etc)greens,veggies fruits, fish, yougurt,cottage cheese,goat milk,nuts,and even herbal teas(like ginger,mint,blackberry and chammomile |
| Thanks so much to both of you. As far as amounts, is it more of a trial and error depending on the breed, age, and energy level? |
| yes, as my chinese friend would say, zachary=exactly  |
| Here's another viewpoint, though: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Don't beat yourself up about your choice if your dog is doing well on it. Are there more complete choices out there? Sure. But how many people do you know that have fed their dogs Kibbles and Bits (or something similar) and they lived long happy lives? Probably more than one. Diet is important but it isn't the end of the world, either. I know many people that really like doing the raw food thing but it's also something that you really have to know what you're doing with. If you don't do it right, it can really mess up the dog. If you can find a good kibble that your dog does well on, I'd definitely start with that first. It's easier and a good kibble will have everything that most dogs need without having to do any measuring or ciphering to get all the right nutrients! |
| Thanks for the advice, ButtersStotch. The reason that we're looking into it is because our Cairn, Monty, has had horrible skin and coat problems, as well as allergies. My grandmother has always fed her dogs on a raw food diet, and she suggested that we try it. We slowly started incorporating raw food into Monty's kibble, and his problems started disappearing. After talking to others who use the raw food diet, they said that I should do plenty of research before switching entirely. Honestly, at this point, we're just trying to find something that isn't going to make Monty unhappy and itchy, and we figured that doing it ourselves might actually be cheaper. |
Pidge wrote: Also, I just bought the book 'Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy For You And Your Dog' and have been reading through it, but it doesn't really have any specifics. Feeding raw is neither rocket science nor is it elementary school math. As you progress through things, it gets easier etc. The basic formula is 2% of desired body weight, about 2#s for a 100#dog per day. Of that 2#- 80% is meat, 10% edible bone, and 10% organ(half of which is liver, the other half is kidney, spleen, pancreas, brain, testes etc. Every dog is differant tho. My Boxers are 65#rs and each get close to or at 2#s per day otherwise they look anorexic. Wolfie the oldester and 75#s gets about 1.25 pounds per day. The yahoo sites are a great way to learn the ins and outs. There is really no good precise answer for should a person/dog go raw or not. From this end, we are convinced that raw is the best way to go. Funny thing about us feeding raw, is that where I work I am considered the dog food expert as we sell some of the "upper" end foods. Even had two reps from these food lines who have said, if they weren't employed by a dog food company their dogs would be raw fed still. It may be cheaper, but it depends on how well you can source the products. I can get plenty of chicken leg quarters, beef/pork hearts, turkey trim for a $1/pound or much less depending on product. But I also fed alot of lamb hearts and rabbit which cost considerably more. Biggest issue for product we had was finding a variety of organ. It does take some time to get comfortable with it---you---not so much the dogs. |
Thanks so much, jimandthom. I guess I was just making it a little harder than it actually is. I really appreciate you clarifying!!  |
| I agree with JimandThom. It does get easier and the Yahoo groups are really helpful. I switched Maggie to raw nearly 2 years ago when I got Henry who was raised on raw by his breeder. It has been incredibly great for her. She used to have to eat tons of kibble to keep weight on her because she is very active but she really didn't digest it well and her output was always unpleasantly soft. On raw, she digests great, her coat is shiny, and overall health & activity level are fabulous. Mine both need about 2 lbs/day to keep their 70 pound weight. I alternate between commercial grinds, green tripe (from greentripe.com via a local yahoo group that does a bulk order) and whatever yummy things I can find at the grocery store on sale. They love it and I do too. Good luck! |
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