Defrosting Raw

[Guest Red401]

A question here.

 

I started feeding my grey Red a raw diet this past month. It's going great. We've stuck mainly to chicken frames, necks and legs for now, going to add some beef this week and organ meat sometime in the next two weeks. He gets salmon oil and active yogurt as well. We'll add in a few more supplements, vitamin E etc... once he gets used to the diet.

 

I have question though about the defrosting process. I order our meat in bulk from a distributer once a month and package it into 2lb freezer bags (he eats about 2lbs a day split between morning and evening feedings). I've been pulling the bags out of the freezer and into the fridge as needed. The meat is usually still quite cold (obviously) and sometimes has some parts left frozen when I'm ready to feed him. What's the word on this nutritionally/health-wise? Should I be leaving the meat out to bring it up to room temperature? Is cold meat ok?

 

I'm hesitant to leave it out on the counter only because he goes WILD when he knows i'm preparing his meal. Not doing anything bad but just uber-interested and pacing, staring etc. General excitement for the meal. We think we are feeding him enough he was under weight when we got him two months ago but now he seems to be at an almost perfect weight. So I can only guess that he just loves his raw food.

 

 

Thanks so much for your help!

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I put mine in the fridge the same time I remove the current day's meal from the fridge... after 24 hours in the fridge it's thawed enough to eat. Small frozen areas don't bother me. My big black pup LOVES his raw!!! Saved him needing a dental too.

[Guest Swifthounds]

There's no nutritional reason you can feed food cold and/or partially frozen. Some dogs will hork back up food if it's too cold to their liking, so people tend to feed those dogs' meals at room temperature.

 

I defrost in the fridge or on the counter in a plastic bin, or sometimes in the sink. If you're worried he'll be excited and won't leave it alone, you can always place it on a tray and put it in your oven (turned off) or microwave (off, obviously).

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Room temp chicken is just soooooo beyond grotesque to me that I can't deal, so that's part of it too, for me... I hate raw meat (I hate all meat...)

[Guest Red401]

Thanks for the responses. Good to know. He doesn't seem to have any problem with the cold food. It's such a joy to watch him eat. I was worried the first meal and was standing by to preform doggie Hiemlich but he just picked up that chicken wing and crunched away. There's been no vomiting since the first am (which I attribute to some less then adequate chewing).

 

Defrosting in the oven is a great idea though (we don't have a microwave).

[Guest Liz_in_PA]

You'll find on a hot summer day that there's nothing more exciting than a frozen legsicle. Yummy and oh, so crunchy.

[Guest greyhound9797]

I started feeding my grey Red a raw diet this past month. It's going great. We've stuck mainly to chicken frames, necks and legs for now

I have to ask...where is the meat?!? You are feeding "frames" which usually means tons of bone and the rest a mixture of meat, grizzle, skin and fat. Necks are about 35% bone. Legs are 27% bone. That's a LOT of bone and very, very little meat. The general guideline is 80% meat, 10% edible bone and 10% organ. In the beginning some dogs do require a bit more bone but not this much.

 

 

going to add some beef this week and organ meat sometime in the next two weeks.

I would suggest adding the beef, or any meat very soon. Are Red's stools rock hard? Very crumbly and dry?

 

He gets salmon oil and active yogurt as well. We'll add in a few more supplements, vitamin E etc... once he gets used to the diet.

The salmon oil is great, the yogurt is not so great and not at all needed. If you are feeding a balanced diet you really don't need to supplement anything else, especially "etc". If he has been on raw for a month he should be "used to the diet"; the only thing he'll need to become accustomed to is different protein but that is normal (when added in slowly to the existing protein).

 

What's the word on this nutritionally/health-wise? Should I be leaving the meat out to bring it up to room temperature? Is cold meat ok?

It makes no difference except to your dog. Some dogs love cold or frozen food while others prefer it room temperature. Some even prefer the smellier the better. I've forgotten that I took out food to defrost and left it in the sink for 24 hours and still feed it. It won't harm your dog.

 

Not doing anything bad but just uber-interested and pacing, staring etc. General excitement for the meal. So I can only guess that he just loves his raw food.

Piper never got excited for kibble. Most of the time I had to coax her to eat. She was hooked after her first raw meal and did "the dinner dance" every time.

 

Please, please, please - unless I am reading your post wrong and you are feeding more meat than what comes on a frame and leg, please add some meat to Red's diet.

 

Sandra in FL

[Guest Swifthounds]

: nod What Sandra said about meat. In the beginning, more bone can help control the Big D, but over time, more than 10-20% can cause constipation and worse. I would start adding more meat in and work up to the 80%.

[Guest Red401]

Thank you for your concern. We feel very good about the diet we are feeding Red and it is based on professional advice and the advice of friends who have been feeding their dog raw for many years.

 

The route we are going calls for at least 60% of the diet as RMBs that are 50/50 meat and bone. Chicken backs, necks and wings fit that profile perfectly. The other parts of the diet are filled with organ meat (which we will start soon), mashed veggies and eggs and muscle meat (no bone). So far Red has been getting one muscle meat meal (ground chicken breast) and one veggie/egg meal per week.

 

We're looking forward to varying his meat sources once he is settled in to the diet. And of course if he is not thriving we will reevaluate his diet.

[Guest Ola]

Ahh, you're doing the BARF thing. Well as long as it's working for you I suppose. You'll find that most people go for the prey-model raw diet as it's much simpler and honestly more intuitive. And many of us start out with the BARF style and then "upgrade" as we keep reading and feel more comfortable with straying from set rules. As you go along you may also find that your diet plan feels too complicated and that's a good reason to give prey-model a try (as are too hard or dry/crumbly stools or vomiting bone bits regularly). The main difference is feeding more meat/less bone, whole/bigger foods, and no veggie/dairy/grain content.

 

We feed once a day (evening) and what I do is pull out their food in the morning and set it out on a tray to thaw (i.e. at room temp). This normally sits on top of the freezer or in the sink. Interestingly they don't get excited when I take their food out in the morning, only in the evening because they know that's when they'll get fed. If I forget and only have a couple of hours I take out the item and put it in a bowl or sink of cold water - it's still usually at least half frozen when I feed it but my dogs don't have issues with that.

[sweetdogs]

That's great that raw is going well for you & Red. I had some raw-feeding friends when I started feeding it & it was very helpful. The way I feed has evolved over the years & I'm sure you'll find it will for you too.

 

I defrost in the microwave - my dogs are very well behaved (actually not quite sure about the new girl ) but it's my cats that are the animals. I use reusable plastic containers & one little troublemaker uses his teeth to get the lid off & help himself.

[MTFSTHNDS]

I use the oven as my "dog safe". I usually put the next day's supper in the oven and the following day's in the fridge except in the summer - I don't really like the smell but the dogs don't mind. Mine have no problems eating the chicken quarters warm or frozen.

 

I get the dinner dance too!

[Guest mcsheltie]

I would encourage you to continue to do more research. I have done quite a bit of diet formulation. By this I mean I run the numbers on my diets and they are balanced per NRC requirements. I am not guessing or hoping I am feeding a balanced diet.

 

Just to give you an idea, my dogs get two RMB meals a week. And these are bones with A LOT of meat on them. My RMBs are WHOLE chickens or WHOLE turkeys. Not frames and necks. And with only two meals per week (I feed once a day) the mineral content of the diet is still higher than the daily recommended amount. The balance of my diet is predominately beef muscle meat (heart and tripe included)turkey muscle meat (white & dark) eggs and a variety of organs.

 

As to your original question, if your individual dog doesn't have a problem, it doesn't matter. I have left food out and still fed it the next day. Sometimes I thaw it in a sink of hot water, sometimes in the frig. Often I feed it frozen. It takes them longer to eat it and gives a better dental workout. I have a couple who turn their noses up at organs (especially kidney) but will eat them frozen.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I have some who like organ-pops too but won't eat them thaw.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

I don't feed raw, but I have loads of ground roast venison in the freezer that I add to Jayne's meals. Sometimes it's still a bit frozen when I put it in with her kibble, but it's never caused her a problem.

[Guest mcsheltie]

Another way to thaw is using the dishwasher. My cats eat 15 lbs each day and it comes in 5 lb containers. For some reason lately I can never remember to set them out the night before. I put the containers in the dishwasher on quick wash and the drying cycle and they are thawed in half an hour. If I forget the dogs' food too I put theirs in zip lock bags on the top rack.

[RobinM]

I totaaly defrost. If its still a bit frozen shortly before feeding time at the zoo, I will put the bag in room temp/lukewarm water and within 1/2 hour, we are good to go. I'll check it when I get home from work, put it in water, go upstairs change my clothes, play with pups and then feed them,

[sweetdogs]

My cats eat 15 lbs each day and it comes in 5 lb containers.

 

Dats a lot of kittehs!

[Guest Red401]

Thanks for all the replies. Red doesn't seem to mind the temp of the food at all so I guess I'll keep on with what we're doing. I have to say I am in awe, 15lbs a day for your kitties? They are lucky to have such a committed person looking out for them. You superstar you! And the dishwasher? Ingenious! Some day I too hope to own a dishwasher

 

And to those who mentioned the happy dinner dance: isn't it so satisfying that our pups are that excited for dinner? I love it!

 

The flip-side of the happy dinner dance in this house is the happy post meal nap. As I type this Mr. R is curled up under his blankets napping off the meal. He only ever seems to nest/cover himself with blankets after breakfast....