Well...we Did It...

[BatterseaBrindl]

The dogs have been on their new raw diet since Tuesday, and of course they love it.

 

I am quite impressed with their poo....not only the quality, but the 'lack' of it!

 

The food I have purchased is frozen from a local supplier and we'll need to play around with the amounts they are getting over the next month.

 

Nixon & Ruby are at their ideal weights, but I'd like to Nigel put on 3 or 4 pounds.

I've based the amount of food they're currently getting on 2% of their weight...3% for Nigel.

 

I'm planning on getting some chicken backs/necks so they'll have something to chew on.

 

Anything else???

[brandimom]

Would you like to share what is the breakfast and evening meals? Good for you. Maybe also try turkey necks.

[Guest FijiHound]

Chicken Feet

 

We mostly stick to chicken as little Scruffy is allergic to a lot of things so unfortunately it means chicken for everyone most nights. Although we do walk on the wild side and have beef a couple of times a week

They love to gnaw on a good beef bone

[kudzu]

Man that's huge! ^^ Left over from your filet of T-rex, perhaps? I tend to forget just how massive a cow's weight bearing bones really are.

[Guest Cris_M]

Congrats on changing to raw. It really does have some amazing results. You've already mentioned tiny poo, but just wait until flea season. My first raw fed grey had one flea treatment a year. That's right -- one -- and it was always after we had doggie visitors in our home for an extended period. My current grey seems to be doing the same way. BTW, I live in Georgia which is flea central and my kibble fed, first grey was covered.

 

You said you were buying food that has already been prepared? If so, I'm guessing it's ground up. It might be worth it to change to "grocery store" raw. If you feed raw meat, you know exactly how much bone, muscle and organ you are feeding. You also know the quality of the meat you are feeding. Ground up raw food tends to be quite high in bone and fat because those are cheap, and it's still a lot more expensive than just buying meat.

 

Please do what you want to do. I am not trying to get you off prepared raw if it is working for you and your dogs. I can tell you how to do it another way, and you can try it if you like.

 

I start with chicken quarters (the leg and thigh with part of the back attached). A 10 pound bag runs about $8. A chicken quarter has an almost perfect bone/meat ratio for a greyhound. I find greys do better on a bit more bone than other dogs. It also has small organ-y things in the back so you get a bit of organ meat. Your dogs can eat this for quite a while and still be nutritionally fine. That will give you a chance to figure out how much food your dogs need to be at the right weight, and it allows you to add one new meat at a time. Adding one meat at a time is important. If your dogs don't tolerate a meal, you will be able to tell which meat is giving them a problem.

 

One of the other values of feeding regular meat is that your dogs get more entertainment from their meals. Chewing a piece of meat takes longer than gulping ground meat. When my dog gets antsy, he'll get a hard meal like a piece of pork picnic with the bone or several ribs that are still connected. Other than liver, most meals here are something to chew on.

 

Whether you stay with the prepared food or not, you might want to get some chicken livers in 2-3 weeks. Don't do it earlier because organs cause loose stools. Then, begin with a small amount of liver at a time. 5% of your dogs meals should be liver. Another 5% should be other organs. Mine gets 10% liver regularly just because other organs are hard to find. That isn't ideal but it does work.

 

Other moderately priced meats that you can add as time goes on are pork picnics, pork ribs, beef heart (order from the grocery store), turkey necks (also ordered), pig feet (neither of my greys liked these). Additionally, check sales for meats that are commonly higher priced. I don't feed chicken backs because I feed the quarters. I don't feed chicken necks because they are too small to be entertaining. I do feed chicken feet because they are all cartilage so they are good for joint health -- and they are funny. I love seeing the toes jump up and down in my dog's mouth. Weird, I know. Chicken feet are kind of expensive so I serve them as treats.

 

If you are going to stay with the prepared raw, I'd suggest adding turkey necks for chewing fun. IMO, they are much better than chicken backs/necks.

 

Congrats for trying raw food. It sounds like your dogs love it, and you are already pleased with the results. You'll love it more and more as time goes on.

 

Cris and Mack (who is dreaming of breakfast)

[BatterseaBrindl]

I am going to stick with the ground frozen stuff.

We fed it to a couple of 'special needs' dogs several years ago with wonderful results, but somehow drifted back onto kibble once they were gone.

 

It is made locally ... I drive past there at least twice a day.

 

It is also very convenient....

The individual portions are to my 'specs', so I don't have to do anything but remember to take it out of the freezer so it will thaw.

None of my cerw have sensitive tummys, so this combo of chicken, beef (meat, bone & organs), fish and eggs is fine for them.

 

I just don't have enough room or time to prepare food for three hounds twice a day.

I live and work in a small village and do not have the time or energy to go to the city shopping here and there for my dogs meals.

 

They already have lots of marrow bones/knuckles they chew on, but as I mentioned, I will be getting some chicken necks, backs, etc for them as well.

[Trihounds]

Nancy - glad the transition went well.

Do you mind if I ask what the cost per pound is? I had emailed the company but they didn't respond :-(

We do the grocery store and butcher method. Lots of work for 4 dogs and we'll continue it but having a handy reserve of frozen per packaged would be awesome!

[Guest Cris_M]

I am going to stick with the ground frozen stuff.

We fed it to a couple of 'special needs' dogs several years ago with wonderful results, but somehow drifted back onto kibble once they were gone.

 

It is made locally ... I drive past there at least twice a day.

 

It is also very convenient....

The individual portions are to my 'specs', so I don't have to do anything but remember to take it out of the freezer so it will thaw.

None of my cerw have sensitive tummys, so this combo of chicken, beef (meat, bone & organs), fish and eggs is fine for them.

 

I just don't have enough room or time to prepare food for three hounds twice a day.

I live and work in a small village and do not have the time or energy to go to the city shopping here and there for my dogs meals.

 

They already have lots of marrow bones/knuckles they chew on, but as I mentioned, I will be getting some chicken necks, backs, etc for them as well.

 

 

Cool. It just ends up being a matter of what works for you. I'm glad you found that.

 

Don't know if you have any gulpers. If you do, you might want to stay away from the chicken necks. They are the perfect size to get lodged in the throat. One of my greys was the daintiest eater you ever saw. He'd chew on a chicken neck for about a minute. I wouldn't have trusted any of my other dogs with a chicken neck. Again, do what works for you and your pups.

[seeh2o]

Duck necks and Cornish hens!

[Remolacha]

duck necks are our mainstay! You are lucky (OP) to have a local source for premixed ground!

[NeylasMom]

Nancy - glad the transition went well.

Do you mind if I ask what the cost per pound is? I had emailed the company but they didn't respond :-(

We do the grocery store and butcher method. Lots of work for 4 dogs and we'll continue it but having a handy reserve of frozen per packaged would be awesome!

Oh yeah?

 

To the OP, congrats on making the switch. The smaller, more pick-upable output is just one of the many benefits.

Edited April 8, 2012 by NeylasMom

[Guest DragonflyDM]

Congrats. I can’t stop advocating enough for a raw diet. Like you said

 

1. Poo. There isn’t a lot. It is solid. It is healthy. It is usually only once a day.

2. Appetite. My grey isn’t so ravenous about eating.

3. Coats and teeth. The breath is good. The coats are shiney. NO slurping and licking all night long keeping me up.

4. PRICE. I have started talking with the local butchers to get throw out bones, soup bones, etc. I also get gizzards, chicken necks, turkey necks, etc. very cheap and they are great snacks. I also get 10 quarter chickens for an average $4. So at the end of the month, I normally spend about $35-45/month. I spent that much or more for high end kibble and a LOT more than that for high end canned food.

 

And Boomer also keeps his weight regulated. He is not getting overweight because he is processing everything.

 

I also would recommend avoiding the ground meat. The store meat is low grade and (of course) there is the pink slime issue. In addition-- they are not really getting that time to chew their food, which I think is important. There is also an issue of ground meat being oxidized from the churn and more susceptible for disease and rot. Finally, ground meat is rarely ground at the store, but in a factory with additives.

 

I would also suggest-- find a mom and pop butchers. There aren’t many but you really can barter and make it worth everyone’s time.

[Trihounds]

Nancy - glad the transition went well.

Do you mind if I ask what the cost per pound is? I had emailed the company but they didn't respond :-(

We do the grocery store and butcher method. Lots of work for 4 dogs and we'll continue it but having a handy reserve of frozen per packaged would be awesome!

Oh yeah?

 

To the OP, congrats on making the switch. The smaller, more pick-upable output is just one of the many benefits.

 

haha - well, we have to feed the guy!!

[BatterseaBrindl]

 

Cool. It just ends up being a matter of what works for you. I'm glad you found that.

 

Don't know if you have any gulpers. If you do, you might want to stay away from the chicken necks. They are the perfect size to get lodged in the throat. One of my greys was the daintiest eater you ever saw. He'd chew on a chicken neck for about a minute. I wouldn't have trusted any of my other dogs with a chicken neck. Again, do what works for you and your pups.

 

Thanks for this tip.

Nigel is a gulper and I can see there could be a problem with the size and shape of chicken necks.

[Josie]

maybe you can get capon necks Otis loves them.

they are biger then chicken necks.

[claudiav]

On Long Island, we have a local butcher (Armellino's) who sells only animal-grade raw, not human-grade. He grounds the entire carcass, bones, organs, and all, into different weight rolls. I feed this raw ground mixture, along with hearts, gizzards, & liver from meat/supermarket (chicken, turkey, pork, or beef). And for chewing/teeth cleaning, they get pork & turkey necks. They are not just happy, they are THRIVING. It is so good for them!! Their don't have bad breath, their teeth are white (at 8 and 9 yrs of age), their poop is small, hard as rocks, and doesn't smell, they don't stink up the house with gas, and they look fantastic. I wish I had know about the raw food diet when my GSD was alive.... he would have benefitted from it greatly, instead of eating W/D and sufferring from skin allergies hiw whole life.

 

Congradualtions on the change and you will see how wonderful they feel on it...

[Trihounds]

On Long Island, we have a local butcher (Armellino's) who sells only animal-grade raw, not human-grade. He grounds the entire carcass, bones, organs, and all, into different weight rolls. I feed this raw ground mixture, along with hearts, gizzards, & liver from meat/supermarket (chicken, turkey, pork, or beef). And for chewing/teeth cleaning, they get pork & turkey necks. They are not just happy, they are THRIVING. It is so good for them!! Their don't have bad breath, their teeth are white (at 8 and 9 yrs of age), their poop is small, hard as rocks, and doesn't smell, they don't stink up the house with gas, and they look fantastic. I wish I had know about the raw food diet when my GSD was alive.... he would have benefitted from it greatly, instead of eating W/D and sufferring from skin allergies hiw whole life.

 

Congradualtions on the change and you will see how wonderful they feel on it...

 

A hundred thumbs up!

[Guest snoopycomehome]

We love raw! And so do our greys!

 

We get most of it from the local Asian market. And they package it in bags of 3# how we like to freeze it, as well. Everything is really fresh...we can see them bring in the animals and cut 'em down and package it behind the counter. Most everything is $0.93-1.17/lb, including ground.

 

 

My greys love chicken hearts and marrow bones the best. And they don't care for liver...but I sneak it in occasionally. Chicken necks are the only thing they have ever choked on, so we don't do that. But they do fine with chicken legs and thighs. We used to do chicken feet, but they would rather hide them...one time we had company and they were scared to find a foot under the table. Not good when you are eating dinner.

 

Oh, and lately they have been eating fish...mackerel and sardines.

 

Welcome to raw!

[XTRAWLD]

Congrats! Happy for you.

[Guest jbbuzby]

I'm thrilled for you too!

 

I've been TRYING to increase the amount of raw in my pup's diets, but unfortunately with lack of time and DBF who feeds the dogs 50% of the time (and is not a fan of touching gross raw meat), it's still a work in progress. I did buy them a whole chicken when I found it on sale though. I took videos:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJcNeviLbs0&list=UUYPUupGMn9oA8EozRRXYvyw&index=2&feature=plcp

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOtHsH6zc3c&list=UUYPUupGMn9oA8EozRRXYvyw&index=1&feature=plcp

 

This was a whole chicken cut into pieces that I divided into four parts...of COURSE they loved it. I plan on getting a whole cornish hen for birthdays, and will get some chicken feet when I see them. My parents live relatively near a turkey farm and they've gotten 20+ HUGE turkey necks (that we halved) for around $18. So, I get it when I can and keep it frozen. Alternatively, my pups eat dehydrated wanna-be-raw that makes me feel better than kibble alone, but, as I said...it's a work in progress. Maybe one day, ONE DAY we can go all-out raw!!! Good for you .

[NeylasMom]

I'm thrilled for you too!

 

I've been TRYING to increase the amount of raw in my pup's diets, but unfortunately with lack of time and DBF who feeds the dogs 50% of the time (and is not a fan of touching gross raw meat), it's still a work in progress.

When I send my dogs off to sitters I bag each meal individually, mark it clearly with the day of the week it should be fed and freeze it, then tell them to pull each meal about 2 days before they feed it. That way they only have to unzip the back and dump the contents into the bowl.

 

I rinse and then freeze the empty ziplocs when I'm done so I can reuse them repeatedly, but obviously I don't ask the sitters to do this.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Just a little update...

The kids have been on their new raw diet for just over 3 weeks and it is going greyt!

 

I think they're drinking less water and Nixon did seem to be a little bit constipated, but I added a bit of pumpkin and he's fine now.

 

So, now that they're adjusted to their raw diet, today I stopped at a butcher shop that is not too far into the city (we live out in the boonies) and it was recommended to me by a dog owner

.

I picked up a bag of frozen chicken 'parts'...mostly backs, he said, but there might be some necks in there too....it is frozen in a lump and I haven't chiseled the pieces apart yet.

They never have chicken feet , but I do have a friend who can get me some of those.

We do have some dehyrated ones that they love, but we save them for special occasions as they're pricey.

 

So, we'll start with some chicken backs as a snack tonight and see how that goes.

 

The same place also sells frozen beef bones...all bagged up...but they looked huge.

[Guest WhiteWave]

Congrats on the switch. Raw is really the best! Due to lack of freezer space since my big freezer finally died we are only doing partial raw since we have so many dogs feed. Can't wait until we can get them all back on raw. Probably won't be to next year due to a lot of stuff going on now and no extra money for freezers or gas money to go to the butcher.

 

But at least 3 times a week they eat raw. Chicken quarters are a staple. Necks and back for the small ones. Pork brisket is a favorite they all got yesterday. Beef and chicken heart/liver. Beef spleen and kidney too. Plus their big beef bones they gets. They have a ton of meat, fat and cartilage. I don't feed them on the days they get their beef bones. And winter time they get turkey and venison too.

[Josie]

I did not found chicken or duck feet either... guess I will have to be more adventurous and go to the chinatown grocery stores some day

You can also check when 1/4 chicken legs are on special at your grocery store... I pack lots of those in the freezer, Otis loves them.

also check in the frozen section for whole sardines... I give them frozen to my boy, sardinesicles