Starting Raw Feeding, Please Help!

[Guest heathertrent]

My three year old boy Riley has a terrible time digesting commercial dog food, even high quality limited ingredient food, so we are switching him to raw. He is almost three and a half, weighs 73 pounds, and could be the poster boy couch potatoes everywhere. I was thinking of giving him a chicken leg quarter in the evenings with either beef or chicken liver, chicken gizzards and hearts. In the mornings I was going to give him something from a raw pet food supplier I found online. Here is the items I was looking at.

 

Each case contains 15 rolls which are 2 pounds each:

Ground raw beef with bone $51.00 a case

Ground raw beef no bone $48.00 a case

Ground raw chicken with bone $46.50 a case

Ground raw duck with bone $55.50 a case

Ground raw quail with bone $48.00 a case

Ground raw turkey with bone $52.50 a case

Ground raw venison with bone $48.00 a case

Ground natural mix organ meats no bone $51.00 a case

Green tripe $46.50 a case

Meat bone case includes 30 bones, 5-6 inches long and 2 inches thick $37.50

 

Can anyone tell me if these are good prices? What should I feed each day and how much? I'm not sure what to buy, lol. Thank you for taking time to read this and for any advice you can give!!

 

Michelle

[Guest WhiteWave]

Prices don't look bad for ground. I only use ground premade for my brachycephalic breeds. Sounds like your evening meal would be enough for a dog that size with low activity level. But I would see no issue feeding some of the ground in the in the morning for variety. You just may need to watch his weight. I find ground does work well if you need to give any pills or supplements like fish oil.

 

Here is tonights supper here. Big dogs- chicken quarter, beef roast chunks, boneless pork chop and pork liver. Small dogs: chopped up chicken backs/ribs/breast meat, beef roast and pork chop and pork liver.

 

[Guest heathertrent]

Sounds like your evening meal would be enough for a dog that size with low activity level. But I would see no issue feeding some of the ground in the in the morning for variety. You just may need to watch his weight. I find ground does work well if you need to give any pills or supplements like fish oil.

If I decided to do the raw ground, say the chicken with bone, for both meals with some liver, gizzards, or hearts how much should I give? How often would I give the meaty bone, once a day or only once or twice a week? Thanks for posting the picture, that helps a lot. Thank you for your help!!

 

Michelle

[Guest WhiteWave]

I would probably start with 1 and 1/2 lbs a day total food and see how it goes. At first, I think most dogs do better with a little extra bone. It keeps the poop firmer. Then you can gradually add more meat. He may need more or less, it depends on how he does. Joey eats 2 1/2 lbs, but he is super active at 13 months old. He is 79lbs. Ronon is getting 1.5lbs a day as I am trying to get his weight down a few pounds, he is currently 82lbs.

 

 

Ronon did fine on kibble, but Joey didn't. He had digestive issues, coat issues, ear infections, etc. He is doing so much better on raw, but I ended up switching them all b/c they were not going to tolerate Joey getting the good stuff and them getting dry hard pellets!

[Guest heathertrent]

Riley has had a terrible time with digestive issues. He keeps chewing and licking on his paws for some reason. He sheds worse than my mom's lab! I am not sure if that is related to his food intolerance issues or not. Thank you for your help.

[RedHead]

Those prices seem good to me for ground (cheapest I can get here is $2/lb and I was happy to find that). An easy rule of thumb that I follow for raw is to feed about half boneless meat and half raw meaty bones. If you already have access to chicken thighs, it might be a good idea to buy some of the boneless mixes (ideally red meat, like the boneless beef mix). The beef and organ mix (tripe is great too!) are what I would get. One meal could be the ground mix/extras, the other the meaty bone. I feed a ground mix which has muscle meat/all organs/tripe for one meal (usually mixed in with some extras, healthy table scraps, kibble, etc.) and usually a meaty bone for the other meal. The ground mix has made my life a lot easier!

[Guest heathertrent]

Thank you. I think I will order the beef without the bone. I found a lady that has organ meats from a grass-fed organic cow, 20+pounds of liver, heart, tongue. She is going to give it to me for free so I am going to pick that up today. I am going to feed a mix of that, the ground beef, and chicken quarters. Would that be good or should I add something else in there? Thank you for your help!

 

Michelle

[sweetdogs]

I would go easy on the variety at first, especially the organ meat. Since he already has some digestive issues, starting simply will work out better for both of you. The simplest meals I feed are ground beef & a turkey neck. If you're feeding chicken parts, remove most of the skin for now. You'll be able to add it back in later. And don't overfeed him at first either - a little bit less is better than too much. Let his belly get used to his new, awesome diet.

 

And hello, JEALOUS of your free organic organs! Very nice!

[Wonder]

I get meat for .55 lb for gr meat with bone. Chicken qtrs are .99 lb but I saw them for .55 lb at another butcher.

 

I feed about 2 lbs a day.

 

I just weigh everything, throw a days worth in a bag and freeze it. Then take out a bag the day before to thaw. Lucky won't eat it unless it's thawed out. Thunder will eat it frozen.

 

This is what I feed in oz about every other day

Chick back 18.72 oz

Grnd Trky 10.08 oz

Liver 1.44 oz

 

Pork Neck 18.72 oz

Grnd Beef 10.08 oz

Kidney 1.44 oz

Edited August 21, 2013 by Wonder

[Guest heathertrent]

I would go easy on the variety at first, especially the organ meat. Since he already has some digestive issues, starting simply will work out better for both of you. The simplest meals I feed are ground beef & a turkey neck. If you're feeding chicken parts, remove most of the skin for now. You'll be able to add it back in later. And don't overfeed him at first either - a little bit less is better than too much. Let his belly get used to his new, awesome diet.

 

And hello, JEALOUS of your free organic organs! Very nice!

 

I will definitely start simple. I want to make the switch as easy as possible on him. I am really excited about my free organs! She said they may have more for me in a few weeks. Thank you for the advice.

 

I get meat for .55 lb for gr meat with bone. Chicken qtrs are .99 lb but I saw them for .55 lb at another butcher.

 

I feed about 2 lbs a day.

 

I just weigh everything, throw a days worth in a bag and freeze it. Then take out a bag the day before to thaw. Lucky won't eat it unless it's thawed out. Thunder will eat it frozen.

 

This is what I feed in oz about every other day

Chick back 18.72 oz

Grnd Trky 10.08 oz

Liver 1.44 oz

 

Pork Neck 18.72 oz

Grnd Beef 10.08 oz

Kidney 1.44 oz

 

That helps a lot, seeing what others are feeding and the amounts. Thank you for your help.

 

Michelle

Edited August 21, 2013 by heathertrent

[Wonder]

I did a lot of research before starting. It's suggested you start with 1 protein for a week, then add another. Wait a while to add organ and I just read today that you don't need to give organ every day.

I started with chicken

[Guest heathertrent]

That makes sense, I think I am going to start with the chicken quarter when I feed him this evening. Thank you!

 

Michelle

[Wonder]

I think I was most excited about their poops. So easy to clean up now or just leave since it doesn't smell.

[RedHead]

I have one (hopefully) last question. The store I found online ha a mix that sounds really great. Could I feed this only, or feed it in the morning with a chicken quarter in the evening? Here is the description from their website:

 

 

You could feed the ground mix in the morning and a meaty bone in the evening (I would rotate it with some boneless meat as well on some days). You do loose out on chewing benefits if you do all ground but you could do it. I feed quite similar to that right now. The all in one mixes are handy because they contain all of the organs. I also often add in small amounts of healthy table scraps/pasta when I have it as well as some sweet potato, canned fish, etc. The only thing I supplement with is fish oil as almost every modern diet is sorely lacking in omega 3's and they have so many benefits. For a sensitive pup it would be best to keep it very simple at first, especially with the organs. Also, you may have a lot of poop at first (firm, but a lot!). I can post amounts, pics, etc. if you need anything, but things can change depending on the dog.

Edited August 21, 2013 by RedHead

[Guest heathertrent]

That would be a welcome change after weeks of loose poops.

 

I have one (hopefully) last question. The store I found online has a mix that sounds really great. Could I feed ONLY this, or feed it in the morning with a chicken quarter in the evening? Here is the description from their website:

 

Product Description

 

Weight: 30lbs (15 2lb rolls)

 

Ingredients: ground beef, ground chicken, ground beef heart, ground beef liver, ground chicken bone, ground whole egg.

 

Analysis:

 

crude protein (min) 19%

 

crude fat (min) 3%

 

crude fiber (max) 1%

 

moisture (max) 76%

 

Thank you again for all the help!!

 

Michelle

[Wonder]

You could but you might be getting too much bone-hard to know but you will be able to tell from their poop if they are getting too much bone or not.

It's better for their teeth to give hunks of meat.

[Guest heathertrent]

You could feed the ground mix in the morning and a meaty bone in the evening (I would rotate it with some boneless meat as well on some days). You do loose out on chewing benefits if you do all ground but you could do it. I feed quite similar to that right now. The all in one mixes are handy because they contain all of the organs. I also often add in small amounts of healthy table scraps/pasta when I have it as well as some sweet potato, canned fish, etc. The only thing I supplement with is fish oil as almost every modern diet is sorely lacking in omega 3's and they have so many benefits. For a sensitive pup it would be best to keep it very simple at first, especially with the organs. Also, you may have a lot of poop at first (firm, but a lot!). I can post amounts, pics, etc. if you need anything, but things can change depending on the dog.

I think I will start with the chicken quarters this evening and ground chicken without bone in the morning. I will stick with this for a week or two before I add anything else in. After that I might try giving the mix with the organs and everything in one in the evening and a boneless ground beef in the morning. Thank you for your help!!

You could but you might be getting too much bone-hard to know but you will be able to tell from their poop if they are getting too much bone or not.

It's better for their teeth to give hunks of meat.

I will watch that with his poop. Could I give the chicken quarters every other day instead or does he need the meaty bone every day? Thank you!

 

 

Michelle

[Wonder]

I do give RMB (meaty bones) every day. Like I posted above, I throw everything into a zip lock bag for the days feeding and just dump some out in the morning. It takes Thunder longer to eat a pork neck bone so I would give those at night and just ground in the morning since I don't have forever to wait for him to eat.

 

These are the groups that I joined:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/225320047573140/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/rawfeedingcarnivores/

 

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/MidwestHealthyDog/?yguid=78081008

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-Supplier/?yguid=78081008

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RawChat/?yguid=78081008

[Guest heathertrent]

I think I will stick to feeding him the chicken quarters in the evening, I think that will be best for him. What kind of fish is safe, fresh or canned? Should I stay away from certain types? I will check out those groups. Thank you for your help!

 

Michelle

Edited August 21, 2013 by heathertrent

[Wonder]

I don't feed fish but do give a fish oil pill every meal.

[Guest heathertrent]

What meats should I avoid feeding?

[KickReturn]

what about a vitamin supplement?

[Wonder]

what about a vitamin supplement?

shouldn't need any except fish oil

What meats should I avoid feeding?

Some are sensitive to chicken or turkey (mine are not). I mostly feed that but Passion really only likes beef. I just ordered 50 lbs of beef to pick up on Monday.

 

I've read to avoid- chicken backs, chicken necks, turkey necks, pork necks, weight baring bones from large animals.

 

Here's some newbie info:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/message/184829

 

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/message/187497

[dante2zoe]

Kari, I feed chicken backs and turkey necks (among other things). Why are they to be avoided? Chicken necks, I can see since they are small and probably will just be inhaled. Weight bearing bones of large animals I also understand. I also feed pork necks. Those keep them busy and aren't as hard as leg bones.

 

I tend to avoid lamb. I found that it is higher in fat (at least my source) and caused pancreatitis in my whippet.

 

How did the chicken quarter go?

[Wonder]

Kari, I feed chicken backs and turkey necks (among other things). Why are they to be avoided? Chicken necks, I can see since they are small and probably will just be inhaled. Weight bearing bones of large animals I also understand. I also feed pork necks. Those keep them busy and aren't as hard as leg bones.

 

I tend to avoid lamb. I found that it is higher in fat (at least my source) and caused pancreatitis in my whippet.

 

How did the chicken quarter go?

Back are too much bone.

That being said- I did buy 50 lbs of backs but I add one to a chicken quarter so they get more meat, less bone.

Same with pork necks- not enough meat. Again, I feed one or two a week for their teeth.

 

The links I posted have been very helpful and I learn something new every day