Switching To Raw...so Confused.

[dbullwinkel]

I met a distributor for K9 kraving raw dog food at a fundraiser.

http://www.k-9kraving.com/

Comes in 5 lb rolls and is completely balanced. My 5 year old grey loved the sample of chicken she gave me..so I decided to give it a try. they can take anything back my dog does not eat.

I am a bit confused and "grossed out"...so looking of advice from other grey owners.

she said to start with 3/4 lb twice a day and see how see goes. That would mean 6.6 meals per roll or 3 days per roll. that means 5 rolls is only 15 days? might be a bit cost prohibitive

Also. I did not get a scale yet so i managed to cut the roll into 6 even pieces with a 1/2 a piece left over. this was extremely messy..is it ok to defrost the whole roll, weigh into equal portions and re-freeze?? or do i leave all defrosted in the frig?

I am sending the distributor an email as well..i don't think i am cut out for total raw feeding...

 

[JAJ2010]

Totally fine to refreeze. Thaw in the fridge in a pitcher or container, since it will ooze. The prepackaged raw is very cost prohibitive for the large dogs. 3/4 of a lb sounds a bit right. I don't weigh the food. I just look at ribs & hip points. If they have been extra active and are looking skinny, I feed more. If they are looking pudgy, I feed less meat and add in some canned green beans to keep their bellies full.

 

I get my meat from a meat distributer (places restaurants buy from) and buy in bulk. Dogs have their own giant freezer. I try to keep everything I buy well under 50 cents a lb. Turkey neck are usually the only thing that breaks that price point. I invested in a giant grinder that can eat bones for breakfast, only now I feed giant chunks. So much easier than processing, grinding, ad packaging 1000lbs in a day. We follow the Prey Model Diet

 

ETA I missed the 3/4 of a lb twice a day. My pups generally eat that only once a day. You need less volume with the raw food since there is no waste or filler.

Edited May 15, 2017 by JAJ2010

[dbullwinkel]

thank you. my girl could stand to gain some weight...hip bones are sticking out. but i am in a small home with a side by side frig/freezer. 5 rolls take up two shelves! i want to feed her well..but can't go broke doing it. thanks for your advice

[JAJ2010]

You really need at least a chest freezer. Otherwise you are buying food weekly. I can't even be responsible enough to buy myself food weekly! LOL

[dbullwinkel]

that's how i am feeling. we recently downsized to a small house..NO room for a freezer..thinking this is not going to work

i am having trouble closing the freezer..keep moving the tubes around!

[JAJ2010]

When we lived in an apartment, I would keep a chest freezer in the living room! LOL

[dbullwinkel]

my husband would kill me..he is already upset with this..asked if we will eat..

[locket]

1.5 lbs a day (3/4 per meal) sounds like what we fed ours when he was raw-fed

[RedHead]

Teague eats just over 1 and a half pounds per day. Normally, I would also say the premade ground mixes are extremely expensive (and sometimes lacking in quality), however, there are lots of local companies popping up everywhere who actually have really good product for a decent price. I get a ground mixture from a few different companies and I pay just over $2/lb which is very cheap for meat here (cheaper than if I bought it at the grocery store..and it is good quality, human grade meat with no antibiotics or hormones). If it is making a mess, you can just take it out of the package and put it into another glass or plastic container.

 

You can thaw the food and refreeze, but try to do it as quickly as you can...I sometimes thaw it just until I can cut it and then refreeze.

 

You can always supplement with raw for a bit if you still want to include some variety and fresh food in your pup's diet, but don't want to commit 100%. For example, you can do one kibble meal and then one raw meal each day.

[JAJ2010]

Oh that's right! I saw a study years ago that many of the health benefits from feeding raw were seen even if it was a supplemental amount added to kibble. Always an option

[smurfette]

You can easily evaluate the amount of raw you need. Take 2% of your pups weight in meat and add some vegetables. For beginning and feeling secure.

I Feed 2 times a day because my older boys are just not that hungry in the morning but need a little food.

[dbullwinkel]

Red Head: can you give me the names of the companies? thank you. Not sure of the location or if they are delivered. thanks

[NeylasMom]

It's going to be a lot more expensive if you feed a pre-made raw than doing it yourself. You could always use this as a transition to make sure you and your husband like the benefits and then switch to doing it yourself once you're more comfortable. Or like someone else suggested do one meal of kibble and one meal of raw. While the pre-made diets are convenient and ensure a decent nutritional balance, the one thing I don't like (aside from the cost) is that they're ground so you're not getting one of the major benefits, which is teeth cleaning. Still, pre-made/ground is better than kibble if those are the options.

As far as the amount goes, Violet, who is 60 lbs eats between 1 and 1 1/2 lbs daily to maintain her weight and she is not super active at the moment because of a disc issue. We feed prey model raw though. The food you are using has sweet potato in addition to vegetables, which I consider filler, so the amount you need to feed could be fairly different.

 

In terms of cutting the rolls, defrost just enough to be able to cut through them so you're essentially cutting into frozen blocks. Toss them all into a gallon ziploc freezer bag and refreeze. If you do it while it's still almost frozen it won't be messy and the chunks won't stick to each other in the bag when you refreeze so you can pull out and defrost one or two at a time as needed. You can speed up the partial defrost process by putting the chub in cold water.

 

ETA: I live in a 920 sq ft condo. Our chest freezer is in our spare room/den. You get used to it.

Edited May 16, 2017 by NeylasMom

[dbullwinkel]

that's what i thought of doing..putting a freezer in my office

[Guest Izzy2]

Hi don't know if this helps at all and if not I apologise in advance....I live in the UK and Biffo seriously needed to put on weight I get him Benyfit which is a raw meat I get him it in kilo tubs which do 4 meals and comes in beef meaty feast Turkey chicken/tripe. I mix his with Acana grain free kibble .The results have been really good (he put on 4 kilos in a month!!!) This might be an idea if you are short on space 😁😁😁