That's a website that promotes raw feeding so I would expect a little bias there not that I am saying raw feeding is wrong, I'd eventually like to try it myself, but I don't think it is neutral on the subject.
So I've did a lot of research on raw feeding and joined that group. We decided to feed Bo raw in hopes that he will stop having soft poops. We can't start right away because we are leaving on vacation next week and the couple who is watching Bo has a small dog and they don't know anything about raw feeding. Macalu, where would you buy your meats from? I'm still a bit confused with boney and meaty meals. I read that it is recommended to feed a bone meal every other day to avoid constipation. By meaty meals, does it mean chicken breast and etc? Thanks for directing me to this. It might help Bo! *crossing fingers*
i get my meats from HEB/Kroger/Fiesta. Whoever is having a sale, that's where I get it. I buy mostly chicken quarters as those are usually the cheapest and the easiest to start the diet with. Cost is usually around 60 to 70 cents a pound. sometimes i can find whole chicken for 50 cents/lbs and stock up. Raw meaty bones is basically any meat with bone in it. chicken quarters, pork ribs, turkey legs are good examples. my lab gets a chicken quarter, chicken thigh, palm size beef heart and kidney 6 days a week. the other day is either turkey necks, pigs feet, or pork ribs for variety. since your dog already has runny stools, i would feed a meaty bone everyday and watch his poop. if it starts to solidify, that is good. if it's seems like straining, then you can decrease his bone intake. this diet is really flexible. poop is too hard, take away bone. if it's too soft, add more bone. really that simple. too much liver or kidney can also create runny stools. oh yea, make sure the meaty bone you feed him is big enough that it requires him to chew it. it's good for his teeth, but also you don't want him swallowing it whole. just a warning. the first week of this he may seem worse than before but that's his body detoxing. monitor him closely. once his body becomes accustomed to the diet, you'll see a huge improvement. hope that helps. i sent you antoher link via email through the board. btw, did the couple gasp when you mentioned the raw diet?
man, that sounds so cheap! it sounds that simple...can you feed chicken breast for non bone meal? that's the part i am not sure. i read that for beginners, no organs should be introduced until two weeks in. stick with one protein (chicken) for two weeks then can start introducing a variety of meats in. we will def watch him first week and hope there aren't any reactions. i asked about getting an allergy panel for Bo in that group and they said it is moot because in that allergy panel, they feed dogs COOKED food, not raw food so they are most likely allergic to meats that have been cooked. lot of the users in that group said they have not had any averse reactions feeding raw...if so, its usually too much meat less bone for diarrhea and etc. oh you sent the link to an email that isn't available anymore...i updated my email so you can send it again. nah we haven't told them about this but we have to tell them they have to pick up soft poops...doh. hubby did mention this to his co worker and he was like "no way that is not right." i was that person before but now i realize, it makes most sense...before kibble was developed, what did dogs eat? animals. it's that simple. its an eye opening experience. btw, how do you manage to keep the house clear from bacteria? i know it is full of bacteria everywhere in the house, regardless. i would assume that your dog eats the food and paws it...how do you keep his bowl or floor clean without cleaning products(no good for dogs)? water and soap? i am a bit germ phobic.
this was the link i sent. http://hubpages.com/hub/rawfeddogs just another article i thought you would find useful, and pics of puppies feeding on raw. i know you questioned whether your dog was too young. for non bone meal, chicken breast is fine. yes, only feed one protein in the beginning. i just wanted to give you an idea of how i'm feeding my dog now. i've told several friends about this and they reacted the same way, disgusted. it took me awhile to convert too but so glad i did. i think you're the first i've mentioned this to who will actually try it. as for keeping the house clean...forget about it. the food will come right out of the bowl as soon as he puts his mouth on it. either train him to eat it on a matt in the kitchen or feed outside. i have 2/3 of an acre of a backyard and i feed outside. i don't even bother with the bowl...except when i'm adding a raw egg to his dinner.
that's a great article...think i am going to buy that book so i have all info in one place instead all over the internet. i will keep you posted! i'll come back here if i have any more questions. thanks again!!
no problem. I'm sure Bo will love it. check out youtube videos on raw feeding. like that article says, it's much more interesting watching your dog eat raw than kibble.
My girlfriend is a nutritionist. So, we buy this stuff: http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/ I can't tell too much of a difference between it and regular kibble, but the dogs love it!
They could probably live without it if they had to via alternative protein sources, but I'd agree meat is the staple of their natural diet. I'm not trying to put down the eat raw feeding. I think its better than what I feed my dog. Personally if I had unlimited money I'd feed my dogs steak with a side of fruits and veggies. I think, as Pun mentioned, the Raw Diet sites are of course biased towards it, just like many vets are going to be biased towards products that make them money. I have 3 dogs(2 25lbs and 1 50lbs). How much do you think it would cost per month to feed them on meat? I don't know if I would ever go raw, but I would consider trying it.
here is a snippet of how much is needed for dogs. so i guess calculate how much chicken, pork and etc is then add them up for the month. Bo is currently 55-60 lbs so he would need to eat 1 - 1 1/2 approx a lb per day. my next trip to grocery store is to look at chicken quarters' prices. chicken quarter is the recommended protein for raw beginners at least a week or two.
that's the thing, feeding raw is cheaper than feeding kibble especially when you consider less vet visits, less baths, hardly needing a teeth cleaning, and less vaccinations. i don't even use flea meds and he's been flea free.. raw raises the immune system which makes them less prone to bacteria and diseases. i don't know how much you are paying for kibble, but i was paying $2/lb. now i pay between .50 cents and $1.30 per pound for chicken, chicken parts, or other meats. you are right, a raw diet site will be bias towards raw. but what exactly do the raw dieters have to gain? they don't push any products. vets push kibble because they do get kickbacks from the kibble company and of course it keeps you having to bring your dog in for visits. that equals money for them. i'd say that i average $40-$50/month on food. that's for a 70 pound dog.
So I started my two dogs on raw chicken drumsticks, they took to it pretty quick. One thing I quickly noticed was that they were just small enough to where my dogs didn't have to chew them entirely, and they ended up not chewing some of the bone and throwing it up later. I'm going to get some chicken quarters tomorrow, they seem about the right size. So for my 75 lb dog I need to give him around 1.8 lbs of meat per day? That seems like it could get expensive.
I fed my pet owl raw hamburger and other "raw stuff" (do the worms I dug up from under a bush and hand fed to the critter count?) back in the day. No way I'm going to feed my dog that way. You folks go right ahead! Holy cow, that would be a mess! (no pun intended!) Yuck!!
hopefully, you did your research. drumsticks can definitely be too small for your dog. you have to feed pieces big enough that require him to chew. 1.8 lbs sounds right. it seems more expensive if you were feeding the cheap dog food before. but the difference you'll see in the dog more than makes up for it.
ok, we mentioned raw feeding to one of ladies in Bo's agility class last night and she works at a vet's office. She was like "Oh no, don't do that! it is bad for dogs. we see lot of patients that come in because they got sick from eating raw food and you guys can get sick" it scared me a bit but i realized that she might have not really looked in WHY they got sick..they could have gotten sick anywhere else or the owners fed them wrong food. PLUS, we deal with raw food all the times so the argument that we will get sick is moot. that is why it is better to buy in bulk.
you should of said, "well, my dog's been on kibble al his life and he stills sees the vet all the time." exactly. we all have to handle raw food before we cook it. the only difference with feeding it to your dog is, you place the food on the floor instead of your pan.
I just want to give a little update on my dog Heidi. She has been on blue buffalo for a week now. I mixed in with the first few days with her old food, then fully switched over. She did not have the runs or any trouble switching. I've noticed her poop has been much much less. I looked that up on the internet and a lot of people have noticed the same with their dog switching to blue buffalo. Like it is unreal how much less waste she secretes, which is great because I'm one of those people that actually picks up after their pet. She hasn't been on it long enough to see improvements in her allergies. She is still scratching and biting her paws. I've read that will take quite a few weeks to see results. I'm very very happy with it so far!!
Switched to the chicken quarters. My coonhound got the hang of it and chewed it slowly. My rotty unfortunately took a few large bites to crush it and then managed to basically inhale the whole thing before I could stop him. I think he has some kind of survival instinct where he just feels the need to inhale his food. I'm expecting he will throw it up but haven't seen anything yet. Also found some small bits of bone in their stool, is that normal/ok?
bone in stools is normal. you still want him to chew as much as possible. if the rotty keeps gulping it down, you may try holding the leg quarter while he chews.
Started Bo on the raw diet last night...he did fine (no throwing up) until today...i went home for lunch and he immediately went to the door and ran outside to throw his breakfast up. He had inhaled his food this morning and I was expecting to see some vomit in the room but so glad he waited until i came home! i saw some bone bits in his vomit and he ate it all back. Ew. We had broken up the chicken quarter last night and this morning...i guess we shouldn't have done that. A chicken quarter is like a 1 lb. For him, he needs like 1.71 lb per day. We don't know how to split it up without him swallowing the drumstick down. He weights 57 lbs but he seriously needs to gain more weight because we can see his ribs and hip bones. We are going to give him a leg quarter for dinner...hopefully, he won't throw it up in the house. I read that some dogs throw up few times first 2 weeks then they get better. We got the chicken quarters from HEB and there wasn't no info on sodium level but it did have "minimally processed, no antibotics" etc on it so i assume it's ok for him to eat. A bit overwhelming...he has an agility class in two weeks and i was trying to figure out what to give him for his treats. Someone in the yahoo group suggested freeze dried lamb treats or make our own freeze dried treats. That seems like a lot of work.
