question about RAW diet feeding?

[Rio and Me]

Just a question on feeding my dogs raw food diet!
Its doesnt seem like a couple of chicken wings/necks and what ever else you feed them is enough, does it fill them up?
Because my dogs eat ALOT of kibbles, to fill them up (rio not so much nothing will fill her up shes a lab) but my GSD eats masses of kibble and is still on the lean side (to lean for my liking, i dont want him fat just covered)
And it seem difficult to get the portions correct and seems expensive? i havnt done much research!
any help tips guildlines would help me make the desicion to switch or not?

Ky

[Misty_Pearl]

To start feed them the same amount of raw as you feed kibble. After a week take note of what their ribs feel like and if they have a "waistline". If the ribs are too easy to feel increase the raw if they are slightly difficult reduce the raw and if they are where you want them keep it the same. Hope this helps. Pearl is a 15 lb Frenchie and I feed her about 1 1/2 cup of raw.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

Bailey is a 70 pound Great Dane puppy and I feed him 2 pounds a day. So far, we have spent half as much on raw than on kibble. The benefits are awesome too! Bailey has a glossier, shinier coat, brighter eyes and more energy to name a few.

[bckrazy]

I don't just feed chicken wings & necks, though. A percentage of their food must be organs, muscle meats & bone; he gets turkey, chicken, beef, lamb, rabbit, buffalo, fish, and some pork. I also add supplements (flaxseed, salmon oil, veggies, eggs, green tripe, etc). You have to check your calciumhosphorus ratio and keep an eye on your dogs weight to gear how much you need to feed. It is very complicated and it really should be done right, but in the end it's MUCH more fun & satisfying for your and your dog, and much much healthier.

Gonzo still eats Evo for a few meals a week. Evo is about $2.50/lb. The meats he gets is never more than $1/lb... except for special meals like lamb & rabbit. All of the supplements are super cheap and take no more than 5 minutes to prepare. Sooo, price is not as much an issue as effort and research.

If you feed tons of kibble, you're probably not feeding much of a high quality food? A more pricey kibble with quality ingredients, lots of meat and no fillers costs LESS than a very cheap kibble chock full of fillers. Have you tried looking into a different kibble? For example, with Innova Evo, you feed a 50 lb dog 1-1 1/2 cups. On Dog Chow, you need to feed 3 TIMES that amount, and maybe more!

[.sarah]

Well, I'm not going to advocate feeding kibble because I despise it, so of course I think you should switch your dogs to a raw diet!

It is not difficult at all to feed. Some people make it harder than it is. Go buy some whole chickens, cut them in half, and feed them to your dogs. Leave the organs out for now (save them in the freezer). Discard the necks or save them until your dogs are more used to the diet. Feed them chicken until their stools are firm. Then buy another meat. Pork is another good one to start with. Feed that for a week or so until the stools are firm again. Do this with all of the meats that will be a staple in the dogs diet (usually this is chicken, pork, beef, and turkey, and anything else that is readily available in your area). When your dog has been introduced to all of the main meats you can start feeding any of them at any time. Start adding organs in small portions (one chicken liver, a small amount of beef liver, a tiny part of a beef kidney, etc.) and one at a time. If the dog has loose stools cut back on the portion. Organs tend to give dogs the runs for a while but it will improve. Also, most dogs can't handle full meals of just organs, they are usually too rich for their systems to handle all at once.

Feed big. Feed whole chickens, feed pork roasts, feed leg of lamb, feed as big as their head or bigger if possible. If you don't have a big freezer, this may be hard to do and you may have to stick with smaller items. I have a small freezer and have been feeding raw for five months now, but luckily our new, big freezer is coming tomorrow

Anyway, if you feed big you decrease chances of choking (most dogs who choke on raw are fed things way too small)

Right now I feed - whole chickens, lamb shanks, pig feet, pig tails, boneless beef, boneless pork, occassional pork roasts, turkey legs, beef heart, beef liver, beef kidney, pork kidney, chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, chicken liver, beef tongue, eggs, and some other things that I can't think of right now.

Once my freezer comes these are the things I plan on feeding - whole chickens, leg of lamb, pork roasts, whole fetal pigs, whole rabbits, very large turkey legs, and other occasional things like whole quail, whole duck, buffalo, cow and hog heads, pork fries, and anything on sale.

The organs and muscle meat I'll be able to add are - green tripe (cows stomach), beef lung, beef spleen, beef trachea and gullets (for Nova and Mandy - these are great for joint problems), pork stomach, pork heart, pork lung, pork trachea, pork spleen, buffalo liver, buffalo heart, buffalo kidney, and buffalo tongue.

You can ask me any questions, I am all about this diet!

[Rio and Me]

When you say leg of lamb etc, is that with all the meat on it or just the bone with a bit of meat on it,
and a whole chicken is that a WHOLE chicken or just the carcass?
i have a GSD and a lab, so would stuf like, chicken carcass's, beef ribs, chicken wing, organs, tripe beef bones be enough for them?, im not a fan of lamb!
Ky

[.sarah]

When you say leg of lamb etc, is that with all the meat on it or just the bone with a bit of meat on it,

Don't cut any meat off, use what you can get. You want it to be in the most "natural" state as possible.

and a whole chicken is that a WHOLE chicken or just the carcass?

The carcass, like you buy at the store, though a whole chicken would work just fine. Some dogs don't know that when it's covered in feathers that it is food, but you can't get closer to them actually hunting than feeding it with feathers and everything still intact. I don't let my dogs have birds with feathers because Buck and Nova will be running hunt tests and I'm afraid it will affect their soft mouths. Fur and feathers are good fiber though

i have a GSD and a lab, so would stuf like, chicken carcass's, beef ribs, chicken wing, organs, tripe beef bones be enough for them?, im not a fan of lamb!

Don't feed wings unless if they are attatched to a whole bird, they are so small and boney you're just asking for them to choke. Beef bones - wouldn't reccomend them without a bunch of meat on them. Beef ribs, chicken carcasses, tripe, and organs are all fine.

[bckrazy]

I suggest getting a good book all about Raw to reference. I have "Give Your Dog A Bone" (Dr Ian Billinghurst) and like 5 others that I've read. I wouldn't advise just jumping into it