Anyone else feed an all RAW diet?

[PinkSunshine]

All 3 of my dogs are now on an all RAW diet (just switched my female yorkie over last month) and can not rave enough about my decision. Prior to getting our first dog (2 years ago) I reseached dog foods for almost a year. It's quite a bit of work and time (especially feeding a giant breed) but it's made such a difference... Anyone else feed raw?

[Giselle]

I do I do! What's the predominant style that you feed? I love chatting about this, so I'm ecstatic to see another fellow raw feeder.

[.sarah]

I feed raw, prey model style. I'd go insane if I fed Billinghurst's way ... all that grinding.

It's not a lot of work for me, I just take the food out of the freezer and let it thaw and then feed it. I do a lot of hand washing, but that's not a bad thing. Other than that, it's really very simple. Nothing like pouring kibble into a bowl, but still not bad. My dogs have benefited from it. Mandy and Nova no longer need their joint supplements to be comfortable and Buck is growing a lot slower than his littermates. They all enjoy meal time much more too.

[Glacier]

It's not a lot of work for me, I just take the food out of the freezer and let it thaw and then feed it. .

Just curious, but is there a reason you thaw the food?

I don't feed an exclusively raw diet, but the dogs eat alot of wild game and fish.

[BC_MoM]

Buck is growing a lot slower than his littermates.

This is a sincere question:

Is that a good or a bad thing? And why?


I've never fed raw before.. and I have no idea what the pros and cons are. I know my parents would never let me do it. It's not something I've ever really taken into consideration (not because I don't agree with it, I know nothing about it!)..

[Jessika]

I don't have the knowledge or research to do it just yet. I want to make sure if/when I do, my dogs are getting ALL nutrients needed. But I am also waiting for there to be more research on this diet than is currently available (long term effects, etc). It seems to be a relatively new thing that has recently exploded on the "pet" scene, and I just want to wait until I get everything straight (at least in my mind!) before even attempting, if that makes sense!

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

This is a sincere question:

Is that a good or a bad thing? And why?

It is a GREAT thing that Buck is growing nice and slowly. Large and giant breed puppies that eat a higher protein diet (which raw is mostly water - I found out from Sarah!) results in more rapid growth, and thus more developmental problems, such as canine hip displaysia, panosteitis, osteochondrosis dessicans, and wobblers syndrome.

I found the following from - Canada's Guide to Dogs

"Excessive growth rates lead to an increase in both muscle mass and total body weight. These in turn lead to excessive stress forces on long bones which, in a puppy, are less dense and have a greater susceptibility to being remodelled. As bones of large breeds are relatively weaker than those of small breeds, they are inherently more susceptible to these stress loads."

Hope that makes sense!

[Ravette]

Example of what you feed them and how much? I've always been interested in feeding my dogs an all natural diet but I'm not really sure I can afford it. Do you find it cheaper or more expensive?

[.sarah]

Just curious, but is there a reason you thaw the food?

Mandy doesn't like it frozen, and Nova and Luka prefer it thawed or semi-frozen, so I just go ahead and thaw it (partially or completely) in the fridge over a day or mores time, depending on the size of the package.

It is a GREAT thing that Buck is growing nice and slowly.

Thanks for explaining it for me


If anyone is interested I can provide a lot of links to raw websites. My favorite though is a yahoo group that I lurked on for 3 months gathering information before I decided to switch my girls from kibble. They also helped me in getting Buck on raw because I was worried about the protein (raw actually only has about 18% protein compared to the 26% in the kibble I was going to feed him) and the calcium (extra calcium is excreted in their poop - and because of the calcium their poops turn white and powdery and dissapears quickly! ). I'm not sure if I can post the websites on here or not I don't think it's against the rules, anyone know for sure?

[.sarah]

Example of what you feed them and how much? I've always been interested in feeding my dogs an all natural diet but I'm not really sure I can afford it. Do you find it cheaper or more expensive?

I feed a lot of variety. Chicken, turkey, pork, beef, lamb, rabbit (but not to Mandy, she hates rabbit ), etc.

Chicken - Usually I buy chicken quarters, chicken backs, and chicken necks, sometimes legs but usually the quarters are more of a bargain so I stick to those. Buck is currently on chicken legs though simply because I like to feed him twice a day since his stomach is small and a quarter is a meal for a day. I usually avoid wings because there is not enough meat on them, and for large dogs they can be a choking hazzard. However I bought some whole chickens the other day and Buck got the wings since he is still small and still a very slooooow and careful eater.

Beef - Most of the beef I buy is boneless, because thier bones are so hard and usually aren't consumed by dogs (however Nova and Mandy will eat them if given enough time, it's funny Luka doesn't since she's my gulper). I give beef ribs as a recreational RMB (raw meaty bone), they take a long time to eat. If I could find them in a rack I would feed them as a meal, but I haven't had such luck yet. I feed beef neck bones to the dogs the other day and they were another recreational bone but these were a bit thinner so the girls managed to eat most of it. Buck had a hard time even getting the meat off so I thawed some boneless for him for tomorrow.

Pork - I give mostly pork neck bones, along with some boneless meat (of any kind) because the necks I find tend to be bony. My mom found some with a good deal of meat on them at Albertsons last week, and I have those in the freezer. I do have some pigs feet (hooves off) that I'll probably feed soon. Pork bones are incredibly soft. I like to feel the marrow of the bones (if it's visible) in any bones I feed, mostly out of curiosity (I love anatomy ) but also to make sure that they can eat it safely.

Turkey - I mostly feed turkey necks and drumsticks. They don't get much turkey because chicken is cheaper and poultry shouldn't be too much of a staple in their diet (wolves feed mostly on hooved animals).

Lamb - Fed in moderation because it is really expensive.

Rabbit - I buy them whole for the Labbies (Mandy doesn't like it very much). It's enough food for over a day so they get a few light meals after they have a rabbit as I don't like to take away food I've already put down for them, and I don't want to cut it in half. Also fed in moderation because of the price.

Organs - Mostly I use chicken liver, chicken gizzards, and beef liver. When I buy chickens whole they include the heart as well, but I have had a really tough time finding heart of any animal. I'd like to feed more organ variety but this is all I've found so far. There is another butcher here that I haven't visited though.

Anything else - feed anything you can find! If you're worried about bones then just buy it boneless, or you can always cut the meat off or smash the bones. Some people with small dogs, cats, and other small animals (hens, ferrets, etc.) feed whole rats even!

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The ratios for raw feeding is supposed to be something like 10-15% bone, 5-10% organ meat and 80% meat. That is what overwhelmed me at first ... I was like, math while feeding my dogs? No way! You're also supposed to feed 2-3% of their body weight. I spent the first few days with a pen and paper and a scale making sure everything was perfect. I then went to the yahoo group and read through some posts and saw that this is just a guideline, it doesn't have to be perfect! You can eventually look at a piece of meat and say "this is exactly Mandy's portion" and you also just start looking at the cut and saying, "this is a very bony meal so the next meal should be boneless".

I also don't worry about variety on a daily basis. If I decide to thaw out a huge bag of chicken quarters (which is thawing now actually) then they will eat that for a few days. The next time around I just thaw something different. I used to thaw 3-4 meats at a time and feed a variety for every meal, but it's not neccessary. You just need to worry about variety over time, not day by day.

So far the raw has been cheaper than kibble! I just stick to stuff under .99/pound. Anything over that is skipped over until a sale comes up. If it's a cut that is always expensive (rabbit, lamb, fish) then I will buy it once a month, twice max.

[.sarah]

But I am also waiting for there to be more research on this diet than is currently available (long term effects, etc). It seems to be a relatively new thing that has recently exploded on the "pet" scene, and I just want to wait until I get everything straight (at least in my mind!) before even attempting, if that makes sense!

It makes sense, but I can help you with the "research" area if you'd like. As far as studies go, I'm not sure there are any, but at the same time there are studies showing that "Dog Chow, if fed properly over the course of a dogs life, can help add up to 2 healthy years", and I know you wouldn't feed Purina!

The proof you need is right in their mouth - their teeth. They have teeth for ripping and grinding meat and crushing bones. Not one tooth in their mouth is made especially for kibble, and there is definetly no teeth that grind grains.

If you absolutely want studies, then the ones you need are the ones that prove that dogs are very closely related to wolves. They share the same teeth, digestive tract, and 98% (I believe) of the same DNA. Wolves and dogs are carnivores, not omnivores like a lot of pet food companies like to boast.

There are thousands of people on the Yahoo group that I am a member of. Most are new to raw because, you're right, this does seem to be a new "fad" in the dog feeding world (and a cool one might I add ). However there are several people who have been feeding for years. There are several people who have watched their cancer-ridden dogs become cancer free. There are several who watched their dog's teeth go from riddled with tarter and stinky breath to pearly white and fresh breath. The benefits outweigh the risks by far. (Oh and just as a disclaimer, it isn't a miracle cure for diseases, and they stress that on the list, but there are quite a few diseases that are onsetted by poor diet and can be fixed by feeding them raw.)

I am having way to much fun with this thread

[Ravette]

Thank you that was VERY helpful. I even printed it out. I highly doubt I can talk my parents into feeding them raw at the moment but when I move out I plan on trying it. I was talking to a vet when I took my dog for his ear mites and well he was telling me that I should put Jared on a natural food diet but his was much different. We wanted me to do 75% meat,bone,organ and 25% rice/wheat/grain type foods. He also told me that I should fee them corn. I think I have a very bad vet lmao! Every single dog I have every had has broken out with hot spots if fed corn. I told him this and he told me I was buying cheap dog food and thats why it happened. *rolls eyes* Riggghhhhttt. How could that be true when the dog food has no corn product but was given some left overcorn to eat and broke put? pfft lmao!

We are raising bigs for buther this year and I'll have to make sure I ask for all the extras to feed my doggies. We buy the beef bones from supermarket sometimes and my golden will naw off the big knuckle in one day but I've noticed that he seems a bit more energized when he eats them.

I wonder if it would help my pitbull put on weight? I have a really hard time keeping weight on her because she is so active. The vet wants her to gain 5lbs but since we started agility she has lost 1.5 :/ .

edit: Just found a book on it that might come in handy!!
RAW DOG FOOD: MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU AND YOUR DOG
by Carina Beth MacDonald

[BC_MoM]

and I know you wouldn't feed Purina!

Hey.. I take offense to that! I feed Purina One to my dogs and they do great on it.. better than when they were on Canidae!

This RAW thing really interests me.. could you PM the links that you were going to post?

Like Jess, though, I want to know the long term effects..

[.sarah]

Hey.. I take offense to that! I feed Purina One to my dogs and they do great on it.. better than when they were on Canidae!

When I said "you" I was talking directly to Jessica, because I know she doesn't like Purina. I know that other people do. No need to take offense.

I'll PM you the links in a sec.

[dab_20]

I've never fed raw before.. and I have no idea what the pros and cons are. I know my parents would never let me do it. It's not something I've ever really taken into consideration (not because I don't agree with it, I know nothing about it!)..

Same with me.