A Few Questions on Feeding Raw.

[bckrazy]

Sarah... I understand that Dr. Billinghurst has recently started advocating grinding. I'm talking about his book from several years ago, Give Your Dog A Bone. There is nothing wierd about the book - not even mention of grinding. Just info about raw meaty bones, how much to feed, how often, etc. What is in this book is basically the same as your info in that post, and basically what you feed. =P I do think the new grinding thing is dumb, for sure.

[.sarah]

Sarah... I understand that Dr. Billinghurst has recently started advocating grinding. I'm talking about his book from several years ago, Give Your Dog A Bone. There is nothing wierd about the book - not even mention of grinding. Just info about raw meaty bones, how much to feed, how often, etc. What is in this book is basically the same as your info in that post, and basically what you feed. =P I do think the new grinding thing is dumb, for sure.

Oh, really? I though Give Your Dog A Bone was one of the new ones Sorry!

I really, really reccomend Tom Lonsdale's books if you want books to read. Though I don't think they're really needed with that Yahoo! group, to be honest. That group knows just as much as the book writers and they are there to answer wierd and stupid questions

[IRescue452]

Autumn has never had a carrot come out whole, so something breaks them down. I think whole carrots are good for their teeth too. Either way, its a healthy treat, much better than giving fattening treats all the time.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Thanks for all the helpful info! Lily and Roxy occasionally get fruits and veggies, and yogurt for little treats anyways. They love things like Beggin Strips, but I'm sure they'd like other things better...
Okay I have a few more questions...
What would be something good to start them out on?
How often should they get organs?
If I use Veggies, how much a week?
How many meals should I split into one day?
I think that's it.. If I think of anything else I'll come back and edit.
Thought of somthing else.. My dogs are both normally active, especially on walks. Could that change the price of feeding them Raw..?

[IRescue452]

Sorry I'm off the questions a bit, but how much do you normally pay for soup bones? Autumn gets smoked femur bones occasionally without chipping her teeth so I decided to try a soup bone today. It was 99 cents a pound and 2.29 altogether. Not extremely cheap if you ask me but the local meat market is kinda expensive to begin with. They are more of a showy catering place with some retail on the side.

[.sarah]

What would be something good to start them out on?
Chicken works well. It's cheap and bland and rarely causes a problem for dogs.

How often should they get organs?
It doesn't matter, really. If you want to feed them once a week that is fine, every day is also fine, and so is once every few weeks. Only thing I wouldn't reccomend is an all-organ meal, because that tends to cause the runs. And if you decide to feed them every day (which is a pain, I wouldn't reccomend trying that) then make sure you aren't giving too many organs. I think it's easier to feed them once or twice a week.

If I use Veggies, how much a week?
It shouldn't take over the diet. A tablespoon a day max, so about 7 tablespoons a week. What is that, a cup a week?

How many meals should I split into one day?
One meal a day is fine. You can feed two meals if that makes you feel better, but generally it is hard to get everything portion sized when you feed two meals.

My dogs are both normally active, especially on walks. Could that change the price of feeding them Raw..?
It will mean you need to feed more to keep weight on. Those percentages are meant for adult dogs with a moderate activity level. You may need to adjust their feeding portions but I can't imagine it being drastically different from the reccomend amounts. My dogs are all active but the girls eat way less than what is reccomended. The percentage says they need 1.5 lbs a day, and they eat .75 lbs a day. So maybe it will be cheaper than you are expecting Buck is right on target for what they reccomend, but he is also still growing.

[Roxyluvsme13]

What would be something good to start them out on?
Chicken works well. It's cheap and bland and rarely causes a problem for dogs.

How often should they get organs?
It doesn't matter, really. If you want to feed them once a week that is fine, every day is also fine, and so is once every few weeks. Only thing I wouldn't reccomend is an all-organ meal, because that tends to cause the runs. And if you decide to feed them every day (which is a pain, I wouldn't reccomend trying that) then make sure you aren't giving too many organs. I think it's easier to feed them once or twice a week.

If I use Veggies, how much a week?
It shouldn't take over the diet. A tablespoon a day max, so about 7 tablespoons a week. What is that, a cup a week?

How many meals should I split into one day?
One meal a day is fine. You can feed two meals if that makes you feel better, but generally it is hard to get everything portion sized when you feed two meals.

Okay, so.. if I fed them both about midday (3-ish?) I could give them some meat and a cup full of veggies, and maybe one day adding an organ in there and reducing the meat a bit? Chicken sounds okay, I'll have to check out our local butcher. I'm so afraid that I'm going to measure wrong or something and they're not going to have enough to eat..

Okay. They're lazy somedays, and active somedays, depends on their mood. Roxy I suppose needs about 1.25-1.5 pounds, and Lily .25?


I forgot to add, What kind of Vegetables would you feed?