What did your dog(s) eat today?

[.sarah]

Nova had a chicken quarter today.

Dogs can get salmon poisoning (caused by Neorickettsia helminthoeca) from eating salmon, steelhead and other trout species.

This is almost completely localized to the north Pacific ocean. I wouldn't worry about salmonoid species over here, but I can definetly understand your paranoia!

Pork is commonly a "dirty" meat so it is also best to freeze it as well before feeding it raw.

Dirty how? Are you refferring to trichinosis? It is very rare now in the US, and not a problem with pork raised for human consumption. If you're buying your meat from grocery stores or butchers, I wouldn't worry about the pork there. If it wasn't raised for humans, then I would deep freeze it for at least a week, if not more.

Does anyone else have gobblers?

I think that's pretty much guaranteed when owning a Lab Yes, my Labs are all gobblers, especially Nova and Luka. Buck is a little better since he was raised on raw, but he still eats some things like they're oysters.

I see a lot of you feed tripe. Do you order it? I've never seen anything around here except for the bleached tripe they have at the grocery and I know that's of no nutritional value.

Green tripe doesn't pass USDA's inspection. So basically, if you want tripe, you've gotta get it from somewhere else. I'm on a waiting list to get some from that supplier that I PMed you a while back.

[lv4dogs]

This is almost completely localized to the north Pacific ocean. I wouldn't worry about salmonoid species over here, but I can definetly understand your paranoia!

Yeah, like I said I am paranoid. lol I am glad you included that part, I completely forgot about it, which is odd as I always mention that. It's great to post that on a public forum because people from all over will see it, possibly people in the NW that might not of otherwise known about it. BUT some grocery stores get their seafood shipped in and even though you are buying it in the eastern parts it could still very well be NW fish. But if you catch your own fish in the eastern part, you are right, you probably don't have to worry about it.

Dirty how? Are you refferring to trichinosis? It is very rare now in the US, and not a problem with pork raised for human consumption. If you're buying your meat from grocery stores or butchers, I wouldn't worry about the pork there. If it wasn't raised for humans, then I would deep freeze it for at least a week, if not more.

Yes, I was refferring to trichnosis, and if I recall correctly I thought I have heard other people mention other parasites & the like that are commonly found in pork. I know that they are rare in the US but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Green tripe doesn't pass USDA's inspection. So basically, if you want tripe, you've gotta get it from somewhere else. I'm on a waiting list to get some from that supplier that I PMed you a while back.

I never knew that. I wonder if it is legal for them to sell it for animal consumption and not human? I get green tripe from my butcher, I hope he's not doing it illegally.

[Jadapit]

I was wondering about the pork and fresh salmon myself. I get a news letter from a guy that owns pit bulls he has fed his dogs raw for over a decade. Here is what he has to say about raw salmon and pork.



What meat sources you use is pretty much up to you. The only hard fast rules I follow are:


NO raw pork, trichinosis is still an issue unless you are POSITIVE the meat you get is clean. It's a nasty little worm that does a lot of damamge. I don't feed pork product period, it's hard for them to digest.


NO raw salmon. It can have a liver fluke that can potentially destroy your dogs liver. Cooked or canned is fine. One part of feeding raw that happens across the board, unless it's a young pup, is detox. Their system has to get rid of all the garbage that has built up over years of feeding dry food, good or bad quality. It usually takes a month with the worst case scenarios.

They smell, their coat gets dull and brittle, their skin is oily, their breath and stool stinks, then one day, bingo. Beautiful dog. It's happened to every one of my animals that I have given raw, to one degree or another.

Another concern that comes up frequently is bacteria and germs. A dogs system is designed to eat raw food. Their digestive juices are strong enough to break bones down, as a general rule they aren't very susceptible to e-Coli, listeria or salmonella.

The dogs that are going to be susceptible are the very young, the very old and those that are ill. As far as germs go, if you use the same cleaning practices you do with your own food everything should be fine. The dog bowls are cleaned after each meal, the prep surfaces are scrubbed and the utensils are washed. Common sense and good kitchen practices will keep everything in hand.

[Kfamr]

I freeze all of their food before feeding. The Trout was frozen for about 2 week.


Today they're having:

Simba:
Chicken Breasts
Carrots
Tomatoes


Nala:
1/2 Chicken Thigh
Beef
Carrots
Tomatoes


Kiara:
Chicken Thigh
Beef
Carrots
Tomatoes




Nala and Kiara are gobblers - that's why I feed frozen.

[.sarah]

NO raw pork, trichinosis is still an issue unless you are POSITIVE the meat you get is clean. It's a nasty little worm that does a lot of damamge. I don't feed pork product period, it's hard for them to digest.

It is NOT an issue in USDA inspected meat. However, if you are worried, just don't feed it. Just make sure another red meat is a staple in the diet. Beef and pork make up at least half of my dogs' diet, and I also feed Lamb when it's on sale (and I stock up, so it gets fed usually every two weeks or so). I personally believe that dogs' do better on a diet compromised of mostly red meat, though I have nothing to back that up besides observations that people have made of wild wolves I try to keep the poultry at a minimum (less than 50% of the overall diet).

NO raw salmon. It can have a liver fluke that can potentially destroy your dogs liver.

Again, this applies to salmon from the pacific. If in doubt, freezing for a week completely kills flukes. And again, don't feed it if it worries you.

Cooked or canned is fine.

It is fine, but it does not provide as much nutrition. If you are scared about salmon, feed other fish. However, raw salmon is a wonderful source of O3s. I rarely feed it because it is so durn expensive (only fed it once when we first started this diet and didn't know how to bargain shop).

Try to keep the canned stuff to a minimum (lots of added things that you should avoid), and don't make cooked food a meal too often. Raw is always better.

When it comes to store-bought fish, I feed mostly trout. I get it at Winn-Dixie for $2.99/lb. That is incredibly cheap price for fish. I also feed whatever my dad catches (snapper, mullet, etc.). He fishes every two weeks. He brings home whatever he would otherwise throw out, and also keeps the scraps from cleaning the fish. Whole fish/fish heads/fish scraps are a wonderful way to get organs and body parts into your dogs' diet that most people have a hard time finding (brains, eyes, etc.).

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Danegirl, good video of Malakai! My S2 that takes videos is currently being repaired I've been wanting to get a video of them eating. I have tons of pictures, but videos are really interesting for the people that I am recruiting to start feeding raw


LOL, great shot! I am glad they are enjoying their new food!

Now I have to go cut up a 14 lb turkey and feed some of it to the dogs

[anna_66]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who has a gobbler! I pretty much feed all my food frozen, I still can't get over the "ick" factor of raw meat (ewww especially liver ).

Robin I see the girls really enjoy their chicken! Love the pictures!

Huney had a special treat all of her own today....she caught herself a mouse! I look outside and what do I see but a tail and legs hanging out of her mouth

I haven't added any pics of mine enjoying their food, thought I'd post a couple too.
Here they all are enjoying their rack of ribs.




Their meal today was beef tongue and pigs feet.

[Kfamr]

Here's a video of my three eating their fish.

http://petevents.com/~simba/fishheads.wmv

[.sarah]

LOL Kay, that music is perfect! Too funny!


She is so adorable!! Looks like they're all enjoying their food


I just put in an order. My supplier is having a huge sale, so I got lots of the expensive things for very cheap!

Here's what I got:

4 lbs bison liver
4 lbs bison heart
4 lbs beef lung
2 beef spleen
5 beef pizzles (penises )
4 beef testicles
1 pork stomach
4 pork lungs
4 pigs feet
8 game hens (completely whole, feathers and all!)
4 pastured fryers (also whole)
4 guinea pigs (also whole)

I should also be getting some beef tripe if there is any room left in the shipping freezer