A Few Questions on Feeding Raw.

[wolfsoul]

Yep, if you decide not to feed veggies everyday but have a substitute other than meat or organs, cottage cheese or yogurt is fine.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Now all I've left to do is wait on Erica's book, read it, and convince my mom Raw is better for the dogs, and get a blender.

[bckrazy]

Ok, I'll help answer these questions too. Even though they've already been taken care of

What would be something good to start them out on? Definitely, chicken or turkey. Cheap, easy to find, easy to eat (especially for your little Lily), & not at all likely to cause a stomache upset.
How often should they get organs? I feed organs twice a week, Gonzo gets his with some muscle meat.
I use Veggies, how much a week? Like I said, I feed no more than 10% of their weekly intake. They usually get one or two small veggie puree meals per week.
How many meals should I split into one day? It depends... if you're feeding half or whole chicken or one large cut, I feed one meal. If it's something smaller, like one rib, or one or two wings, Gonzo gets 2 meals. If he's getting a half of a chicken or rabbit, which is a big meal in the morning, I will feed him veggie puree for dinner or goats milk & an egg or something.
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..? Gonzo gets 1-3 hours of intense running exercise (like, racing back and fourth across a field or our 1 acre yard) plus dog sports for 4 hours per week, not even counting 2 long walks a day. He is very active, but his metabolism adjusts well and he doesn't require a lot of calories at all. He gets less than 1 lb a day, at 40 lbs, and being extremely active. I do think it depends on the dog... just watch their weight!

About dairy, I think yogurt, cottage cheese, goat milk, goat cheese, eggs, etc, provide a great source of probiotics. No, it isn't exactly "natural" but neither are supplements or pureed veggies It is proven to be very nutritional when fed occasionally.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Ok, thanks ^^ I remembered something else, too.
If you feed eggs, do you boil them, just give them to the dog, shell on, or off?

[Kfamr]

Eggs are given completely raw - shell and all. A lot of people like to crush the shell very finely for their dogs.

[wolfsoul]

I give eggs raw. I only give her the shell if she didn't get any bone that day.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Okay! Thank you so much again for the help everyone! If you have anything extra I should know, Please post!

[lv4dogs]

i put the egg, shell & all in the blender.
Once a week or so I will only give them the egg, yolk & white, with no shell, usually because I am lazy & don't want to get the blender out. lol

[Roxyluvsme13]

We got a carton of 18 eggs today, and I plan to sneak one to the dogs. I also looked at the meat prices and discussed feeding Raw more with my mom.

A whole chicken was $2.37.
Beef ranged from $5 +
Turkey I didn't see much of, so I didn't look at the price.
Chicken leg quarters, (I guess a 10 pack) $7.80
So...my mom said that was too expensive. I told her butchers were cheaper.
On the way home..
Me: If you feed Raw it's much healthier.
Mom: I don't get how it's much healthier, why's it better?
Me: Kibble has all sorts of crap in it, and feeding Raw is what dogs were raised from.
Mom: What about Salmonella, E-Coli?
Me: There's been more cases of that in kibble..
Mom: *surprised look*
Haha, I think I'm convincing her! I'm going to ask if I can give the dogs a raw egg each and see if they like it.
Are the prices for the meat high? I thought they were.

[.sarah]

LOL! About the price, tell her that if you spend more on the diet, you'll be saving more in vet bills from diseases that could be onset by poor diet That's what I tell people when they say it's too expensive, then they're pretty much speechless. Or they bring up "but it takes too much time" and I say, "but you're spending more time preparing meals instead of at the vet because your dog is sick". And really, once you get in the swing of things and create a routine, it doesn't take up that much time.

By the way, the chicken prices sound good, especially for the quarters. It was probably a 10lb bag, in which case it was $.78/lb, very cheap! (Actually sometimes chicken quarters can be as cheap as $.29/lb!!) Beef is generally expensive, so I feed mostly beef heart (usually $.70/lb here) and beef brisket ($.93/lb). All other beef cuts have been way too expensive.

[cali]

also if you tell butchers what you are getting it for I found many that supply bones for raw feeders for dicounted prices, as the stuff you often want is considered "scraps" that most people dont eat anyway. also check out butchers that hunters go too, we have a butcher just outsiude of town, the hunters bring there kill there for cutting and many times the hunter does not want the bone and this butcher will give the bones and scraps to raw feeders for free. also when you guys buy chicken and turckey for your owner dinner you can by a whole one instead of already cut peices, then you can debone the bird yourself, feed the dogs the bones and no more cokkied ckicken and turkey bones all over the place, you get the breast the the dogs get several meals(1 turkey feeds my 5 dogs for 3 days and 3 people for 2 days) and you get boneless meat and less mess, and no extra cost.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Ahh, ok so the chicken was well priced. Lily LOVED the egg. She didn't like the shell though, but I can expect that since it wasn't ground up or anything. She gobbled it up though, and my mom kept saying I don't think this is a good idea, the shell will cause her an obstruction, blah, blah.. . I'm going to sneak Roxy an egg with her kibble tonight. At least it's a start.

[lv4dogs]

LOL! About the price, tell her that if you spend more on the diet, you'll be saving more in vet bills from diseases that could be onset by poor diet That's what I tell people when they say it's too expensive, then they're pretty much speechless. Or they bring up "but it takes too much time" and I say, "but you're spending more time preparing meals instead of at the vet because your dog is sick". And really, once you get in the swing of things and create a routine, it doesn't take up that much time.

Exactly! It cuts down on vet bills, skin problems which in turn might mean less bathing & the like, no more brushing teeth, less yard pick up, the lsit can go on & on & on & on.
Besides it's not really THAT much more expensive, it's even cheaper if you have small dogs &/or freezer space to accomidate bulk purchases.

Once you get into the swing of things I think it's actually less time consuming.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Roxy loved the egg, but not the shell, too. She inhaled it . Well, licked it, but pretty fast, xD. All I have left to do is get Erica's book, show my mom why Raw is better by making more points when she has excuses (), and buying the meat.
Also..
Me:A whole chicken's $2.37.
Mom: A WHOLE CHICKEN?! WTF! (ok she didnt say WTF, but that was her expression )
Me: It'd be enough for Roxy, and these right here (I think they were thighs or something) would be enough for Lily.
Mom: Says nothing. Walks off.
^_^

[lv4dogs]

Roxy loved the egg, but not the shell, too. She inhaled it . Well, licked it, but pretty fast, xD. All I have left to do is get Erica's book, show my mom why Raw is better by making more points when she has excuses (), and buying the meat.
Also..
Me:A whole chicken's $2.37.
Mom: A WHOLE CHICKEN?! WTF! (ok she didnt say WTF, but that was her expression )
Me: It'd be enough for Roxy, and these right here (I think they were thighs or something) would be enough for Lily.
Mom: Says nothing. Walks off.
^_^

A whole chicken will probably feed Roxy twice. And Lilly would probably only need half a thigh. (approx, guessing figuring they are the same size as what is sold in this area)