Raw Feeding – Need Info?
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editor in
Question & Answer on
Oct 26th, 2009 |
4 responses
I am switching my dogs over to raw, and need some feeding ideas. I know that 60-80% should be RMBs, but beyond that, what do I feed? I also know that you shouldn’t mix certain things together – what exactly does this mean? Do people use supplements, and if so, what? My hubby and friends do a lot of deer hunting, what can I use from the deer, or what can I ask the local butchers for? I really don’t like the idea of feedings deer heads – but what else would work?
Any ideas would be great! Thank you…
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I would join a raw feeding list like Raw-Lite on Yahoogroups. There are searchable archives, files that cover all sorts of topics, and experienced members to help whenever you have questions. Congratulations on your decision to feed raw!
As to 60 – 80% RMB… that kind of depends on what percentage bone your RMBs tend to be. If you are feeding really bony stuff, it will be too much bone.
I find venison legs splintery and scary… bone shards in poop, too. Ribs, meat, organs are fine.
I don’t worry about mixing different things.
I do supplement, but I have dogs with health issues and I have studied this for a very long time. It is fine to supplement with fish body oil (NOT cod liver oil!)… maybe 1000 mg. per 10 -20 pounds of dog, a bit of Vitamin E to go with it.
Get yourself a dog freezer, and buy cases of things from the butcher (way cheaper): chicken leg quarters, lamb necks, beef heart, etc. depending on the size of your dogs. Buy sale items in quantity at the grocery (roasts, whole chickens, ground meat, etc.).
A couple of weeks in, you will want to slowly introduce organs (kidney, liver)… work up to somewhere around 10 – 15% of the diet. Forget the vitamin!
No! No multivitamins! If fed correctly, you don’t need to supplement a raw diet… and over-supplementing is just as bad as under supplementing!! You do need to puree your fruits and vegetables, though.
I feed raw: 80% RMBs (estimated), 10% organ meat.. half of which should be made up of liver, and 10% fruits and vegetables. Blueberries, squash, spinach, green beans, apples, carrots…
Once a week, my dogs are fed sardines for the DHA and omega 3’s and 6’s. Every third day, I give an egg… shell and all.
Yoghurt can be given.. I give about a tablespoon a day mixed with pure canned pumpkin.
ETA: Here’s a great tool to show you how much to feed. http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm
I don’t raw feed but my neighbour does with his Siberians. He just throws them part of a carcass and lets them go at it. We have lots of roadkill deer around here so there is no shortage of meat. He gives me some for my dog once in a while but my wife prefers not to know about it. They don’t get fruits or vegetables and he sees no reason why they should.
Besides; I have never seen any dog raid an orchard or a vegetable patch for food either.
Feed chicken legs and quarters, raw venison ribs(since you guys hunt),and pureed fruits and vegetables. With a bit of yogurt as a snack. Your dog should be getting lots of edible bone in their diet(pork,lamb,is it’s a big/medium dog,fowl and poultry,rabbit,fish.
And a multi-vitamin tablet once weekly.