Questions About Feeding Dogs Raw…?
This morning, I started my three ‘kids’ on a raw diet after fasting them yesterday. Two were on Natural Balance Duck & Potato and the other was on Wellness CORE. All three are in good health; one is a little overweight and one has grain allergies. Two are nine yo and the baby is about 17 months.
Anywhos, I weighed them and calculated about how much they should eat a day. I bought leg quarters and chicken legs to start them with and have two whole chickens in the freezer. It came out to two of them having a chicken quarter and drumstick a day and another having two larger drumsticks. Is that okay for a meal? Of the meats I bought, they’ll last about three days. She didn’t even finish the one leg this morning. She is 47 lbs. and am trying to slim her down a little and she is nearly ten. So I just want to know if she is okay to have those for the day until I start mixing in more meats. And is the meat:bone ratio decent there?
I have been researching for a bit and was very calm about it all until this morning and now am full of questions. Also, if you feed your dog some meat and they don’t finish it, is it okay to save it in the fridge until dinner that same day or will that be unsafe to the dog’s health?
Thanks so much. Just very protective of their health and such. (: And if there are parts that are better or have any tips please let me know. I have yet to find a butcher close by me so I am scanning stores for their marked down meats that need to be sold that day or so.
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Chicken is good to start with, but what you are feeding is a bit bone heavy. It’s not bad for a while, but eventually you’ll need to up the meaty-meat amount.
The link below is to the USDA nutrition guide, if you don’t have it already – it’s handy to figure out how much bone you are feeding.
Thighs and breasts have the lowest bone percentage, so try to feed more of that until you can add another protein source. I generally feed chicken (and turkey) as my “bone” meals, and beef and pork boneless.
Your one dog that didn’t finish eating today – just keep offering her the meat, and she should eventually figure it out. If she still isn’t eating the entire thing in a few days, try bashing it a bit to break up the bone; some dogs need a bit of help initially.
Yes, it’s okay to put the meat back in the fridge, or even in the freezer. Keep an eye on sales and such to get cheaper meat, but remember to stay away from enhanced meat.
You are probably going to have lots of questions over the next few weeks, so it may be better to join a raw feeding email list. Check the link below and see if yoou can find one to suit you there.
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Congrats on making this decision for your dogs !
Yes I would stick to chicken for a few more days and not introduce any other meats at all until you see what comes out the other end.
If you do get any problems don’t give up. The ph balance has to change completely back to what a dogs should be which isn’t the case when they are on kibble. If you do have any problems then you could change over gradually.
Must say though, I tend to just chuck a new dog on it and they are fine.
don’t worry about the bone / meat / offal ratio for a few days, as nothing short term will be lacking. Take the long term view for that.
As you know – introduce one meat at a time. I do freeze all my meat and defrost again before feeding – including chicken.
I do store any food for the next meal, but that would rarely happen in my house.
I’m UK and we have several meat companies here that deliver in bulk at very reasonable prices. I get most of mine from an organic farm shop where he takes any left overs (chicken carcass, feet, wing tips etc and sells them for dog food, along with lamb necks, pigs trotters etc.
Best of luck – and well done. Sure you’ll see a big difference.
If there are any tummy troubles don’t panic – it is just the body getting back to what it should be. After the initial bit, you will find that your dogs poop very little, and very firm crumbly stools. This is normal.
That’s perfect for beginners. You want a higher bone ratio to start out, as it helps prevent diarrhea. You can feed them the chicken legs/quarters for a week or two even, before starting to mix it up. I’d introduce organ meats slowly to keep stools firm as well.
they LOVED it though. It didn’t cause them any problems.
And yes, I think it’s just fine to store uneaten meat in the fridge. I’ve fed mine chicken before that was a little smelly
Another thing — freezing alters enzymes and can even destroy some nutrients, like thiamine for example. I still freeze meat sometimes if I have large quantities that truly won’t keep in the fridge for more than a week or two, but for the most part I try to only refrigerate meat for them.
Good luck!
I’m in the exact same situation as you, but I can try to help =]
From what I’ve read, chicken is the best to give for the first week or two. Another good thing is that chicken has a pretty high bone ratio, so its really good to start off with because all the bone will help firm up the poo. I have no idea about putting leftovers in the fridge though. I’ll hang around for answers xD
Kudos for going raw though =] And good luck finding a butcher! That’s the hardest thing I’ve dealt with so far since I can’t find one either…