Another diet question!

[stargirl88]

I'm thinking of switching to the raw diet. THINKING!

Can anyone recommend some links or something to read about it? I've read so many nutrition notes and even studied it briefly at uni but I'll never totally get to grips with it everyone just says something different. Googled it but the sites I looked at were so anti-kibble it just started irritating me!

So main things I wanted to know what WHAT to feed, quantity, and how do i introduce it??
Also, the bags of frozen bones etc you see in pets at home.... is that a lower quality than supermarket/butchers?

I'm scared about him choking on a bone but he finds kibble so boring unless I mix it with scraps, I know he'd love it. Also I just CANNOT STAND his farting anymore! Actually makes me gag.

any suggestions muchos appreciated!

 

[KarynK]

Reference Material
Here is a link to my sisters articles:
http://www.brushbow.co.uk/src/speciesmenu.htm

If you google Ian Billinghurst you will find out a lot more, he has written several books I don't feed everything he suggests and mine get no dairy or pasta as part of their diet but do get table scraps occasionally with them in. Another reference is a lady called Kymythy Schultze.

There is some very useful information in the Orijen white Paper on their website but when you read it bear in mind they are trying to flog a cooked food!! I agree with a lot of what they say though and they give some useful History and arguments against high grain dog foods.

The VERY IMPORTANT thing to remember is when introducing raw diet NEVER feed bones near kibble meals as they travel at different speeds and can cause serious problems.

I always put mine straight on to raw, but if you wish to you can gradually introduce it but keep the raw away from kibble meals.

Most dogs will experience some form of "Detox" as they shed the effects of their previous diet, this can last a week or months and in some rare cases you get bad reactions like in CC's B who is eating raw a couple of times a week I think now. You can expect to see a bit of itching etc. but once that is gone they are away!

In a Nutshell, Bones are a very important part of any raw diet, they are a dogs fibre as well as containing essential nutrients and produce firm stools that clear the anal glands.

Apart from raw green tripe, all the food mine get is human grade from the butcher.

My two adult cattle dogs weigh around 20-22 kg and this is roughly their diet:

Basically if you feed a variety and aim to balance over a week or two and not every meal. I feed mine once a day as adults.

Day 1 - Chicken carcasses or wings (5 supermarket wings or 1 carcass for a 22kg mutt probably less butchers wings as they are bigger)
Day 2 – Breast of lamb (in half one gets the soft meaty end and the other the bony end and if I remember who’s had what I rotate that on the next lamb meal)
Day 3 – Offal - Liver/Hearts or Tripe with a couple of teaspoons of blended veg and a raw egg. Will put a handful of pumpkin seeds in the blender now and again as they help detach worms from the digestive tract, (may possibly help sis has had 0 worm counts for years) Mine hate kidneys!
Day 4 – Chicken (Carcases or wings for mine as they maintain weight, if you have a skinny go for legs or thighs with more muscle meat)
Day 5 – Fishies ( Pilchards in tomato sauce with some raw fish mixed in – like whitebait or whatever is reduce or on special offer.) with an egg and some cold pressed oil
Day 6 – Breast of lamb
Day 7 – Piggie tootie (careful Pigs trotters can make them fart so can be a bit dodgy for those prone to problems and the bones can be quite hard)
Day 8 – Chicken carcasses or wings
Day 9 - minced meat or something like stewing steak – whatever is on offer with a bit of veg eggs and oil if it’s mince or chunks.
Day 10 – Exotics – Rabbit, game or sometimes real treat Oxtail or a turkey leg
Day 11 – Chicken carcasses or wings
Day 12 – Lamb bones with a bit of meat on them
Day 13 – Offal & veg
Day 14 – Chicken carcasses or wings

Some supplement with Kelp, but I keep forgetting to buy it! Apparently alfalfa sprouts are good too, they will eat the horse’s alfalfa but if I put it in their feed they turn their noses up! I use any veg that’s cheap or that is still in the fridge from the last shop, but they love carrots. It’s blended to break down the cellulose in the plant cell walls so the dogs can actually get something out of it.

I tend to put my lot in the freezer in mixed levels then they get what comes out in no particular order, so they might get chicken for a few days then Lamb.

The butcher is best bet as you will save a lot of money that way , it’s all of human grade quality and they have to pay to get rid of it all!!! Also you will find me hanging around the reduced counter at supermarkets! With the price of chickens there you should be able to get a few, I take the crown off for me and give the dogs the arms legs and back. The super market birds have softer bones as they are younger so would be good for starting off older dogs.

 

[KarynK]

The only thing I am careful with are supermarket chicken wings as they are small and if folded can stick a bit so I make sure they are stretched out as I feed them, but mine are greedy feeders and I have not had one choke yet!