Another Question about the RAW diet

[msowell]

Thanks @cinnamontoast

 

[msowell]

After all that, a friend has tempted me away from raw with these subscription guys butternut box which is cooked but fresh food that you need to keep in the fridge or freezer. So far, going well, although maybe because I didn't get the raw mix quite right. Anyway, thanks for all your help.

 

[Rupertthebear]

How much does it cost on average to feed a raw diet? I have 4x springers between 15-22kg. Currently they are on dried food, I have an abundance of goat bones/scrap available which sometimes get thrown in with carrots. Is it worth going all out on the raw?

 

[Cinnamontoast]

My three springers cost about 40p a day each. Depends on your supplier/what you give. *Is jealous of your goat bits*

 

[Roxylola]

I spend about £30 to £40 a month on my two. My springer eats about a pound of food a day, the beagle only gets half that!

 

[Old HorseBreeder]

take a look at Honeys Real Dog Food website, and get them to send you their free booklet. Lots of useful info on there, and they don't do a hard sell, they will advise anyone over the phone about raw diet and even making up formulas at home so as not to miss nutrients like bone out. Really helpful people. My Border Terriers have been on raw for years and do very well on it.

 

[dougbthom]

Very interesting topic and as I'm new here I'll throw in my 2 cents. We've had German Shepherd Dogs over the past 50 years or so and had some experience breeding (very little) as well. We've also been "raw feeders" for the past 20 years with huge success. After feeding what I call "crap in a bag" for many years we came to the realization that we were in our opinion doing probably the worst thing we could for the dogs. We've had and seen all types of cancers over the years, dirty teeth and ears and various other things that cause trips to the veterinarian. After doing some serious investigating into what is actually in the kibble foods ( doesn't matter if it was a $100 or $40. bag) we were stunned to put it mildly. Thus, onto raw food and the results were immediate improvement in the dogs overall health and attitudes. We've found that "variety" is the key! We feed a commercially prepared food that we import from another province rather than making our own. We supplement some but not a lot. Consider how wolves feed in the wild. They don't have BBQ's, eat lots of fresh meat and bones! If you follow the Billinghurst diet, I don't think you'll go too far wrong.
The other thing we changed dramatically is "vaccines". We pump our dogs with far too many vaccines which can lead to many types of sicknesses in our dogs. Other than initial series of puppy shots, we're done with 90% of vaccines. This was a very personal decision we made about 15 years ago and we haven't looked back.
It's in my opinion very personal decisions we make for our pets and not everyone is comfortable making major decisions when faced with so much controversy on the raw feeding and vaccine subjects. Mind you over the past number of years, a lot of pet owners are seeing many of the benefits we have with our dogs.
Now I'll get off my "soap box" and go fed my dogs!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I think titre testing is the way forward!

 

[dougbthom]

I feel exactly the same way. In many cases, vaccinations are nothing but a money grab in my opinion. My vet, who happens to be a long time close friend, doesn't vaccinate his own 2 dogs other than their puppy shots.

 

[AmyMay]

So, we're going down the raw route. Daisy has had various allergies to food, the latest one being an issue with her anal glands. I've got in a good supply (all 80.10.10. We've started this morning with beef and tripe- gone in 3 seconds!!

Fingers crossed that she does well on it.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

What is she allergic to?

 

[AmyMay]

What is she allergic to?

Not really sure to be honest. Just know that kibble (and I've tried several) just doesn't seem to work for her.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I think some people who discover allergies then go to a fish based kibble. Big dog isn't thrilled on raw so he's on Wainwright's Fishmongers currently, but his poo is pretty disgusting on it!

 

[AmyMay]

Done fish......

 

[el_Snowflakes]

Have a look on the Bella & Duke website. It will calculate how much you need to feed & so you can gauge the price also. The ‘working dog’ food if a complete food so contains correct ratios do you don’t need to add anything.

Since moving my dog on to this her coat is gleaming, she’s the best weight she has ever been & her poop is so easy to pick up! She’s always suffered from terrible anal gland issues & since starting the raw diet she has had no issues at all which has blown me away! If bought in bulk it also works out very cost effective. We put an extra freezer in the garage in order to do so.

I’d honestly never feed canned or kibble ever again!

 

[Leo Walker]

I feed raw but tend to avoid premade stuff as it is expensive. We have 2 local suppliers now and mine get mainly Bulmers minces, some freeflow minces, duck wings and chicken feet, then bones, ribs chopped heart and liver from the supermarket. Mine are on 500gms a day give or take and for 2 of them it costs me about £30 a month now

 

[cauda equina]

I am keen to try raw; he's currently on freshly cooked meat and offal.
Can I simply stop cooking and add some bones, or is it more complicated than that?

 

[Leo Walker]

so long as you feed roughly 10% offal, 10% bone and 80% meat then its fine. Lots of people transition them over a long period of time but I never have and if yours is happily eating cooked meat then its even easier.

 

[cauda equina]

Thanks for that, unfortunately my vet has just advised against it on the basis that his immune system might be compromised
I don't want to go back to commercial food so am now investigating how to do a complete cooked diet

 

[Leo Walker]

Could you get one of the complete raw mixes and lightly cook that?

 

[cauda equina]

That's a good idea, thanks

 

[dree]

Right so I don't feed the raw diet to my dogs at the moment but my Mother in law does. (a very new thing)
Now from reading some of your posts on here I'm not sure if she is doing the right thing?
All she feeds hers is mince, raw egg and natural yoghurt, no bones or anything, is this right?
When I asked her she seemed to think it was fine?
Wonder if anyone can answer this so that I can give her some gentle guidance!!!
Thanks.

She needs to add something with bone in it. I feed a diet with minced chicken wings being 60% of the diet....which obviously include bones. The rest of the diet can be other meats, tripe, eggs, etc.

I have a diet sheet. If you would like a copy, please email me.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Why are you replying to a 9 year old post? The OP is no longer active on the forum.

 

[dree]

Why are you replying to a 9 year old post? The OP is no longer active on the forum.

Sorry, really tired!!

 

[Summit]

My boy has been on raw for 7 years now. He’s 9 now and so fit and healthy. clean breath, lovely coat and teeth, no wind problems and small poos

Never goes to the vet unless it’s for injections. I use DAF, minces are 10% offal, 10% bone, 80% meat

 

[dree]

My boy has been on raw for 7 years now. He’s 9 now and so fit and healthy. clean breath, lovely coat and teeth, no wind problems and small poos

Never goes to the vet unless it’s for injections. I use DAF, minces are 10% offal, 10% bone, 80% meat

I've been feeding raw for about 30 years now. Never at the vet.....don't vaccinate at all.

 

[ThatConnemara]

Right so I don't feed the raw diet to my dogs at the moment but my Mother in law does. (a very new thing)
Now from reading some of your posts on here I'm not sure if she is doing the right thing?
All she feeds hers is mince, raw egg and natural yoghurt, no bones or anything, is this right?
When I asked her she seemed to think it was fine?
Wonder if anyone can answer this so that I can give her some gentle guidance!!!
Thanks.

The raw egg is great!I'm not too sure about the yogurt. It needs to be sugar free. If she has a large dog/medium dog they would benefit from a bone. If she has a small(ish) dog it wouldn't be a good idea to give a bone, instead raw chicken breast would be great (You can give this to the larger dogs too!).

 

[Leo Walker]

The raw egg is great!I'm not too sure about the yogurt. It needs to be sugar free. If she has a large dog/medium dog they would benefit from a bone. If she has a small(ish) dog it wouldn't be a good idea to give a bone, instead raw chicken breast would be great (You can give this to the larger dogs too!).

This is a 9yr old comment and your advice is bloody awful yet again. Please stop dishing out advice on subjects you clearly know nothing about. I'm assuming you are a child and you might mean well but you can do more harm than good giving out ridiculous advice like this.

 

[ThatConnemara]

First

This is a 9yr old comment and your advice is bloody awful yet again. Please stop dishing out advice on subjects you clearly know nothing about. I'm assuming you are a child and you might mean well but you can do more harm than good giving out ridiculous advice like this.

If All I am new here and I didn't notice and second of all I may not know a lot about horses but I have had 6 dogs and what I said was advised by VETS so could you stop being so judgemental

 

[ThatConnemara]

This is a 9yr old comment and your advice is bloody awful yet again. Please stop dishing out advice on subjects you clearly know nothing about. I'm assuming you are a child and you might mean well but you can do more harm than good giving out ridiculous advice like this.

Also, what is wrong about this?