Raw diet

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Mitchyden

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I've recently started feeding my dogs a raw diet and I'm a bit confused as to how much they should be having. Poppy weighs about 30kg and Polo 36kg and I believe they should receive about 2% of their bodyweight.

I normally give them half their diet as mince in the morning and then chicken wings in the evenings. So if Poppy needs 600g of food a day, do I just give her 300g of chicken wings in the evening or doesn't it work like that. I'm a bit worried they're not getting enough although in Poppy's case she's a bit plump!

Also, I tend to give them about 100g of lightly cooked vegetables each day to bulk out their food. Will this do them any harm?
 
I feed by eye - if dog gets too fat, reduce food, if dog looks like a hat-rack, increase food, rather than go by weights, every dog is different and it sounds like they are eating well.
There's far more 'goodness' 'balance' and 'variety' in meat for dogs than there is in lots of dry foods, they're not like us, they don't need 'everything in one meal', even in the same week.

Veg is fine but it's best to blend it as it can often go straight through them (as I found out with leftover baby potatoes last week :p)
 
Thanks for replying. I still can't get my head around feeding bones though. I gave them poultry necks this morning and was having heart failure while they were crunching away! When they had finished, there was a tiny bit of bone of the carpet which looked very sharp so it's now made me worry about feeding bones. Is it normal for these bones to break like this?
 
CaveCanem said:
I feed by eye - if dog gets too fat, reduce food, if dog looks like a hat-rack, increase food, rather than go by weights, every dog is different and it sounds like they are eating well.
There's far more 'goodness' 'balance' and 'variety' in meat for dogs than there is in lots of dry foods, they're not like us, they don't need 'everything in one meal', even in the same week
Click to expand...

Very true (must stop following you around, CC :D)

I've never weighed the food, and with raw, adjustments are easy and quick to make a difference.

With veg and fruit, I either juice them or freeze them first as this breaks down the cellulose wall which cannot be digested, and thus they can utilise all the nutrients.
 
Raw chicken bones are very soft and maleable and get broken down in the stomach so I would not worry overly.
We've been conditioned to thinking that raw bones are dangerous. I know far more dogs that have taken bloat and torsion when fed on dry food, than those who have been injured by raw bones.
I get great enjoyment out of watching my dog, enjoying his food!

If it really freaks you out try getting in a mince with bone included - I get whole minced chicken, I think Natural Instinct does a bone-in mix.
 
Take a look in ya dogs mouth- see them teethies? They are designed to chew meat and bone- raw, you never see a few dogs sat round a camp fire cooking their kill. Yes in the beginning its a bit worrying but soon you'll relax. I weighed out 2% of what he should have been when i very first started, to give me a rough idea, but now do it by eye- if he has had a huge lambs neck or something one day he'll get very little the next. It all averages itself out eventually.
 
If you've ever had your hand stuck in a dog's mouth trying to get a ball back off him (not me, you understand ;)) you'll stop worrying about their capacity to crush a little chicken bone :o :o :o
 
I only switched to raw about 2 years back now. I remember the first day when I gave my dogs pork ribs and I was having kittens! Just breath, they will be fine :-)
 
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