Weight gain on raw?

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prosefullstop

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After toying with the idea for a long while, we switched Stella to raw a month ago. Previously she was on fresh cooked (turkey breast, veg, supplements) and is now fed Nature's Variety raw venison patties.

The back of the packet suggests 6-8 patties for dogs 15-20lbs. I'm feeding her six patties, yet she has definitely gained a couple of pounds since beginning the diet.

Am I doing anything wrong, or is this diet too rich for my wee good doer?
 
Well, other than the sudden acquisition of neck blub, the Nature's Variety does seem to suit her. By "real" raw I presume you mean regular ole meat and bones?
 
No experience of the feed you mention, but I do find that most dog food companies totally over exaggerate the amount you need to feed. My GSDs are fed less than half the amount recommended on the feed bags, and they are all an ideal weight imo.
 
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^^ Same as MM!

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I guess we'll go down to five patties, then. Actually, since we went from seven to six, the back blub is slowly cessating. As you all know, Stella is very, very active, so a lack of running is not the issue.
 
Hi Prose

Well done for taking the plunge!!

That does sound like a lot, just had a quick look on their website do the patties weigh 1/2 lb each or am I reading it wrong? Although it says they contain ground bone it does not say the proportion, but since it is listed behind the other meats I think perhaps it is less than what I feed (80%).

Bone is a part of a dog’s roughage and it sounds like there is a lot more muscle meat in the patties than bone.

Basically muscle meat gains weight and bone is a filler and helps them feel full when loosing weight, how much does Stella weigh? They do say 1-1/2% to 2% of body weight daily and there is a feeding guide, but I dont tend to follow guidelines I feed by eye and if they need to loose some they get more bone and less meat.

I would cut her down a bit until you find the level at which she maintains weight. What you might want to do is give her a bone now and again as this diet although it contains bone, will not clean her teeth. I would go for lamb rib or leg bones if you can get them, deer bones are very hard and so too are beef, but beef knuckles are not too bad and the cartilage at the ends is very good for them to chew on, but the actual shank is hard.
 
Thanks for the tip about bones, Karyn. Silly question, but are uncooked bones softer to chew? We fed Stella cooked beef bones for years--an excellent organic brand that does not splinter--but my vet noticed that it had worn away the ends of some of her teeth, so we stopped with those about six months ago.

To the raw patties, we add Dr. Bob's Health Nuggets, flax oil, and whatever green veggies I'm having that day. Anything that we're missing?

As for the amount, I meant six medallions, not patties. Stella's ideal weight is 16/17lbs, and I would say she's at 18lbs right now.
 
Raw are best definitely, when you cook bones they become very hard and brittle, it changes the consistency completely which is why chicken bones become dangerous, uncooked have a softer consistency and do not splinter and are digested in the stomach which on raw diet is very acidic, so they pass into the intestine largely digested. Sometimes dogs teeth are a bit soft as they have been on the commercial diets for long enough for it to effect the strength of the teeth sadly!

I would go with small lamb bones or perhaps bigger turkey leg bones, you don't have to go mad if there are ground bones in the feed perhaps once a week. Raw liver is also good for cleaning teeth and hearts as well, but you need to feed big chunks or whole hearts so they have to chew hard rather than just swallow, also something like a whole piece of braising steak will also help.

They say 1 1/2 - 2 % of body weight for those feed so about 0.35 lb of the meat a day for Stella, but that sounds quite a lot so perhaps cut down a bit and see if she maintains her weight as it is a lot more nutritious than commercial cooked food. It’s a bit difficult to compare but mine maintain weight on a diet based largely on one chicken carcass like this per day.

(Warning pictures of dead bits!!!!!!)

http://www.rawessentials.co.nz/media/p4828e2c99274a.jpg

or five chicken wings
http://www.steggles.com.au/assets/Uploads/Chickenwing-up2.jpg

These are really good as they are the correct bone to flesh ratio for weight maintenance and if you buy the supermarket ones they are very young birds so the bones are soft, so they are good for starting out or smaller breeds and they are cheap to buy.


And Lamb ribs about this size

http://www.grasslandbeef.com/catalog/LambRib.jpg

My ACD’s weigh around 46lb!!! So you don’t need a huge amount and their diet is largely bone with a bit of flesh.

I don't feed a huge amount of veg, it can be lightly steamed, I tend to put mine in the food processor raw with some cold pressed oil and raw eggs and blitz it and they usually have that with a soft meal, either their pilchards in tomato sauce or with a bit of mince beef or lamb.

They do have pigs feet sometimes but again the bones can be quite hard and it makes them fart!!!
 
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