Post by CampGreyhound on Sept 28, 2010 22:12:06 GMT -5
Feeding this type of raw diet is easily managed once your initial learning curve flattens out a bit. The hardest part of feeding raw is finding good reliable sources for your food, as the grocery store can be expensive. Talk to others who feed raw to see where they get their food, and don't be shy about approaching the local butcher, they often will have perfectly good trim that they will sell at a good price. If you know any hunters, ask them what they do with their kills; often a venison processor will have an abundance of meat and will be happy to have you take some away.
If you have small pets, like toy-sized dogs or cats, price will not be an issue for you, but if you have larger dogs, you might as well get yourself a large freezer now so you can take advantage of deals when they arise.
You should be feeding 2-3% of your pet's weight per day. For example, if you have a 75lb. dog, 2% will be 24 oz, which can be given in one meal, or 12 ounces each for two meals. For 2.5% the total will be 30 ounces per day, and for 3% the total will be 36 ounces per day.
Here's a Raw Food Calculator to help you:
www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm
Generally, your basic formula for feeding should be 75-80% muscle meat, 10-15% bone and 10% organ meat, with half of that being liver. When you first start off, you will be feeding just one or two protein sources, and don't add organ meat until you have a solid stool and your pet has no digestive issues. Take it easy on bone at first as well, it takes time for the digestive enzymes to come up to good levels when raw is first introduced. Probiotics and L-Glutamine can also help restore the digestive tract to it's normal state.
Initially, most people start with chicken because it's plentiful and inexpensive; watch out for enhanced meat, it's getting very common and is sometimes hard to spot - ask if in doubt. Once you've spent a few weeks with chicken and your pet is acclimated, you can introduce a another protein source - pork or turkey is good. Once your pet has been introduced to 3 or 4 protein sources (this should take 6-8 weeks), start introducing organ meat.
Be prepared for your dog to pick up that chicken leg quarter and try to wander around with it - this behavior is ingrained, but you can train them to stand or sit still pretty easily. We encourage our dogs to eat on their beds (we drape a towel over the bed for ease of clean up) and if the dog tries to move off the towel, we take the food away. They learn pretty quickly to stay on that towel, whether they stand or lie down is up to them, but they must stay on the towel. When they're finished eating, just pick the towel up and throw it in the wash, or store in the freezer for the next night's meal.
Frequency of feeding will be up to you - many go with one meal a day so that their dog feels full, but many do 2 a day with no issues, so it's up to you. Which ever you chose, always supervise while your dog eats.
Raw food is a much more valued resource than kibble, so you may see some resource guarding behavior where you did not before. Keep your surfers separate from your other dogs, and let them know stealing food is not ok.
There are several organ meats that do double duty, as they are both organ and muscle meat. This includes heart, tripe, and tongue. I suggest introducing these cuts first so you have some flexibility with feeding. Go slowly with organ meat - liver and heart are both renowned for causing pudding poops if you go too quickly or feed too much, so easy does it. Be sure to check out the Liver Analysis post, which shows the nutrients in liver from various difference animals. You can see it's a good idea to vary what kind of liver you feed, along with everything else!
Remember to vary the cuts you give, in order to provide a variety of nutrients ( see Mammal meat analysis ) and also the pork cuts comparison thread . These two threads really illustrate why you need to vary cuts within a protein source, and also the protein source, once you've introduced them.
Treats are a bit of an issue when you go raw, especially this form of raw. Prey model feeding does not include vegetables or grains. Your answer for treats is to use dehydrated meat; the pets love it and it's readily available at pet stores; also many raw pet outlets, including ours, make their own with no additives or preservatives. Buying dehydrated meat from your local raw outlet is a good way to ensure your pet is getting safe treats. Another alternative is to make your own! Pick up a dehydrator and make your own treats using the cuts your pet loves best, and save a bundle. You'll never have to be nervous about a pet food recall again!
If you have small pets, like toy-sized dogs or cats, price will not be an issue for you, but if you have larger dogs, you might as well get yourself a large freezer now so you can take advantage of deals when they arise.
You should be feeding 2-3% of your pet's weight per day. For example, if you have a 75lb. dog, 2% will be 24 oz, which can be given in one meal, or 12 ounces each for two meals. For 2.5% the total will be 30 ounces per day, and for 3% the total will be 36 ounces per day.
Here's a Raw Food Calculator to help you:
www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm
Generally, your basic formula for feeding should be 75-80% muscle meat, 10-15% bone and 10% organ meat, with half of that being liver. When you first start off, you will be feeding just one or two protein sources, and don't add organ meat until you have a solid stool and your pet has no digestive issues. Take it easy on bone at first as well, it takes time for the digestive enzymes to come up to good levels when raw is first introduced. Probiotics and L-Glutamine can also help restore the digestive tract to it's normal state.
Initially, most people start with chicken because it's plentiful and inexpensive; watch out for enhanced meat, it's getting very common and is sometimes hard to spot - ask if in doubt. Once you've spent a few weeks with chicken and your pet is acclimated, you can introduce a another protein source - pork or turkey is good. Once your pet has been introduced to 3 or 4 protein sources (this should take 6-8 weeks), start introducing organ meat.
Be prepared for your dog to pick up that chicken leg quarter and try to wander around with it - this behavior is ingrained, but you can train them to stand or sit still pretty easily. We encourage our dogs to eat on their beds (we drape a towel over the bed for ease of clean up) and if the dog tries to move off the towel, we take the food away. They learn pretty quickly to stay on that towel, whether they stand or lie down is up to them, but they must stay on the towel. When they're finished eating, just pick the towel up and throw it in the wash, or store in the freezer for the next night's meal.
Frequency of feeding will be up to you - many go with one meal a day so that their dog feels full, but many do 2 a day with no issues, so it's up to you. Which ever you chose, always supervise while your dog eats.
Raw food is a much more valued resource than kibble, so you may see some resource guarding behavior where you did not before. Keep your surfers separate from your other dogs, and let them know stealing food is not ok.
There are several organ meats that do double duty, as they are both organ and muscle meat. This includes heart, tripe, and tongue. I suggest introducing these cuts first so you have some flexibility with feeding. Go slowly with organ meat - liver and heart are both renowned for causing pudding poops if you go too quickly or feed too much, so easy does it. Be sure to check out the Liver Analysis post, which shows the nutrients in liver from various difference animals. You can see it's a good idea to vary what kind of liver you feed, along with everything else!
Remember to vary the cuts you give, in order to provide a variety of nutrients ( see Mammal meat analysis ) and also the pork cuts comparison thread . These two threads really illustrate why you need to vary cuts within a protein source, and also the protein source, once you've introduced them.
Treats are a bit of an issue when you go raw, especially this form of raw. Prey model feeding does not include vegetables or grains. Your answer for treats is to use dehydrated meat; the pets love it and it's readily available at pet stores; also many raw pet outlets, including ours, make their own with no additives or preservatives. Buying dehydrated meat from your local raw outlet is a good way to ensure your pet is getting safe treats. Another alternative is to make your own! Pick up a dehydrator and make your own treats using the cuts your pet loves best, and save a bundle. You'll never have to be nervous about a pet food recall again!