Raw Meat Diet?

anyone ever try the pre-packaged raw feeds? they come already made and mixed into nuggets. you just serve the recommended size serving for your dogs weight and what purpose your seeking. whether it be maintenance, growth, or weight reduction.

 

I am a big proponent of RMB (raw meaty bones). Been feeding my three for quite some time now... proof is in what I see. Skin allergies.. gone... wieght problems...gone.... tarter and plaque on teeth...gone.. big stinking piles of dog crap ... mostly gone .
I don't use supplements of any kind. I feed occaisionly organ meat , liver etc, in small amounts. I think this is key, no need to mess with nature.. Don't belive there are to many wolves etc, grazing corn fields.
Feed mostly chicken quarters which I can get pre pakaged in 10 lb bags for 33 cents per pound, I will also pick up briskets and such when on sale.
Dogs will eat things that would make a billy goat puke (Rambo quote for the day). I have one male that only likes red meat raw after it has "seasoned" for a couple days underground...nasty...but it is what thier anscestors would do.
Anyhow, as others have said, do a little research, but I see no need to feed kibble at all. Dogs will not get vitamin deficient illness, thier bodies produce needed vitamins ect from a carnivours diet. Too many folks think that what is good for people in a diet must be good for dogs (veggies etc). Their systems are completely different.

 

Kibble HAS killed thousands of dogs, bloat, tumors, cancers, poisens, molds. Sure the label SAYS meat but what kind of meat? WHere did it come from? What parts of the animal are used? Lips & assholes constitues meat, what's to say you aren't feeding it to your dogs. Lable says beef? Downed cows & antibiotic ridden animals and waste constitue meat suitable for dog food also. I want to know what I am feeding my family & my dogs are a part of that family. I want to see the meat they eat, know where it came from. Dog food is made by human food companies ( for the most part) for a reason, they have to have SOME where for the waste they produce when manufacturing human food to go. By making dog food, they have a profitable way to discard that waste. Sell it to an unsuspecting public as dog food.

I'm curious, how did BARF almost kill your dog? What happened?

misterdogman wrote:

Vets spend very little time studying animal nutrition, if they did, they sure would not be selling Science Diet in their offices. I had a vet recommend Pro Plan to me a few years ago. Cost? I bought 40 pounds of various meats for my 3 dogs. Pork, chicken, beef, organ meat today. I spent about $25.00. Supplements such as cottage cheese, eggs, yogurt and olive oil ran me another $10. That will feed my 3 dogs for about a month. Now if you are feeding your dogs a food that uses Human Grade meat I won't argue too much with you as I do feel that is a very good comparison to RAW. I don't feed vegetables very often and you are right, vegetables are hard for dogs to digest. The solution? Frozen vegetables or rinsed, no salt added canned vegetables. The cell wall is what is indigestable & freezing and cooking breaks down the cell wall making it digestable, not to mention turning them to mush in the food processor. Kibble uses MANY more supplements in the food than RAW does, the nutrients & flavor that is cooked completely out of the kibble must be replaced in order to make it palatable and somewhat healty. After kibble is cooked it is basically card board with additives making it resemble something a dog might eat....if it had no other choice. As for what is left on the ground? Very little is. My dogs bodies use 99% of what they disgest, what is left are odorless, very small amounts of feces that turn to dust. Dogs poop out what their bodies do not digest, that is why kibble fed dogs leave HUGE stinking piles of crap all over the yard & RAW fed dogs do not. Less crap in, less crap out.

 

They're pretty expensive, you could do it yourself for MUCH less.

 

I do agree with your quality of feeding and approach but I guess I was thinking of doing that on a huge scale like id have too...I would be feeding my dogs more food a day than I eat in a week...thats where it would get expensive for me...If I had 1 or even 3 dogs I might try BARF again but it wouldnt be that time consuming to prepare food for that many with the ingredients you use....in my case the time I spent making food would be half the day....I just dont like BARF because unless people go to the point of giving everything you give everyday and making sure supplements and vitamins are available the diet usually gives the bad results I spoke of...bad smelly stools from undigestables or unpureed veggies and fruits...and lack of nutrition from lack of proper ingredients....so thats why I feed a premium kibble and give Cow bones for marrow and teeth health and fun....I never had a dog die yet....But if I lived in a perfect world and could feed all dogs what you do I might dabble with creating some food paste and feeding that for maximum digestion and see what kind of mix I could perfect....ETC...but I have to live another life to and just dont have the time....it is so cool you do.

 

Yeah, I understand that it can be costly and time consuming with a large amount of dogs. Plus having the space and freezers in which to store it. I don't even have enough room to store my food and theirs. I need to get a small freezer so I can really stock up when the good sales are on. I shop quite a bit at ethnic grocers, they tend to be cheaper & have a variety of interesting stuff to try out on them. I bought cleaned chicken feet once & they played with them more than they ate them. I bought whole talapia once, chopped them up in 3 pieces so it would be easier for them to eat. My male was freaked out at the head...........it was staring at him..........so he peed on it. :eek: I haven;t bought it since.

 

Yeah if I go fishing I only keep Catfish and Northerns which I never catch....so mainly Catfish.... and if I get some good sized Bass or Sheephead even Carp I will feed it to them just as a snack....but I never threw in a head...I wonder if mine would pee on it...thats pretty damn funny....lmao

 

To provide veggies in a dog-friendly form, I suggest vegetable juice. Russian people love juices, so veggie juice is cheap and plentiful here. Redhead loves it.

He also loves fish heads.

 

I give my pit a whole cornish hen raw daily.

 

When you first start feeding your dog Raw meat, does their stool change in consistency? Like would it be more liquid

 

yes absolutely....and sometimes it always stays soft form the different diet....not likr hard when on kibble

 

It changes ( some people have a problem with the runs when they first make the switch but I did not experience that at all) but it changes for the best. First of all, the amount is smaller becuase there is less waste for them to get rid of. It is less smelly because there are no chemicals being expelled. It is drier also, in fact I don't even clean my yard any more. They poop in the morning, by the after noon it is dried & crumbly & in a few dyas it dries up, turns to dust & is gone. That alone was almost worth the switch for me. IF your dog does suffer from the hershey squirts, they won't last long, it is usually jsut the dogs body detoxing.

 

Yes yes yes, my male APBT is goin on 10, he runs every day 3-5 miles. He started limping and the vet said the runnin was too hard on his old ligaments. Swithed to BARF and bingo, lean, healthy happy ...dog doo are marble like and turn white, very little smell, both dogs are cut, teeth are white....hmmmmm

Here is my regiment:

Here is what I do....I NEVER cook the chicken in any way. I use 3 cloves of garlic one can of sardines and 10 Tbs of whole oats for approximately 12 meals.

Here is the barf info for you.
Vegies that are good for dogs:

GREENS- choose 2 or 3 and you can change it up from time to time.
collard greens
parsley
kale
spinach (in moderation)
swiss chard
broccoli
dandelion greens

Other veggies/fruit- choose 2 or 3 and you can change it up from time to time
Carrots w/tops
apples
summer squash
zucchini

Whole plain yogurt- acidophilus aids in digestion
garlic- immune booster (use in small amounts)
sardines in oil- fish is very vitamin rich, oil is great for the skin and coat.
rolled oats - use only a small amount (1tbls per feeding). dogs don't need a lot of carbs.

Puree all of the ingredients you have chosen, if you plan on making a big batch for say a month, then you can put two cans of sardines in the mixture. If you use too much of the sardines, it can cause diarrhea.

EVERYTHING is pureed! Once you are done with your mixture, it's easier to portion it into ziploc bags. I would start with 1 cup added to her chicken. (her is my Lilly she is 34 lbs)

As for the chicken portions, if you have thighs 2 will be good for her, necks 3 or 4, wings 3 or 4. You should portion the chicken into ziploc bags as well. Keep the veggie and chicken separated until feeding time. Remember don't thaw anything in a microwave. In the summer we leave it frozen, it's like a chickensicle or veggiesicle! Keeps them busy for awhile too.
When thawing, just take it out in the morning and let it sit on the counter to thaw.

You will have to keep an eye on her weight, if you notice that she looks a bit plump, cut down some, if she gets thinner, add a bit more. She's a tiny dog and what I've just recommended should be good for her. As for Buddy, you will have to judge how much to feed him. (Buddy is the dog in my signiture - he is leaning up very nicely as well, I add a piece of chicken to this for him, he is 48 lbs)

I feed at night after training and I add their water (1 1/2 cup) on top of the mixture. I feed for 6 days and fast on the 7th, water in the morning and water at night...


AND WE LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

 

My dogs got their first taste of BARF today....and they absolutely loved it My 5 month pit had a little difficulty eating the chicken quarters but not too bad. my Great Dane loved it all. I fed them ground beef first, followed by a little beef liver, and lastly the chicken quarters. I've never seen em happier. We'll see tomorrow how their digestion reacts (or maybe tonite:eek: ) even though I'll be on-duty so if there's any accidents for 24 hours....my ol lady'll have to clean it up. I saw some beef kidney at the store today, does anyone recommend it or dislike it??

 

Kidney is fine, I feed it about once a week when I can find it. Be careful on the liver though, it is pretty rich & can cause the butt to explode. I feed it but only a small amount once a week. If the puppy is having problems eating the chicken you might want to take a hammer to the bones before feeding it.

 

I have been feeding raw for a total of about 17 years. Started with my allergy prone pit & when we lost him at 14, continued on with our next pits. Here's a pic of the family, the two on the outside (3years old) were bred by us & have never had kibble, the 2 brindles (7 years old) had it for a few months as pups. I would never feed any other way. Yes , it has to be done right, dogs cannot live on meat alone, if you are going to do it, DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST!! Most people that I have talked to that say it made their dogs sick or something just jumped in & did didn't do the leg work first. I have a lot of friends that feed kibble and I don't condem them for it. How you feed your dogs is a matter of personal choice. What works & is economic for some is not for another, so go with what works for you & your dogs

 

Thanks! I'll give it a try. What do you mean by it can cause the butt to explode? (liver)

 

What else other than meat would you recommend. Ive read here some people say veggies and others say no way since they would not eat too much of that in the wild.

 

It will give them the runs

 

:p OHHHHHH....Don't want that. Thanks for the info