Changing to raw food?

[nickmcmechan]

Interesting thread, and I've thought about raw a couple of times due to the wieght of opinion in favour of it on a lot of dog forums.

What puts me off is

• expense
• freezer space
• a couple of WT I know had tried and they said in the short term they noticed a significant improvement in temprament and drive, but in the long terms the dogs became lethargic; when they switched back to kibble the drive came back

However, I'm open minded and interested to hear more, especially about those who do 50/50

[Stuart]

I have fed all my dogs on a raw diet for a long time now, and I have never found my dogs to be lethargic in any way.

I agree no dog needs a raw diet, there are many other ways in which to feed a dog healthly, but apart from the health issue, there has to be the issue of how the dog feels,..I realise we cant ask them, but I am sure that mine vastly prefer a raw diet to a dry kibble

I started on a complete raw diet, until I went on a dog sled course in the Cairngorms,.. they owned over 40 dogs who all pulled their socks off and were extreamly fit,.. of course I asked how they were fed, and the answer was a dry food mixed in water before running in order to get them to take on as much liquid as possible,...and a raw diet when they had finished the day to put back that energy, [ usualy tripe ]

I was told that for a pet dog,..i.e. one that was not expected to be as hard working as his dogs, that a raw diet in the morning would be best,.. and a dry diet at the end of the day,... because they dont need the liquid on board like his dogs did, and by the time its ready to feed the dry food at night the raw food has digested,... he said it was not good to mix the two foods together in the gut

I have been doing it this way ever since, and it works very well

[Shrap]

Originally Posted by Bob1955

We've never fed our dogs raw food. They've been brought up on a 'complete' dried diet with the occasional bit of leftover meat thrown in. All of them have thrived on it, plus it helps to keep their teeth clean. We also never use stuff like Royal Canin or Hill's. It's too damn expensive. We have a local pet food shop that does a 15Kg sack of complete for £9.00. That feeds both of them for two weeks. The ingredients, protein, vitamins and minerals etc are almost the same as the expensive stuff.Every time they go for their annual MOT they pass with flying colours. It's really a matter of finding the right diet for your dog, and how much you are prepared to pay. They don't NEED raw food as long as they get all they do need from what they are fed.

I would be interested to see the ingredients in the food you feed. Royal Canin and Hills are fairly bad foods, and massively overpriced. Foods like Fish4Dogs, Acana, Orijen are much better. So you think it's alright to feed children McDonalds with a vitamin pill? That way they're getting everything they need.

Originally Posted by nickmcmechan

Interesting thread, and I've thought about raw a couple of times due to the wieght of opinion in favour of it on a lot of dog forums.

What puts me off is

• expense
• freezer space
• a couple of WT I know had tried and they said in the short term they noticed a significant improvement in temprament and drive, but in the long terms the dogs became lethargic; when they switched back to kibble the drive came back

However, I'm open minded and interested to hear more, especially about those who do 50/50

That's not drive, it's hyperactivity. Food cannot change drive. I know I wouldn't like to be running around with blood sugar highs, mental on E numbers all day, just because it suited my parents.

I find raw cheaper, but then I know someone who shoots rabbits/deer etc. Perhaps you could contact a few farmers and see if anyone has permission to shoot on their land - if they do ask if you can have/buy what they shoot.


To the OP: Raw is an excellent choice. I would suggest starting on one protein source and sticking to it for the first week, whether it's chicken, duck, beef - your choice, although most people suggest chicken. Just feed chicken mince with ground bone to get the stomach acidity levels properly adjusted, then you can start introducing whole bones like chicken wings or chicken leg quarters. Start introducing another protein source in the second week. After that start introducing liver, kidney etc.

You should be feeding 3% of expected adult weight per day (just use a rough guesstimate and if pup is putting on or losing weight, adjust the quanity until you get it right). 80% of that should be meat (inc. heart and tripe), 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other organs (kidney, lungs, pancreas etc)

Meals don't have to be balanced, as long as the diet balances over a week or so you will be fine x

[Breagha Bop]

i have always fed raw... never known any different ... i get mine from my local abattoir.... much cheaper that the companies but only if you have one nearby...

i dont measure portions i judge it on the amount of waste they produce big poops too much food smaller poops once a day right amount not pooping every day too little. most people overfeed to start ... dont worry .. very few underfeed.

you get used to it and know what your dogs portion is... i also feed raw chicken and bones of all sorts, and some offal as well as eggs and shells as these are a great source of calcium. and bones are a natural cleaner of the insides and the teeth.

my dogs are all worker with high drive (watch out bunnies) and do agility as well as train and their drive phenomenal when working thats in the breeding .... and at home they are lazy beasts thats in the food no hyperness!! and their coats are glossy and never had a skin complaint...thats the food no E's i swear by it ...

raw is a great source of natural food with not preservatives or additives.


good luck

[star]

I forgot I'd posted this! Came back to ask about his current diet found it. Lots of interesting, and good points though!
As he is 7 months am I right in thinking that he would need 10% of his weight a day instead 3%? He is already a big boy but still has a fair bit of growing up and out to do I think!
I currently have him on Dr John's Silver, recommended by my alsatian training group, he eats it but when he was on wet food with mixer he would finish each meal more or less in one go, with the complete dry he will eat it but spends all day grazing and often has biscuits left over at the next meal time, only seen his bowl empty once since he has been on it and that was because I decided not to top his bowl up until he had finished his previous meal. I'm not sure if this is because he isn't too keen on it or because he isn't used to just dry yet.
Mum has recently found somewhere that does a 2kg bag of chicken mince with bones for around £3 so once I get a freezer that will fit more than a pizza and a bag of chips in I will start on that! I'm wondering though, I still have a LOT of Dr John's left, how would I work out the correct amounts of raw mince and complete food to give my monster? He is currently on 600g a day. Their feeding guide says for an adult size dog Large (25-45kg) 370-700g a day. Last weigh in (2 weeks ago) Kaiser was 33kg but he looks bigger now that he was then. Had him weighed when I got him chipped but I don't know where I can take him to weigh him now the nearest vet has the scales inside his surgery and not in the waiting room

[nisbreagha]

Hi Star

If you were feeding RAW only it is still 3% of his expected adult weight, but every dog is different and it also depends on how much exercise he gets. So for example my two girls are 26kg very slight girls and get fed 3lb of meat a day which is double of what they should get fed if I stuck to the 3%rule however if they didn't get the exercise they get then maybe they would only need that much. They get a mix of chicken and chicken bones, minced meat from the abattoir, liver, heart and fish.

If your feeding raw and kibble then maybe just cut the kibble by half and half the amount of RAW but check with Stuart as he feeds both and I generally don't.

[pennys dad]

we changed penny to 50/50 raw and jwb about a month ago, she seems to thrive on it, we vary it on the raw ....chicken mince ....tripe.... lamb etc. have been buying it from P.A.H. about 80p per frozen pack, but am sure you could find a cheaper source, maybe halving the cost
penny is now 7 months old and shes really taken to it.

[Chip Chesterfield III]

Originally Posted by star

I don't know where I can take him to weigh him now the nearest vet has the scales inside his surgery and not in the waiting room

Put your bathroom scales on a box 9-12 inches off the floor and lure him onto them.

a

[star]

cheers guys! off to see what other raw foods my local livery has for him in a bit and will see how he responds to it! I have no idea how I could get him onto the scales and make him stay on them, they are tiny lol. Hoping the livery has scales!

[Bet]

Pets at Home will let you use the scales they have in store