Feeding Raw

[afrikaPB]

Don't mock, I am actually asking... My dogs eat horse poop and hoof trimmings. Aside from manure from a recently wormed horse, has anyone heard of negative side effects of eating it? I ask because it really firms up Nuggets poop, and seems like a natural way to get his greens, so to speak.

[ProudMommy77]

Vin, I had a foster dog that just didn't get eating the whole rabbit thing...so we ended up chopping it into chunks, he ate the crap out of the heads. He was a strange creature. The rest of the dogs generally start at the head and grind their way down.

As far as freezing goes, to be honest, three to four hundred pounds of meat will get me threw the winter time. So, as far as long term goes, I can't answer that sensible. But, I will tell you, I have been given freezer burnt deer pieces for the dogs, and yes I fed them, and well there were no issues.

Tripe is a huge staple in my dogs diet, they get it every day aside of the normal meal, I forgot to add that. You can never have enough tripe in stock.

[starrlamia]

I just feed until its all gone.meat lasts months in the freezer. I know people who advertise for freezer burnt meat as a cheap source.

[Absoulte]

Vin, I had a foster dog that just didn't get eating the whole rabbit thing...so we ended up chopping it into chunks, he ate the crap out of the heads. He was a strange creature. The rest of the dogs generally start at the head and grind their way down.

As far as freezing goes, to be honest, three to four hundred pounds of meat will get me threw the winter time. So, as far as long term goes, I can't answer that sensible. But, I will tell you, I have been given freezer burnt deer pieces for the dogs, and yes I fed them, and well there were no issues.

Tripe is a huge staple in my dogs diet, they get it every day aside of the normal meal, I forgot to add that. You can never have enough tripe in stock.

The idea of feeding rabbits I don't think I could do. Honestly I think I would piss off my neighbors if I did that! The man has an entire rabbit den built in his backyard and I do not think he'd appreciate me feeding rabbits.

I really think the way you do it is best as far as buying bulk and storing. Guess I need to check into freezers too! Is there any raw that you SHOULD NOT feed? (Specific parts/animals etc.)

[ProudMommy77]

It keeps nosy neighbors from looking over my privacy fence.

[Savage Destiny]

I've tried whole prey a bit, with varying success. Both dogs will eat whole fish. Riddle will eat whole quail (defeathered), but Melon WILL NOT. On the same note, Melon ate a rat (fur on) while Riddle didn't... but then Melon puked the rat back up later.

So mostly I stick with body parts from various animals, and I don't grind anything. I don't have anywhere to feed outdoors, so parts have to be small enough for a meal. I tend to buy whole chickens and dismember them myself, since its only about 99 cents/lb for them that way, plus there's usually liver and other organs in there. I also include pork spare ribs, turkey (again buy the whole thing), sardines, and whatever else I can find at a decent price. They've eaten lots of different stuff like rabbit, quail, duck, beef, green tripe, etc. Occasionally I'll buy some ground stuff from work that I can't otherwise find, like alpaca or guinea hen.

Riddle and Melon eat slightly different things. Riddle gets a lot of veggies in her diet, thanks to her mast cell tumor a few months back. Certain veggies help fight tumors, so she gets 1/2 cup every morning. Melon eats more prey model, just meat/bone/organs, with some very occasional veggies.

Other than that both get fish oils (we rotate salmon, cod liver, and sardine/anchovy) every day, and alfalfa, kelp, raw eggs with shell, and various other goodies like chicken feet a couple times a week.

[Adrianne]

It keeps nosy neighbors from looking over my privacy fence.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianneisabel/3172956326/
(I didn't post the photo as to not spook those uncomfortable with heads)

[FransterDoo]

Those of you that give a Co Q10 supplement... care to elaborate on that a bit?

What is Co Q10?

How much do you give?

How long have you been giving it and what benefits do you see from giving it?

Co Q-10 is not a vitamin but acts similarly. Our vet recommended it for Franny's heart condition and after doing some research about how good Co Q-10 levels can help the heart "do the best job it can" (for lack of better words), I put Hank and Levi on it.

Strangely enough, we just took Hank to try out a new chiropractor and vet. They commented on what an amazing resting heart rate he had.

I give 50mg in the morning. I just buy the Trader Joe's brand.

To the whole animal feeders: I tried feeding rabbits for a while, but the dogs would not eat them. They just threw them around the yard. I even split the gut open and they still just played with them and got them all slobbery. I eventually had to chop them in half with a cleaver which as you can imagine made some god awful messes with the entrails and all. Then and old then did the dogs devour the little critters. Anyone have that problem?

ugh! We've tried rabbit twice and both times had the same experience. sucks.

Also for those that freeze large quantities of meat: how long is too long to keep something frozen? I feed fresh but I do have a freezer full of stuff that is like 5 years old eww. I just never got around to getting rid of the stuff or feeding it and I am procrastinating about digging a big hole to dump the stuff in. Lots of green tripe. That's gonna be a stinky hole.

totally fine as long as it's never gotten warm to the touch! Feed that meat!! Now granted my wife works with commercial cold storage companies but that how we get a lot of our meat. She makes deals on stuff that has just been hanging out taking up space in the commercial freezer.

My wife has surgery a couple of months ago - somehow the freezer got unplugged. everything was defrosted and just slightly cool to the touch. We've fed through it and everything's been fine!

[FransterDoo]

Tripe is a huge staple in my dogs diet, they get it every day aside of the normal meal, I forgot to add that. You can never have enough tripe in stock.

yup. we keep a stash of the green tripe too.

I didn't used to feed veggies until Pete came along. He had a lot of anger issues and almost hyperactivity. we tried a variety of stuff and adding veggies/fruit was the thing that showed us changes. So we've kept it up.

Levi tends to be a hot. damp dog. Too much chicken and he gets a rash all over his lower belly. Franny tends to need higher fat meats. I try to , within reason, feed them in a way that helps them so if we have 1/2 pork and 1/2 chicken - Fran and Levi get the pork and the other dogs get the chicken.

[afrikaPB]

Dog's daily meal recipe (all full fat, and all but the meat is organic):
*ingredients included in every meal:
-meat on the bone
-spoon of peanut butter with: glucosamine supplement, fish oil/vit e supp, amino acids supp, probiotic supp
*ingredients included variably (at least one per day):
-fruit: either mango, apple or melon (dogs love these)
-spoonful of yoghurt with honey
-raw egg
-tripe and innards
-horse manure (fresh from my horse)
*raw bones several times a week to chew
-->Everything is organic except the meat and supplements, and full fat.

Nugget's poops have firmed up and he is way less yeasty/greasy now.
Gordo gets the same but with some oatmeal instead of peanut butter, because he's a porker.

[FBODGRL]

I feed prey model, but parts, not whole prey. I follow the 80/10/10. I do not feed fruit or veggies. Supplements I use are fish oil, vitamin e, osteo biflex and slippery elm bark for tummy upsets. I go back and forth using coconut oil from time to time too.

I portion RMB's and boneless meat separately at about 1/2 lb each. I also keep organ portioned up. I generally try and portion meat as I get it, but sometimes I don't have time so I have to throw it in my freezer and portion it at a later time. I currently have 40lbs of turkey, several pounds of pork and some organ that I need to thaw and portion. How much I buy at a given time varies how long it takes to portion up. Sometimes an hour or more, others 15 minutes. It takes basically no time to actually feed. I just dump the bags on a towel for Khan to eat.

I have a stand up freezer (I bought used) dedicated to Khan's meat. It is generally pretty stocked, but there is usually always room for more to go somewhere if I find something on sale, etc.

I try and not spend over $1.00 lb, but if it is something I need or want I will spend more. There is also stuff I get free or less than .50 cents a lb so it generally evens out. It still comes out less than kibble. Khan is allergic to chicken (processed) and I haven't yet tried raw chicken. I am waiting until after the fall because of his environmental allergies. We have had some digestive issues along the way, so I still don't feed to much variety. When I add new things I have to do it very slowly. I anticipate when I can feed more things I will be able to get things even cheaper.

A menu would consist of...

Day 1
turkey wing
boneless turkey
organ mix

Day 2
Pork neck
boneless turkey

Day 3
turkey wing
boneless pork
organ mix

Day 4
turkey neck
boneless venison

Day 5
turkey wing
boneless turkey
organ mix

Day 6
Pork neck
boneless venison

and so on....this is probably not exactly the order I feed it, but you get the idea. Turkey is our main staple and I feed pork and venison as red meats. I am trying to find a good source for cheap fish that isn't ground, but haven't had any luck yet.

I am in a raw co op in my area and we have a few different suppliers that deliver every 4-8 weeks. I also shop at a market right by my house that has a really good meat selection (the rest of the store kind of sucks though )

[FBODGRL]

I forgot to add that I started raw feeding in November because of Khan's allergies. I have seen such an improvement even with environmental allergies that would normally have flared up in the spring and be going full force now.

My vet saw him a few months after we started and I actually posted here about it. She was so happy with how he looked and that his skin had cleared up.

[pacopoe]

I forgot to add that I started raw feeding in November because of Khan's allergies. I have seen such an improvement even with environmental allergies that would normally have flared up in the spring and be going full force now.

^ I started feeding raw because of Paco's allergies and found such an extreme improvement that I never went back (except during travel or weird transition times, like moving). It's been about 6 or 7 years now.

I used to be able to feed/store a variety of meats but moving to the city meant giving up the deep freezer so I can only keep in stock what I can fit in half a standard above-fridge-freezer. My "lazy" raw method is usually to feed a whole chicken over several days and add in fresh factors (whatever veggie we're eating) as well as salmon oil. That's the staple but then you switch it up whenever you feel like it with a tripe night, pork night, etc.

Because Xdog has such dentition issues (it's a trait associated with xolos... she's only 2 but is missing about half her teeth) I can't feed smaller bones because she simply cannot chew them up well enough. We've had to switch to ground, but I go through a local company that has a pretty decent meat/bone/organ blend for pretty cheap per pound. Also did an awesome barter with Honest Kitchen so have been feeding that to supplement the meat with larger raw meaty bones for recreation and tooth cleaning every so often.

Not exactly pure raw, but when we had an allergy issue and not a lot of time to prep food, a friend recommended the Wendy Volhard diet (which is dehydrated you mix with meat) and it worked quite well. I think that's a good compromise for people who want to feed raw but are worried about getting the balances right. Of course, with all the dehydrated food you don't get the benefit of the teeny, tiny, raw poops... it's worth the extra effort in poop-pick-up alone, believe you me!

[mommy2kane]

Our base is chicken quarters. And we usually give backs on weekends, or whenever someone needs more bone. The backs are huge, very meaty and have organs attached. So they get their organs from there, or additional organs occassionally. We throw in some beef heart here and there, looking to get some venison this year. No real veggies, but we do make a "mush" with rice for supplements.

[kagnew]

I used to feed closer to the prey model, but after my older Pug choked twice (the second time he actually lost consciousness before I could get the chunk of bone out of his throat - SCARY) I scrapped it. I absolutely believe 100% in feeding raw meaty bone, but I didn't start him on raw until he was 10 and I believe in his case - age, experience, Pugs are notorious "bolters" of food anyway - it just wasn't worth the risk. I did feed large bones and watch and remove, but when he saw me coming to remove the bone he would try to gulp it on down, no matter the size... So except for big bones simply for chewing, no bones for the Pugs. Haggis does get meaty bones (backs, necks, feet, ribs) occasionally and I also get hearts, tongues and such once in awhile which I freeze first then send him outside solo - nice treat on a hot day!

I get whole ground meats (including bones and organs and such) through a couple of different suppliers. Whatever happens to be cheapest at the time is my "everyday" food. Usually chicken, but I'm picking up 200 pounds of whole ground beef on Monday at .75/pound so that will probably be our staple for awhile! I do like to mix it up at least once or twice a week - chicken, salmon, duck, pork, venison, rabbit (although older Pug can't tolerate rabbit - he eats it, throws up, re-eats, throws up... if they can't keep it in after one re-eat it goes!) I also feed LOTS of tripe. We love that stuff!

I used to be quite anal and do lots of measuring and calculating, but after 4 years and rave reviews from my sceptical vet - along with stellar annual checkups and bloodwork) I have become more relaxed about it. Most days they get meat only, with their supplements, but if I'm getting low and trying to stretch I will steam some brown rice, cook up some REAL oatmeal, steam some veggies and throw that in. Also melon or berries and they all love to share a banana. Or if I'm doing the above for the family I make extra for the furkids. We also throw healthy leftovers into their container and I mix it in and feed the next day. Cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs go in once in awhile. For centuries up until just a few decades back (with the onset of kibble) dogs pretty much ate whatever the family didn't so I feel pretty comfortable with this and our medical results certainly confirm! Sojo's makes a beautiful dehydrated grain-free veggie/fruit blend. Once in awhile I grab a bag and it makes a lot.

I supplement with fish oil (I rotate fish types - whole body only), Sasha's Blend for joints (it's GREAT for seniors whether their joints need it or not) and Rudy, the old fart, gets Plaque Off. I also use kelp and flax, but not every day - pretty much when I think about it...

My 2 kitty-girls just get the meat. Cats are obligate carnivores so they just don't need the other stuff. They do like tripe when I add that in though! FWIW - cats can be tougher to switch to raw if they are raised on kibble. When I started I had a 15 year old male and it took me a year and a half to do it. I was NOT giving up! Lots of mixing with canned and few pieces of quality kibble and we finally made it. He used to love it when I got him little quail legs. He'd carry them around on the deck, all stealth hunter like his younger days, before eating them. He was a gorgeous tuxedo boy and always had a dull coat and lots of dandruff. The last few years of his life he was a STUNNER with jet black, velvety coat. (RIP sweet Charles) My 2 girls now were youngsters and took to it right away. I still throw (literally) 5 or 6 pieces of grain-free kibble on top occasionally to get them started. (Some days they dive right in and others they go finicky on me...)

Oh I forgot - Rudy and Haggis do dine at the "salad bar" out back once in awhile... (Tomatoes and peppers - little buggers!)

I love hearing what everybody does and picking up new ideas... ;-)