Changed to Raw :-)

tk123

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Coco didn't do well with the duck, she got sick a few hours after she ate it:(, it must have been a bit too greasy or heavy for her. It definitely wasn't a bug, she was right as rain and ate some salmon instead! I might try and take a bit more fat off and try again tomorrow.

However, Benson the garbage disposal had no problems at all! So it'll not go to waste!

I told my friend I'd give her some tomorrow to try with her setter boy so I'll report back.

borderlinemeath

tk123 wrote: »

I told my friend I'd give her some tomorrow to try with her setter boy so I'll report back.

Is that the one that wouldn't switch from AG? And she's going to try raw? Whoohoo!

tk123

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Is that the one that wouldn't switch from AG? And she's going to try raw? Whoohoo!

No they're still loyal to AG but give him the odd raw treat!

borderlinemeath

Tried the duck with Coco again today, trimmed off most of the fat and it went down a treat. (and didn't come back up again)

toadfly

I bought a 100L chest freezer today :P the excitement!

Now to get Dogs First to come to Galway! So I think I asked before but cant remember..the chicken that they sell in 10kg boxes are they suffient for full meals ie is there enough meat on them? I will be adding liver everyday. Thinking of getting mostly chicken and maybe one box of duck for a bit of variety for her. And some sardines maybe!

bluecherry74

Lucky you, a chest freezer is still on my wish list!

I haven't tried the bag of chicken pieces, but I did get the duck necks last time and they're VERY meaty, the dogs love them. The duck wings don't seem nearly as meaty in comparison. The necks are also very compact to store since they're all the same size and shape and you can "stack" them nearly.

I'd recommend the duck hearts too, very easy to bag and divide for meal times.

tk123

Oh I can't wait to finish all the chubs (we got the buy 1 box get one few a few weeks ago) and switch back to our beloved duck necks! . The puppy seemed to go off the salmon gRAW today but loves the chicken & beef

tk123

Yeah I stopped feeding backs because they were too fatty and he put on some weight. The duck necks are quite lean but I still scrape the fat off and cut off that bit of skin on them to be safe - I'm obsessed with not having fatty bum bum retrievers!

borderlinemeath

DBB wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, I really admire how dogsfirst has made raw feeding easier for people, and I think the website is a terrific resource, but jeez, finding out the amount of fat I seemed to be feeding here just kinda pulled the rug out. He knows his stuff... I simply can't believe he thinks that this fatty ick is good enough.

In fairness to him he always tells people with weight issues to feed fish rather than chicken. Although with fussy dogs that don't like fish, you're fairly stumped! I like to feed a mix of both, so as not to feed too much bone. Coco is prone to weight since her spay so I just keep her portions at around 2/2.5% whereas Benson needs that bit more.

I love the duck necks, but the duck carcasses had too much fat on them for my liking. I liked the mixed bag of chicken bits, it was a mix of everything but it's never in stock anymore.

Tillygirl, I got the sardines, there's millions of em:D. Seriously loads! I was divvying them up the other day (and now I've a babygate on the outhouse) and I was like a trainer in seaworld throwing out fish treats to the dogs:P

bluecherry74

DBB, I'd agree with you about the minced chicken - I got it last month and wasn't crazy about the look of it - but I got the salmon block a couple of months ago and I thought it was very good. There seemed to be plenty of actual fish in it along with a reasonable amount of bone and skin.

I think I'll stick to whole pieces in future though, like the duck necks and sardines. That way I know exactly what I'm feeding and can adjust the rest of their diet accordingly.

TooManyDogs

I regularly get the salmon block and some tripe, got a batch of sardines on wednesday but haven't fed it yet. They loved the duck hearts. I've switched over more to DF stuff than the prizechoice stuff I used to get because I think his is better quality, price is a consideration for me but my lot are doing great on it, if anything I find it hard to keep weight on my gang

DBB

TooManyDogs wrote: »

I've switched over more to DF stuff than the prizechoice stuff I used to get because I think his is better quality,

There's little doubt that df is better quality than prize choice, which is a tad nondescript unless you're buying the chunks of tripe or chicken necks. With df stuff, you know your minced chicken is chicken, for example. You also know it's Irish.
I've got to the stage now where I just won't buy minced anything, whether it's df or prize choice or whatever, because it's either way too fatty (the former), or just a little nondescript and of uncertain origin, ethics-wise (the latter).
The exception, as I already mentioned, is the chubs from df, which I had no issues with at all. They just got too expensive, I find it cheaper just to buy chicken and other bits and pieces myself.

toadfly

DBB I didn't mean the minced chicken, I wouldn't feed that without knowing what's in it. I mean the 10kg bag of chicken I just wanted to make sure its sufficient enough and not too much bone. I don't think duck alone would suit Lexi but mixed with chicken would be fine. The sardines look good and not bad €2/kg

Cocolola

I'm coming to the end of Ollie's first box of gRÁW, I got the mix box. I'm looking to get another box now as I'm still not ready to start making up meals from scratch yet.

Just wondering which do you guys think is better, the Chicken and Beef Organ or the Duck, Duck Hearts and Spinach? I'm not so keen on the Salmon 'scent' so it's between these two There's no special dietary requirement or weight issue with him and he has an average daily activity.

ferretone

Cocolola wrote: »

I'm coming to the end of Ollie's first box of gRÁW, I got the mix box. I'm looking to get another box now as I'm still not ready to start making up meals from scratch yet.

Just wondering which do you guys think is better, the Chicken and Beef Organ or the Duck, Duck Hearts and Spinach? I'm not so keen on the Salmon 'scent' so it's between these two There's no special dietary requirement or weight issue with him and he has an average daily activity.

You can get him to send you a mix box of half-and-half duck and chicken. Just click on the mix box to buy it and then send a text to Connor's phone to let him know you only want those and he will make it up.

Or if you're worried it won't work out, give him a call first and make sure he's aware that's what you want. He's said before on the fb, he has no problem making up the gRaw mix boxes whichever way we like

Cocolola

I didn't know you could do that, thanks a mil!

tk123

Cocolola wrote: »

I didn't know you could do that, thanks a mil!

+1 I'll do that if I have to buy a box again. I know what you mean about the 'scent' of the salmon - when we got our delivery one must have been leaking/defrosting because everything in the freezer stinks of fish!

Cocolola

tk123 wrote: »

+1 I'll do that if I have to buy a box again. I know what you mean about the 'scent' of the salmon - when we got our delivery one must have been leaking/defrosting because everything in the freezer stinks of fish!

The same thing happened to us! Contaminated loads of the other chubbs and by heck, it's persistent stuff on your hands Not to mention trying to clean out the lunchboxes we store it in! BTW, is Lucy on raw now too? How is she doing?

I sent him a text on your advice ferretone, asking if he could chuck in a few duck chubbs to the chicken order but he's all out of duck at the moment. Offered to see what he could do about it, which was nice, but I said not to worry. Great to know I can do this in future though!

tk123

Cocolola wrote: »

, is Lucy on raw now too? How is she doing?

Yeah I decided to just try her on it instead of buying a bag of the RC the breeder had her on and no probs apart from her going off the salmon but she loves the chick and beef. I'm going back to duck necks next order but may mince them for her for a while yet. The only thing is working out the right amount for her and the number of feeds - 4 isn't working because she sleeps so much atm so trying her with 3. I'd rather let her get into a routine and let her sleep than wake her up for a meal. Going to ask the vet on fri about how much weight she should be gaining each week.

ferretone

tk123 wrote: »

Yeah I decided to just try her on it instead of buying a bag of the RC the breeder had her on and no probs apart from her going off the salmon but she loves the chick and beef. I'm going back to duck necks next order but may mince them for her for a while yet.

We have the gRaw, which I'm mostly feeding my dobie, as ~I need to get around to getting my own freezer, but I also get the wholesale stuff for my neighbour, who does, but doesn't have a car, and mine eats that a couple days a week.

This time we got the duck necks, and also the whole sardines, which I actually do recommend, I'd say if you can handle the duck necks you can manage those too. The dogs love them, and they are no way as troublesome or nasty as the ground fish products

ferretone

TillyGirl wrote: »

DBB I didn't mean the minced chicken, I wouldn't feed that without knowing what's in it. I mean the 10kg bag of chicken I just wanted to make sure its sufficient enough and not too much bone. I don't think duck alone would suit Lexi but mixed with chicken would be fine. The sardines look good and not bad €1.50/kg

FYP

Also, took delivery today of 20kg sardines, 15kg duck necks and 2 * 10kg bags of chicken pieces. 1 chicken bag was random pieces, mainly backs and similar, the other was all chicken necks. So we got to directly compare those with the duck necks, and frankly there is no comparison. The duck ones are so much meatier and, well, nicer looking! I wouldn't dither about if I were you, but just go with the duck necks. I will in future. I'd have no bones (no pun intended), saying the duck necks are a much better food for the dogs. Honestly, if you're going for dogsfirst wholesale feed, I'd opt for the duck necks and the whole sardines, and forget the rest.

Unless you have have a really serious, hardcore dog like a friend of mine, who has decided nothing but duck carcasses will do for him. But those are about 1.5kg each, and so a real hassle for those of us with dogs even a bit smaller! :P

Cocolola

tk123 wrote: »

Yeah I decided to just try her on it instead of buying a bag of the RC the breeder had her on and no probs apart from her going off the salmon but she loves the chick and beef. I'm going back to duck necks next order but may mince them for her for a while yet. The only thing is working out the right amount for her and the number of feeds - 4 isn't working because she sleeps so much atm so trying her with 3. I'd rather let her get into a routine and let her sleep than wake her up for a meal. Going to ask the vet on fri about how much weight she should be gaining each week.

Ya Ollie went off his salmon too, good job the chicken and beef arrived this morning. Compared to a box of chubbs, how much space would a box of duck necks take up? I really need to get a small chest freezer, although I am wishfully hoping I win the DogsFirst comp

Sounds tricky all right trying to get the feeding balanced for Lucy, but I'm sure you're doing fine. Has she put on much weight yet actually?

fifib

ours went off the salmon too, but they love sardines and tuna and any other fish we give them. is it ok to give the salmon one to cats?

borderlinemeath

Cocolola wrote: »

Ya Ollie went off his salmon too, good job the chicken and beef arrived this morning. Compared to a box of chubbs, how much space would a box of duck necks take up? I really need to get a small chest freezer, although I am wishfully hoping I win the DogsFirst comp

Sounds tricky all right trying to get the feeding balanced for Lucy, but I'm sure you're doing fine. Has she put on much weight yet actually?

The duck necks are easier to store if you divvy them up into portion sized freezer bags. I have an american fridge freezer and while it looks huge, the shelves are neither deep nor wide enough for the gRaw chubs (but I have a chest freezer anyway) but I always keep a few freezer bags of necks or backs in the regular freezer.

I got the sardines as well, but my pair aren't overly keen on them unless I lightly cook them:rolleyes:. They ate them the first day, then went a bit lukewarm the next day and Saturday refused them! So I baked a batch and they were scoffed. I'll just bake them less and less and eventually get them eating them raw.

Cocolola

I'll still have to get a freezer, ours is just three small shelves which are small enough too. Two and a half of which are now devoted to Ollie's food with our stuff crammed and wedged in :rolleyes: Oh damn I forgot I bought 2kg of chicken thighs yesterday, going to have to find space for them too.

I wonder would he go off the sardines too. He loves mackerel in tomato sauce so I assume he'd demand the sardines to be baked as well

borderlinemeath

Cocolola wrote: »

I'll still have to get a freezer, ours is just three small shelves which are small enough too. Two and a half of which are now devoted to Ollie's food with our stuff crammed and wedged in :rolleyes: Oh damn I forgot I bought 2kg of chicken thighs yesterday, going to have to find space for them too.

I wonder would he go off the sardines too. He loves mackerel in tomato sauce so I assume he'd demand the sardines to be baked as well

For me, I think it was because it was something new. I always get the salmon block, it used to be very well blended but now it's slightly coarser cut. They always scoffed the salmon, then when it changed slightly they looked at me as if I had two heads when I gave it to them and they refused it. So then I baked a bit of it and mushed it a bit more and it was scoffed again. I only had to cook the one batch for them of the salmon and then they were back to eating it raw.

BullBauld

How does this work out price wise? Do people find it alot dearer after switching over from dry?

Just looking at prices, 24 x 500g chubbs costs near €50. So for my dog it would just last the 24 days.

Compared to dry where I currently spend €43 every 6-7 weeks.

I know my dog would do better on the raw diet but financially it's hard to make the jump.

Cocolola

I used to have my dog on Orijen, a 13.5 kg bag would cost nearly €80 and last for three months so that worked out at about €0.88 cent per day. The raw chubbs will last him 48 days so nearly €1 per day now. For me that's no bother at all but he's only 12kg so it doesn't take much to feed him.

I'm assuming yours is around the 24kg mark? What brand are you feeding at the moment, out of curiosity? I'm only feeding the chubbs for now (with the odd chicken thigh, tin of mackerel etc. thrown in) as I don't have the freezer space to store raw whole meats yet. When I do I'd like to start making up my own meals and that should work out cheaper, providing I can find a good source.

bluecherry74

BullBauld wrote: »

How does this work out price wise? Do people find it alot dearer after switching over from dry?

Just looking at prices, 24 x 500g chubbs costs near €50. So for my dog it would just last the 24 days.

Compared to dry where I currently spend €43 every 6-7 weeks.

I know my dog would do better on the raw diet but financially it's hard to make the jump.

The chubbs are the easiest way of switching to raw, but they're also the most expensive. Buying the wholesale meat like duck necks and sardines is an awful lot cheaper, but it does take up a fair amount of freezer space and it's a bit more work. Buying from Aldi or Lidl and making friends with your butcher will also work out cheaper.

toadfly

ferretone wrote: »

FYP

Also, took delivery today of 20kg sardines, 15kg duck necks and 2 * 10kg bags of chicken pieces. 1 chicken bag was random pieces, mainly backs and similar, the other was all chicken necks. So we got to directly compare those with the duck necks, and frankly there is no comparison. The duck ones are so much meatier and, well, nicer looking! I wouldn't dither about if I were you, but just go with the duck necks. I will in future. I'd have no bones (no pun intended), saying the duck necks are a much better food for the dogs. Honestly, if you're going for dogsfirst wholesale feed, I'd opt for the duck necks and the whole sardines, and forget the rest.

Ferretone the sardines are back to €40 per 20kg but considering I pay about €5/kg in Supervalu thats great value! I am meeting Conor on Sunday to get a box of chicken, duck and sardines off him. See how we go with that.

I hope its good stuff, hate to buy that much in bulk and not be any use to her.

How much would I fit in a 100L chest freezer?! I will be dividing it into daily portions of roughly 500g each.