Changed to Raw :-)

fifib

thanks guys!
Just on what ive been reading im seeing conflicting advice with regards to the canned mackrel and sardines etc..ive seen people say dont buy the ones in brine and others say dont buy the ones in oil

bluecherry74

My first order of gRAW arrived this week and the dogs and I are very impressed. It looks a lot more like proper meat than Prize Choice, which I've always though has a slightly odd look. I love that I can see bit of blood and entrails in it... well I don't love it, but you know what I mean!

The packets fit very nicely in the freezer as well - they look like oversized black puddings! :P It's obviously a bit more expensive than just sourcing cheap meat, but it's so convenient for during the week.

So my feeding routine is probably going to look something like this from now on:

Breakfast 7 days a week - chicken legs
Dinner 5 days a week - gRAW, a bit of extra veg/spud, and either sardines or an egg or a dollop of natural yogurt
Dinner at weekend - lap of lamb or anything else I can get cheap with veg/spuds/organs

Is there anything I'm missing out on or too low on?

bluecherry74

fifib wrote: »

thanks guys!
Just on what ive been reading im seeing conflicting advice with regards to the canned mackrel and sardines etc..ive seen people say dont buy the ones in brine and others say dont buy the ones in oil

I think there are pros and cons to both so I tend to mix it up between the ones in brine and the ones in oil. I've given the ones in tomato sauce a couple of times too.

The ideal answer is to feed raw oily fish. I buy it whenever I see it reduced in Tesco and chop it into pieces and freeze. It can be hard to get cheap at certain times of the year though.

tk123

bluecherry74 wrote: »

My first order of gRAW arrived this week and the dogs and I are very impressed. It looks a lot more like proper meat than Prize Choice, which I've always though has a slightly odd look.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that lol - it has a weird smell too IMO? I had a voucher for a petshop that sells it so spent it on prize choice. Might try some gRAW at some stage.

toadfly

Ok I need help. 6weeks on raw and lexi has lost about 1.5kg. The weight loss is less then when she was on dry but she is still losing it. Can anyone think of anything to try? She's on about 3.5% a day. Mainly chick drumsticks/oyster legs with fillets of fish every second day and a piece of liver everyday. Spuds carrots and broccoli too. Am I missing something? This can't go on.

Going shopping in an hour so any help would be great. I know upping the spud would help but Id prefer to keep it majority meat.

DBB

The 3% of bodyweight is a guideline. Active and/or young dogs may need more, and it sounds like Lexi does! I'd be inclined to up the meat and hit the 4.5% bodyweight mark, see how you get on. Maybe reduce the fish in favour of meat for a while, as fish is not as calorific.
I'm trying to get some weight off mine! Fish and de-skinned chicken, and no spuds here for the min! So I envy you!

bluecherry74

I'm no expert but I agree with DBB that the 3% is only a rough guideline. I started one of my dogs out on 3% and she started to pack on the pounds. I have her at about 2% and she seems to be ok on that. My younger dog on the other hand is a skinny minny and gets at least 4.5%.

tk123

Yeah you just need to increase it imo and find the right figure for Lexi. We started out on 2% and dropped to 1.75% to allow for other treats etc and no probs. Anyhoos asked in the butchers if they had any bones earlier - the guy asked what kind of dog "they have a big mouth...i'll get you a big bone!" - the thing he came back with is the length of my forearm lol!! Luckily he sawed it in 2 for me - Bailey's out with it for the last hour!

toadfly

Thanks guys have upped it to 4.5%

Only thing I can think might also be the problem is she barely chews the food so her body would have to work harder to process/digest it, or would that be a problem?

DogsFirst

Not at all, it't they way they eat. Omnivores chew (meals need masticating), look at a cow. Carnivores gulp, let them at it. Don't worry re torsion / bloat and all thaT. The only diet links to those problems are gulping kibble and bowls up high. Never put a bowl up on one of those stands, especially for a deep chested dog. They're designed to eat head down! Also, it's a sign of appetance. I barely chew my takeaways on Saturday night but if anyone tries to stop me I snap at them. It's natural.

toadfly

Haha thanks DF. I will leave her to it and hopefully she will put on a bit of weight.

DogsFirst

Stuff it in there. Three meals a day instead of two maybe? Why not

toadfly

Im doing that at the weekends but can't during the week as I work all day.

nala2012

I've been feeding raw for a while now and when i was making up nala's food last night i started wondering if she's getting all the right vitamins and if i'm feeding what i should be so i'm just going to write up what she usually gets and i'd appreciate any opinions on if i should change anything or add something. Nala will be 2 in february, weigh's 33 kg now and i think this is her ideal weight because she doesn't look skinny any more. She does a lot of exercise being in doggy day care five days and on the weekends we go to the beach or the bog we also started agility. I feed her 800g a day. So an average week she gets chicken leg or poultry necks in the morning and for evening she gets mince, heart, liver, rice, egg and veg. She also gets green tripe and fish some days. I started putting salmon oil on her breakfast too. She's not really into bones she sometimes eats them but not every week. Is that ok? Should i be giving any supplements?

DogsFirst

That is an absolutely quality diet. Lucky dog.

Don't worry re bones, and all gnaw now and again will do fine. There's loads of bone in the necks so she's getting more than enough there.

Don't worry re supplements. Absolutely no need on that food, vitamin and trace element rich. Leave them for dry fed dogs.

LisaO

Have been following this thread with much interest as am now raw feeding 2 of my 3. Spent an hour earlier boiling large pot of rice & cooking veggies in pressure cooker - now all portioned up & in freezer.

Have found a butcher who has loads of stuff ideal (I think) for the dogs: whole pork liver - huge! for 1.99, I cut it up into small chunks (lovely job:() and put some in each meat bag before I freeze them; Big bag of pork bones for a euro; bags of chicken bits (the carcasses, etc after they have taken off fillets) for a euro. Came out with 2 carrier bags for a fiver. Then I buy the marked down packs of mince, chicken legs, etc in Lidl, few tins of sardines & our own duck eggs. I also add salmon oil to the rice & veg mix before I freeze it. Usually make 2 weeks worth at a time. Have to say the dogs love it and have seen great improvements in coats, smell & temperament.

I do have moments of doubt - are they missing out on anything, are they getting too much/not enough of any one thing, are they going to get perforated insides from bits of bones or bones stuck but keep reminding myself that they are dogs, not people, and so are engineered for this way of eating.

Also have the worries of am I feeding the right amount but guess the best way to judge is by eye and the scales and then adjust accordingly.

I would appreciate any suggestions for anything I could add (or should remove) from the menu. My only other concern is our rather stinky staffy. I know they are prone to flatulence as a breed & have been told it will improve as he gets older (7 months at moment). He is very windy - can be really toxic sometimes but more worringly he can often seem uncomfortable after eating. Any suggestions would be most welcome!! Thanks in advance.

Irishchick

nala2012 wrote: »

IShe's not really into bones she sometimes eats them but not every week. Is that ok? Should i be giving any supplements?

No its certainly not. Lean muscle is a very poor source of calcium. Ask the butcher if he will grind the bone into a powder that you can sprinkle over the dogs food.

TooManyDogs

Friend of mine has a dog who doesn't do well with bones and she washes, drys and grinds up egg shells in her coffee bean grinder. She sprinkles some over each meal and it seems to be working well.

nala2012

TooManyDogs wrote: »

Friend of mine has a dog who doesn't do well with bones and she washes, drys and grinds up egg shells in her coffee bean grinder. She sprinkles some over each meal and it seems to be working well.

I do give her the shells off the eggs. I've heard that giving calcium supplements when not needed do more harm than good so don't want to over dose her.

Irishchick

nala2012 wrote: »

I've heard that giving calcium supplements when not needed do more harm than good so don't want to over dose her.

Yes it can. Especially with Giant breeds. It can cause rapid bone growth leading to weakness and joint issues.

DogsFirst

Thumbs by one million on that one

bluecherry74

Is it OK to feed raw pork liver without freezing it? I accidentally bought some today instead of lambs liver. I haven't fed any pork meat yet as I wasn't too sure about it.

I also got a giant hunk of roasting beef on the discount shelf. They'll be dining in style this weekend!

fatmammycat

Heh, my guy got two med size mackeral for supper today, without sauce, just whole fish. It was entertaining to watch him work out the 'oh, this is my food! without much effort. Eyes, gills, guts, fins, bones- nommed.

tk123

SO glad my guy is on raw after hearing somebody talk about their dog dying from bloat If he was still on dry food that would have converted me on the spot!

fatmammycat

bluecherry74 wrote: »

Is it OK to feed raw pork liver without freezing it? I accidentally bought some today instead of lambs liver. I haven't fed any pork meat yet as I wasn't too sure about it.

I also got a giant hunk of roasting beef on the discount shelf. They'll be dining in style this weekend!

I'm sure it is. As an aside,does your dog like pork liver? My dog is very uninterested in liver of any kind- he ate it today because he was worried about the cats scoffing it. I feed him a lamb's heart once a week, and lambs' liver once a week, but he's cagey about the liver full stop ( today's was duck).

bluecherry74

fatmammycat wrote: »

I'm sure it is. As an aside,does your dog like pork liver? My dog is very uninterested in liver of any kind- he ate it today because he was worried about the cats scoffing it. I feed him a lamb's heart once a week, and lambs' liver once a week, but he's cagey about the liver full stop ( today's was duck).

This is my first time buying the pork liver and I haven't tried it yet. They love lambs liver and beef liver though, I just need to be careful not to give them too big a portion as it can give them the runs.

Funnily enough, the only thing they're reluctant to eat is raw whole mackerel! They'll eat it if it's well chopped up but seem to balk at a whole fish or even big chunks of it.

fatmammycat

bluecherry74 wrote: »

This is my first time buying the pork liver and I haven't tried it yet. They love lambs liver and beef liver though, I just need to be careful not to give them too big a portion as it can give them the runs.

Funnily enough, the only thing they're reluctant to eat is raw whole mackerel! They'll eat it if it's well chopped up but seem to balk at a whole fish or even big chunks of it.

Heh, that funy. My lad was looking at them, then back to me for a few minutes; I could see him thinking: 'Hmm, these smell like the things she gives me for lunch, but they're different. Maybe if I lick this one for a few minutes...okay, that's interesting, maybe I'll give this one a crunch and...OH! Fish! I like these.'

LisaO

Yeah, it's funny when you give them anything new. We tried pigs feet last week & took a little while to figure out. Have to say, they last them for ages!

I give mine pigs liver, have a butcher who sells them whole - massive! I cut it into manageable chunks (lovely job ), freeze & defrost as needed.

Liver seems to be an acquired taste for many dogs, for one of mine, I had to start off with very small cooked pieces at first but now he wolfs it down raw. Our old JRT can't stand it - if you offer him even a tiny piece he will sniff it & nearly get sick!! It's one of the very few things he will happily let the others eat without trying to scoff it all himself

We have had mackerel here too in the last week but only the fillets from Lidl - they were on special offer & then reduced again. The dogs loved them & I would like to feed whole mackerel, which I am sure would be cheaper. Does anyone know if mackerel is in season at the moment & can they be easily got in a fishmongers?

fatmammycat

LisaO wrote: »

Yeah, it's funny when you give them anything new. We tried pigs feet last week & took a little while to figure out. Have to say, they last them for ages!

I give mine pigs liver, have a butcher who sells them whole - massive! I cut it into manageable chunks (lovely job ), freeze & defrost as needed.

Liver seems to be an acquired taste for many dogs, for one of mine, I had to start off with very small cooked pieces at first but now he wolfs it down raw. Our old JRT can't stand it - if you offer him even a tiny piece he will sniff it & nearly get sick!! It's one of the very few things he will happily let the others eat without trying to scoff it all himself

We have had mackerel here too in the last week but only the fillets from Lidl - they were on special offer & then reduced again. The dogs loved them & I would like to feed whole mackerel, which I am sure would be cheaper. Does anyone know if mackerel is in season at the moment & can they be easily got in a fishmongers?

You can buy sacks of Mackerel in the Asian market on Drury Street (I am sorry for assuming you're in Dublin, if you're not but I'm sure any Asian food shop have them) whole and mid sized, handy for the freezer, just defrost as required. I think there's 10 to bag, for 5 euros. Pigs feet sounds like a great idea! We've just ordered him an Stag antler too, for the chewing. A friend got one for his dog and it's apparently beyond gleeful as a chew toy.

LisaO

fatmammycat wrote: »

You can buy sacks of Mackerel in the Asian market on Drury Street (I am sorry for assuming you're in Dublin, if you're not but I'm sure any Asian food shop have them) whole and mid sized, handy for the freezer, just defrost as required. I think there's 10 to bag, for 5 euros. Pigs feet sounds like a great idea! We've just ordered him an Stag antler too, for the chewing. A friend got one for his dog and it's apparently beyond gleeful as a chew toy.

Thanks for the info. No, not in Dublin but will chck out locally. Yeah, the pigs feet are brill, last for ages. Have been toying with the idea of a pigs head but not sure if I can bear to look at it in it's various stages of decomposition, as it would probably last a few days :eek: Plus I'm sure it would lead to "arguments"!! If you give them pig feet, make sure they are somewhere you can clean up easily afterwards as well, they can be a bit messy, what with all the gnawing! Bob likes to eat his outside which is great, Leon usually has his in his crate but he escaped with it once & took it up on the sofa. No bother, as leather sofa so easy to clean but I would not recommend picking up a warm, half-chewed pigs trotter, it was sooo gross:eek:

We have a Stag Bar here for Leon. He loves it for a bit & then goes off it but that seems to be the way with them. Bob is not very interested in it at all, unusual as he is very food driven