Any raw feeders here? Dog/Cat etc.

I recently started raw feeding my dogs. There are a lot of benefits and I am happy I got them off kibble.

The raw feeding community is growing and its a very welcoming group.

So any raw feeders here?

If anyone has any questions I will do my best to answer. I have limited experience but I love to research everything to the moon and back.

 

Yeah did this long ago with my blue heeler would go to local butcher shop ask for raw beef bones n give to her read somewhere it's good for em

 

Have been feeding raw for approximately 13 years since I got my female pittie. She's turning 14 in August & still behaves like a pup. My male pittie I adopted at 2 years old who was eating purina's beniful (absolute junk by the way) had rough coat & sandpaper of a nose. Didn't eat his food when we got him. Weaned him into raw & his coat is smooth & nose is wet after just a couple of weeks of switching. Begs for his food now. I can help anyone wanting to switch to raw. Best thing for them

 

Glad to hear we have some raw feeders. Ive been picking up a lot of venison (free) and some chicken backs, ribs from the butcher (also free). I did order some stuff off Raw Feeding Miami to get me started. I am a little overwhelmed but I know it will get easier.

I would like to be able to prep a months worth of meals or maybe more at one time. Right now I only prep about 5-6 days of meals at a time. Very time consuming. I got a small freezer for free but it looks like I will need a bigger one here shortly.

@boloson how do you prep your meals? do you follow the 80/10/5/5 model? What is your main source of meats?

 

Man how in the hell do u get everything for free? Lol unfortunately venison is one of the most expensive meats (lamb, salmon, rabbit, are also more money than your "usual meats like beef & chicken) to buy unless u hunt which I don't. I have an extra freezer also which I got from a buddy who owned a pet store that went under along with his leftover raw foods. I started off years ago researching the b.a.r.f diets, went to a raw diet seminar that was held by my dog trainers and lots of Internet research & books (dr Ian billinghurst). If I remember correctly "bravo" was the 1st brand of raw that I tried.

After trying different brands I bought a meat grinder & made my own raw meals but couldn't find a grinder that could grind bones. Supplemented the calcium source with raw beef knuckle bones, raw chicken wings, turkey necks, etc. it is cheaper to make it yourself especially if u have access to a butcher but very time consuming when prep/ portion time came around. The most difficult part about making your own raw meals is keeping the food balanced (protein, carbs, fiber, calcium, phosphorus, etc). Eventually my grinder broke & I went back to buying commercial raw foods. Today I feed "k9 natural" which is a company out of New Zealand. The ingredients in it are pretty impressive. I vary meat sources rotating from beef, chicken, lamb, venison, turkey, bison, duck, rabbit, & even cook salmon for them from time to time (I'm not crazy about feeding raw fish). It's important to have variety since they can develop allergies & even get bored of the same foods.

Even with a balanced raw meal, I still add fresh foods to it like apples, raspberries, blueberries, celery, kale, broccoli, yogurt, eggs, etc. all organic by the way. It does get expensive but nothing is too good for my babies. I tend to grind the veggies in a blender to a pulp for better digestion. I used to own Rottweilers before my pitties & actually bought my female pittie because my male rotty was dying at the time. Too many dogs actually, dying way too early in my opinion which made me question the typical kibble. Wanted to start fresh with the female pittie so looked into the best diet & found the raw diets. If I wasn't feeding raw I'd make their meals myself instead of buying kibble.

 

I have a 35 lb miniature golden retriever. I have been mixing a freeze dried product into her Rachel Ray kibble. She seems to like it. However I am interested In going raw. What size is your dog and how much raw do you give it each day? Thanks

 

i have a blue heeler as well!

been feeding him raw since he was like 6 mos old and hes 5 now.. sheesh time flies.

i think people tend to over think raw feeding.. its a bit like how humans "diet".. macros vs micro

i buy his food from ethnic markets and i can get by most of the time with his food being under $1/lb with beef being the only thing i spend over that amount for ...

in his rotation is pork shoulder/butt whatever i get on sale, chicken, beef kidney, beef liver, occasional random organ i see at the market, sardines, mackerel, beef heart, and whatever meat trimmings i buy for myself or my family..

i chop the meat into about fist sized pieces and freeze all of it in layer sheets. when its time to feed i take out a "sheet" and slam it against the floor to break it apart, and i'll usually have about a week or two of frozen chunks ready to feed. i feed once a day and each meal (hes about 40 lbs) will consist of roughly 1 lb of mostly meat, a meaty bone (that is soft enough for him to chew through, NO weight bearing bones of large animals) and a sliver or two of liver + whatever organ meat i have in the freezer).

i also supplement with fish oil (

$68 Grizzly Salmon Plus Omega Fatty Acids Food Supplement for Dogs & Cats (Various Sizes) - Wild-Sourced Omega 3-6-9, Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil (64 Fl Oz)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0023R8CDA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
and glucosamine (

$33 COX VETERINARY Acti Flex Solution 32 oz

https://www.amazon.com/Veterinary-A...68456&sr=8-18&keywords=horse+joint+supplement or

$30 LIQUIDHEALTH 32 Oz K9 Liquid Glucosamine for Dogs, Puppies and Senior Canines - Chondroitin, MSM, Hyaluronic Acid – Joint Health, Dog Vitamins Hip Joint Juice, Dog Joint Oil

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VKA92I/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

living in LA i unfortunately dont have much access to wild game and thus am not really willing to pay that much for bison/elk/venison...

 

My dogs are 62 lbs & 70lbs give or take? Haven't weighed them in awhile. I feed them twice a day, less in the evening & treats in between. As far as portions goes I don't have exact measurements. Your dog will determine that. U can typically see a difference within a weeks time if the portions are too little or too much from the weight loss or gain. Once u see if they're keepin on a steady weight/ energy, I'd keep it at that & u can measure it then so you'll have an idea of how much to feed.
I have been adviced by the pet store owner where I buy my food from not to mix kibble & raw together since they digest at different rates but I have mixed their foods in the past & didn't notice anything unusual. Might affect older doggies more than younger ones.

 

That all depends on what brand u buy. As an example I feed k9 natural which comes in 11 lbs bags as their biggest size. Different meats varies in price. For my 2 dogs I buy 6 bags & last about 1 month at about $600. K9 natural is pretty expensive though compared to some of the raw brands out there but I believe their ingredients is some of the best stuff available.

I got hooked on raw when my rottie was dying at 9 years old (tumor & bone marrow cancer) He couldn't digest his food (pro plan kibble) towards the end. Bought my female pittie to cheer him up & start fresh with her on a better diet. Switched him to raw diet also & his energy levels shot up & ended up living almost 2 years past his estimated death. My female pittie is now 13 years old. She's slowed down some but still acts like a pup. When I adopted my male pittie he was 2 years old & had a rough coat & his nose was dry, cracked & the edges were like sandpaper. I've always heard & believe that u can determine a dog is healthy by how wet & shiny their noses are. Switched him to raw & within days I noticed his nose got moist & his coat felt smoother. Within a month his nose is completely moist. Their poops doesn't stink as bad & after a few days it turns white & damn near disintegrates. These are results I've had from raw diets.

 

Hahha yea. It's actually slightly cheaper than mods for the truck but not by much

 

I added raw meat into my German Shepherds food. She would eat the raw food first than she would eat the kibble. The first time I walked in the house with raw food she tried ripping the bag open to get to it. I also gave beef marrow bones. She would sit there and chew on them. Come back 30 minutes later and she was just about finished haha. Only thing to keep in mind with raw food is that it can mess with their bowl movements. It will make it a lot softer so you might wanna look into something to help with that if that happens. My girl had no trouble

 

@Toyotafan check out https://perfectlyrawsome.com there are calculators on there to help you figure how much to feed. My girls are 40 pounds and they eat about 17oz a day but they are high energy activity level dogs. They recommend feeding 2.5% of their weight a day and you can split that into two meals if you prefer.
I feed prey model diet, so they don't get any fruit or veggies etc.

There are also a bunch of raw feeding groups on Facebook and is really the only reason I am on there. The raw feeding community is one. Prey model raw feeding is another

 

The stool will only get soft if you don't feed enough bone or if you mix kibble and raw together. Also it is a good idea to fast them for at least 15 hours before switching to a raw diet. Otherwise they get messy bowel movements.