I get questions all the time about how to begin feeding their dog a raw diet. I can only give what worked for me in the past with my dogs.
What is raw feeding and how do I know what to feed my dog?
My mantra about raw feeding is to look to nature. What would my dog eat if he
was living in the wild? The answer to that is he would eat any animal he could
catch and kill. So the answer to what to feed is raw meat, bones, and organs
from a variety of animals. Feed mostly meat, some bone, and some organs. The
exact ratio isn't critical.
What about fruits & veggies?
A lot of people feed their
dogs veggies but if you look to nature, you will see that your dog wouldn't eat
veggies in any measurable amounts. He might eat a few berries or maybe some
grass but certainly not zucchini, carrots, potatoes or any of the veggies that
many people feed. Also you must know that all the cells in all vegetable matter
is covered by a think layer of cellulose. This cellulose must be crushed during
the eating process in order for the nutrients in the vegetables to be available
for digestion. This is called bioavailablity. The nutrients in vegetable matter
is not bioavailable to our dogs because they don't have the flat molar teeth
that plant eating animals do. Humans, for example, have flat molars for
crushing cellulose during chewing. Dogs molars are called carnassal teeth and
are not flat but work like scissors to rip and tear meat and crush bones. So,
by looking at your dog's teeth, you can tell that veggies just are not
appropriate food for them. The vegetable material doesn't harm your dog, but it
does them no good either. Giving carrot treats occasionally doesn't hurt. Just
make sure that you don't feed enough veggies to interfere with the amount of
meat, bones, and organs your dog eats.
How do I begin?
First off, you want to begin with one meat
source until your dog gets used to digesting meat. I suggest chicken,
specifically chicken backs only for the first week. Chicken meat is easily
digested and the bones are soft and pliable. The second week, I suggest chicken
backs in the morning and chicken quarters in the evening. The third week I
think it would be good to alternate chicken quarters with turkey necks in the
evening, sticking with chicken backs in the morning. So one evening you would
feed chicken quarters, the next evening it would be turkey necks, then quarters
again then necks, etc. After a week of that, add another meat. I suggest pork.
One pork meal that week. The next week add one meal of fish. I use canned
salmon or mackerel but raw fish will work just fine. Feed with bones and organs
still attached if you can get that. I feed one fish meal every week for the
omega 3 fatty acids for good bright shiny coats. Then next week, try something
in place of the pork, maybe lamb or beef. So, after a few weeks you will be
feeding most any meat available. After a month or so of feeding raw, you can
add organ meat. You don't feed a meal of organs, just add some organ meat to
one or 2 meals a week. Not a lot of organ meat as they are rich and can cause
runny stools. Now let's put it all together and look at the diet I feed my dogs
after the introduction period. Every morning they get chicken backs. The
evening meals are alternated between chicken quarters and turkey necks. One of
those evening meals will be fish + organs + a raw egg (shell and all) +
anything else I may have left over in the fridge. One other night during the
week is for "something else". I may feed a pork roast or pork ribs or pork
shoulder. It may be beef, or lamb. Just something other than chicken, turkey,
or fish. That's it. I keep it as simple as possible. The more you complicate
it, the more complicated it becomes. Expect your dog to have runny stools for a
few days to a couple of weeks in the beginning. Its part of the process of
learning how to digest meat and is normal. Some dogs don't get runny stools at
all, others last for a couple of weeks.
What organs do I feed?
Liver is the most important and should
be at least half of the organs fed. Any kind of liver will do. Chicken, beef,
pork, lamb, any of them. A variety is best over time. Kidney is the next most
nutritious organ to feed. Also lung and pancreas. Heart is not an organ but a
muscle and is good to feed too. Gizzard is also a muscle.
How much do I feed my adult dog?
Each dog is different and
that's impossible to say. However, begin with 2% to 3% of his IDEAL adult
weight each day. Watch him over time and adjust as necessary. If he gets fat,
feed less and vice versa. Many new raw feeders have this great need to measure
everything. That need will quickly disappear and you will just know how much to
feed. You will also stay in touch with your dogs "build" and adjust his food
accordingly.
How much do I feed my puppy?
This one is a little more
complicated so pay attention here. Begin feeding him 10% of his weight a day.
Once 10% of his weight exceeds 2% to 3% of his IDEAL ADULT weight (not present
weight), feed the 2% to 3%. All the time you are doing this you are conscious
of his build and adjust the amount of food accordingly. The puppy will tell you
how much to feed him by his build.
How young can I begin feeding raw?
I personally have fed a 12
week old puppy raw. I know breeders who will wean their puppies directly to
raw. My suggestion is to begin feeding raw the day you bring him home.
Tell me how to balance the diet.
People worry an awful lot
about balancing their dog's diet. It seems to me that they worry more about
their dog's diet than their own or their family's diet. They are dogs. Their
digestive systems and their bodies are not that fragile. Feed meat, bones, and
organs from a variety of animals and the diet will balance itself over time.
Remember that term "over time". It's not necessary to balance each meal.
Balance over time. People getting into raw feeding tend to worry a lot about
ratios and percentages and weights. Forget all that. Feed raw meat and bones
and organs from a variety of animals and things magically work themselves out.
What is ideal? The average prey animal has about 10% to 15% bone, about 10%
organs, and the rest muscle and fat and connective tissue. If you feed 5% bone
or 25% bone, it won't matter. 5% organs or 20% organs doesn't make any
difference. Just stay somewhat in the ballpark and you will be ok. One thing I
look at is the dog's poop. You will become an expert poop watcher. Ideally, the
poop should be solid and turn white and powdery in a day or 2. If the poop is
runny, it generally means you need to feed more bone. If it is white and
powdery when it comes out, feed less bone. The poop and my dog's build is all I
watch and I don't look at poop very often anymore.
Do I feed supplements?
As long as you feed raw meaty bones
and organs from a variety of animals then you shouldn't need to supplement a
healthy dog. Of course if your dog has a health problem, you might want to add
supplements for that. One more possibility. Some add salmon oil capsules for
omega 3's. I don't because I feed fish at least once a week.
Where and how do I buy my raw meats?
A good place to buy in
bulk is to go to small independent grocery stores and have them order things
like chicken backs and turkey necks by the case. Backs come in 40# cases and
turkey necks come in 30# cases. Small independent stores are usually willing to
help you get cases of meats. The big chain stores just aren't set up for such
purchases. Ethnic markets are another source of meats, particularly organs.
Check with restaurants and see where they get meats and try those places.
Finding cheap meat is fun and will become a game once you get into raw
feeding.
Can you give other tips on raw feeding and how to make it
easy?
There are many and you will learn most as you go and you will
have to work out your own routine. It will be complicated and cumbersome in the
beginning but you will work out your routines and it becomes very little more
difficult than feeding kibble. One suggestion is when you buy by the case,
break up the case into meal size portions and put them in freezer bags. As you
feed one meal, get the next out of the freezer to be thawing.
What about Germs from the raw meat?
The digestive juices of
our canines are more than 50% hydrochloric acid. It is very deadly to the
bacteria that your dogs ingest. Dog/wolves in the wild are exposed to all kinds
of e-coli, salmonella, etc all the time and suffer no ill effects from it.
(Afterall they lick their butts all the time!) A canine in the wild can stumble
upon a carcass of a prey animal that has been dead for a week or more and will
gladly eat it. I had a Golden Retriever whose favorite treat was a road kill
squirrel that had been dead and laying in the hot sunshine for about a week.
Whenever she ate one, there was never any side effects from it. Its safe to
feed your dogs meat that has gone bad in the refrigerator. Don't worry about
germs when feeding your dog. It's a non-issue. I have never heard of a dog nor
a family member getting sick from feeding your dog raw.
Thats it. If you have more questions, feel free to ask me and I'll add them to the list. :) This is raw feeding in a nutshell. To learn more about raw feeding: Read the book "Works Wonders" by Dr. Tom Lonsdale You can find it at "http://www.rawmeatybones.com" . You may download it for a very small fee in PDF format.
A few informative web sites are:
"http//rawfeddogs.net/"
"http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html"
"http:rawfed.com/myths/index.html"
Join the yahoo rawfeeding group at "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/" You will get more useful practical information there than all the books combined. It's a very active group with almost ten thousand members who all feed raw.
If you have any further questions, you may email me
here. I hope you enjoy feeding your dogs raw. I know they will enjoy eating
it and thank you profusely.
Bill Carnes
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