RAW Diet Recipes
about 4-5 months ago i came across a recipe for a raw meal for dogs and cant seem to find it now that i got a new computer and lost the old recipe.
it was a mix of chicken, rice, veggies, egg whites and maybe some more. anyone care to share their recipes or know the one i am referring too? i only made this one once or twice but Duke loved it and i was going to start making it again.
currently, i have been giving him a diet of kibble (purina beneful) and raw chicken, beef, or fish. i would like to start with a more complete raw diet and go away from kibble.
thanks
brian
it was a mix of chicken, rice, veggies, egg whites and maybe some more. anyone care to share their recipes or know the one i am referring too? i only made this one once or twice but Duke loved it and i was going to start making it again.
currently, i have been giving him a diet of kibble (purina beneful) and raw chicken, beef, or fish. i would like to start with a more complete raw diet and go away from kibble.
thanks
brian
Comments
And I am completely grain free.
Premade may be a tad more expensive than home prepared but less potential for bacterial contamination and much easier to achieve a complete diet.
I use Natures Variety
http://www.naturesvariety.com/raw
and Primal Raw Formulas
http://www.primalpetfoods.com/product/list/c/7
I would encourage you to visit Dog Food Analysis http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ too, I don't like to slam brands too much but Beneful is considered a 1 star food (that is out of a potential 6) and you obviously are looking into doing what is best for your dog.
the cost difference of pre-made doesnt bother me really, i just like to be a DIY kinda guy. i like taking the time to make/prepare stuff. as far as the complete diet, those are things i am researching still as well which is why i havent switched completely. although if not being a complete diet with raw food is better than the current kibble mix, then i may switch while still learning more.
I am lucky though. I live right down the street from a pet boutique that does raw so it's easy for me to find pre-made food and quality grain free food. I don't have to special order.
There are a lot of really cool websites on this topic. Check this one out http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/rawpetfood.html
http://rawfed.com/myths/
http://www.rawdogranch.com/
This is Jens Blog that I mentioned
http://theyarewhattheyeat.blogspot.com/
Also, I'd skip the grain, but that's me. I think most raw feeders do, unless their dog does better on grain for some reason.
here is what i have converted him to this week and he seems to be doing well:
1 chicken thigh with bone
1 egg
pinch of oil
pinch of garlic
1 serving of veggie (carrot, broccoli, brussel sprouts, celery)
1 serving of white rice
what are your thoughts? if this serves well, i will start making it in bulk.
about 2-4% of the dogs weight is sufficient right?
I messed up as I was writing that on my lunch break (at 4 in the afternoon so I was starving) on my blackberry, and not proofreading.
When I was new, I was totally stressed about how much to feed....but now I just guess, and if they look thin or fat (usually the latter rather than the former) I adjust accordingly.
i have cut out the grain and added more meat and veggies.
he had his first whole fish over the weekend while out camping. that gave him the runs sorta. his next stool and only one was liquidy and green.
Also, be careful with purchasing ground meats (as apposed to making it yourself) due to the fact that you don't know what they throw in there (sometimes parts that would otherwise be considered inedible) and the increase surface area from being ground increases the amount of bacteria on the meat. If you absolutely must purchase ground meat, get the stuff that is ground at the market instead pre-packages and ground at some warehouse.
Personally, I think you should ease yourself into feeding raw, take your time and learn more about the potential harms and risks that raw meat can cause if not fed properly. I think for now, you should try sticking with the pre-mades that Jessica has mentioned before adventuring into real meats. There is a lot to learn with feeding raw, and something that can be very harmful to yourself and your dog if not taken in strides.
10+ years raw feeding without a problem (or me or my dogs) so I'm actually not convinced that it is that dangerous re: bacteria, etc. My dogs eat things I DO worry about--like the birds and woodrats and snakes and lizards they catch--and even with those, they've never had ill effects from raw feeding or wildlife. I think dogs are actually pretty tough in regards to this.
I think deep freezing is really only a necessary component when dealing with animals where you do not know their history prior to slaughter like hunting game.
The only way you can really know the history of any food animal is if you raise and slaughter it yourself, and even then there is no guarantee that the animal isn't carrying anything. Not all places get their meat from quality ranches, so we really don't know what those animals were exposed to prior to the butcher (heck, look what happened with Mad Cow disease). There's no guarantee that any animal will be parasite free, and there have been cases of people catching worms from eating meat that wasn't fully cooked or frozen properly. Here are a few worms one can pick up from eating meat that wasn't prepared right:
http://www.smithlifescience.com/WormNotes.htm
And just cause they give cow and pig as an example, worms are not picky as to who their host is. There is also a risk of protozoans being in the meat, such as giardia and coccidia, that can transfer to you or the dog. And often times symptoms don't show up in a healthy person/dog, so without testing they may live inside you/dog innoticed for a very long time.
Fish can carry many parasites (even farm-raised, though wild caught is healthier), one major one being fluke:
http://www.merckveterinarymanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/57305.htm&hide=1
I'm not against raw, eventually my guys will be on it. I'm just saying that there are risks when giving meat that isn't properly cared for before eating it.
a) I feed pre-made raw
b)when I do fresh raw I go to the butcher who keeps his rabbits on property you get to visit, and pick your victim (don't do this often as most of you know I am vegan and I cry every time I have done this)
and
c)I haven't shopped at a conventional supermarket in over 15 years, and have been vegan for over 20 years.
That said all means of feeding are not without risk.When we look at the options, IMHO opinion raw has the healthiest results. And pre-made raw seems the safest (this has been reinforced to me by my dogs nutritionist). But then again she calls kibble "bags of death" so she has what most would call extreme opinions. It is not inexpensive by any means. However if it increases the life and health of my dogs, I personally think it is worth the expense.
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/parasites.html
Can't vouch for the information, but it is interesting.
Hey Jessica,
I just go to my aunt's house. She'll kill me a rabbit anytime. lol. She's my own Little Italy. A 4'11" beast!
I freeze pork and fish before I feed it to them, but they don't actually get either of those things that often.
I also found this website: http://www.darwinspet.com/darwins-raw-dog-food/ an opinion on their food.
My Nature's Variety raw patties average around $25 for 12 8-oz patties, 6 pounds to the package, depending on what protein (and I feed all six proteins, changing every week). My two dogs split one patty a night, for six nights, but they are light eaters, one being 14 years old and the other being small. It doesn't have to break the bank to feed just a little of the commercial raw, and use something else for their morning meal, like Honest Kitchen (the dehydrated food) for instance. If they were bigger or more active dogs or needed more food, I would probably add some canned food to their raw patty to make a little more. That way I never have to feed more than 6 patties a week.
Let's see, Koda is 50 pds. (Yes he's a big Kai. Biggest out of his siblings.) He eats around 1-1 1/4 pds per day. That website says that it's $2.60/pd. for chicken and vegetables. So it would cost me $2.60 to $3.25 per day to feed Koda that food.
I do add supplements: Solid Gold Sea meal and either a fish oil or simply fish oil capsules. They get table scraps too, incl. veggies for those that will eat them (my male Shiba will not eat veggies).
Still, overall, feeding raw is cheaper for me than feeding a grain free kibble (and my GSD has serious grain allergies).