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Post by nzelic01 on Feb 22, 2013 9:52:42 GMT -5
Does anybody feed their Dobes a raw food diet?
I am considering switching from kibble to a raw diet and im curious to hear peoples experience with this. Ive been doing some research and I have become overwhelmingly confused with everything. I think I've narrowed down how much to feed my dogs based on their weight but overall Im very confused.
Does anyone have any advice? Not sure if this was discussed in a prior post, so if it has, I apologize for starting another topic and if you could direct me to that thread that would be great.
Thanks!
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Post by Lisa on Feb 22, 2013 11:10:27 GMT -5
I feed raw for over 3 years. What questions do you have?
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Post by nzelic01 on Feb 22, 2013 15:20:43 GMT -5
Well here is one question - where do I start? Lol! i figured out how much they need based on their weight. Zeus is at 2.5lbs (3% of body weight) and Porscha is at 2lbs at which point Im guessing the final weight. I would obviously adjust if they were over/under weight.
What type of benefits have you experienced feeding raw? The biggest factor for me is cost. We buy Orijen at the moment and for the two dobes we pay about $180 every 3-3.5 weeks. Pretty pricey! I hear that raw is cheaper, healthier and there are many benefits to it. I want to switch my little ones over as well.
What do I feed them? I read that if Im switching from kibble to raw that I should do it cold turkey but to start with chicken only, then after that start introducing more protein sources. Lisa do you do prey model diet or do you also incorporate fruits,veggies and other supplements? Im leaning more towards the pray model diet because its less to incorporate.
Im very confused when they said that you have to incorporate a certain % of meat, bone, organ. How do I figure that out? Should I develop a weekly schedule?
What is your experience with feeding raw?
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Post by Lisa on Feb 22, 2013 22:04:44 GMT -5
Feeding raw is not cheaper if you want to feed balanced diet. If you feed only chicken it may be cheaper but it's not sufficient diet for your dogs. It should be at least 2-3 types of protein ex) chicken, beef, pork, organs and meaty bones. I spend over $200 on my dogs but I spoil them buying bison, lamb, duck, ect. MY dogs get chicken, duck, turkey, beef, pork, lamb, bison meat/organs/meaty bones. I buy ground chicken/duck/turkey with bone, chicken and duck feet/heads/necks, beef ground meat/organs/meaty bones, bison trim meat/tripe/neck bones, lamb meat/organs, pork meat/organs/meaty bones, elk tripe/meaty bones. We have a good supplier. The prices are reasonable and quality is excellent.
If you buy chicken, pork and beef (cheaper meats) you will spend not more than $180 a month.
Feeding raw is much better. My dogs never have any digestive problems, their coats are healthy, their energy level is high, no gas, not much shedding and we don't visit our vet much... only for regular check-ups. I enjoy feeding raw.
You don't need to feed 3%. 2 - 2.5% should be enough. My dogs eat 4 - 4.5 lbs daily plus snacks like feet, necks, heads and occasional recreational bones (knuckle, marrow, etc). Also I add oatmeal, veggies/fruits, kefir (5% of dinner). You don't need to do it if your dogs are fine on raw meat only. Gino got constipations and I added oatmeal. It's a good fiber. I believe they need it. Most raw feeder will argue with me.. but that's what works for my dogs.
The average prey diet is 10% to 15% bone, about 10% organs, and the rest muscle meat. 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. Watch dog's poop. If the poop is runny, it generally means you need to feed more bone. If it is white and powdery or a dog constipating feed less bone.
I buy majority of food from a supplier. Also I shop in China town for pork (ground meat and organs). They have great prices and always fresh meat. I watch for sales in CO-OP and buy chicken legs and pork there. Cheap fish can be found in Superstore but my dogs don't like fish. I replaced it with fish oil.
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Post by Lisa on Feb 22, 2013 22:13:04 GMT -5
What to start with... buy a freezer and many many plastic ZIP bags Find a supplier. Watch sales in the grocery stores. When you buy enough food you may start. I agree it's good to start with chicken. Maybe you will find ground chicken with bone. If not buy chicken backs or chicken legs. Don't feed bones without meat on it. Meat makes bones softer. Otherwise sharp bones may cause problems. No cooked bones! I don't know if you should go cold turkey... it doesn't matter. You may feed kibble in AM and raw in PM. It's better not to mix it but some people do. There is no strict rules in raw feeding... the most important to watch your dogs and make adjustements as you go. Each dog is different and you need to find the best food for YOUR dogs.
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Post by Lisa on Feb 22, 2013 22:16:24 GMT -5
If you decide to feed raw I will explain you what is muscle meat and what is organ meat. ex) beef heart is musle and liver is organ meat.
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Post by nzelic01 on Feb 23, 2013 10:27:54 GMT -5
Thank you so much Lisa! Thats great information!! How come you feed 4 - 4.5lbs a day? That seems a lot, is that because your babies are big? Zeus is 85lbs now so at 2.5% it works to 2.1lbs a day and Porscha I estimate will finish around the low 70lbs mark would work to 1.8lbs per day. Did I do that right? lol Goes to show how well my math is haha
Do you cook your oatmeal or just give it straight in the food? Is tripe considered organ meat? Do you give eggs to your dogs?
Im almost convinced to switch - I just have to price it out based on the prices and supplies here in Ontario.
If I decide, Im switching the little ones over in about a week, when their food is done and the dobes would be in about a month since we just bought more kibble last months. I dont want to waste it.
I read somewhere that for little dogs they should be fed more than 2-3% of their body weight. Is this true?
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Post by Lisa on Feb 23, 2013 15:01:48 GMT -5
In your second post you mentiond 2.5lbs for Zeus and 2lbs for Porscha. You may go down to 3.5-4lbs if you wish. Basically I feed 4lbs daily meals and add 1/2lbs of snacks like chicken feet, heads, necks. We don't use any dog treats from pet stores. 4.5lbs is everything my dogs get daily. Gino is 86lbs and Asha is 76lbs.
Yes I cook oatmeal and give them apporox. 4 tsp daily. Tripe is a musle meat. I feed eggs occasionally.
I don't know about small dogs...never owned them.
I heard prices are better in Ontario. Good luck to find a good raw food supplier. Do you have a freezer for dog food? You will need.
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Post by susanw on Feb 23, 2013 16:45:36 GMT -5
Nikki . . . a friend of mine used to feed raw to her 2 irish Wolfhounds. I notice that you live in Mississsauga,correct? They live in Oakville and I'm pretty sure I remember her telling me how they used to trek up to Orangeville to a butcher who used to package meats especially for dogs.
If you like I can call her and ask exactly where they bought their food.
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Post by nzelic01 on Feb 23, 2013 17:52:33 GMT -5
Lisa - is that 4 lbs for both dogs split to 2lbs or just one dog? susanw - yeah that would be great if you could. Thank you! I went to one grocery store that sells all kinds of stuff - tongue, ears, tripe, livers of all kinds of animals etc which made it much easier for me to see first hand. So it should be pretty interesting mixing all this lol I have a big freezer in my fridge that doesnt have much of our own stuff (i cook alot of fresh stuff for our meals so i dont use it frequently for us) but if i need more I have another fridge downstairs with a big freezer that I can use.
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Post by susanw on Feb 23, 2013 18:15:32 GMT -5
I just talked to my friend and she told me they used to buy boxes of chicken backs for a reasonable price from the Maple Lodge Farn outlet store at the plant in Brampton. There was also an independent butcher on Steeles Ave west of Winston Churchill that they used to frequent. Don't know if it's still there or ot. A lot of other meat they used to buy was bulk purchased by their breeder who would take orders for any of her clients that were interested, and then split it accordingly. She suggested you might benefit from trying to find a group of owners that feed raw and do the same.
Hope this has been some help
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Post by dobermoms on Feb 23, 2013 18:17:39 GMT -5
I'm thinking if you're going to do this...you need a "proper" freezer. Unfortunately, fridge freezers are going to be too small. Remember, you're buying a lot of meat and you will need a chest freezer at the very least. If you're feeding approx 5lbs a day between the 4 dogs, then in 1 week it's 35 lbs...plus you would have a couple/few weeks supply on hand or else the inconveniene of shopping weekly will be taxing on you, not to mention preparing the food. Just thinking and saying.......
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Post by nzelic01 on Feb 23, 2013 18:33:33 GMT -5
susanw - thank you so much - i will look into that for sure. I totally forgot about maple lodge farm lol its close to my work too - the big factory itself. i will also look into a group of owners that feed raw and see if we can do something about it. dobermoms - you make a very good point. i didnt do the math yet as far as how much lbs ill need per week so that puts into a perspective on how much space i will need. i will definitely look into this - maybe they have a used one to purchase on kijiji or something. ill look into it. thank you for that
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Post by Lisa on Feb 23, 2013 19:36:37 GMT -5
Yes 4lbs for both dogs. Each gets 2lbs meal ( 1/2lbs in the morning -something like chicken leg) and 1.5lbs for dinner (mix of different meats, organs, bones, kefir, oatmeal, supplements). You may feed one day a week only organs and other days meat and bones. I mix it and it's more work. Can you find fish? It's good for dogs. Tongue, ears and tripe are musle meat. Do they sell heart? Liver is a rich organ. I would mix it with other organs like pancreas, kidney, etc. Yes you need a chest freezer. My freezer is always full. Our supplier delivers once a month. Also I need enough room in freezer in case of finding good deals in groceries. My dogs are chewing goat bones now... something new from our supplier. We got food from the supplier today. I am packing bison liver. Dogs have finished their bones and now they are getting crazy about liver. I love to feed raw
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Post by Andreina on Feb 23, 2013 22:44:51 GMT -5
Hey Nikolina, check this place out! Its around McCowan and sheppard.... www.tphatwholesale.com/My crazy raw food friend gets some of her stuff there.... (except she gets it from the retail store in Pickering... so therefore not sure specifically about the wholesale store, but i assume cheaper)
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